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College  | Story  | 2/13/2019

2019 College Ball: Staff Picks

Patrick Ebert      Mike Rooney      Jheremy Brown      Vincent Cervino      Greg Gerard     
Photo: Antoine Duplantis (LSU Athletics)




Preseason College Top 25 | Preseason All-American Team | 2019 College Baseball Preview Index

With the 2019 college baseball season set to begin on Friday, Patrick Ebert, Mike Rooney, Vinnie Cervino, Jheremy Brown, Brian Sakowski and Greg Gerard take their turns making predictions on several different categories. Those categories as listed below are split between individual player honors and achievements, both in relationship to the college baseball season and the MLB Draft, as well as team prognostications on how things may shake out over the next several months.



Impact Freshman
The 2018 season was a big one for freshmen across the country, but their initial success is difficult to predict. Spencer Torkelson led the nation in homers, Heston Kjerstad and Casey Martin helped lead Arkansas to a runner-up finish and Gabe Holt paced a dynamic Texas Tech offense that finished their season in Omaha.


 Nander De Sedas, Florida State
A top 10-ranked player coming out of high school, and a 2018 PG All-American, De Sedas is an obvious choice to be an immediate big-time contributor for the Noles. With juice from both sides of the plate and a professional body at shortstop, Nander De Sedas is sure to be followed closely by scouts throughout his time in Tallahassee. – GG

Kumar Rocker, Vanderbilt
Arm talent like Rocker simply doesn’t show up on campus on a regular basis and what the Commodores have in the power-armed Georgian is a potential front-of-the-line starter with an elite arsenal. Toeing the rubber at 6-foot-4, 225-pounds, Rocker’s powerful frame matches his arsenal which is highlighted by a fastball that bumped into the upper-90s last fall with put-away secondaries. – JB

JT Ginn, Mississippi State
Ginn was taken 30th overall last June (Dodgers) because he is an immensely talented righthanded pitcher. But he is more than a mere prospect. Ginn is a ferocious competitor who is athletic enough to be a two-way player in Starkville. He will be a draft-eligible sophomore in 2020, but getting a talent of this caliber to campus is a program changer. – MR

Landon Marceaux, Louisiana State
Amongst a really strong 2018 recruiting class for LSU, Marceaux stands out as being a player who not only has elite upside, but whose polish should help him right away. He has arguably the best three-pitch command of any freshman in the country to go along with plenty of stuff and has spent the fall and preseason dominating, which should lead to him not only being in the LSU rotation, but potentially dominating right away. – BS

Matt McLain, UCLA 
One of three high schoolers selected in the first round not to sign (the other two being Carter Stewart and JT Ginn), McLain is an immediate upgrade almost anywhere on the field for UCLA. McLain is expected to play a swiss-army knife role with his easy plus speed and athleticism allowing him to play all over the diamond and hit near the top of the order right away for the Bruins. – VC

Pat Winkel, Connecticut
In talking with the UConn coaching staff you can tell they have a hard time staying reserved when thinking about Pat Winkel’s projected impact. However, he’s starting from Day 1 both behind the plate and in the middle of the Huskies’ order for a reason. The younger brother of Chris Winkel, the team’s first baseman, Pat Winkel is a physical player with impact tools and could take the American by storm this year. – PE



Impact Transfer
Junior college transfers are making a bigger and bigger impact on Division I baseball, not to mention the MLB Draft, and they're not the only transfers that qualify for this category.


Logan Gragg, Oklahoma State
Gragg is a 6-foot-5 righthander who went 17-2 in junior college. This May will mark 24 months since his Tommy John surgery and that tends to be the sweet spot for fully returning to previous form. Gragg has angle and command plus an out-pitch changeup that protects the rest of the arsenal. He will join Jensen Elliott and Mitchell Stone in what could be the Big 12’s best weekend rotation. – MR

Robbie Peto, rhp, Stetson
One of the top-ranked JUCO righthanders to make it to campus, Peto will play a key role for the Hatters this spring, who open the season as the favorites in the Atlantic Sun. Given the loss of Logan Gilbert and Jack Perkins, who combined for over 200 innings in 2018, Peto and his 96 mph fastball and power curveball will slot immediately into the weekend rotation. – JB

