I made it out to Carolina Stadium this weekend for the Gamecocks SEC conference opener versus Kentucky. Despite a constant and dreadful 50 degree mist throughout, I sat through the entirety of the Gamecocks 10-1 victory on Friday. In the process, I snapped some award winning video footage of Max Schrock's grand slam in the 5th. I also caught several at bats on film of 2016 draft prospects Wil Crowe and Zack Brown, two righties with low 90's fastballs, and I will break down my thoughts on those two in a separate post on Wednesday.
I made it out to Sunday's game too - broom in hand, funny looks in the stand - where No. 7 South Carolina completed the sweep of Kentucky in dramatic fashion on a walk off home run in extras by first baseman, Kyle Martin. I also snapped some video of Wildcats righthander Kyle Cody, a potential 1st rounder in this year's draft. I know I have you on your seats now. Stay tuned for my game report on him as well.
Here's video of 2B/LF Max Schrock's grand slam from the Friday night game:
Here are the rest of the weekend highlights...
(ACC Highlights)
A wild weekend of upsets took place in the ACC. I guess the excitement of March Madness took hold of the conference.
Making A Statement: Virginia Tech - Down goes Frazier! We will have a new number one team this week after the unranked Hokies pulled off the shocker of the weekend, a series sweep of No.1 Virginia.
Another Upset: Great weekend for Notre Dame fans. After the basketball team won the ACC tournament, the baseball team picked up a big time road series win at Clemson.
Nice Rebound: No. 17 Florida State was handed a shocking 4-1 loss by Wake Forest on Friday but rebounded to take the series. Outfielder and top draft prospect D.J. Stewart still leads the ACC with his 6 HR.
(Big Ten Highlights)
Aw, look who's got their own highlights section this week? For the first time in a long time the Big Ten Conference RPI sits at number five. Good to see the power conference starting to perform like one in a sport it traditionally hasn't.
Upset of the Weekend: No. 29 Illinois got dropped by in-state rival Southern Illinois on Friday night, a team that entered the weekend with a 2-13 record. But, the Illini rebounded with a series win.
Prospect Note: LHP Tyler Jay has been killing it as Illini closer (20.1 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 23 K), having yet to allow an earned run. He can regularly hit 96 MPH in short stints and is the top 2015 prospect in the Big Ten.
Making a Statement: Indiana - Hoosier daddy, Fullerton? The Hoosiers picked up a huge sweep over a previously hot Cal State Fullerton team. The Hoosiers have now won 10 straight and could be ranked again soon.
(Big 12 Highlights)
Sweeper of the Week: Will No. 2 TCU take the reigns from UVA as the nation's top dog? That's what the betting man's money is on. The Horned Frogs were the only Big 12 team to sweep a conference opponent this weekend, taking down Baylor to improve to 14-2.
Pitcher Spotlight: Mitchell Traver, one of many drool-worthy arms on the TCU staff, tossed a bute (7 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 6 K) in Friday's win. The 6'7" sophomore has a 0.94 ERA and is considered the 5th best 2015 draft prospect in the Big 12 by BA.
No. 16 Texas handed a pesky West Virginia team a series win.
(Big West Highlights)
Stock Down: Cal State Fullerton looked primed to enter this week's rankings heading into their matchup with Indiana on a tear. Alas, the Titans got swept away with the broomstick treatment.
Your Weekly Dillon Tate Update (Because He's Awesome): The No. 23 UC Santa Barbara ace sat 94-98 MPH once again in yet another dominant start (8 IP, 4 H, ER, 0 BB, 6 K) against Wichita State. The Shockers stole a 3-2 win late in that game, however. The Gauchos rebounded to take the series and will remain ranked.
(Mid-Major Highlights)
Mid-Major Ace of the Week: Chris Chism - This senior righty from Tennessee Tech made headlines with his sensational outing (9 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 17 K) versus Tennessee-Martin over the weekend.
He's at it again...Junior LHP Luke Gilllingham of Navy made the column in week one when he struck out 12 batters to start a game. He's a close runner up for mid-major ace of the week this time with another brilliant outing (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 15 K) versus New York Tech. He now carries an absurd nation-leading 65 strikeouts to just 5 walks, 13 hits and a 0.47 ERA over 35 IP.
One More Ace We Can't Ignore: Grant Bennett - This junior righty from Troy will have Sun Belt pitcher of the week on lockdown after this stellar outing (9 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 14 K) against Georgia Southern.
In a battle of two solid mid-major programs, Winthrop picked up a big series win at home over Kennesaw State. Aaron Fitt did a writeup on the series. KSU left-hander Travis Bergen tossed a gem (9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 14 K) in game two and the mid-round draft prospect was 89-91 MPH with his fastball.
Prospect Note: Bubba Derby - RHP - San Diego State - Now that's a what I call a baseball name. Put on his big boy pants (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K) against a premier opponent in No. 13 Texas Tech. Here's a game report from D1 Baseball. Derby worked his fastball in the low 90's and showed great command of his breaking pitches.
