Impact Freshmen | National Notebook: March 10 | Houston College Classic Notes
The fifth weekend of college baseball action for the 2015 season doesn't have the big matchups we witnessed a week ago, which ultimately led to significant shakeup in the top 25, although only one new team was introduced this week; Southern California.
Conference play does kick off across the country after ACC opened its conference season a week ago. The biggest matchup has No. 16 Arkansas traveling to Nashville to play No. 5 Vanderbilt, a series that could be effected by rain. This series is previewed in greater detail below, and Jheremy Brown will be in Nashville this weekend to provide first-hand observations from a series loaded with draft-eligible talent.
Top 25 in Action
| Rk. |
Team |
Opponent |
Location |
| 1 |
Florida |
home vs. Tennessee |
Gainesville, FL |
| 2 |
Virginia |
at Virginia Tech |
Blacksburg, VA |
| 3 |
Texas Christian |
home vs. Baylor |
Fort Worth, TX |
| 4 |
Louisiana State |
home vs. Ole Miss |
Baton Rouge, LA |
| 5 |
Vanderbilt |
home vs. No. 16 Arkansas |
Nashville, TN |
| 6 |
Oregon |
at California |
Berkeley, CA |
| 7 |
South Carolina |
home vs. Kentucky |
Columbia, SC |
| 8 |
Louisville |
home vs. Boston College |
Louisville, KY |
| 9 |
UCLA |
home vs. Washington |
Los Angeles, CA |
| 10 |
Texas A&M |
home vs. Auburn |
College Station, TX |
| 11 |
Florida State |
home vs. Wake Forest |
Tallahassee, FL |
| 12 |
North Carolina |
at Pittsburgh |
Pittsburgh, PA |
| 13 |
Miami |
home vs. N.C. State |
Coral Gables, FL |
| 14 |
UC Santa Barbara |
at Wichita State |
Wichita, KS |
| 15 |
UCF |
home vs. Fairfield |
Orlando, FL |
| 16 |
Arkansas |
at No. 5 Vanderbilt |
Nashville, TN |
| 17 |
Oregon State |
at No. 25 Arizona State |
Phoenix, AZ |
| 18 |
Texas Tech |
at San Diego State |
San Diego, CA |
| 19 |
Texas |
home vs. West Virginia |
Austin, TX |
| 20 |
Florida Atlantic |
at Charlotte |
Charlotte, NC |
| 21 |
Houston |
home vs. Buffalo |
Houston, TX |
| 22 |
Mississippi State |
home vs. Alabama |
Starkville, MS |
| 23 |
Southern California |
home vs. Washington State |
Los Angeles, CA |
| 24 |
Rice |
home vs. Louisiana Tech |
Houston, TX |
| 25 |
Arizona State |
home vs. No. 17 Oregon State |
Phoenix, AZ |
Marquee Matchup #1:
No. 16 Arkansas at No. 5 Vanderbilt
Does
it get much better than this? Opening weekend of SEC Conference play
amongst two nationally ranked squads full of elite pitching and big
time bats. And both teams received a boost in their pitching staffs
last weekend as each welcomed back an elite starter.
Vanderbilt
has been picking up quality starts from righthander Carson Fulmer, a
projected first round pick for this June's draft, who shows an elite
level repertoire and thrives in the heat of the moment. Joining
Fulmer now though is another elite arm, fellow righty Walker Buehler,
who has missed a few starts due to arm tenderness. He returned last
weekend to throw four very strong innings against a talent TCU club
in the Dodgertown Classic, scattering three hits while filling up the
zone.
Buehler
came out throwing like he hadn’t missed an inning, working
comfortably in the 93-95 mph range, peaking at 96 while showing his
normal, hard curveball that he used to rack up five strikeouts in his
four innings of work.
Arkansas
will counter Fulmer with an ace of their own, junior righthander Trey
Killian, who made his first start of the spring last Friday.
Coincidentally enough, Fulmer and Killian were teammates last summer
as part of the USA Collegiate National Team. Killian was on a set
pitch count last weekend and was able to make it through 3 2/3
innings striking out three while waking none and allowing just four
hits.
If
those arms aren’t enough to get you excited for the weekend,
Arkansas rounds out their rotation with sophomore Dominic Taccolini
and freshman righthander Keaton McKinney, both of whom have been
solid to this point in the spring. Zach Jackson filled in for Killian
during his absence from the rotation and provided quality relief last
Friday, throwing 5 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, striking out
five.
Vanderbilt
has quality options for Sunday whether it be draft-eligible sophomore
John Kilichowski or freshman flamethrower Jordan Sheffield. Either
way, whenever the ball is turned to the bullpen the coaching staff
has a slew of quality arms to choose from, a big strength of the
Commodores. Big lefty Ben Bowden has been lights out with his attack
mode mentality, as have Philip Pfeifer, Ryan Johnson, and Kyle
Wright.
Shortstop
Dansby Swanson continues to show why he is considered a top pick in
the upcoming June draft, hitting .380 on the year, and he added his
second home run of the season in a mid-week win over Quinnipiac.
