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College  | Story  | 6/13/2018

Vaughn leads '18 college awards

Patrick Ebert     
Photo: Andrew Vaughn (Cal Athletics)



Super Regional Recap/CWS Field Set | College Top 25
Players/Pitchers of the Week | College Player Database


2018 Perfect Game/Rawlings Player of the Year:
Andrew Vaughn, California

Andrew Vaughn’s collegiate career got off to a big start last season, as the sweet-swinging first baseman hit .349 with 12 homers and 50 RBI on his way to being named a PG/Rawlings First Team Freshman All-American. As part of that season he was named the Player of the Week once, hitting a pair of walk-off home runs in Cal’s series against USC. He also finished among the Pac-12 leaders in almost every notable offensive category, which included tying for the league lead in home runs with teammate Denis Karas with 12.

That led to an appearance with the Team USA’s Collegiate National Team prior to being named a Preseason All-American to open the 2018 season. A fast start to the year led to more honors, being placed on the Midseason All-American team before ultimately being named the 2018 Perfect Game/Rawlings College Baseball Player of the Year.

Vaughn is going to need to invest in a larger trophy case as he has already been named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and is one of four finalists for the USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award. Plus, he’s only a sophomore with at least one more year in school remaining.

The numbers speak for themselves, as Vaughn had the most impressive individual season at the plate of any player in college baseball. He slashed .402/.531/.819 with 23 home runs and 63 RBI. He had more home runs than he did strikeouts, as he only whiffed 18 times in 54 games played this year.

Each of his triple slash category statistics, as well as his 163 total bases, led the Pac-12 and were among the overall national leaders, and he was remarkably consistent over the course of the regular season.

“For me it’s staying simple and staying consistent speaking to my approach," Vaughn said in a recent phone interview with Perfect Game. "I had a pretty good last year during my freshman year as to what I was going to do at the plate and I fine-tuned some things coming out of the summer and coming out of the fall going into the spring. I think that helped me and kept my on my path of success hitting college pitching.”

The Cal Bears finished the season 32-22 but were left out of postseason play by the selection committee despite having series wins over postseason participants UCLA and Washington in addition to a sweep over Arizona. This season was Cal’s first moving on from long-time head coach David Esquer, who is now at Stanford, as Vaughn is anxious to get a taste for the NCAA posteason instead of just playing spoiler.

For the rest of this summer Vaughn is already on his way to the East Coast where he will play in the Cape Cod League prior to a second stint with the Collegiate National Team. His overall goals are as simple as his approach at the plate, with an increased focus on making himself better, and his team as a result.

”I think we’re all a little disappointed we got snubbed from the postseason,” Vaughn said of his focus. "We didn’t have the season we really wanted to so I think next year going in we want some things to fall in place as a team and make it to the playoffs. I don’t want to go three years with not making it, so I’d say we’re going to go balls to the wall and make it to the postseason.”

Here is Britt Smith’s scouting report, with video, on Vaughn from the 2018 Frisco College Classic in early March of this year:



Coming into the Frisco College Classic, Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn had posted video game-like numbers through the Bears’ first seven games. Sporting a .542 average (13-for-24 with 12 runs scored and driving in another 14, it is hard to imagine that he could maintain this torrid pace. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound sophomore showed where the foundation for those numbers was laid with a solid mix of plate discipline, a short and compact swing, plus the bat speed and strength to accompany it.

Vaughn is impressive with his approach at the plate and the barrel-to-ball skills that allow him to routinely drive balls to all parts of the park. He shows present power in a swing that generates slight lift and he has the ability to drive the ball out of the park with pull-side power. Vaughn consistently had loud barrel contact and even though many hard-hit balls were lined directly to well-positioned outfielders, he still managed to post a 4-for-11 weekend at the plate.

Although his bat is the calling card of his game, he is a truly capable defender at first base. Vaughn made difficult plays around the bag look extremely routine on many occasions throughout the tournament. Whether scooping low throws in the dirt, adjusting to errant throws and applying tags or even starting and completing difficult doubleplays, he showed he is not just a hitter that was inserted at first to get his bat in the lineup. There are many things to like about Vaughn’s overall skill-set and with another year before he becomes draft eligible, he should only continue to improve.


2018 Perfect Game/Rawlings Pitcher of the Year:
Nick Sandlin, Southern Mississippi

Sandlin’s overall success wasn’t a surprise considering he opened the year as a First Team Preseason All-American, a side-arming 5-foot-11 righthander who was coming off of a huge sophomore season for Southern Miss that included going 10-2 with a 2.38 ERA and a 80-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 56 2/3 innings of work.

However, he posted those numbers serving as the team’s bullpen ace, a role he was expected to continue into this season until it was determined that he would get the starting nod to open the 2018 season in a tough opening day assignment against then 25th-ranked Mississippi State.

In that game he tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just four base hits while striking out nine and he never looked back.

