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College  | Story | 4/25/2018

Quick Take: Kentucky

Photo: Tristan Pompey (UK Athletics)



Quick Take: Florida | College Notebook: Stanford | 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.

See also: Kentucky Quick Take (March 16)


 Kentucky Wildcats

What Happened: Kentucky dropped two of three to No. 1 Florida, losing the first two of the series before winning game three behind an absolute gem from Justin Lewis. The Wildcats struggled to hit Florida's first two starting arms in Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar, and then after doing some damage early on in game three, were shut out for six innings. Kentucky got a solid start from Sean Hjelle and a dominant one from Justin Lewis, but other than that, the pitching was mostly an issue, especially the middle bullpen. 

Carrying Tool: Starting pitching. This was a bit of a tough choice, because not much went Kentucky's way over the weekend, but the fact of the matter that in the vacuum of last weekend, the starting pitching was solid. Sean Hjelle didn't have his best outing but still provided Kentucky with a chance to win the game. Zach Haake only went two innings in his start on a planned pen day, but was dazzling in those two frames. And, of course, Kentucky got the gem of a start from Justin Lewis on Saturday.  

Concerns: Streaky offense and suspect pitching depth. The Kentucky offense, at one point the most finely-tuned machine of college baseball, has shown a propensity for going cold at times. Granted, they went cold against two likely first rounders last weekend, but they'll see plenty of first rounders in the SEC tournament and then presumably in a Regional. The pitching depth may be the bigger concern, however, as past their starters and closer Chris Machamer, Kentucky is having some trouble at the moment.

Best Player on the Field: Justin Lewis. Lewis was clearly Kentucky's best performer over the weekend, twirling an eight inning masterpiece to secure Kentucky's only win of the weekend. Lewis went eight innings allowing only a single unearned run on one hit and three walks while striking out 11 Florida Gators. Lewis is viewed at present as a pretty safe Day 2 MLB Draft prospect, and while he won't be the first Wildcat selected, he could be one of many. 

Fearless Forecast: Still a dangerous postseason team. Kentucky got off to such a hot start that, even with their struggles in the SEC, positions them well for a postseason run, especially if they can return to form. They have solid starting pitching and the offense can be prolific, so it's still well within reason to see Kentucky winning a Regional again in 2018. 


Database Player Reports (5):

• Luke Becker
• Trey Dawson
• Zach Haake
• Sean Hjelle
• Tristan Pompey

Prospect Spotlight: Tristan Pompey, OF

Once he returned from a minor early season injury Tristan Pompey has helped set the tone for Kentucky, hitting out of the leadoff slot and having a good offensive season. As of this writing, he's slashing .331/.431/.554, leading the team in doubles and showing solid pull-side home run power. 

Pompey is a lithely built athlete who is easy to dream on, physically. He's strong now but could hold more strength on his frame, and with that physical projection comes significant power projection as well. Pompey's calling card is his offensive profile, a switch-hitter with power from both sides. He has plenty of bat speed and when he gets the ball into the air he does a very good job of driving it. There's looseness to the hands and he shows a solid approach as well, though there is some swing-and-miss to his game. If you believe in the projection, it's well within reason to see Pompey with plus raw power from both sides of the plate to go along with enough hit-ability to get to that power in game scenarios. 

Pompey is a solid athlete who is likely best suited for left field at the professional level, which is where he plays for Kentucky now. He's a solid athlete in a vacuum but doesn't seem to always read the ball well off the bat in the outfield, and is a bit slow into his jumps as a result. His arm also makes left field, or potentially even first base, his likely long-term defensive homes. 

Pompey slots into the PG draft board in the 2-3 round range right now, though his performance metrics in addition to his TrackMan metrics likely push him up a bit from that. He could hear his name called in the comp round range, though the second round seems more likely at this point.


Prospect Spotlight: Luke Becker, 2B

Kentucky's starting second baseman and likely their most consistent offensive performer this year, senior Luke Becker, originally a junior college transfer from North Iowa Area, has had a very good year and now looks like a for sure MLB Draft choice. Becker is slashing .313/.446/.507, leading the team in OBP and stolen bases while also contributing to the Kentucky power surge with 16 extra-base hits. 

There's no standout tool to Becker's profile but he's not overwhelmingly deficient in one area either. He has an idea of how to handle the bat though it's more fringy bat speed combined with an excellent approach (he has walked as much as he has struck out), and he's successful for the most part at working at-bats until he can get a pitch he can drive. He employs the whole field and has solid raw power, which he's able to get to in games to some degree. There's good balance at the plate, and while he's an average runner, he has good instincts on the basepaths and can use them to steal bases. 

Defensively, Becker is fine at second base. There's not the usual plus twitchy athleticism that comes with being a middle infield prospect, but Becker is very fundamentally sound and does a good job anticipating contact, giving him that extra split second of advanced positioning. He has solid footwork and the arm is enough for the position. It would be interesting to see if Becker could play some third base or even left field to give him that extra incentive of versatility. He's likely to be college senior sign when the draft rolls around in June, and one could see him going on Day 2 in that style.
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