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College  | Story | 5/24/2017

College Spotlight: Week 14

Vincent Cervino
Photo: Virginia Athletics
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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. 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.




Pavin Smith, 1B, Virginia

Smith is part of Virginia's trio of draft eligible hitters near the top of the lineup, the other two being Ernie Clement and Adam Haseley. Smith has gained the reputation for being one of college's best pure hitter and the tools jump off the board in the box.

The first baseman's swing is incredibly easy and smooth. He is able to generate good bat speed throughout the swing and the barrel of the bat stays in the hitting zone for a long time. Smith rocks back and into his swing and the result is a very smooth and polished overall product. 

He will occasionally fly open early and look to drive the ball deep to the pull side. During this scout’s time viewing him, Smith did it occasionally and was often early and out in front of the pitch. 

Smith certainly has the strength of a slugging first baseman with an incredibly strong 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame. He crushed a home run to right field during Friday's action and the line drive shot was very well struck. Smith has some of the best current raw power in the class and will be interesting to see how well that translates moving forward.

The swing allows him to create a good amount of backspin and carry on the balls he hits in the air and the approach in general is geared toward fly balls both over the fence and to the gaps. Another non-overlooked part of the approach is his tremendous bat-to-ball skills. Smith has a keen eye with tremendous plate discipline, as evidenced by his 30+ walks on the year and only six strikeouts.

Smith's abilities to recognize pitches out of the hand coupled with barrel control make it easy to see why he projects to hit well at the next level. The potential for the hit tool has not been unnoticed, and Smith is surely going to be under consideration as one of the early collegiate bats selected in the draft.




Jake McCarthy, OF, Virginia

After missing the majority of last season with injury, McCarthy has come back in a big way and has been one of the most important pieces for the Cavaliers. He showed off top level tools and will certainly be a name to watch come next year's draft. 

He is a high-level athlete and one of McCarthy's carrying tools is his excellent speed. He is a plus runner and was clocked at 3.85 seconds to first base from the left side on a bunt. That speed shows itself on the base paths as he has 28 stolen bases thus far on the year.

McCarthy showed off a very quick, compact swing path highlighted by his impressive hand speed. The stance itself is narrow and simple with a small stride toward the pitcher. Over the series, McCarthy showed power to all fields knocking a long home run to straight away center and also a rising, line drive home run to right field. He showed the ability to leverage to the pull side of the plate to get that power pull side, although that's not his entire game.

The power had been missing for the majority of the season, only three coming into this series, but if he can add a power stroke to his already impressive game then McCarthy may be able to take his play to new heights.




Adam Haseley, OF, Virginia

Earning the reputation of one of the top hitters in the college ranks, Haseley came into the weekend series at Georgia Tech hitting around .400 for the season. He has been getting a lot of first round buzz and Haseley had an outstanding two games in Atlanta.

Haseley is an excellent athlete and although he might be a bit shorter than the listed 6-foot-1, he certainly makes up for it with the strength throughout his frame. He has tons of quick twitch athleticism and routinely registered above average run times from the left side.

He showed off his athletic ability ranging well to both sides in centerfield for the Cavaliers. The arm strength is around average, and the ball is routinely thrown on a line when he is trying to make a play. The athleticism showed well on Friday where he made a diving catch to rob a hit.

The batting stance is a bit unorthodox, but Haseley does a good job at staying on time and is able to handle pitches all over the plate. He remains very closed at the plate and upon the leg lift he separates and strides into his explosive swing. There is a deep hitch but it allows him to stay on time and works for the time being. Haseley shoots his weight forward with the swing and his hand quickness allows him to make adjustments on the fly and go to the opposite field well if need be.

Haseley’s raw power translates well into the game right now. He had thirteen home runs coming into the series and his fourteenth was a no doubter than landed high off the batter's eye in centerfield. 


Other Virginia players added to College Player Database:

• Ernie Clement
• Daniel Lynch


Xzavion Curry, RHP, Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech starting pitching staff has taken quite a few hits over the course of the year and it started with losing presumed ace Tristin English for the season. Curry has been slotted into the Friday starter’s role for a good portion of the season and he leads the team in game started with ten.

Curry has a short, but not small build on the mound as he is incredibly athletic and strong. Curry is listed as a primary pitcher, but spends his time at shortstop or around the infield. The arm action is short but he has incredible arm speed that allows him to generate good velocity. 

He showed improved velocity from the beginning of the season as he was 89-92 mph in his first start of the year and on Friday he sat from 91-94 mph. The pitch is mostly straight with occasional run to the arm side. Curry ran into trouble when he would leave the pitch up in the zone and the middle of the order for Virginia did not miss the fastball.

Curry also showed a curveball and slider. The curveball is a slower mid-70s pitch with shape and was primarily used to be thrown for strikes. The slider is a new development in the repertoire and is harder with late bite in the low-80s. The pitch worked well from his high three-quarter arm slot and adds another weapon to his arsenal. 
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