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College  | Story | 4/26/2017

College Spotlight: Week 10

Jheremy Brown
Steve Fiorindo
Vincent Cervino
Photo: Dave Nishitani
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Perfect Game College Player Database

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 we will share several reports on players from the Oregon State/UCLA, Vanderbilt/Georgia, NC State/Boston College and Jacksonville/Kennesaw State series. 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.




Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State

Although Heimlich is listed at 6-foot-1 he seems smaller in stature. Working from the extreme third base side of the rubber, he creates exception deception and it is very hard for opposing hitters to pick up the ball out of his hand. With a long stride, slightly closed off towards home plate, he drives the ball to the bottom of the zone very well with an efficient use of his lower half, stepping over after his finish.

Heimlich worked all four quadrants of the strike zone effectively with his fastball, which sat in the 91-93 mph range early in his start against UCLA. The pitch had occasional cutting action and eventually settled into the 89-91 mph range in the middle to later innings. He was also able to vary the break on his curveball, which he threw shorter and firmer in the 78-80 mph range – frequently to lefthanded hitters – and with much bigger, more traditional break in the 72-74 range. The difference in shape and velocity made the two variations look and feel like two distinct pitches. While he didn’t throw many changes it sat right at 79 mph.

Overall Heimlich displays excellent presence on the mound, and really did a good job getting himself out of jams and minimized hard contact by not making mistakes over home plate. He picked up the hard-luck no decision in this game opposite Griffin Canning, as he was completely dominant and in control, with 10 strikeouts and only two base hits allowed in 7 1/3 innings of work.

Other NC State players added to College Player Database:

• K.J. Harrison




Griffin Canning, RHP, UCLA

Physically Canning looks bigger and more sturdy than his listed 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame would suggest, but he does have a lean and athletic, wiry-strong frame. Working from the first base side of the rubber he shows good tempo in his delivery, with a direct, slightly open line towards home plate. He hides the ball well behind his body, creating good deception, and his fastball velocity has ticked up from a year ago.

In his first inning of work against Oregon State Canning worked in the 93-95 mph range, and then settled into the 92-93 range after that. The fastball has late arm-side run and sink with more life when located down in the zone. He does have enough velocity to get swinging strikes up in the zone when he elevates.

Canning has a full, four-pitch mix which includes a curveball, slider and changeup, but used the slider and change less frequently as the game progressed. His curveball sat in the low-80s, at 80-82 mph, and was fairly inconsistent but at it’s best showed depth and solid downward break with some lateral tilt. The slider was throwin in the 84-85 mph range with shorter break and late lateral action while the changeup was on the firm side, thrown at 87, and played well off of his fastball with arm-side run and sink.




Jeren Kendall, OF, Vanderbilt

Arguably the top position player in all of college baseball, Jeren Kendall is a supreme talent with tools that likely have MLB scouting directors wanting to take him in the first round of the MLB Draft. Kendall is an excellent athlete with the ability to run consistently in the sub-4.0 second range to first base from the left side of the batter's box. 

The biggest question mark, in terms of being a professional prospect, for Kendall is the concern over the swing-and-miss to his game. Kendall has already surpassed the 50 strikeout mark on the season and struck out twice in two games on Saturday in a doubleheader against Georgia. 

The power is real both by the stats that he has put up in his college career and by the strength throughout the swing. The stance and swing itself are simple in nature but Kendall is able to generate excellent bat speed with explosive hands in the batter’s box. Despite his size and speed Kendall doesn’t fit into a typical leadoff profile as he has plus raw power that translates well in-game as he has a team-leading 12 home runs on the season.

Other Vanderbilt players added to College Player Database:

• Chandler Day
• Julian Infante
• Will Toffey
• Kyle Wright




Cam Shepherd, SS, Georgia

A true freshman and starting shortstop for the Bulldogs, Cam Shepherd has been extremely impressive this season showing maturity and may be one of the next stars for Georgia. Shepherd shows impressive tools across the board which makes him a valuable asset in all facets of the game.

Shepherd has very clean actions at shortstop and has the athleticism and agility to range to both sides and made a couple of plays deep in the hole in a doubleheader against Vanderbilt. He made an outstanding play late in game one to preserve the a scoreless tie; Shepherd shaded up the middle and leaped high in the air to snag a line drive and made a strong throw to first base to get a double play.

