Weekend College Baseball Thread

by slamcactus on Feb 27, 2009 2:42 PM EST Comment 17 comments

I want to kick off a space for people on this website to discuss the performance of draft prospects from the college ranks.

Not too many absolute marquee matchups this weekend, but Andy Oliver will get his first real test of the season today, going up against a potent Eastern Carolina lineup (ranked 23rd in the nation).

While technically the Friday starter, Stephen Strasburg went yesterday and well...he's pretty good.

His season line so far: 12.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3BB, 27 Ks.

He hasn't gone up against any great squads yet, but my god. 27 K's in 12.1 innings.

Other marquee matchups today include Rice v. UCLA, Texas A&M v. UC Irvine, and Florida v. Miami.

Discuss.

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Game to watch today is

the Black on White action that is going down in Chapel Hill… weather permitting.

Plus, of course, the Houston College Classic.

Ah, I love the start of college baseball season

by nms on Feb 27, 2009 3:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Black had some serious control issues it would seem from the box score but kept them in the game. I’ve seen him pitch a few times, shows promise. I’ve never seen White though, their staff is pretty damn good.

by jfish26101 on Feb 28, 2009 9:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

it still pisses me off that black didn't go to my school;

i’ve got no idea what the hell he was thinking. he was a raw second round pick from new jersey, with no control and only a plus FB, but instead of going to a community college, getting a year of experience, and either signing as a draft and follow or reentering the draft, he went to a 4 year college in the north (seton hall), where he gets maybe 11 starts a year in the cold, and is now a raw 21 year old kid from the north with no control and no secondary pitches.

When I think of turning boys into men, I know the first thing I always think of is a dildo with baseball testicles on the mentor's desktop.

by variablesdont on Feb 28, 2009 12:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Seems like you have some problem with Sean Black's decision

Might want to check out this article and actually get some real facts

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2009/267733.html

by Kazmir2657 on Mar 4, 2009 4:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

OH!

How could I forget to mention the UGA/Arizona clash in the Desert. That should be great. Wish I was there

by nms on Feb 27, 2009 3:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Vanderbilt/Vermont

Mike Minor against Vermont:
7.2IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 4Ks

He looked alright but not overly impressive, and his command failed him at the end of the game. I watched it via a webcast with the camera looking from behind the plate so I have no idea on how hard he was throwing or how much vertical movement his pitches had. It seemed like his best pitch was his changeup and he got most of his swing and misses off of that pitch. He got a lot of weakly hit flyball outs, and there were only a handful of balls hit hard off of him.

by jar75 on Feb 27, 2009 9:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

addition

He also had a pretty good looking pick off move that I forgot to mention in the initial post.

by jar75 on Feb 27, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Brandon Workman...

One of the top Sophomore pitchers in the country just threw a no-hitter against Penn State.

Final line: 9IP, 0h, 2BB, 10K.

His season line to date: 16IP, 2H, 0r, 2BB, 17K.

He’s going places.

by slamcactus on Mar 1, 2009 4:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

what kind of stuff

does he have?

by FishHead on Mar 1, 2009 7:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Workman

There is plenty to like about Workman, chief among them two plus pitches at present (fastball and curve) and a great frame (6-5, 220). Command of the curve has been an issue at times, as has his questionable mechanics (sharpened since high school, but still a work in progress), but he’s been a contributor at Texas since enrolling at school despite being considered more of a thrower than a pitcher at the time. He still needs to develop a more usable third pitch, but the overall package is good enough to get him in the first round in 2010, probably in the top half if I had to put money on it.

2010 looks like it’s shaping up to be a big year for college righthanders. As of now, I think Workman falls behind Matt Harvey, Barret Loux, Deck McGuire, and maybe Nick Tepesch, but ahead of Anthony Ranaudo, Justin Grimm, Kyle Blair, and Evan Danieli.

by roboz on Mar 1, 2009 9:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hm...

everything I’ve seen ranks him significantly higher. His Cape Cod League performance drew rave reviews, and his command has improved by leaps and bounds over his freshman year. Perfect Game ranks him the #2 pitching prospect and #3 prospect overall in the Sophomore class, behind only Matt Harvey. BA puts him at 4th best pitcher (6th best prospect) in the Sophomore class, behind only Harvey, Solis, and Loux.

If he keeps this up, he’ll be climbing even higher.

As far as stuff, his fastball was sitting in the low-90s and touching 95 out of high school, and he throws a true 12-6 curve. Like roboz says, his delivery was downright frightening out of high school, but he’s cleaned it up a lot. I don’t know whether he’s seen a velocity spike, or if the improved results are more a matter of sharpening his command. Either way, he’s showing the ability to harness first-round stuff.

by slamcactus on Mar 1, 2009 10:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can’t really disagree with anything you said and, upon thinking it over a bit more, I’d simplly add that I think big league clubs will like Workman’s upside over any 2010 college righthander not named Matt Harvey by the time next June rolls around. That last paragraph you wrote was such a good reminder of how impressive Workman presently is and, perhaps more importantly, how much he has grown as a pitcher in such a short amount of time. I think that kind of capacity for improvement is a special skill for a young player to have.

Consensus opinion does have Workman ranked higher than I currently do, but it’s more about how much I like some of the other available options than any kind of slight directed towards the big Texan. Loux may have a tiny bit less fastball, but his above-average curve/change combo is better (in my eyes) than the cumulative value of Workman’s excellent curve/whatever third pitch he develops. McGuire’s a personal favorite, but, if it really came down to it, I’d have an incredibly difficult time passing on Workman to take him instead. Tepesch’s profile actually reminds me a lot of Workman’s out of high school, so I guess that “maybe Nick Tepesch” line doesn’t really apply after all.

by roboz on Mar 2, 2009 12:08 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good stuff roboz

The more i look at it, the more the 2010 draft just looks like an embarrassment of riches on the pitching side. It’s a little low on college position players, but the high school crop should more than make up for that.

by slamcactus on Mar 2, 2009 3:32 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs