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College  | Story  | 3/8/2017

College Spotlight: Dodgertown

Mike Rooney      Steve Fiorindo     
Photo: Brock Scott
 


Perfect Game College Player Database
Weekly Spotlights: Week 1 | Week 2 | Frisco Classic | LSU

Every week during the 2017 college baseball season we will be pulling at least one report, and corresponding video when available, of a player entered into the College Player Database. This week will be a little different given Perfect Game's presence at three major college baseball tournaments, including the Dodgertown Classic hosted by Southern California and UCLA. Below we will share one detailed report of a player from each of the four participating teams (Michigan, San Diego, USC and UCLA). All of the reports entered into the database can be found in one, easy-to-find place as linked above, and can also be accessed off of the individual PG player profile pages.

To access all of the reports you will need a College Baseball Ticket (CBT) subscription. To learn more about the CBT and to sign up today please visit this link.


Michigan - Ryan Nutof

Nutof was a joy to watch operate in this outing, a 4-1 win over Southern California on Saturday as part of the Dodgertown Classic. His pace was lightning fast and he attacked the USC lineup with his fastball. And his fastball was the story of the night because he bumped 95 mph while sitting 93-94 mph for most of the game. This was a surprise to a few Midwest scouts in attendance who had Nutof’s previous peak velocity at 92 mph.

Nutof works with two breaking balls, a curveball and slider, but they blend together at times. The curveball was 78-80 mph and the slider was 81-83 mph. On this night, the slider showed more promise but neither is an out pitch at this point.

There is effort in the delivery but there is also great momentum and solid arm strength. Nutof appears to be a good athlete and he is certainly very aggressive on the mound.  

It will be interesting to see if Nutof holds this velocity going forward. He is not afraid of contact and throws his fastball with great conviction. Regardless of what the radar gun says, we need more of that in the game.

Other Michigan players added to College Player Database:

• Jake Bivens




San Diego - Riley Adams, C

At 6-foot-4 and 215-pounds, Adams is a physical monster for the catching position. He also brings outstanding athleticism and real baseball instincts.  

Offensively, Adams is coming off of a sophomore season with excellent performance (24 extra-base hits) and his approach at the plate is admirable. His at-bats were consistently competitive and he had a huge opposite field base hit versus UCLA sidearm reliever Brian Gadsby to tie that game in the ninth in what was an eventual 3-1 win for USD on Saturday. His swing has length and velocity up in the zone was problematic but he does make good in-bat adjustments.

To top it all off, Adams’ best tool might a plus arm behind the plate. His times vary due to his average receiving skills but make no mistake, the arm is a bazooka.  

Here is the ever-important question: can he stay behind the plate in professional baseball? Adams’ arm strength and athleticism say yes. His pitch-framing would be a no at this point. Adams’ height is the issue as he consistently works above the baseball and struggles to present the low strike. The great news is that Adams can go out as a catcher and if he’s unable to master the bottom of the strike zone he will be agile enough to make a position change if necessary. This is a prospect with huge upside. 

Other San Diego players added to College Player Database:

• Louis Crow
• Chris Murphy
• Miles Sandum
• Nick Sprengel




Southern California - Mitch Hart, RHP

Mitch Hart checks nearly every box for a big-time pitching prospect and he even backed that up by pitching to a 3.48 ERA through the first 12 starts of his freshman year at USC in 2015. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to sustain enough good health over the last two years to build on that great beginning to his college career.

Regarding Hart’s profile, he is a physical (6-foot-4, 215-pounds) righthander with an athletic delivery and an easy arm. He has feel for spin and there is deception to his fastball.

The fastball deception was confirmed in his outing on Friday against San Diego as part of the Dodgertown Classic because Hart’s velocity was an uncharacteristic 85-87 mph in the first inning and he still managed to stay off of barrels. Hart never got comfortable on the mound, constantly stretching and fidgeting, and his command was poor throughout the night. He gutted his way into the fifth inning but it was a struggle from pitch one. His fastball velocity touched 90 mph just once.

Hart’s velocity has been as high as 94 mph as recently as last summer in the Cape Cod League. He is clearly not back to the full strength of his freshman year and ironically, his struggles make him an intriguing prospect. Hart’s physical gifts are undeniable yet his injury track record may push him into a round where this level of arm talent will be an absolute steal.

Other Southern California players added to College Player Database:

• Solomon Bates
• Adalberto Carrillo
• Chris Clarke
• Bryce Dyrda
• Lars Nootbar




UCLA - Jon Olsen, RHP

Olsen, a projectable 6-foot-2, 202-pound sophomore righthander, is finally healthy this season after dealing with injuries during his last two years of high school that limited his action. He made his third start of the 2017 season on Sunday against USC as part of the Dodgertown Classic at Dodgers Stadium, striking out nine batters in 5 2/3 innings but did not factor into the decision.

He has always had a good delivery and a sharp breaking ball. His fastball works primarily in the 90-92 mph range with arm-side run, and he maintained that velocity well throughout his appearance. Olsen has a very good, athletic delivery with good tempo and excellent balance over his front side. He is direct to the plate and hides the ball well behind his back leg in the pocket which makes it difficult to see until the ball has been released. The curveball is a true swing-and-miss downer pitch, as he collected many of his nine strikeouts with the breaker. His curveball used to be a bigger, downer pitch but now has more 11-to-7 shape and is thrown firmer at 75-78 mph. He also mixed in a low-80s short slider.

Other UCLA players added to College Player Database:

• Chase Strumpf
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