(Pac-12 Highlights)
Some good ole fashioned competitive baseball took place in opening weekend of Pac-12 play as not a single team got swept.
Making A Statement: California - Lot of upsets this weekend, I like it. The Bears took down No. 5 Oregon for a series win at home, nearly sweeping the Ducks. Cal improved to 15-3 and ought to hit the polls this week.
Stock Down: No. 27 Arizona could join Oregon State on the exodus from the polls this week due to a series loss at home to unheralded Utah. The good news is junior second baseman Scott Kingery - a top draft prospect - is batting a ridiculous .449/.491/.622 with a HR in 98 at bats.
No. 20 Arizona State rebounded nicely after a 1-0 loss on Friday to take the series from No. 30 Oregon State. Perfect Game has some good prospect info in their breakdown of Friday's game.
Prospect Note: In said breakdown, PG mentions Sun Devils shortstop Colby Woodmansee as a prospect with draft stock on the rise with his improved offensive output this season.
Injury Note: Tough break for Stanford as the Cardinal learned over the weekend that stud sophomore Cal Quantrill will undergo Tommy John surgery. Shame as many considered him one of the crown jewels of next year's draft class.
(SEC Highlights)
"Just Win, Baby!" - The late Al Davis once said and that's all No. 8 Texas A&M does these days as the Aggies improved to 21-0 over the weekend with a sweep of Auburn. As the lone undefeated team left, they could be coming in hot for that number one ranking real soon.
Ate His Wheaties: Lets hear it for Tennessee senior right-hander Bret Marks who took a no-hitter into the 9th inning on Friday at No. 4 Florida in the Volunteers big upset win to kick off SEC play.
No. 3 LSU picked up a series win over Ole Miss. Freshman righty Alex Lange struck out 13 on Saturday. Infielder Connor Hale, who's batting .378 with a team-best 19 RBI, had a big 3-for-3 game with a double and two RBIs on Friday.
Stock Up: No. 6 Vanderbilt - The 'Dores look primed to jump back into the Top 5 after a sweep of Arkansas. Here's a wild play at the plate during Vanderbilt's 8-7 win on Friday.
Prospect Note: The Perfect Game staff breaks down Carson Fulmer and his outing from Saturday. The likely 1st-rounder gets favorable remarks for holding plus velocity throughout along with his competitive spirit on the mound.
(Photo By: Vanderbilt Athletics)
Hitter Of The Week: Rhett Wiseman - OF - Vanderbilt
His name may have a silent H, but his bat has been anything but silent this season. The junior right fielder went 6-for-13 over the weekend (.462 AVG, HR, 3B, 4 RBI) and is the second place hitter in the entire SEC with his .444/.541/.765 slash line in 81 at bats. He also has 4 homers, 3 triples, 8 doubles, 5 stolen bases, along with 13 walks and 15 strikeouts.
Wiseman made it to campus after the Cubs selected him in the 25th round in the 2012 draft. Wiseman bats lefthanded, clocks in at 6'1", 205 pounds according to his Vandy bio, and was named the No. 15 prospect in the SEC on BA's preseason Top 20. Wiseman is a gamer that seems to have knack for making big plays in big moments, such as his highlight reel diving catch versus Texas in the College World Series last year. Prior to this season, Rob Ozga made of Baseball Draft Report made an interesting comment that "he's still more tools than skills right now" but that the optimistic scout still believes "the breakout could come any day now for him and when it does we could be looking at a potential first-division regular in the outfield." Damn, if that wasn't spot on the with torrid start Wiseman has gotten off to. I'd imagine if he keeps this up in SEC play, he will put himself in the discussion as a top 100 prospect in the 2015 draft.
And this is the 5th best draft prospect on Vanderbilt...
(Photo By: San Diego Athletics)
Pitcher Of The Week: David Hill - RHP - San Diego
San Diego got off to a 2-6 start but the Torero's have ripped off a 10-1 record since and the pitching performance from Junior righty David Hill has been a big factor. After starting the season 0-2, Hill led the Torero's to big road wins over No. 16 Texas and No. 15 Mississippi State then proceeded to dominate this weekend against Portland (9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, BB, 14 K).
Hill has been previously drafted by the Phillies, who made him a 17th round selection out of high school in 2012. He declined that offer and enrolled at Long Beach State. He transferred to Orange Coast College the next year and made his way to San Diego for his junior season. Hill stands in at 6'3", 205 pounds and throws a low 90's fastball, a sharp high 70's curveball, and also mixes in a low 80's changeup. Here's a prospect video from when he pitched at Orange Coast College. Control issues have dogged him at times but if he continues to post strong outing he could be a sleeper that rises up some draft boards.
The latest rankings via College Baseball Writers
The latest RPI's of the season courtesy of Boyd's World.
That's it for this week. Stay classy, not crassy, everyone.
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