Hayden Lehman, South Carolina
One of the more accomplished pitchers at the junior college level a year ago, Lehman was an excellent starting pitcher with Walters State and will be transitioning right into the SEC. Lehman is a physical righthander who will work mostly in the mid-90s with a good mix including a potential above average slider which should give the Gamecocks a chance to win every time he takes the mound. – VC

Andrew Eyster, South Carolina
Coming into Columbia from Santa Fe College, Eyster is projected to jump right into the mix as an immediate impact transfer as he is projected to bat in the heart of the Gamecocks’ order as a starting outfielder. The physical righthanded hitter is sure to play a key role in the lineup after hitting .412 with 13 home runs a year ago at the JUCO level. – GG

Brandon Lewis, UC Irvine
Lewis isn’t the only notable transfer on the UC Irvine roster, as both he and projected weekend starter Tanner Brubaker posted huge number at the California junior college level in 2018. While Andre Pallante will get most of the attention on the mound for the Eaters it could be Lewis doing the same in the middle of the lineup. Between his spring at L.A. Pierce College and his MVP performance in the California Collegiate League during the summer, Lewis hit a remarkable .398-25-80. – PE

Brandon Williamson, Texas Christian
One of the more highly-touted transfers given his presence on draft boards last spring, TCU got lefty Brandon Williamson from NIACC and are expecting an immediate impact from him. Williamson has been up to the mid-90s in the past with a good slider, and while the velocity hasn’t spiked quite that high in the early going, he’s still an intriguing draft follow pitching in the low-90s who should help TCU right away. – BS


Impact Senior
A big reason for the lofty preseason rankings for a pair of SEC powers, No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Vanderbilt, had a lot to do with the number of productive players returning for their senior years. A pair of SEC outfielders, Antoine Duplantis of LSU and Mississippi State's Jake Mangum, chase the NCAA's all-time hit record while Bryce Fehmel returns to No. 2 Oregon State with a career record of 26-5.


Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
It’s year No. 4 for Mangum in Starkville and just like in his previous three the outfielder is sure to be a huge asset to a team that is coming off of a College World Series appearance a year ago. The center fielder is an elite defender roaming the middle of the Bulldogs’ outfield and is sure to put up a high average with lots of hits, stolen bases and runs scored at the top of the lineup. – GG

Antoine Duplantis, Louisiana State
Duplantis perfectly represents the expression “all steak, no sizzle.” He has been one of the most consistent players in college baseball over his three seasons, averaging both 50 runs and 50 RBI per year. Duplantis and Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum will be part of the one of great storylines for this season as they chase Eddy Furniss’ SEC record of 352 career hits. Mangum needs 78 hits to break the record while Duplantis needs 85. – MR

Joe Davis, Houston
One of college baseball’s most consistently dangerous hitters over the past several years, Joe Davis’ last go-round in Houston should be a good one, for he and the Cougars. Davis slots right in the middle of the Cougar lineup, as he has for four years now, and should be among the country’s best in terms of hitting production, both in terms of average and power. He’ll surely be one of the priority senior signs in the country this June. – BS

Kevin Strohschein, Tennessee Tech
Strohschein is one of the most accomplished hitters in the country as he returns with 47 home runs and 200 RBI to his name at the college level already. Strohschein has a chance to own a good amount of Ohio Valley Conference records by the end of the season and with opening day approaching he’ll be looking to lead Tennessee Tech back to the Super Regionals. – VC

Duke Kinamon, Stanford
After missing the 2018 season due to injury Kinamon goes somewhat overlooked, but considering Stanford moves forward without their star shortstop Nico Hoerner, Kinamon's return to the middle infield is timely. A sure-handed, versatile defender, Kinamon is a well-rounded player with speed and a contact-oriented bat, a perfect complement to a hard-hitting Cardinal unit that could post some gaudy numbers offensively while being their usual solid selves on the pitching and defense side of things. – PE

Noah Song, Navy
There was plenty of draft buzz last year surrounding Song, who ultimately chose to return to Navy for his senior season, and he opens the 2019 season as a PG Preseason All-American. Song was a nightmare for opposing Patriot League hitters in 2018, carrying a 1.92 ERA over 89 innings pitched (121 strikeouts) with a fastball that bumps into the mid-90s. Unfortunately for those same Patriot League hitters he returns once again to the front of the Navy rotation. – JB



Sleeping Giant
All of the players listed below are well known for their accolades to this point of their career. However, our group of experts believes a much larger breakout season may in store for each one, a jump in production that could help propel both their teams and their MLB Draft profiles to different levels.


