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College  | Story  | 5/31/2017

College Spotlight: SEC Tourney

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Florida 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.




Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida

At this point in the spring season, most scouts within MLB organizations are doing their final evaluations of players as the draft is about two weeks away at this point. No player had more scouts in attendance thus far during the SEC Tournament than probable first-round pick Alex Faedo. 

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s ace got the nod in the Gators’ first game of the SEC Tournament against Auburn, who was riding high after the one-run victory against Ole Miss the night prior. 

Faedo has the ideal frame and build for a workhorse starting pitching prospect as he’s 6-foot-5, 220-pounds with strength throughout the frame. 

The book on Faedo is well-known to this point: the fastball is going to work in the 90-93 mph range but he’s primarily going to pitch off his slider, which is one of the best in the class and often shows as a plus offering. 

Faedo showed that sharp slider early on as it worked in the 83-85 mph range and flashed sharp break with downward tilting action. Judging from pitch selection, it seems that the slider is the pitch Faedo has the most confidence as he throws it often and can throw for strikes or down in the dirt for chases. 

One interesting development in the overall subtext that is the profile of Faedo was his willingness to go to the changeup against Auburn. The pitch worked in the upper-80s, topping out at a hard 88 mph with very short life downward. The changeup looked straight at times but Faedo did a good job locating the pitch either at the bottom of the strike zone or further down below, as to not let mistakes be hit hard. 

The fastball was it’s typical self as he worked almost exclusively 92-93 mph for the first few innings, he hit 94 mph and 95 mph one time apiece per this scout’s radar gun, and settled into a 90-93 mph range. He was able to draw swings and misses on the pitch when he ran it up in the zone as Auburn hitters couldn’t lay off it. 

Faedo had some hard luck hits off him as well as a fair share of smoked baseballs. In total, he allowed six hits on the ledger with both an earned and unearned run crossing the plate during his outing. Faedo has a strong resume, which when coupled with the quality of his arsenal, is a very strong candidate to be one of the first college pitchers selected in mid-June. 

Other Florida players added to College Player Database:

• JJ Schwarz




Evan White, 1B, Kentucky

One of the most versatile and athletic players in this year’s draft class is Kentucky first baseman Evan White. The first baseman is a very advanced athlete with a very smooth swing and positional projection that is favorable at the next level.

White’s athleticism is what will be talked about the most heading up to draft day and it is legitimately impressive. Easily the most impressive athlete at first base, White projects well in the outfield with some scouts even thinking he can play a passable centerfield. 

If he doesn’t make the transition to the outfield then teams will certainly be happy with his defense at first base. White is a plus defender at first with excellent footwork, giving him the ability to adjust depending on where the incoming throw is located. 

White’s athleticism translates well in the batter’s box and his run times on the bases. He only has four steals on the year but his times to first indicate that he is potentially a plus runner. This scout clocked him at 4.18 seconds to first base from the right side and 4.4 seconds to first base on the turn. 

The Ohio native has a remarkably smooth swing from the right side with pretty impressive bat-to-ball skills as well. White will occasionally chase out of the strike zone but he has a high contact rate and is very good at hitting line drives. The approach echoes the results as it is a line drive oriented approach with about average power at this stage of his development. 

He does have the ability to hit home runs but the approach is not oriented towards out-of-the-park power. The raw power is in the frame and though he has yet been able to consistently tap into that during games, teams have certainly noticed that the potential is there.

White projects to be selected in the back end of the first round come the MLB draft next month. He should be one of the first college bats taken and although he may not be the first college first baseman selected, Virginia’s Pavin Smith certainly has an argument, he may not even end up being a first baseman long term.

Other Kentucky players added to College Player Database:

• Tristan Pompey
• Christopher Machamer



Cason Sherrod, RHP, Texas A&M

The power-armed righthander threw out of the bullpen for Texas A&M in a losing effort during an outing that was shortened by rain in the Hoover area. Sherrod brings a power fastball with developing off speed pitches to the table and MLB teams have certainly taken notice.

