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College  | Story  | 5/17/2017

College Spotlight: Week 13

Jheremy Brown      David Rawnsley      Steve Fiorindo     
Photo: Arizona Athletics
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Perfect Game College Player Database

Every week during the 2017 college baseball season we will be pulling at least one report, and corresponding video when available, of a player entered into the College Player Database. All of the reports entered into the database can be found in one, easy-to-find place as linked above, and can also be accessed off of the individual PG player profile pages.

To access all of the reports you will need a College Baseball Ticket (CBT) subscription. To learn more about the CBT and to sign up today please visit this link.





Tim Cate, LHP, Connecticut

Having already seen Connecticut sophomore lefthander Tim Cate a handful of times to this point in his career, all of which he’s impressed in, the start he gave in game one against nationally ranked South Florida may have been his best. The velocity was similar and the command was there, as were the strikeouts and easy plus curveball, but the difference was the consistency of the breaking ball and his ability to go to it at will.

Take a quick glance at Cate and his physicality may not jump out as he’s listed 6-foot, 187-pounds but nothing about his listed measurements prevents Cate from dominating on the mound. With longer limbs on his 6-foot frame Cate generates excellent extension out front and really works over his front side, resulting in solid plane regularly and probably helps his effective velocity as the ball seems to get on hitters quickly. 

And it’s not as though his fastball needs any help as he sat very steadily at 91-92 mph over his entire body of work, touched a handful of 93s, and seemingly got stronger with every passing frame. His fastball is rather true in terms of life and most hard contact resulted from heaters left up in the zone, though that was rarely the case as he finished six hits allowed over seven innings and yielded a single earned run. Once he settled in and harnessed his fastball Cate managed to stay in the lower third of the zone and showed he could locate the pitch to either side of the plate. 

While his fastball command would stray at times and he’d miss up and out to his arm side, Cate’s feel for his curveball was firing on all cylinders from the opening frame. It’s true hammer with late snap in the 81-84 mph range and could quite possibly be the best curveball in all the nation. The shape and ability to miss bats (over 15 swings-and-misses on the day) was certainly noted though it was the comfort and ability to go to the pitch in any count that truly stood out. Righthanded batter or lefty, 3-0 count or 0-2, it didn’t matter as Cate was locating and could do so back-to-back pitches, freezing some USF hitters which as a unit was hitting .306 heading into the series. 

After leaving an 87 mph changeup up in the zone which resulted in extra bases early in the contest Cate quickly scrapped the pitch, though he’s shown flashes with it in the past, giving him a full three-pitch arsenal. 

He still has another year left on campus yet scouts are fully aware of Cate who will certainly be a priority for them next spring. The ease of which he generates his high end stuff as well as the ability to carry it has already resulted multiple double digit performances during his two years at Storrs, though Friday was his first time notching 14, a new career high.

Other Connecticut players added to College Player Database:

• Mason Feole
• Wills Montgomerie
• Zac Susi
• John Russell
• Ryan Radue
• P.J. Poulin





Shane McClanahan, LHP, South Florida

Electric. I wrote that in all capitals letters in my notes while watching McClanahan on the mound as it truly is the best way to describe his left arm and what he produces with it. A redshirt-freshman who is collecting strikeouts by the handful in what’s his first season of college baseball, McClanahan has already established himself on scout’s radar for next spring and helped make Storrs, Connecticut the epicenter of lefthanded prospects Friday afternoon along with UConn’s Tim Cate and Mason Feole.

If you were to draw up a frame for a pitching prospect odds are it’d be similar to what McClanahan shows while standing on the rubber; broad, angular shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist with longer limbs and plenty of room to fill. He’s also the rare case where he looks taller than what’s listed in the program, looking close to 6-foot-3 than 6-foot-1.

McClanahan had gained some steam through his senior season of high school before he required surgery, though he’s back now and stronger than prior to the injury. His delivery is simple with a measured leg lift and slight hip turn before showing an extremely fast left arm which produced an electric fastball. 

The first pitch registered at 95 mph, followed by a 94 and a 96, ultimately setting the tone as he sat within the 93-96 mph range over his six innings and was predominately 94-95 as he opened the seventh. His command wasn’t quite as sharp as I saw opening weekend against Iowa as he struggled early to find a consistent release point, though once he did he was able to cruise a bit. 

He’s able to create some angle with his release point and he can challenge righthanded hitters on the inner half at will, something you don’t often see in young pitchers. Another thing you don’t see? Broken BBCOR bats but in the first inning McClanahan was able to do just that with a 95 mph in on the hands of Isaac Feldstein, a righthanded hitter for UConn. Working to the corners is key for McClanahan as hitters appeared to see the ball and could get to the pitch located up and over the middle of the plate, unlike when he located east and west on the plate. 

It took the young lefthander a couple attempts at his changeup before he found his release point and feel for the pitch, but once he did it showed true above average potential and should develop into a quality out pitch. At its best the pitch crossed the plate at 87-88 mph with the same fast arm stroke and offered late diving life, leaving the hitter with no chance at making contact. With how hard McClanahan throws and his ability to maintain the velocity, if he can establish his changeup early in an outing it simply wouldn’t be fair for opposing hitters, though that already seems to be the case with his .190 batting average against. 

