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College  | Story  | 3/22/2019

College Notes: Florida State

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Drew Mendoza (Larry Novey)

College Notes: March 20 | College Player Database


Player covered: Drew Mendoza, Nander De Sedas, Elijah Cabell, Robby Martin, JC Flowers.




Drew Mendoza
Mendoza was one of the biggest prep names from the class of 2016 to end up in college as the Lake Minneola native was ranked No. 10 in his class and was a PG All-American leading up to his senior season of high school. Mendoza has filled out his frame considerably since his prep days and stands at a very strong 6-foot-5, 230-pounds and has put together a fairly successful career at Florida State. Through his first two seasons he has showed big power from the left side of the plate and generally is a feared hitter in the middle of the Seminoles' lineup. 

The lefthanded slugger has an immense frame as he's filled out significantly since his high school days. Many scouts projected massive raw power in Mendoza's future and he appears to have fulfilled that as the BP was a bit inconsistent but he was effortlessly crushing balls deep to the pull side grading out with plus-plus raw power. This doesn't play as 70-grade game power due to some swing-and-miss concerns, but the raw power gives a glimpse at what the potential could be. 

Mendoza's filling out has left him with some reduced athleticism from his prep days as some scouts are skeptical of his future defensive home at the next level. He's a bit stiff through the lower half with not quite the range you would hope for over at the hot corner, but the arm grades out as average on the Major League scale. Regardless of his defensive home, the bat and overall offensive profile will ultimately carry his draft stock. 

When scouts talk about a classic, smooth lefthanded stroke, Mendoza's swing is almost immediately what comes to mind. There's incredible balance at the plate with natural, easy bat speed and little wasted moving parts. There's exceptional natural loft and everything about the swing from the all-fields carry, loft and quietness is about picturesque from a hitting prospect. There have been some swing-and-miss concerns, as noted, but that isn't necessarily due to poor pitch recognition. In fact, Mendoza's pitch recognition is impressive as he can recognize spin and sometimes he'll just be overly aggressive at the plate and over-swing. That pitch recognition is exemplified by the fact that he has almost doubled his career walk rate at Florida State while maintaining his career average strikeout rate. 

The power, production and prospect notoriety all lean toward Mendoza being a day one selection this June in the MLB draft; he's already hitting above .300 and is on pace to post career highs in home runs and walks while having more walks than strikeouts on the season. There is clear improvement in terms of pitch recognition, albeit with first base risk defensively, but he has a chance to have impact power in the middle of the order for a professional team in the near future.


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