What immediately jumps out about Sherrod is the pure physicality he possesses on the mound. The righthander is a remarkably strong 6-foot-4, 215-pounds of what appears to be pure muscle. The delivery comes out of an exclusive stretch that features a leg lift crossing his backside and leading down the mound as his hips carry him along.

The arm action features a complete circle with above average arm speed through the back. His right arm propels quickly through the arm circle and adds explosiveness to his fastball.

The fastball was Sherrod’s go-to pitch on the afternoon and sat comfortably in the 92-95 mph range. The pitch had late arm side run that worked well to front-door lefthanded hitters over the inner half and would also leak out of the zone to induce swings and misses.

Sherrod did not have his best stuff on Tuesday afternoon, and not many pitchers in the game did as it featured nineteen combined runs. He showed a short breaking ball in the low-80s that he only threw a handful of times. 



Carlos Cortes, OF, South Carolina

Former Perfect Game All-American and current freshman for the South Carolina Gamecocks, Carlos Cortes has seemingly had his national coming out party in Hoover this week. Perfect Game has had the pleasure of seeing Cortes perform during his high school years and right now he is one of the hottest hitters in the country. 

Right off the bat there are two concerns with Cortes: he’s undersized and no one knows what position he is best suited for. He is ambidextrous, a trait which allowed him to play the infield, the outfield, and even catch as a prep. 

Currently he resides in left field, or as the designated hitter, where he has shown marked improvements as he gets more comfortable in the corner spot. Over the course of the tournament he has shown a keen awareness for his surroundings, has made running catches just in front of the wall as well as diving catches coming in. It will likely take some time but he can be at least an average defender in left field, if not more as he continues to increase his comfort level out there. 

The calling card of Cortes’ profile is his advanced hit tool. The swing itself is fluid with excellent handling of the barrel throughout the strike zone and when he swings the bat he has intent behind it. 

The control of the barrel allows him to hit the ball squarely to all fields and to hit with power to the pull side. Through three games he already has three home runs. The first home run came off a curveball from Matt Ruppenthal, regarded as at least an above average pitch, and the last came off a 95 mph fastball from Bryce Montes De Oca. The second one, however, was the farthest of the tournament up to that point and went entirely out of the Hoover Met and into the surrounding forest. 

Cortes also has shown excellent overall knowledge of the strike zone with solid plate discipline. There is some swing and miss, particularly with breaking balls out of the strike zone, but he does not miss pitches inside the strike zone, especially those he can open up on and drive out of the park. Cortes has already walked eight times through only three games.

Cortes’ combination of bat speed along with his advanced approach make him an outstanding prospect at the plate. The speed is slightly below MLB average, timed around 4.4 seconds to first from the left side, but currently the hit tool is on the short list for tops among the 2018 draft class.

Other South Carolina players added to College Player Database:

• Wil Crowe
• Tyler Johnson
• Alex Destino




Brent Rooker, 1B/OF, Mississippi State 

The SEC player of the year and potential SEC triple crown winner as well as Golden Spikes award winner all are titles prescribed to Mississippi State’s Brent Rooker. The righthanded slugger is enjoying an outstanding season at the plate and has been surging up MLB draft boards as well. 

Rooker is an extraordinarily athletic 6-foot-4, 220-pounds with plenty of size and present physicality on the frame. Rooker’s athleticism is a key factor here as the team that drafts him will likely move him to a corner outfield spot in professional baseball. The build is very strong with long legs to boot.

Rooker is very quiet and reserved at the plate, only in terms of the stance leading up to the swing. He stands closed and narrow, almost hunched over at times. There is an element of bat waggle along with his entire body initially rocking back and forth to keep with his timing. But as the pitch is delivered he has a toe tap stride into contact as the bat head shoots directly up.

