Model of Consistency: Taylor Jungmann

The past several years I have taken a look at select college players that have excelled throughout their college careers, posting impressive numbers since day one.

Matt Wieters was the first to be profiled when he was still playing with Georgia Tech in 2007. Dustin Ackley of North Carolina was my target two years ago, Buster Posey's ascent was chronicled in 2008, and Cal State Fullerton's Christian Colon was featured last year.

As the season opened I would have guessed that Rice's Anthony Rendon would be the most logical player to be talked about in this regard, but he has not come close to matching the impressive power numbers he posted during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Rendon's drop in productivity opened the door for Longhorns ace Taylor Jungmann in this feature, who like everyone else mentioned so far in this story, hit the ground running upon arriving at Texas. I find it interesting that he is the first pitcher I have profiled for impressive consistency, as it would seem uncommon for a young hurler to post such impressive numbers three years in a row.

Here are those numbers (this year's statistics through games played as of 5/31/11):

2009: 11-3, 2.00 ERA, 25 games (10 starts), 1 complete game, 94.2 innings, 65 hits (7 extra-base hits), 101 strikeouts, 35 walks, .193 opponent's batting average.
2010: 8-3, 2.03 ERA, 17 games (all starts), 1 complete game, 120 innings, 88 hits (29 extra-base hits), 129 strikeouts, 41 walks, .209 opponent's batting average.
2011: 13-0, 0.95 ERA, 15 games (all starts), 5 complete games, 122 innings, 67 hits (11 extra-base hits), 116 strikeouts, 27 walks, .159 opponent's batting average.

Totals: 32-6, 1.63 ERA, 57 games (42 starts), 7 complete games, 336.2 innings, 220 hits (47 extra-base hits), 346 strikeouts, 103 walks.

Those stats are nearing Nintendo-like numbers for the young hurler, whose dominance through his career at Texas should put him down for one of the all-time pitchers in the history of college baseball.

Due to his increased workload, Jungmann did not pitch during the summers after his freshman and sophomore years, and likely will be used sparingly this summer as he begins his professional career.

His strikeout totals aren't incredibly gaudy, as Jungmann's game is more about command and changing speeds, but if you have ever watched him pitch you know that he is just as dominant as any pure flamethrower.

The number of the hits he has allowed, which is already low, that went for extra bases, is incredibly impressive. Only 21 percent of his hits went for extra bases, with a knack for inducing weak contact by keeping hitters off-balance.

His scouting report for this year's draft is included in the link above, and the book on Jungmann hasn't changed much over the years. He usually sits around 90-93, can hit the mid-90s and occasion and frequently settles into the upper-80s later in games. The efficiency in which he pitches allows him to regularly work deep into games, as shown by the five complete games he has tossed this season while averaging over eight innings per start.

His changeup is an advanced pitch, and he throws both a slider and a curveball, the latter of which has really improved over the last calendar year. Jungmann is confident throwing any and all of his pitchers for strikes in any count.

Most are quick to label him as a third starter with that profile, although we have all seen pitchers that play much bigger than their stuff when they're able to master their craft as Jungmann has at the college level. While his ceiling may be limited, he does have a very high floor and seems to be a good bet to make it to the big-leagues fairly quickly to enjoy a modest level of success at the very least.