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College  | Story  | 3/28/2018

College Notebook: March 28

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Bobby McDuffie



Perfect Game College Player Database

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.


Travis Swaggerty, OF, South Alabama



One of the top prospects for the 2018 MLB Draft, and currently slated as the No. 5 overall prospect on the Perfect Game Top 250, Travis Swaggerty is an exciting prospect for the South Alabama Jaguars, and although he endured a tough offensive weekend he still showed a bevy of tools that make him what appears to be a slam-dunk top of the draft pick. 

Swaggerty is very strong and athletic, and though the size doesn't appear to be imposing, he packs an offensive punch showing plus raw power during batting practice. The swing itself is almost exactly what you look for when it's time up: there's looseness and fluidty, lots of bat speed, and he incorporates his lower half cleanly and effectively through the point of extension to generate that pop. 

When looking at game tools, Swaggerty shows a variety of 50-grade tools or better. I only recorded one run time, 4.25 seconds, but he has shown to be an above-average runner in the past, while he currently projects as an average defender in centerfield with an average arm. He wasn't tested too often in game, but worked the gaps well and showed off good reads and instincts to track down balls other centerfielders might not have gotten to. 

Swaggerty is currently dealing with what happens when you're a top draft prospect in a non-power 5 conference: you get pitched around and junk-balled to death. While Hunter Gaddis shut down the entire offense on Friday night on Georgia State, Saturday saw Swaggerty out in front a lot against lower-tier velocity. The result was a lot of fly outs to the opposite field and he just looked to be mistimed during the two-game set. 

That said, the offensive profile is very intriguing with a high ceiling. There have been numerous comps to other top-drafted college outfielders (think Benitendi, Dahl, for example) and the tools are explosive at the dish. Plus bat speed and plus raw power plays anywhere in the lineup, and it wouldn't surprise me if this was Swaggerty's only down weekend as the outfielder looks the part as one of college baseball's most exciting position players.

Other South Alabama players added to the PG College Player Database:

• Brendan Donovan
• Dylan Hardy


Hunter Gaddis, RHP, Georgia State



Arguably the top pitcher in the Sun Belt conference, Hunter Gaddis tossed another gem against a potent South Alabama lineup on Friday night. Gaddis went the distance for the Panthers as he tossed a complete game while striking out eight batters and only allowing four hits. 

The righthander has been outstanding for head coach Greg Frady and the Panthers this season and with his two-run complete game, Gaddis adds another stout offensive team to his resume as players he has shut down. He stands at a very lean and still-projectable 6-foot-5, 202-pounds, and reports have had him as high as 96 mph in the past. He was only up to 94 mph in this game but showed excellent pitchability as well as an impressive changeup with above average life. 

Gaddis worked in the 91-94 mph frame in the first inning, presumably amped up for a big Sun Belt matchup, before settling in more of the 88-91 mph range. Gaddis went to the fastball most often, and worked the ball to both sides effectively. The arm stroke is pretty easy and repeatable, and it creates almost sort of a slinging motion with the combination of path to release and arm speed throughout the circle. 

The drop in fastball velocity would have been a bit concerning if not for the fact that he had precise command throughout. Gaddis walked three batters, but most of the batters were down 0-1 or 0-2 almost immediately as he would pepper in fastballs with short sinking life to it. The aforementioned changeup was Gaddis' best pitch on the evening as it showed lots of sinking and running life. The velocity difference was big, as the changeup was anywhere from 74-78 mph, and was thrown with the same conviction as the fastball, which made the swings that much more ahead of the pitch. 

Gaddis showed both a curveball and a slider, the latter of which looked to be the better offering. It currently projects as a fringy pitch at the professional level, but was thrown in the low-80s with short-biting life, albeit mostly horizontal in terms of nature. The curveball showed consistent and prototypical 11-to-5 shape with lots of depth. It worked in the low-70s and Gaddis threw the pitch for strikes well. 

What was the most impressive facet to Gaddis' overall performance was the command and pitchability. He hit all of his spots and was comfortable throwing any pitch to any hitter in any count. With four or more pitches that he can command in the lower third of the strike zone, which is where Gaddis lived all outing, hitters had no clue what was coming. Gaddis showed that he is a definite follow for next year's draft class, and also may be well on his way to Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year honors should he stay hot.

Other Georgia State players added to the PG College Player Database:

• Brandon Bell
• Nick Gatewood
• Justin Jones


Zach Spears, LHP, Miami (Ohio)



A lefthander who, due partially to his size and overall arm strength, has made a fair bit of prospect-noise in the MAC for a few years now. At 6-foot-7, 235-pounds, Spears has outstanding overall physicality and size, and he's built extremely well from top-to-bottom. In his start against Eastern Michigan on March 24, Spears was very good, holding the EMU offense scoreless over seven strong frames, allowing five hits and four walks while striking out six. He's definitely a draft candidate at this point but it remains to be seen how strong of one. 

The delivery itself is very crossfire, with a stride towards the lefthanded hitters' box and a closed landing. There's some effort to get over the front side as a result, and he struggles to command the ball to his glove side. The arm action isn't bad, it's a bit lengthy through the back but he never gets his elbow above his shoulder and is on time at foot strike. He throws from an extended three-quarters slot though the release did drift a bit over the course of the game, and he does a good job creating excellent angle to the plate. 

The fastball is pretty straight, but the angle helps, and when he's down in the zone with it it's a tough pitch to square up. He worked in the 88-91 mph range for the majority of his outing, holding that velocity well. He has been up to 93-94 mph in the past, and the fact that it was maybe 40 degrees during this outing likely explains the small velocity dip. He mixed in a pair of breaking balls, neither of which were average. The curveball is thrown in the mid- to upper-70s with 2-to-8 slurvy shape, showing the ability to land it over the plate for a strike pretty consistently in the 35-40 range on the 20-80 scouting scale. He also mixed in a cut-slider in the low-80s that didn't really do all that much but was successful at stealing strikes over the arm-side edge of the plate. 

Overall, Spears has the size, arm strength and angle to definitely figure into the MLB Draft. He's going to be a Day 3 prospect on the PG draft board, probably somewhere in the 14-17 round range. If the velo ticks back up as the Midwest warms up, there could be some consideration for a higher slot.


Jeremy Pena, SS, Maine



Pena, a junior shortstop for the Black Bears, is a highly talented player and showed that all series vs the Ohio Bobcats in late February at the LakePoint complex in Georgia. He provided six hits in 17 at-bats with a deep home run to left field to begin the series. Pena provides very clean and smooth, fluid actions in the field. He shows the ability to throw from all angles, and on the run. He flashed soft hands and funnels the ball in nicely. His ability to read hops and his range was spectacular and consistently showed why he is high on the scouting radar.

At the plate he impressed in every at-bat, showing good barrel feel and control. He does not get cheated and won't miss fastballs early in the count. Pena has quick hands and good bat speed, with good extension through the ball. In BP Pena displayed some raw power to all fields with the ability to really drive the ball. In game action he hustled out of the box to try and stretch routine singles into doubles while really putting pressure on the opposing defense. He will be getting a lot of attention all spring and shows the ability of being called very early in the 2018 MLB Draft.
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