Fellow junior Rhett Wiseman has really come into the zone this spring
and is unleashing what scouts have thought he was capable of. Now
hitting a team-high .435, the lefthanded swinging Wiseman leads the
Vanderbilt offense in nearly every offensive category and does so
while showing his speed with seven doubles, three triples, and is
perfect in five stolen base attempts.
The
Hogs have benefited from the power in sophomore outfielder Andrew
Benintendi’s bat who is one of the four players currently hitting
over .300 on the year. Arkansas will look to him to square up some of
Vanderbilt’s quality arms and continue to drive in runs, adding to
his four home runs and 16 RBI, both team highs. Both Bobby Wernes and
Rick Nomura have been consistent so far this year, hitting .386 and
.378 respectively, and have done a tremendous job of getting on base.
Wernes leads the team with four triples while junior outfielder Tyler
Spoon has shown interesting strength, hitting two home runs and a
team-high six doubles.
Marquee Matchup #2:
No. 17 Oregon State at No. 25 Arizona State
It'll
be a generational battle when the young and electric Beavers come to
Phoenix Municipal Stadium this weekend to open Pac-12 play against
the grizzled veterans of Arizona State. The draft implications of
this series range from difficult projections to high round prospects
to solid senior signs.
K.J. Harrison (Photo: Oregon State)
Andrew
Moore of the Beavers and Ryan Kellogg of the Sun Devils offer two of
the more difficult draft profiles to assess. Both bring outstanding
pitchability and track record to the table but neither pitcher shows
enough velocity (both pitch primarily in the upper-80s) or the out
pitches necessary to merit big prospect status. Kellogg has the
physical edge as he is 6-foot-5 and lefthanded compared to Moore's
6-foot righthanded profile. At the end of the day, both arms have had
outstanding college careers already, combining for 43 victories in
just 71 starts.
In
a theme common to this series overall, the high end arms belong to
Sun Devil veterans and the Beaver youth movement. Ryan Burr is an
"as-is" closer who has touched 96 mph several times this
year. He also possesses two additional out pitches in his mid-80s
power slider and changeup. Brett Lilek features one of the easier
lefthanded fastballs of those eligible for the draft and has touched
94 mph in every start except last Sunday's. Beaver freshman Drew
Rasmussen pitched his way into the weekend rotation and he touched 96
mph with his fastball out of the bullpen earlier in the year.
The
Beaver lineup is shockingly young and dynamic. K.J. Harrison is on
pace for 21 home runs, 77 RBI and an overall historic freshman
season. Joe Gillette, Trever Morrison, and Jeff Hendrix grab your
attention with loud athleticism, allowing Gabe Clark, and his nation
leading six home runs, to fly under the radar. If this group doesn't
get you excited to come to the ballpark then it's time to turn in
your stopwatch.
The
Sun Devil lineup sees your youth and raises it with sleep-inducing
baseball savvy. While Colby Woodmansee intrigues scouts with his
6-foot-3 frame and plus defensive chops, the rest of this lineup
lulls you into mistakes. Upperclassmen Trever Allen, Jake Peevyhouse,
and R.J. Ybarra have been through the wars now and they may fool you
with the occasional poor at-bat and their understated tools. Yet this
group knows how to win a college baseball game and there is
underrated power hidden here.
And
so the entire spectrum of scouting is on the table this weekend in
Phoenix. In one corner, the Beavers' roster is so toolsy that you
could grade them getting off the bus. And while the contrasting
Arizona State unit may lack the depth of prospects of years past,
don't be surprised if the Sun Devils cranky disposition is still
hanging around in early June.
Mound Matchup:
Christian Trent (Ole Miss) vs. Jared Poche (Louisiana State)
Pitching
matchups don’t come much more polished than the one we’ll see
between two southpaws this weekend in the SEC. With conference play
kicking off, there will be strong matchups around the country,
particularly in the SEC, but this one between the LSU and Ole Miss’
aces could make a particularly loud statement depending on which way
it goes.
Neither
the Rebels’ Christian Trent or the Tigers’ Jared Poche are going
to completely overpower anyone, but with their location and secondary
feel they will create extremely difficult matchups for these tough
lineups.
Trent
was an anchor for the Rebels in 2014, serving as the staff workhorse
and posting a dominant campaign. He’s gotten off to a strong start
in 2015 as well, as he’s put up a 2.96 ERA and struck out 23
batters while walking just seven over his first 24 1/3 innings of
work. But, he’s going to have his hands full on Friday, as he looks
to quiet what is perhaps the most dangerous lineup in the nation.
There is a blueprint, however, for Trent to potentially follow in
order to keep those LSU bats under control. Take a look at what
Baylor’s Daniel Castano did last week, as he held the Tigers to one
earned run over eight innings.
Christian
Trent has the tools and then some to repeat what Castano was able to
do. The Baylor southpaw found success pounding the outside part of
the plate against the potent LSU hitters, and fading his changeup
just off the dish. Trent has an above average changeup for which he
shows an excellent feel, and he has enough juice on his 88-92 mph
fastball to keep the Tigers off balance. He’ll need to force
hitters like Alex Bregman, who devour pitches on the inner half, to
look away and use the opposite field. Trent’s above average slider
will also be a major factor as he tries to neutralize dangerous lefty
bats like Andrew Stevenson. And, if LSU includes hot hitting Jake
Fraley in the lineup against a southpaw, how Trent fares against him
with that slider will be intriguing to watch.