Josh Smith, Louisiana State
An injury limited most of Smith’s time throughout the 2018 season, but reports from the fall were glowing and Smith is ready to return as one of the top players in the SEC. He offers solid up-the-middle athleticism with very good bat-to-ball skills and could break out to become one of the better players in the country. – VC

Austin Shenton, Florida International
Shenton absolutely tore up the Cape Cod League over the summer, and, as is the case annually with the top Cape performer, his draft stock has soared upwards as well. As a result he was named PG’s Summer Collegiate Player of the Year and he has a chance to be potentially the best hitter in the country. That could force his way into the first round of the draft with a season anywhere near what he did on the Cape. – BS

Michael Busch, North Carolina
It’s important to note that 2018 was Busch’s first as an everyday starter after hitting .215 in a part-time role during his freshman year in 2017. He proved to be one of the more patient sluggers in college baseball, walking nearly twice as often as he struck out, and he’s poised for another step forward in the run production department which could propel the Tar Heels to another CWS appearance. – PE

Will Robertson, Creighton
Robertson enjoyed a breakout 2018 season offensively for the Bluejays with significant jumps across the board, hitting .333-12-59 on the spring before finishing his summer on the Cape with a .300-4-28 stat line. Ultra-physical at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, Robertson possesses a refined approach which allows both the hit and power tools to regularly play up, and with another big spring he could see significant helium. – JB

Cam Shepherd, Georgia
Shepherd has started every game at shortstop since arriving on campus at the University of Georgia, and while 2019 will be no different for him and the Bulldogs, expect a monster season from Shepherd, particularly if the Dawgs are going to reach similar heights. The shortstop from Duluth, Ga., is tabbed as the 88th overall prospect in PG’s recent ranking of the Top 300 prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft and don’t be surprised if he continues to climb towards the top of many pro team’s ranks this season. – GG

Hunter Bishop, Arizona State 
Bishop is a legitimate five-tool prospect who combines size (6-foot-5, 210-pounds) and elite athleticism, as evidenced by the slew of Pac-12 football scholarship offers he received as a wide receiver. Most importantly, Bishop is showing signs that the game is slowing down for him. He has dominated both the fall and preseason scrimmages in Tempe and his average – repeat average – exit velocity has been 105 mph. The upside here is 20-plus home runs, 20-plus stolen bases and a very high draft pick. – MR



Golden Spikes Award
The 2019 college baseball season will have no shortage of stars, particularly on the West Coast. Who do we feel has the best chance to walk away as college baseball's best?


Andrew Vaughn, California
Vaughn is the first player since Kip Bouknight in 2001 that has a chance to repeat as the Golden Spikes Award winner, something that has never happened. I’m not betting against Vaughn from doing just that, whose biggest challenge ahead of him might be getting anything close to the plate to hit. His dominance from last year is easily shown in his .402/.531/.819 triple slash as college baseball’s most feared and complete hitter. – PE

Josh Jung, Texas Tech 
It feels unwise to pick against reigning Golden Spikes winner Andrew Vaughn but this vote isn’t necessarily a knock on Vaughn. Of all the candidates for this award, Jung is the best combination of elite level player and the opportunity to be part of a dynamic offense. The Red Raiders may have the fastest team in America and Jung’s 2018 line of .392-12-80 could blossom into .400-20-80. Jung’s elite barrel control also projects for more walks than strikeouts. – MR

Matt Wallner, Southern Miss
What do you do if you’re coming off back-to-back .330-plus, 15-plus home run seasons? Well, if you’re Matt Wallner, you take your low- to mid-90s fastball to the weekend rotation. Wallner is a physical, exciting prospect out of Southern Miss with a bevy of plus tools, and if he can put up similar offensive production with 60-plus quality innings on the mound, he’ll be looking at a case similar to 2017’s winner Brendan McKay. – VC

Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas
Fletcher was one of the many reasons why the Razorbacks made the outstanding run to the College World Series final in 2018, slugging 10 bombs and playing stellar defense in center field. The outfielder has played a huge role for the Hogs in both seasons so far hitting over .280 and slugging 10-plus homers in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. 2019 should be no different as Fletcher will continue to improve his average and power at the plate to take home this year’s Golden Spikes award. – GG

Adley Rutschman, Oregon State
A cornerstone in last season’s national championship run, Rutschman once again will be at the forefront of Oregon State’s quest to defend their title. He’s a switch-hitting backstop with juice from either side and refined receiving skills, as well as one of the top arms in the country, tools that helped land him a Preseason First Team All-American selection and to be considered an early favorite to go 1:1 in the upcoming June draft. – JB

Adley Rutschman, Oregon State
Our pick for 2019’s first overall draft choice since the moment the 2018 draft ended, Oregon State’s Adley Rutschmann could be in line for one of the best seasons in recent memory. An impact switch-hitter with big power production, Rutschman’s season productivity will undoutedbly be massive, but what sets him apart for this award is his defensive prowess as he’s a big league defender behind the plate. – BS



College World Series Sleeper
Every team opens the year with renewed hope, but this is a group of teams enters the season outside of the Top 25 but with legitimate reasons to believe they could be playing for it all at the end of the season.


Sam Houston State
Head coach Matt Deggs and his Bearkats open the year as favorites in the Southland and rightfully so given the talent they return. The weekend rotation returns intact, led by hard-throwing righthander Hayden Wesneski, with ample depth through the bullpen and the lineup, with Hunter Hearn and Clayton Harp leading the charge offensively. This is a seasoned, and more importantly, experienced lineup that looks poised to make a run. – JB

Indiana
Indiana’s success from a year ago gets lost in the shuffle, a team that entered the season with significant promise and ended the year in an all-Texas Regional in Austin. Matt Gorski is one of the nation’s top prospects you’ve never heard of and Pauly Milto should be an effective staff ace moving up from the Saturday spot. Matt Lloyd is one of the nation’s best two-way players and few teams nationally are as strong up the middle as the Hoosiers. That’s a nice recipe to get to Omaha. – PE

Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets should actually be a much better team in 2019 as compared to 2018 despite losing catcher Joey Bart, the No. 2 overall pick in last June’s draft, from last year’s club, and they could surprise some people on the way to Omaha. With Xzavion Curry and Connor Thomas back atop the rotation, Tristin English in his All-American level two-way role and the entire starting infield returning, Georgia Tech is a dangerous team. – BS

Illinois 
For this category, I love programs that have been to several Regionals in recent history, where the pressure of that setting is fairly normal to them. The Illini have been to Regionals in 2011, 2013, and 2015, with the 2015 team hosting a Super Regional versus Vanderbilt. Dan Hartleb’s 2018 unit was in the “Last 4 Out” group on selection Monday and most of that club returns. Pitching depth and an elite defense will lead the way here. – MR

Southern Miss
Coming off of a year in which the Golden Eagles swept eventual College World Series participant Mississippi State and made it to the Fayetteville Regional, Southern Miss returns with a high-end draft prospect and a pair of starters in the weekend rotation. Matt Wallner is a top 25 MLB Draft prospect in the outfield and both Walker Powell and Stevie Powers will each take the ball on weekends. This combination, along with the experience of making a Regional the past three seasons, makes this the year that Southern Miss gets over the Regional hump and into the College World Series. – GG

Minnesota
After hosting a Regional and making it to the Supers in 2018, Minnesota is again looking for a Big Ten crown and returns two prominent sophomores in Patrick Fredrickson and Max Meyer. Add in returning specialists in catcher Eli Wilson along with big run-producer Cole McDevitt, the Gophers have a solid amount of returning experience with some star power to head into 2019. – VC



Sleeping Giant, Among Giants
Each of the teams listed in this category open the 2019 season ranked in the Top 25 but outside of the Top 10, a fact that could change quickly given the talent each squad boasts.


