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College  | Story  | 3/13/2018

Quick Take: Mississippi State

Photo: MSU Athletic Communications



Perfect Game College Player Database | Quick Take: Louisiana

During the season Perfect Game scouts will be traveling to some of the top series to watch the very best players in college baseball. Those observations, captured with both written notes and video, will be shared in the College Player Database as linked above, notes that can also be accessed on the players' individual PG profile pages. Throughout the season select reports will be shared in feature format to promote the players, the teams and college baseball as a whole.


 Mississippi State Bulldogs

What Happened: Mississippi State had a fantastic weekend down in Houston at the Shriners College Classic, going 3-0 on the weekend and doing a really good job of getting contributions from every area of play. They got strong starting pitching, several bullpen arms really stepped up, Jake Mangum was the star he needed to be and they got timely hitting from several players up and down the lineup. 

Carrying Tool: Star power. Friday night ace Konnor Pilkington and center fielder Jake Mangum give Mississippi State serious star power both in their rotation and their everyday lineup. Pilkington is the better draft prospect but both are supremely impactful college players, as Pilkington can take over the game by himself on Friday nights while Mangum can impact the game offensively, defensively and with his premium speed. 

Concerns: Lack of power. While Mississippi State is hitting .272 as a team and getting on base at a reasonable .355 clip, they are only slugging .386 as a club. They have guys who can really set the table at the top of the lineup in Jake Mangum and Hunter Stovall, but they are going to have to manufacture a bunch of runs this season along with being lockdown on the mound if they want to compete in the SEC, because this isn't a team that is going to score runs in bunches with any frequency. 

Best Player on the Field: Konnor Pilkington. The junior ace has been on draft radars for a few years now once we began to look forward to the 2018 draft, but he's on a bit of a different level this year and was absolutely dominant in his start in Houston vs. Louisiana. The lefthander pitches with three average-to-plus pitches and commands the entire arsenal impeccably, likely with some of the best command in college baseball, and climbs up draft boards seemingly weekly. 

Fearless Forecast: With the lack of impactful power bats in their lineup as it's currently constructed, Mississippi State is likely in store for a significant amount of lower-scoring contests this season, especially once they get into the meat of SEC play. With that being said, this is still a very good team given how good the pitching staff can be and the amount of pressure they like to create with their offense. 


Database Player Reports (7):

• Jacob Billingsley
• J.P. France
• Cole Gordon
• Jake Mangum
• Konnor Pilkington
• Ethan Small
• Hunter Stovall


Prospect Spotlight: Jake Mangum, OF



A draft-eligible sophomore last year who returned to Mississippi State for his junior season, Jake Mangum is the heart and soul of the Bulldog's offensive and defensive attack. After leading the SEC in hitting as a freshman in 2016, the leadoff hitting center fielder is currently slashing .348/.423/.420 on the season as he paces the Bulldog offense, to go along with seven stolen bases.

Mangum is a switch-hitter with a hyper-aggressive approach and solid bat-to-ball skills from both sides. He doesn't like to take pitches and is more than comfortable swinging at the first one. The approach is basically to try and spray contact and run, where his plus-plus speed allows him to beat out infield hits with frequency. There's some quickness to his hands from both sides of the plate and he does a good job keeping the barrel in the zone, and the overall contact ability is very quality, there's just going to be a true lack of offensive punch at the next level if the walk totals stay low, because he's just not going to hit for very much power. The speed is absolutely impactful, turning in times like 3.87 from the left side and 4.03 from the right side, and while the speed is elite, the game is also much faster at the professional level, so it's unlikely that Mangum will be the recipient of as many infield hits as he collects now. 

Defensively, Mangum is likely one of the best defenders in college baseball out in center field. That speed plays quite well out there, as he covers a tremendous amount of ground with good instincts and reads off the bat, giving him the chance to potentially be a plus defender out there. His arm is an above average tool out there as well (he has also pitched in the past), giving him the versatility to play all three outfield spots at a potentially high level. 

From a draft perspective, Mangum's projected offensive limitations will likely hold him back from going overly high in the draft, but he's still likely a quality Day 2 selection at this point. He profiles as a potential fourth outfielder at the major league level, with impact tools in his defensive ability and speed, but he's unlikely to pack enough offensive punch to be an everyday player at the game's highest level.
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