Perfect Game Top 25 | PG/Rawlings Player/Pitcher of the Week
College Spotlight | PG College Player Database
For the most part two weekends remain to close out the 2017 regular season, with six key in-conference games remaining on the schedule for teams to jockey for position for the individual conference tournaments. The SEC continues to carry the most weight, and could provide the most surprising conference tourney champ when it's all said and done.
The one series to keep an eye on will take place in Baton Rouge, La. Auburn is coming off of a series sweep at home to Alabama, and now have to travel to arguably the SEC's most unfriendly confines for visiting teams to try and put themselves back in control in the SEC West. LSU is now one game behind Mississippi State for the SEC West lead, and while the two teams play one another to close out the regular season, gaining at least one more game in the standings could be huge for the LSU Tigers.
In the ACC Atlantic Division the No. 1 ranked Louisville Cardinals travel to take on the second-ranked Clemson Tigers. While Louisville has a commanding lead, one that can't be made up even by a Clemson sweep, it is still the biggest ACC matchup on the weekend, not to mention one of Louisville's stiffest tests of the 2017 seasons.
Perfect Game as always will be providing scouting insights from a handful of locations, most notably from Storrs, Conn. as UConn hosts South Florida. Stay tuned this weekend for updates.
Top 25 in Action
| Rk. |
Team |
Opponent |
Location |
| 1 |
Oregon State |
at Oregon |
Eugene, OR |
| 2 |
Louisville |
at No. 8 Clemson |
Clemson, SC |
| 3 |
North Carolina |
at Virginia Tech |
Blacksburg, VA |
| 4 |
Texas Tech |
No games scheduled |
NA |
| 5 |
Florida |
at Alabama |
Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 6 |
Virginia |
home vs. Miami |
Charlottesville, VA |
| 7 |
Texas Christian |
at Oklahoma |
Norman, OK |
| 8 |
Clemson |
home vs. No. 2 Louisville |
Clemson, SC |
| 9 |
Kentucky |
home vs. Tennessee |
Lexington, KY |
| 10 |
Long Beach State |
at Minnesota |
Minneapolis, MN |
| 11 |
Louisiana State |
home vs. No. 16 Auburn |
Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12 |
Stanford |
at California |
Berkeley, CA |
| 13 |
Mississippi State |
at Georgia |
Athens, GA |
| 14 |
Cal State Fullerton |
home vs. UC Santa Barbara |
Fullerton, CA |
| 15 |
Arkansas |
home vs. Vanderbilt |
Fayetteville, AR |
| 16 |
Auburn |
at No. 11 Louisiana State |
Baton Rouge, LA |
| 17 |
Michigan |
at Purdue |
West Lafayette, IN |
| 18 |
South Florida |
at UConn |
Storrs, CT |
| 19 |
Arizona |
at College of Charleston |
Charleston, SC |
| 20 |
Houston |
at Tulane |
New Orleans, LA |
| 21 |
Wake Forest |
at Florida State |
Tallahassee, FL |
| 22 |
Southern Miss |
home vs. UAB |
Hattiesburg, MS |
| 23 |
Missouri State |
home vs. Indiana State |
Springfield, MO |
| 24 |
Texas A&M |
at Ole Miss |
Oxford, MS |
| 25 |
Maryland |
at Illinois |
Champaign, IL |
LMU on the rise
Loyola Marymount is trending upward, and entered an off week with a 30-14 overall record, which included a West Coast Conference mark of 16-5. Their .296 team batting average was second to only BYU, and their 3.59 staff ERA was also second, to Gonzaga. After beating San Diego two out of their three games at home during the weekend of April 28-30 they received serious consideration to be included in the Top 25, but ultimately fell just short.
They’re getting the job done on both sides of the ball, with seven regulars hitting .302 or better, led by Phil Caulfield’s .377 mark. Similar to a lot of West Coast programs, they lack that one big bat in the middle of their lineup, but in their case they haven’t needed it, as their hitters take turns on providing timely hits. They’re also a patient bunch, with four batters having at least 20 walks, and they also have 66 stolen bases, further pointing to their team-based attack.
Righthanded starter Cory Abbott has been sensational on the mound. He was named the PG/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Week after tossing a perfect game against BYU – the conference’s best offense – on March 25. In his most recent start against USD he set a career-high with 15 strikeouts in eight innings of work while picking up his ninth win of the year. He sits in the low-90s with his fastball and mixes and matches well with his full four-pitch mix. On the year he is 9-1 with a 1.84 ERA, allowing just 47 base hits and 19 walks in 73 1/3 innings while striking out 88.
Abbott and his weekend rotation mates – Brenton Arriaga and Blake Redman – are a combined 18-7 with a 2.62 ERA in 213 innings, as each has been remarkably durable, and consistent, during the 2017 season. Codie Paiva and Braydon Salzman have been equally reliable and consistent coming out of the bullpen to close games out.
LMU’s RPI is rather low, although it should be pointed out that they have not lost a weekend series all season long, which includes winning all seven of their in-conference series. That includes wins against BYU, San Diego and Saint Mary’s, three of the four other teams in the West Coast Conference that have records above .500 in league play.
The fourth team is Gonzaga, who LMU faces this weekend, on the road, in a crucial in-conference matchup that could go a long way to determine the regular season champion. The Bulldogs, like LMU, did not play last weekend, and at 15-6 in conference (26-16 overall) they could give the Lions their toughest matchup of the season. Keep an eye on Friday’s opener in which Abbott could be pushed up in the rotation to square off against two-time PG/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Week Eli Morgan.