The swing is short and compact with a direct path to the point of contact. He generates very good bat speed and the swing has natural loft. He will occasionally leverage the ball to the pull side and this has allowed him to generate good pull-side power that helps get some extra carry on the ball as well.

The approach is generally straight forward: he wants to hit the ball hard and hit the ball into the air. Rooker has quick hands and the loft in the swing allows for him to hit the ball in the air. The barrel control is noticeable as well and allows him to quickly change gears depending on the pitch type. 

Rooker’s approach changes noticeably when there are two-strikes on him. There is less violence in the swing and he is more willing to shoot the ball to the opposite field for base hits as opposed to a power-oriented swing. 

The season is not close to over for Rooker or his teammates and he still has plenty of time left to make a lasting impression on an already historic season. If it were to end today, his draft position is very likely to end in a much higher place than where it started. 

Other Mississippi State players added to College Player Database:

• Jake Mangum
• Konnor Pilkington




Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn

It’s not often you get to see Auburn’s two aces, Keegan Thompson and Casey Mize, pitch on the same day, much less the same game. However, in a win-or-go-home scenario Head Coach Butch Thompson pulled out all the stops and went to his sophomore sensation Mize in the fourth inning of a two-run ball game. 

Needing only 77 pitches to get through the final six innings, Mize was nothing short of spectacular for the Tigers. Mize is a stout and physical 6-foot-3, 208-pounds and the delivery itself is pretty low effort with a free and easy arm action. Mize is best known for his explosive fastball and it was on full display on Tuesday night.

Looking healthy after battling some injury issues, Mize worked in the 93-96 mph range for the early portion of his outing while topping out at 97 mph a couple times. The fastball velocity held well throughout the entire game as he was still touching 95 mph in the ninth inning. 

Mize was throwing a very easy mid-90s for most of the game with very low effort. Every now and then, when he needed a big pitch, Mize could ramp up the effort and touch the high-90s to blow the pitch by opposing hitters.

He features a deep arsenal with a changeup that showed plus consistently throughout the night and a slider that was just as dangerous of a weapon in his own right. What made the changeup so devastating was the replication of his fastball effort combined with his willingness to go to it early and often in at-bats. 

The pitch sat from 85-88 mph throughout the evening and as the hitter would read the delivery and arm action, thus gearing up for fastball, he’d then receive a mid-80s off speed pitch. The changeup showed excellent fade down and to the arm side and was very effective at garnering swings and misses. If hitters were able to make contact they just rolled over to the pull side. 

The slider was more in the low-80s for the outing but it still flashed late bit down and to the glove side. The pitch made for a complementary part of his three-pitch mix as he often went fastball changeup to opposing hitters. 

Mize has been one of, if not the, top arms for Auburn this entire season and a healthy Mize makes them dangerous come postseason play. He is not eligible to be drafted this year as he’s only a sophomore but Mize will certainly be high on team’s watch lists heading into the 2018 season.

Other Auburn players added to College Player Database:

• Jonah Todd




Tanner Houck, RHP, Missouri

Tanner Houck is one of the more accomplished pitchers in this year’s draft class and he was enjoying a year of a sub-3.00 ERA with a K/9 marginally higher than 9.0 heading into the SEC Tournament. He matched up against Texas A&M and although he showed the tools that make him a potential first-round pick, he struggled with command.

Houck has a large, lanky frame, ideally suited for a starting pitcher at the next level. He uses his long limb length throughout the entire delivery and allows him to generate extension down the mound. 

One of the signatures of Houck’s style of pitching is his unorthodox and deceptive delivery. He lifts his hands high above his head at the same time his front leg is above his belt. Houck then separates into an extremely long and whippy arm action with arm wrap well behind his backside. The delivery is multi-layered and thus creates command issues when he is out of sync with his timing.

His entire body remains closed upon foot strike where he uncoils and fires forward down the mound. The release is from a lower three-quarter arm slot which helps to get run on his fastball and creates the angle of his signature slider. 