Then,
of course there is the extremely steady sophomore lefty, Jared Poche,
who by default is the “elder statesman” of this young and
talented LSU staff. Poche has been superb through his first four
starts, posting a 2.06 ERA and holding hitters to a .200 batting
average over 26 innings of work. Armed with a very complete, polished
arsenal, Poche has three different pitches he can throws strikes and
be effective with. He’s highly adept at back-dooring his big lefty
breaking ball against righty hitters, and his changeup will play a
major role in keeping hitters off balance. Don’t sleep on Poche’s
fastball however, as he shows good life through the zone at 89-91 mph
and can run it up there at 92 mph in key situations.
The
key to Poche this Friday will be unpredictability. He has the command
to throw any pitch in any count. The Ole Miss lineup has not started
out red hot, but they have very dangerous hitters just waiting to
break out, like slugger Sikes Orvis. A pitcher like Poche is not
going to do them any favors, as he will throw strikes, so it will be
key for the Rebels’ to stay aggressive early in counts.
National Notes:
• Auburn
(13-4) heads to College Station, Texas to take on No. 10 Texas A&M
(18-0) this weekend. This is a battle of two teams who have been hard
to get your arms around. The Auburn braintrust of Head Coach Sunny
Golloway and pitching coach Tom Holliday showed great savvy in
shifting ace Keegan Thompson to the mid-week starter's role early in
the season, allowing him to beat both Alabama and Georgia Tech.
Thompson now moves back into the weekend rotation for the start of
SEC play and the Tigers hope Anfernee Grier (.424) and California
junior college transfer shortstop Cody Nulph (.400) continue to swing
hot bats.
Texas
A&M may have the most physical offense in the country as sluggers
Ronnie Gideon, G.R. Hinsley, Hunter Melton and Logan Nottebrok
average 6-foot-3 and 230-pounds. That group clears the way for the
ultra-talented Nick Banks and his pure hit tool. While only about
three of the Aggies' 18 wins have come against Regional-caliber
competition, Rob Childress has a team that is a legitimate Omaha
contender.
A
situation to watch here is the status of ace A.J. Minter. Minter has
been dominant thus far but left last Friday's game after 70 pitches
with tenderness and he has been scratched from this weekend's series.
• San
Diego State (14-3) hosts No. 18 Texas Tech (12-4) in a series of two
teams boasting gaudy records but who are also still looking for a
signature weekend. San Diego State recently lost their series to a
very good New Mexico team while Texas Tech suffered a road sweep to
streaking Cal State Fullerton last weekend. The Red Raiders roster is
arguably deeper and more talented than their 2014 team that advanced
to the College World Series.
• The
WCC will cease its harassment of the SEC this weekend and open up its
own conference play. Gonzaga swept Arkansas in Fayetteville in two
mid-week games, and punctuated those victories with a 15-5
shellacking on Wednesday night. The 'Zags offense did this with an
incredible 10 singles, 13 walks, three HBP and zero extra-base hits.
Add
this sweep to the San Diego series win over Mississippi State, the
Santa Clara near series win versus Vanderbilt, and San Francisco's
recent mid-week sweep of Oregon and the WCC has made a loud statement
as a conference deserving of multiple bid consideration.
• The
Kentucky Wildcats have quiety gone 13-3 to open the season, although
their three losses have come against their two most notable
opponents, No. 14 UC Santa Barbara and No. 23 Southern California.
The team is coming off of a sweep of Northern Kentucky – a series
highlighted by Zack Brown's 11 strikeout complete game shutout
performance – and a mid-week win over Cincinnati in which
outfielder Ka'ai Tom hit for the cycle. Tom is now hitting .450 on
the year while Brown has a 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings.
As
SEC play opens this weekend, the Wildcats will have another big test
this weekend as they travel to Columbia, S.C., to face No. 7 South
Carolina. Brown, Kyle Cody and Dustin Beggs, who are a combined 5-3
with a 2.59 ERA, will face an equally formidable Gamecocks' weekend
rotation that includes Wil Crowe and Jack Wynkoop, with freshman
Clarke Schmidt taking the ball last Sunday for his first collegiate
start.
• No.
15 UCF aggressively scheduled four mid-week games in back-to-back
weeks, splitting a pair of contests last week with now No. 1 Florida
before getting swept in their two-game series with No. 11 Florida
State. However, their weekend trio of Zach Rodgers, Cre Finfrock and
Robby Howell has yet to take a loss, as the three are a combined 9-0
with a 2.45 ERA.
In
the second game of their mid-week series against the Seminoles first
baseman Quincy Nieporte erupted for FSU, going 4-for-4 with a walk,
three runs scored and seven RBI. Those runs batted in came in the
form of a three-run home run in the second inning and a grand slam in
the third. Both games were high-scoring affairs, with Florida State
coming out on top 11-8 and 15-11.