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College  | Story | 3/16/2018

Quick Take: Kentucky

Photo: UK Athletics



Perfect Game College Player Database | Quick Take: Louisiana | Quick Take: Mississippi State

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.


 Kentucky Wildcats

What Happened: Over the course of two viewings, Kentucky went 3-0 at the Shriners College Classic and then took two of three from then-No. 3 in the nation Texas Tech. They used a combination of an explosive, nonstop offense along with quality starting pitching and a sterling performance from their bullpen to pick up those five combined wins against some of the nation's best college baseball teams. 

Carrying Tool: That offense. Kentucky's offense is an absolute juggernaut, currently OPS'ing 1.019 as a team through 17 games. The pressure doesn't stop anywhere in that lineup 1-9, and Kentucky has probably 3-4 reserves who could step in and continue the offensive onslaught when called upon as well. They have a deadly combination of power and approach, do a good job limiting strikeouts, and they play a very pressure-oriented style, more than willing to both hit for big power and pressure the defense by bunting--they scored on three consecutive squeeze plays against Texas Tech. 

Concerns: Starting pitching. If one really wanted to nail down a concern, it would be the Wildcats' starting pitching after Sean Hjelle, who has been his usual excellent self on Fridays. Zack Thompson hasn't been very consistent yet and will now miss at least one start with a minor injury, while Justin Lewis has been solid but unspectacular on Sundays. As they start SEC play this weekend--and against Arkansas no less--they'll need that starting pitching to step up a bit, as that historic offense will see pitching in Fayetteville that they haven't seen yet. 

Best Player on the Field: Luke Heyer. Even after a quiet weekend vs. Texas Tech, Heyer is still leading the team in most offensive categories, slashing a ridiculous .400/.507/.927 through just about 70 plate appearances. He does a good job limiting strikeouts and getting on base when he can't get a pitch to drive, but a few weekends ago in Houston he didn't see many pitches that he couldn't drive. He's been an absolute force in that Kentucky lineup, and even did an admirable job filling in for an injured Tristan Pompey in left field. 

Fearless Forecast: Omaha. Kentucky is as good a bet to win the whole thing as anyone right now, the way they are clicking on all cylinders. The offense is ridiculous and the bullpen--even featuring a good amount of underclassmen--has been excellent. With a bona fide Friday ace in Sean Hjelle and the pieces to have a dynamic overall rotation once a little more consistency is found, it's hard to envision anyone beating Kentucky more than once at this point. Though, in fairness, they will receive a massive test this weekend when they head to Arkansas. 


Database Player Reports (14):

• Ben Aklinski
• T.J. Collett
• Kole Cottam
• Trey Dawson
•  Zach Haake
• Luke Heyer
• Sean Hjelle
• Ryan Johnson
• Justin Lewis
• Chris Machamer
• Alec Maley
• Tristan Pompey
• Jimmy Ramsey
• Zack Thompson
 

Prospect Spotlight: T.J. Collett, 1B/DH



Kentucky's everyday designated hitter, Collett has a history of playing some first base and catching as well, but he does his damage from the lefthanded batter's box most of the time. A draft-eligible sophomore, Collett can be drafted as early as this June, though as a DH with an injury history, that's a bit of a tough profile. 

Regardless, Collett has been sensational for the Wildcats so far this year, tied for the team lead in home runs with 8 and leading the team in RBI, hitting in the No. 6 slot in Head Coach Nick Mingione's everyday lineup. Collett's is a power-hitting, bat-only profile which, while not a profile that gets drafted all that highly because there's next to no defensive value at play here, but Collett's bat has a chance to be pretty special. 

There's a significant amount of bat speed and strength at play here, with excellent loft through the stroke with the intent to consistently leverage the ball into the air with big power and carry. Collett's raw power is at least plus, even more so to the pull side, and while that's where the majority of his damage comes from, he's shown the ability to work to all fields with that kind of power. There is some swing and miss to the profile, as Collett's path will get a bit steep, and there is a tendency to drift on offspeed stuff, but there is enough potential offensive impact to the profile that Collett could potentially be a Day 2 type of draft prospect.
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