The fastball sat 91-94 mph for the afternoon and the pitch showed occasional movement to it as well. There were times where it would show quality sink and run to the arm side and has been a useful weapon for Houck in the past to induce ground balls. 

The aforementioned command issues were Houck’s biggest weakness during his outing against A&M. He threw first strikes to only ten of twenty-four batters faced while walking three and hitting three batters.

Later in the outing he relied heavily on his slider. The pitch flashed plus potential at times and was in the 80-84 range with late tilt down and to the glove side. The pitch garnered easily the most swings and misses of any of his pitches and has been graded out as a plus pitch in the past. 

The issue he had with the slider was that he would choke it at times and not being able to get ahead of hitters led to predictable fastball counts.

This was clearly not Houck’s best outing as a collegiate pitcher, but he has the tools to be a very high draft pick. He also has a very impressive collegiate track record and will be expected to go high in June’s draft.

 Other Missouri players added to College Player Database:

• TJ Sikkema
• Brett Bond
• Trey Harris



Matt Ruppenthal, RHP, Vanderbilt

Ruppenthal was awarded the start in the opening game of the SEC Tournament against South Carolina and showed off a lot of desirable traits during the start, though he ran into a few bumps as well. 

The righthander has an extra-large, intensely physical frame on the mound. His build, combined with his relatively low effort delivery, allows him to maintain his stuff deep into games and although there isn’t much physical projection remaining, there’s no need for additional strength. 

The delivery is pretty simple with an extended leg lift as he strides down the mound. The arm action itself is long and hooked in the back. He repeats well as he gets downhill off the mound consistently and delivery the ball from a high three-quarter arm slot. 

Ruppenthal’s stuff itself had a mix of good and bad against the Gamecocks. His fastball sat in the 89-91 mph range so it is imperative that he locates well with his fastball on both corners of the plate. Traditionally, he’ll get ahead of hitters and finish them off with his curveball that flashes plus. 

The issue that Ruppenthal ran into early was that his command was off and he would leave pitches up in the strike zone. One of those pitches, a hanging 82 mph curveball, was one that former Perfect Game All-American Carlos Cortes deposited over the fence in deep right field. 

However, that might have been the only bad curveball that Ruppenthal threw all game as the pitch was a real asset for him on the mound. The pitch flashed plus during the afternoon and showed tight 11-5 shape with sharp break downward. 

Ruppenthal also mixed in a changeup in the low- to mid-80, another sound offering. It showed about average on the evening and gives him a three-pitch arsenal. He’s been used in all sorts of roles during this spring for the Commodores and on Tuesday the command early in the game is what plagued him. 





Caleb Gilbert, RHP, Louisiana State

Gilbert has primarily been a late inning bullpen option for the Tigers but he received the start against Missouri in LSU’s first game of the SEC Tournament. Gilbert showed a vastly different repertoire and delivery since the last time that Perfect Game had eyes on him. 

For starters, Gilbert threw exclusively out of the stretch during his outing against Missouri. This could be a change to help simplify his mechanics and repeat his delivery more consistently. The arm action and release point still appear similar as he throws from directly over the top instead of a three-quarter slot. 

Gilbert still featured his explosive arm speed as he completed the throwing motion throughout the arm circle very quickly. The fastball was his go-to weapon as he was able to pound the strike zone and only ran into issues when his release point was off. 

The fastball sat in the 93-95 mph range and topped out at 96 mph for the outing. When he would miss it would often be too high or down in the dirt whether he was releasing the ball too late or too early. The fastball had occasional heavy life down in the zone with plane, but often the pitch was straight and was very hittable if left over the heart of the plate. 

Gilbert did not feature a hard slider but instead a softer curveball. The pitch was in the 79-82 mph range and showed 12-6 shape which works well given his arm slot. The curveball had varying degrees of depth to it but he relied mostly on his fastball to get hitters out. 