Sandlin was a regular candidate for the Perfect Game and Rawlings Pitcher of the Week honor, something he accomplished once (March 20) during the regular season after he struck out 14 UTSA batters over seven innings, something he also did against UT Martin in his second start of the year.  He recorded three complete game shutouts, two of which came against UAB, and one of those was in the Conference USA Tournament. He added another dominant postseason outing against Dallas Baptist, tossing seven shutout innings in his final game of the year, to move to 10-0.

In nine of his starts he recorded double-digit strikeouts. In five of his outings he didn’t walk a batter. In total he posted a 1.06 ERA in 15 starts, allowing just 55 hits and 18 walks in 102 1/3 innings with 144 strikeouts and a .155 batting average against.

His 1.06 ERA was the best in the nation among those that qualified and he also finished among the national leaders in wins and strikeouts as the most consistently dominant starting pitcher during the 2018 season.

Here’s a look at his report from Vinnie Cervino in early May after his complete game shutout during the regular season over UAB:



Sandlin immediately stands out on the mound, in part due to his unorthodox mechanics. The delivery is athletic and quick paced, but the arm path is long and loose and culminates in a sidearm release angle. This allows Sandlin to get a ton of arm-side run and sink on the fastball that was his go-to pitch from the onset of the performance. Sandlin's arm slot was also incredibly difficult on righthanded hitters as it created a really tough entry angle into the strike zone. The righthanded pitcher sat 90-94 mph throughout the duration of the start, and, from this scout's view, the pitch looked impossible to lift, resulting in a lot of ground balls that hitters swung on top of when Sandlin wasn't missing bats.

The fastball was the primary pitch in Sandlin's arsenal, however it wasn't his only one as both the slider and changeup were both effective and both flashed average or better on the evening. The slider was the better of the two pitches in the 80-83 mph range with sharp, horizontal break that could both be thrown for strikes and used to elicit swings-and-misses. The pitch was incredibly deceptive as the late break left hitters fooled when Sandlin chose to front-door righthanded hitters with the pitch … the changeup was mostly used as a neutralizing factor against lefthanded hitters and although Sandlin slowed some on the pitch, but showed good sinking life in the 81-83 mph range. This gives Sandlin three capable pitches at the professional level and would profile nicely as a starter at the next level.

Although Southern Miss’ season didn’t continue past the Regional round, Sandlin was drafted in the second round by the Cleveland Indians in the 2018 MLB Draft. Given Sandlin’s arm slot there remains some debate as to where he will ultimately be used as a professional, both now and looking ahead to the future, but his low-90s heat, ability to throw strikes and overall polish should allow him to advance quickly towards the big leagues.


2018 Perfect Game/Rawlings Freshman of the Year:
Spencer Torkelson, Arizona State

When your name is associated with Barry Bonds you know you’re in pretty special company. Arizona State freshman Spencer Torkelson broke Bonds’ freshman home run record of 11, set in 1983, on March 29 against Washington State with his 12th blast of the year. He added 13 more, finishing with an NCAA-leading 25, while slashing .320/.440/.743 with 59 runs scored, 53 RBI and 153 total bases, which was tied with Gage Canning for the team lead.

The 25 home runs were just two short of Mitch Jones’ single-season ASU record of 27 set back in 2000. His .743 slugging was third-best in the nation, behind only Illnois’ Bren Spillane and National Player of the Year Andrew Vaughn.

And in Pac-12 games Torkelson finished on top in four significant offensive categories, even ahead of Vaughn: slugging (.754), runs scored (38), total bases (86) and home runs (14). All of this made Torkelson an easy choice for the 2018 PG/Rawlings Freshman of the Year honor.

Perfect Game’s Jheremy Brown had the opportunity to see Torkelson late in the season and here’s the scouting report that was filed from that viewing:



Physically impressive and strongly built at 6-foot-1, 205-pounds, Torkelson knows how to put that strength to use, and with a single swing in batting practice he can demand the attention of everybody in Phoenix Municipal Stadium. His swing is simple yet balanced with few moving parts and extremely strong hands which help impact the baseball, something he did time and time again throughout his round of BP, yielding easy plus raw power, and it’s a tool that clearly has proven to play in live action as well.

Torkelson’s power plays well to all fields and he did a nice job taking pitches, drawing 38 walks on the year as compared to his 44 strikeouts. He accrued three multi-home run games during the season and went deep in back-to-back games six different times, including a three-game stretch against Arizona during the second to last weekend of the regular season.

Throughout the year Torkelson played both left field and first base for head coach Tracy Smith, and while he likely profiles as a first baseman for the Devils, there’s enough athleticism for left field at the next level. He moves well on his feet, both on the bases and around the bag, showing sound quickness along with a strong arm and soft hands out front, all attributes that will only continue to develop with additional reps.