An inning and a half later, Shepherd stepped up to the plate and clobbered a long home run to deep left-center field, which would prove to be the deciding run in the game. The opposing pitcher went slider, changeup, slider, changeup and hung the changeup high in the zone which Shepherd deposited outside of the field of play.

Shepherd's swing gets a big long at times but he has good bat speed at the plate and is able to generate loft and carry on fly balls. The lower half of the swing is pretty sound as he gets his hips through the swing and has some rear leg drive as well. The path will get muddled at times but when the swing is on plane he is very dangerous at the plate.

The athleticism combined with excellent play on both sides makes Shepherd one of the better players on the Georgia team. His production up to this point makes him one of the most talented freshmen in the country and he should continue to produce for the Bulldogs.

Other Georgia players added to College Player Database:

• Ryan Avidano
• Blakely Brown
• Michael Curry
• Kevin Smith




Michael Baumann, RHP, Jacksonville

Baumann, who threw against Kennesaw State on Friday, is a prospect who was drafted coming out of high school and has come in at No. 145 on Perfect Game's updated Top 150 Prospect list for the 2017 MLB Draft. Baumann's frame is very physical with present strength throughout his 6-foot-4, 225-pound body. 

The delivery and arm action are both very easy with the arm being long and traveling through a full arm circle. The delivery itself is a bit stiff but that could also just be due to the physical nature of his frame. Baumann is able to consistently get on top of the ball and get downhill despite a shorter stride toward the plate. There is spine tilt near the top of the delivery and the upper half of the delivery will occasionally get in front of the lower half which leads to some timing and strike-throwing issues.

The fastball was good when he was able to command it effectively low in the zone with late, downward life. The pitch sat in the 92-94 mph range for the first few innings and settled in the 90-93 mph range as the outing went on. Baumann missed his spots occasionally which would lead to the pitch being left middle-middle and led him to give up two long balls. 

The secondaries were very polished with the slider being the better of the two breaking balls and showing consistently above average. The pitch sat 83-86 mph with tight spin and sharp, two-plane break. The pitch would seemingly fall off the table down with short movement to the glove side. The slider was Baumann's best pitch in terms of swings and misses and was used as a pitch to rack up strikeouts; he finished with seven strikeouts on the day.

The curveball was softer but showed refined 12-to-6 shape with quality depth. He would slow down his arm and overall delivery to throw it and it was best used as a change-of-pace pitch to set up other pitches. The curveball would rarely get thrown to induce chases, but rather used as a pitch to throw for called strikes. 

Baumann only walked two batters throughout the outing which is a positive considering that walks were an issue for him at the Cape last summer. He still had 21 walks in only 51 1/3 innings pitched coming into the game and strikes will be the determining factor in how high he can raise his stock considering he already has two pitches that show average to above average.

Other Jacksonville players added to College Player Database:

• Chris Gau




Tony Dibrell, RHP, Kennesaw State

Dibrell has been the ace for the Kennesaw State Owls all season long and he took the ball on Friday night against Jacksonville. Dibrell was his usual self in terms of stuff, showing off a low-90s fastball with quality secondaries and a four-pitch mix in total. He ran into issues with fastball command and control of the strike zone, but still showed why he is highly thought of as a prospect.

The fastball was mostly straight, but showed occasional heaviness when thrown low in the zone. That was the pitch Dibrell struggled the most with as the pitch was not too sharp in terms of location and got hit around hard. He showed an adjustment the second time through the lineup and started showing his secondary pitches more often.

The slider was a pitch that Dirbell relied upon as the game wore in. The pitch sat in the 79-81 mph range and had short, sharp break down and to the glove side. The pitch was a neutralizer against same-handed batters and was able to induce weak ground balls or whiffs altogether. Dibrell also showed his changeup that flashed above average potential with it's tumble down and to the arm side. 

He only showed his curveball a few times and it was a slow-breaker in the low-70s with more traditional curveball shape. Dibrell finished the outing with six walks on the evening and that was the big issue for him on the night. Dibrell showed three quality pitches again on Friday night in a game that was heavily attended by professional scouts.