Other Louisiana State players added to College Player Database:

• Kramer Robertson


Cooper Johnson, C, Mississippi

Ole Miss was eliminated on Tuesday night after being defeated by Auburn, but not before freshman catcher Cooper Johnson put on an absolute clinic in terms of defensive ability.

One of the best prep catching prospects in recent memory, there have been questions about his offense as he was hitting .210 leading into the SEC Tournament, but the defensive value is extraordinary. 

The hitting is not the focus of what Johnson did on Tuesday night, however, as his top of the line defensive ability was on full display. Johnson is extremely athletic and agile behind the dish, showing good lateral agility as well as the instincts and reactions to keep balls in front of him.

The calling card of Johnson’s game is his absolute cannon of a right arm. He boasts elite level arm strength to go along with elite level catch-and-throw skills. Johnson popped a 1.76 to nail an opposing runner trying to take second, which left scouts in the area, including this one, looking as if they had seen a ghost when reading their stopwatches. 

Johnson’s exchange from glove to throwing hand is almost instantaneous and once the ball gets in his right hand, you had better hope you are already standing on the bag. There is a reason that Johnson was ranked in the top 40 for the class of 2016 high school players, and if Johnson can go on to be playable with the bat then watch out as the defensive skill is just that good.

Other Mississippi players added to College Player Database:

• Brady Feigl



Trevor Stephan, RHP, Arkansas

The righthander junior college transfer was a highly coveted prospect following the 2016 campaign as he was taken in the 18th round by the Red Sox. Stephan instead chose to go to Arkansas and has flourished in the weekend rotation all season long. Stephan has put up ridiculous strikeout numbers which totaled at 103 in only 77.2 innings pitched this spring. 

Stephan has an immense physical presence on the mound, coming in at 6-foot-5 and 220-pounds. The athleticism also stands out on the mound as the effort level is very low and he’s able to repeat the delivery rather easily, thanks in part to pitching exclusively out of the stretch and ditching a windup altogether. 

The aforementioned delivery is noticeably so, as there is barely even a trace of head whack despite the fastball arriving in the low- to mid-90s. The arm action is very easy and short which is another aspect that assures Stephan is on time upon release of the pitch.

The deception was a big factor in his success on Thursday as the fastball was able to sneak up on hitters and cause them to be late on the pitch. There is a slight element of crossfire and Stephan hides the ball well which allows the stuff to play up and aids in the deception. 

Stephan used primarily a fastball-slider combination to attack hitters and get out of big jams at times. The fastball sat 91-94 mph the entire outing and touched 95 mph on a couple of surrounding radar guns. The pitch had good life to the arm side and was effective at being used on the inner half of the plate to righthanders to induce weak, ground ball contact. 

The slider flashed above average potential, coming in primarily in the 79-82 mph range with late bite down and to the glove side. The movement on the pitch was very late and this allowed for a good bit of swing and miss with the pitch. The break on the pitch was not necessarily stark in terms of the length of the break, but the timing of the movement was very hard to hit. 

He would, but very rarely, loosen up the spin on the pitch to throw a get-me-over curveball that was in the low-70s. Stephan also showed a couple of changeups, mostly in the 85-86 mph zone with noticeably slower arm speed but did have some tumble to the arm side. 

There were times where Stephan left fastballs in the middle of the plate and he did battle through some early command issues. In the middle innings, it seemed that Stephan settled into a groove and only once had multiple runners on base. He worked himself out of back-to-back two men on, no out jams in the middle innings. The fastball helped him strike out batters to limit the damage as the  perceived velocity was too much to catch up to. 

Stephan has the stuff and repertoire to be drafted as a starting pitcher, but one wonders what he could look like as a high-leverage bullpen piece. Reportedly up to 96 mph this spring, if Stephan were to ramp up the effort level he could, in theory, have a mid- to high-90s fastball with a plus slider. Regardless, Stephan has proven to be a strikeout machine with the stuff to match the numbers.
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