Gators, Puk overpower Mizzou

A.J. Puk, Perfect Game’s top-rated college draft prospect entering the season, hadn’t gotten off to the strongest start this spring. His numbers entering the game on Saturday were not bad (0-1. 2.65 ERA, 17 innings, 14 hits, 9 walks, 18 strikeouts), but his performances in his first four starts of the season had been a bit uneven. Indeed, in the first installment of Perfect Game’s Draft Packs, I had noted that “Puk has shown flashes of what makes him such a highly regarded prospect, but he’s also left scouts scratching their heads wanting to see more consistency from him.”

On Saturday night, Puk was able to harness his electric stuff and fill up the strike zone at a level typically commensurate of an early draft pick. Earlier this spring, and particularly on the season’s opening weekend, Puk’s fastball velocity had been down, as he lived predominately in the 90-93 mph range. As the season has progressed, the big lefthander’s stamina and stuff has improved as well, as the first pitch out of the 6-foot-7 junior’s hand on Saturday night was a 96 mph fastball.




Over the course of his full seven innings and 111 pitches, Puk’s heater rarely dipped below 92 mph, and he sat pretty comfortably around 93 mph, reaching back for 95-plus at various points throughout the outing. More noteworthy than the pure velocity however, was Puk’s command and feel for his delivery. Throughout his career, and especially in the early point of this season, Puk has had issues finding the strike zone consistently and consistently controlling and maintaining his extra large frame and long limbs. On Saturday night, he seemed more compact mechanically and his delivery more on-line. While his command wasn’t necessarily pinpoint and doesn’t project to be above average, Puk did a fine job of throwing strikes and working up-down and in-out, and he finished the night with only one free pass, a marked improvement over his previous starts this season.