2018 Perfect Game/Rawlings Coach of the Year:
Gary Henderson, Mississippi State

Mississippi State entered the year ranked 25th with growing aspirations for a team that could at the very least match their two Super Regional appearances from 2016 and 2017. The program was in the middle of a significant stadium upgrade with seemingly limitless funds supporting a team that had always enjoyed success but hadn’t been to the College World Series since the 2013 season while being guided by a enthusiastic young coach in Andy Cannizaro that led many to believe a dynasty was being built in Starkville, Mississippi.

Cannizaro had since surrounded himself with two very capable assistants, long-time coach Gary Henderson who had experience at Kentucky, Oregon State and Florida with a background in both pitching and recruiting, as well as former Tulane star Jake Gautreau, who was brought on board to guide the hitters while serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator.

When the season started things immediately got off to a rough start. The team traveled to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on another team with significant postseason expectations, Southern Miss, and promptly lost the first game 11-0. They proceeded to lose the next two games as well leading to the opening series sweep and within days coach Cannizaro left the program due after well-documented matters best defined as “off-the-field” issues that involved his personal life as much as his professional one and forced him to resign.

Given his coaching experience, Henderson took over as the interim skipper, and leading up to conference play the team seemed to right the ship, somewhat, winning 10 of 14 games which included a 3-0 showing at the Shriners College Classic in Houston with wins over Louisiana, Houston and Sam Houston State.

Once SEC play opened they were once again swept, this time at the hands of Vanderbilt, at home in Starkville. They followed that with road series losses to Missouri and LSU and finished the month of March with a very lackluster 14-12 overall record, which included a near-unacceptable 2-7 SEC mark.

When April arrived so did MSU’s in-state and SEC rivals, Ole Miss, a series Mississippi State won thanks to a walk-off two-run home run by Luke Alexander in the 11th inning of Game 3. That blast seemed to turn the team’s season around, and it also seemed to set the tone for what was yet to come.

While they did lose series to Auburn, Texas A&M and Kentucky they swept the SEC’s two toughest teams in Arkansas and Florida, finishing the regular season back at even with a 15-15 SEC record. Their journey in the SEC Tournament didn’t last long, losing their one-game play-in contest against LSU, but from there the magic re-appeared, capturing a huge, unlikely win over Florida State thanks to a three-run Elijah MacNamee home run after a two-and-a-half hour rain delay prior to eliminating the other two teams in the Tallahassee Regional, Samford and Oklahoma.

In the Super Regional round Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt in Nashville in their best-of-three matchup, avenging their opening SEC series sweep from earlier in the year, and now head to Omaha for their 10th appearance in the College World Series while looking for their first national championship.

Holding the team together that entire time was Coach Henderson.  Henderson was hired two years ago, in June of 2016, after spending eight years as Kentucky’s head coach. He has always had a knack for getting the most out of his pitchers, helping to set the foundation for Oregon State's back-to-back CWS title teams in 2006 and 2007, even if he had left for Kentucky by then. He also served as an assistant with Florida prior to his time at Oregon State, which included a pair of visits to the College World Series.

It’s safe to say that Henderson has been around the block a few times, and certainly the team leaned on his presence to get them through some difficult times while staying focused on the ultimate prize. He has done a masterful job managing his pitching staff during the postseason and heads to Omaha for not only another opportunity to win yet another championship, but also a shot to prove himself as worthy to take over as the full-time head coach for the Bulldogs.


Here is the full list of the 2018 Perfect Game Rawlings College Player and Pitcher of the Week:
Date Player of the Week Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 20 Trevor Larnach, Oregon State Nolan Kingham, Texas
Feb. 27 Brett Kinneman, NC State Joe DeMers, Washington
March 6 Luke Heyer, Kentucky Aaron Hernandez, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
March 13 Troy Squires, Kentucky Casey Mize, Auburn
March 20 Gage Canning, Arizona State Nick Sandlin, Southern Miss
March 27 Griffin Helms, Kennesaw State Hunter Parsons, Maryland
April 3 Seth Beer, Clemson Colton Eastman, Cal State Fullerton
April 10 Nick Gatewood, Georgia State Scotty Sunitsch, Washington State
April 17 Ross Haffey, Miami (Ohio) Noah Zavolas, Harvard
April 24 Josh Jung, Texas Tech Cody Bradford, Baylor
May 1 Alex Holderbach, Eastern Kentucky Connor Thomas, Georgia Tech
May 8 Will Matthiessen, Stanford Casey Mize, Auburn
May 15 Will Watson, Maryland Logan Allen, Florida International
May 22 Jeremy Ydens, UCLA Ross Learnard, Purdue
May 28 Zach Biermann, Coastal Carolina John Doxakis, Texas A&M
June 5 Elijah MacNamee, Mississippi State Jack Perkins, Stetson
June 11 Kody Clemens, Texas Michael Byrne, Florida



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