His slider shows the makings of a quality third pitch and is thrown in the low-80s with tight rotation, though like in my first look, he worked mostly fastball/changeup. 

McClanahan has all the pieces to develop and become a premier draft pick next spring and is quickly developing a reputation as a difficult at-bat and a high-level strikeout pitcher. 

Other South Florida players added to College Player Database:

• Phoenix Sanders
• Peter Strzelecki
• Kevin Merrell
• Garrett Zech
• David Villar
• Ryan Valdes
• Joe Cavallaro


Bailey Ober, RHP, College of Charleston

(David Rawnsley saw Bailey Ober earlier this spring and went back for another look, he's his update)

Ober's pre-injury arm strength is back, as are all his secondary pitches.  Ober threw a masterful two-hitter May 12 against Arizona, one of the top offensive teams in the country, striking out 13 hitters, walking only one and needing only 107 pitches for the complete game. There were really only three quality at-bats all game, fittingly by Arizona's two top hitters, J.J. Matejevic and Nicholas Quintana.

Ober worked a four-seam fastball at 91-94 mph and a two-seamer with big life at 88-90 and showed much sharper life and command of both his slider and changeup throughout the outing. In fact his slider, which wasn't a good pitch when observed last month, was plus at times and Arizona hitters simply didn't recognize the pitch. The 6-foot-9 Ober's severe downhill angle on his release makes the downward movement on his pitches even more effective.

Other College of Charleston players added to College Player Database:

• Logan McRae


J.J. Matijevic, 1b, Arizona

This scout saw Matijevic about 20-25 times when he was in high school and the first thing that stands out on seeing him for the first time in three years was that he had a different body. The teenage Matijevic had some thickness to him, strong thickness no doubt, but still thickness which didn't help his athleticism. The 21-year old Matijevic is probably 10-15 pounds lighter and hard body cut.  He's obviously worked very hard to get stronger and build his athleticism.

The big similarity between then and now is that Matejevic's bat has always been his best tool and he hits pretty much with the same style and approach four and five years ago. He has very quick hands and plus bat speed, with an aggressive approach that can both turn on balls with authority and drive them to the opposite field as well. He will get around balls at times, just as he did in high school, but was generally very well timed up in the two games observed.

One of those was against College of Charleston's Bailey Ober showing second-third round stuff while throwing a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Matijevic was on Ober all night, with a top spun line drive home run to right centerfield, a hard ground ball down the line that the first baseman nabbed to prevent a double and a medium deep fly ball.

The problem scouts will have is Matijevic's profile as a six-foot first baseman.  He has played some third and second base in the past but is a below average runner with below average arm strength. Left field would be the only realistic possibility. But Matijevic's very advanced hit tool and his average to plus projected power should carry him past those initial concerns.

Other Arizona players added to College Player Database:

• Nicholas Quintana
• JC Cloney
• Cody Deason




Connor Seabold, rhp, Cal State Fullerton

Connor Seabold will grab your attention as he step onto the mount sporting a solid frame for a pitcher, standing at 6-foot-3, 190-pounds. He took the ball against UC Santa Barbara and went to work, starting his delivery with a high leg kick (think Bronson Arroyo) while gathering and showing solid balance over the rubber before driving on line towards the plate.

The righthanded junior saw his fastball work comfortably in the 89-92 mph range, touching 93s throughout his outing. He did a nice job of maintaining his velocity late into the outing, still bumping several 92s and 93s into his 7th inning of work. The command wasn’t there early on for Seabold as he made a few mistakes over the plate, resulting in three balls going over the fence. Once Fullerton tied things back up in the third Seabold seemed to make an adjustment, working on top of the ball while generating downhill plane.

In return, the command was much better and he was able to cruise through the 7th inning  and didn't allow a hit after the 3rd and struck out five of his six in one stretch. The fastball showed more running life on arm side half of plate and would tend flatten out up and out over plate. His breaking ball was inconsistent showing more like a true curveball at times, but would also get on the side at higher velocities, changing the shape. The pitch ranged anywhere from 76 to 81 mph, though it is truly one pitch with an inconsistent hand position. Rounding out his four-pitch mix is his changeup at 80-82 mph that showed fade and sink down in the zone and a splitter at 85-86 mph, though he exhibited more feel and comfort with the changeup.  

Other Cal State Fullerton players added to College Player Database:

• Scott Hurst
• Timmy Richards




Austin Bush, 1b, UC Santa Barbara

The moment Austin Bush digs into the batter's box you're going to notice him as he stands 6-foot-6, 265-pounds, creating a presence like that of a taller Matt Adams. The bat is the calling card as he projects to stay at first base but the power is very easy, even to the deepest parts of the field. While he can launch them in batting practice, he can go deep in games too just as he did against Cal State Fullerton to deep right-center field and did the same in a look against UC Riverside too.  The lefthanded hitting Bush lofts balls with ease and simultaneously generates backspin with big carry off the barrel of the bat.  He implements an all-fields approach and showed ability to go with the pitch as he lofted one outer half pitch to the wall in left field.  Lefthanded power is his calling card and though there's some swing and miss to the profile, the power is for real. 

Other UC Santa Barbara players added to College Player Database:

• Kyle Nelson
• Steve Ledesma
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