Other Kennesaw State players added to College Player Database:

• Gabe Friese




Michael Bienlien, RHP, NC State

A one-time South Carolina commit, freshman righthander Michael Bienlien looks to be a future front of the rotation type arm for Head Coach Elliott Avent and could develop into one of the better arms in the entire ACC come his junior year. Proportionally built throughout his 6-foot-3, 205-pound high waisted, long limbed frame, Bienlien turned in six-plus innings of quality work on the mound Sunday afternoon and offered an array of intangibles on the mound to make him an attractive name come June of 2019.

You can’t help but notice just how easy his delivery and release are after a pitch or two and that’s a vital component that allowed Bienlien to maintain his velocity as well as he did. With a simple side step and higher leg lift Bienlien uses his length to his advantage by creating excellent extension out front from a loose and extended three-quarters slot. By staying on top and finishing through the pitch he was able to generate nice sinking life to his fastball which sat within the 90-93 mph range throughout, still showing 93 in the sixth inning with the same low effort release. As I’ve seen with other freshman arms this spring, Bienlien worked almost exclusively off his heater early in the content though he’s much more than a one-pitch pitcher. 

Though he showed the ability to miss bats with his fastball as he collected more than a handful of whiffs, Bienlien also showed the ability to locate to either side and wasn’t afraid to challenge hitters in on their hands. 

The difference maker for Bienlien and the pitch that could end up being his best pitch as the end of the day is his changeup. It’s an 81-83 mph offering that hitters read as fastball out of his hand as he does an excellent job of replicating his arm speed and release point on the pitch, living down in the zone with late fading life. The confidence he exhibited in the pitch was uncanny for a freshman arm too as he’d throw the pitch for strikes even if he was behind in the count. 

Thrown slightly slower but still bumping 81 mph, Bienlien’s slider is a very viable third pitch giving him the arsenal to start long term. As with his changeup, Bienlien maintains his arm action and release well, creating short and late tilting life away from righthanded hitters. 

Bienlien offers everything you want to see in a starting pitcher as he not only maintained his velocity and the life on his pitches, but continued to pound the strike zone while showing a delivery that’s conducive to heavy work load.

Other NC State players added to College Player Database:

• Brian Brown
• Brad Debo
• Joe Dunand
• Dalton Feeney
• Josh McLain


Brian Rapp, RHP, Boston College

The biggest thing Boston College righthander Brian Rapp needs to be successful is his command and as we’ve seen this spring, when he’s down in the zone he can cruise through a difficult lineup without many hiccups. Such was the case in the second game of the BC-North Carolina State double header as Rapp had everything working his way and put together a complete game, three-hit (all singles) shutout, the first time he’s gone the distance in his career. 

Because Rapp isn’t over physical at 5-foot-11, 195-pounds being on top of the ball is key in generating plane on his heater and that’s exactly what he did. We’ve seen mid-90s fastballs out of Rapp in the past out of the bullpen but this spring he’s worked more in the 88-90 mph, though it’s from the first to very last pitch of the game. He showed plenty of balance to his delivery in his most recent outing and threw a slew of strikes to either side of the plate while mixing four different pitches to keep Wolfpack hitters off balance. 

Still showing 90 mph in well into the eighth inning, Rapp’s ability to throw three distinctly different off speed pitches for strikes has been his biggest key while transitioning into a starting role. At its best Rapp’s curveball shows 12-6 shape with solid depth in the 76-78 mph range and there’s no shortage of confidence in the pitch as he tripled up at one point in the game. 

His slider, thrown as hard as 85 mph against NC State, is a much shorter pitch with tighter rotation and should he move back into the bullpen at the next level it’ll complement his fastball nicely. Rapp also flashed a change up at 81 mph with short fading life, giving him a four-pitch arsenal with which he can throw for strikes. 

It was a very sharp outing for Rapp and his best to date as he allowed just two hits through the first eight, walked only two and punched out six to help complete the sweep for Head Coach Mike Gambino and the Boston College Eagles.

Other NC State players added to College Player Database:

• Donovan Casey
• Gian Martellini
• Daniel Metzdorf
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Jheremy Brown
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Perfect Game Staff
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