Auburn
Ranked No. 15 to start the season, Auburn is hardly going unnoticed, but this is a team that is a legitimate CWS contender. With a good bit of experience coming back in their rotation, led by Tanner Burns and Davis Daniel, the pitching staff is battle-tested and talented. Offensively, Will Holland should be a first rounder this year while Steven Williams may be next year, and the rest of the lineup is dotted with guys who can swing the bat. – BS

Coastal Carolina
A handful of key contributors from last year’s Regional team will be gone, but that does not mean to count out the Chanticleers in 2019. Last year’s group ran through the Sun Belt Tournament prior to hosting a Regional. This year’s group is the favorite to win and ultimately repeat as Sun Belt champions with a young but talented starting staff headlined by righthander Zach McCambley and senior first baseman Zach Biermann. – GG

North Carolina State
At least on paper the 2019 Wolfpack look like one of their most talented teams in recent memory. There is elite talent throughout the lineup, headed by potential first round pick Will Wilson and potential 2020 No. 1 pick Patrick Bailey, to name a few. The pitching will need to prove itself, but power-armed righthander Dalton Feeney returns to bolster the staff as NC State has the pieces for a deep run. – VC

Michigan
There’s athleticism and talent scattered all around the 2019 version of the Wolverines and that combination usually leads to plenty of success. Lefthander Tommy Henry will lead the staff once again, followed by former PG All-American Karl Kauffman and hard-throwing sophomore Jeff Criswell. It’s the offense that could see the greatest improvements with ultra-talented sophomore Jesse Franklin pacing the club. They have key senior leaders who pair well with their underclass talent and look to make their mark in 2019. – JB

East Carolina 
The Pirates are college baseball’s version of “best golfer never to win a major.” Twenty-nine Regional appearances, four Super Regionals and zero trips to the College World Series. That said, Cliff Godwin has this program on a roll and it could all come together in 2019. There is both depth and high-end talent, plus this is an experienced roster. The Pirates were 90 feet from Omaha in 2016 and hosted a Regional last year. Omaha is inevitable. – MR

Mississippi State
Two teams stand out for the purpose of this category in the 11-25 range of our Preseason Top 25, TCU and Mississippi State. Considering it was the Bulldogs that made it to Omaha last year and not the Horned Frogs they get my attention here. It should be pointed out that Mississippi State had some significant ups and downs during the 2018 season but the lineup should have no problem scoring runs and the pitching staff has a legitimate staff ace in Ethan Small. – PE



Super Regional Cinderella
Although this category is difficult to predict, Georgia found themselves listed among these same teams a year ago as part of a season they emerged out of obscurity to host a Regional. All of the teams listed here were not among PG's Preseason Top 40 teams but out team of experts has reason to believe they could rise to the occasion.


Wake Forest 
Last year was a tough one for the Demon Deacons. So that makes it easy to forget that Tom Walter’s program was one win from Omaha in 2017. Wake Forest had one of the youngest lineups in the country last year and the 2019 club will reap the rewards of that investment. Seven everyday players return as well as 43 starts on the mound. And add in a very talented recruiting class for good measure. – MR

Stetson
After losing first round pick Logan Gilbert among others, the Hatters should still be the class of the Atlantic Sun and have a chance to make it a long way with a lot of young, talented pieces led by staff ace Mitchell Senger. The offense has some serious size with 6-foot-5 Eric Foggo and 6-foot-7 freshman Brandon Hylton to add some power throughout. If the Hatters get to Regional play almost no one is going to want to face Senger and company. – VC

Gonzaga
The Zags are the preseason favorite to come out of the West Coast Conference and it’ll be on the strength of their pitching staff as they look to advance to their third Regional in four years. The rotation returns talent and experience with hard-throwing Casey Legumina jumping to the Friday role while JUCO transfer Nick Trogrlic-Iverson should be a difference maker in the ‘pen. Offensively sophomore Ernie Yake and senior Austin Pinorini will play a big part of the team’s run-scoring efforts, and with the amount of upperclass talent in the starting lineup there’s plenty of experience one through nine. – JB