– Patrick Ebert
Two Good?
Every year college baseball fans say goodbye to some of their players a season earlier than they had hoped for as they only have some players for a two-year window. Draft-eligible sophomores make an impact in every draft class and 2017 is no different as seven players within the latest Perfect Game Top 150 Draftlist are eligible after just two seasons on campus. And don’t confuse this with a redshirt-sophomore, such Brent Rooker last year or Louisville’s Drew Ellis this spring, as these seven (among many others) meet the “21-year age limit within 45 days of the draft” requirement. Want a recent and famous draft-eligible sophomore? Now Boston Red Sox and former Arkansas Razorback Andrew Benintendi departed after just two seasons, much to the relief of every opposing pitcher in the SEC.
A near lock to go in the first-round out of Corona High School if not for an iron clad commitment to Stanford, righthander Tristan Beck is the highest tabbed eligible sophomore this spring checking in at No. 39. Beck has been out this spring due to a non-surgical injury, though as his ranking suggests, he’s still a top-flight talent in the class of 2017 thanks to an advanced aptitude on the mound, a still projectable frame, and an arsenal of plus stuff.
Speaking of big time stuff, a quartet of arms scattered throughout the country are showing big fastballs and have established themselves within the top 150. Arkansas’ Blaine Knight (No. 47) generated serious buzz this fall and heading into the spring with a heater that bumps into the mid-90s which he pairs with a potential plus-changeup. Add into the equation that he’s performing and you have a big time draft prospect.
Cal Poly’s Spencer Howard, who was recently detailed in the Week 12 College Spotlight and the No. 73 prospect, gives the Mustangs a formidable duo with Erich Uelman, another top-three round prospect. A couple spots behind Howard is Utah’s Riley Otteson, a true pop up name this spring, thanks to a fastball that touches 98 mph with ever-developing off speed pitches. A member of the 2013 high school class, Otteson didn’t require a redshirt-year and is only sophomore eligible as he took a year to complete his mission in Fujieda, Japan.
Louisville’s Riley Thompson (No. 122) required Tommy John out of high school and is technically a redshirt-freshman, but had he of been healthy last spring he’d be a draft eligible sophomore due to his age. He’s been limited out of the bullpen this spring and could very well assume the closer’s role next spring though with a highly athletic frame, fast arm, and a heater that touches 98 mph, scouts may be too intrigued to pass up the opportunity this year.
Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum (No.83) is as exciting of a player as you’ll find in college baseball, bursting onto the scene last year with solid barrel skills and plus speed. He’s even jumped on the mound this spring for Head Coach Andy Cannizaro and flashed a low-90s fastball. Deacon Liput (No. 112) shows solid tools from down in Gainesville for Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan with continually developing power and the athleticism to stick up the middle.
These are just a handful of players who have the opportunity to be selected following their sophomore year and it’s something we’ll continue to see with players such as UNC’s Austin Bergner and USC’s Carlos Cortes, both of whom will be sophomore-eligible next spring. Don’t fret though, as it isn’t a foregone conclusion that the player will definitely leave. Just ask the LSU faithful how big it has been to have Greg Deichmann back in the lineup after he could have left due his age eligible sophomore season in 2016.
Bulls Rage On
When Mark Kingston accepted the head coaching position at South Florida prior to the 2015 season, it was widely considered a quality hire for the Bulls and it would only be a matter of time before he established USF as an upper tier team in the America Athletic Conference. It didn’t take long however as his squad advanced to the NCAA Regionals in year one thanks to a 34-26-1 record.
Last spring was a bit of a down year though it was almost to be expected given the number of talented freshmen who were asked to make an immediate impact. Some battled injuries, other experienced growing pains, but with 2016 behind them that freshmen class is now helping lead the Bulls into a potentially deep run this spring.
Here’s a couple numbers to consider: in 2016 the Bulls finished 24-33 with an 8-16 conference record. This season they’re 38-10 and sport a conference best 12-6 record heading into their weekend series against a very talented Connecticut team, who trail by just two games in conference play.
The juices are flowing though as South Florida is currently riding a six-game winning streak and are coming off a three-game sweep over an impressive East Carolina squad and a 15-10 midweek win over nationally ranked Florida. And of those ten losses, six were by two runs or less and they’ve outscored their opponents 303 to 174.
Junior shortstop Kevin Merrell has established himself as one of the top players in the conference and should be off the board extremely early on day two of the MLB draft, if not earlier. An easy plus to double-plus runner, the lefthanded hitting Merrell has seen the hit tool catch up to the speed as he leads the club with a .403 average, has flashed pop with six home runs, and of course has stolen his bases (17) as you’d expect given his speed.
While the offense is hitting a collective .306, the pitching staff is sporting a 2.88 ERA with 505 punch outs to just 162 walks. Phoenix Sanders, Shane McClanahan, and Peter Strzelecki have proven to be a triumphant trio for Kingston, going 11-5 through 12 weeks with a sub-3 ERA. McClanahan, a redshirt-freshman, has established himself as one of the top strikeout arms in the country while the bullpen has been just as impressive with Andrew Perez, Ryan Valdes, and Joe Cavallaro leading the way.
It’s been a loud spring for Coach Kingston and his squad though things might only be getting started down in Tampa.
-Jheremy Brown