Miami
Admittedly, we were premature with our lofty preseason ranking of the Hurricanes a year ago, but we still believe in the talent they have, not to mention the direction under new head coach Gino DiMare. The projected starting rotation of Evan McKendry, Chris McMahon and Gregory Veliz is a dangerous one, even if the ever-competitive ACC, and there are some intriguing new pieces on both sides of the ball joining the program. – PE

Dallas Baptist
It’s not really fair to say that DBU going to a Super Regional would be a Cinderella story, considering they’ve been to five straight Regionals. Regardless, DBU has the ingredients to make a run in 2019, led by budding star Jimmy Glowenke at shortstop and a talented, deep pitching staff led by Jordan Martinson, Luke Eldred and MD Johnson. – BS

Elon
The Elon Phoenix are returning a potentially dominant weekend rotation, including workhorse Kyle Brnovich, who is coming off of an unbelievable season with an ERA of 1.71 in 105 innings pitched. The pitching has what it takes to drive the Phoenix through the CAA with what might be the top 1-2 punches in the country in Brnovich and George Kirby. The offense will be young this spring, but that does not mean that the Phoenix cannot ride the arms of their staff to another run at the CAA title and ultimately, as predicted here, a Super Regional berth. – GG



2019 CWS Champion
Unlike the past several years there is not one slam-dunk team to open the season as the No. 1 squad. Of course no team, any year, is without weaknesses, but here are our fearless predictions of who will finish 2019 on top.


Oregon State
The Beavers were my pick to win it all a year ago and in my mind they will remain the No. 1 team in the country until definitively proved otherwise. As hard as it will be to move forward with so many key pieces in the everyday lineup, the pitching is what separates this team as the staff, outside of Luke Heimlich, returns entirely intact with arguably the nation’s most effective and deepest bullpen. – PE

Oregon State
How can anyone bet against the defending national champions with top MLB Draft prospect Adley Rutschman behind the plate and College World Series superstar Kevin Abel returning and moving into the Friday night starter role? The Beavers did lose multiple components to their title run team last year including head coach Pat Casey, but the leadership roles of guys like Rutschman and Tyler Malone on offense as well as Abel, Bryce Fehmel and Jake Mulholland on the mound should bode well for the Beavers to repeat in 2019. – GG

Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt’s roster is unique in that it looks pretty young in terms of actual class/age of their key players, but considering how many of them played so much as freshmen, it’s really a veteran club in terms of experience. A talented pitching staff will be led by veterans Drake Fellows and Patrick Raby, while JJ Bleday paces an offense that is highlighted by Pat DeMarco, Ethan Paul, Philip Clarke, and others. – BS

Florida
My track record with picking champions is suspect at best, so apologies in advance Gators fans, but Florida has proved that they have the perfect mix of consistency and elite talent. Tyler Dyson, Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich are all ready to take the next step in the rotation while the collection of big bats led by Austin Langworthy, Nelson Maldonado and Wil Dalton make them dangerous. For as good as the returning talent is, it’s the impact freshman that will put the Gators over the top come June. – VC

UCLA
From a scout’s perspective the UCLA position player group is loud. There are projected high pick veterans like Jeremy Ydens, Chase Strumpf and Michael Toglia. Add in first round tools in outfielder Garrett Mitchell and freshman swiss-army knife Matt McLain. Plus you have an old school, West Coast shortstop in Kevin Kendall. So here is the two-part question: does Ryan Garcia’s stuff still play on Friday nights and can John Savage cobble together a pitching staff here? The answer is an emphatic yes and yes. – MR

Louisiana State
The Tigers not only landed one of the top recruiting classes in the entire country they also managed to return both of their sophomore eligible drafts (Zack Hess and Zach Watson), as well as senior Antoine Duplantis. This trio will be key for a deep postseason run, alongside Daniel Cabrera, who offers a pure hit tool, as well as shortstop Josh Smith and righthander Eric Walker, both of whom look to make a splash after missing all of 2018. Add in blue chip freshmen Landon Marceaux and CJ Willis and the Tigers may not only make a run this spring, but for seasons to come. – JB
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