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College | Story | 3/12/2015

Weekend Preview: Week 5

Patrick Ebert

Frankie Piliere

Jheremy Brown

Mike Rooney

Photo: Walt Beazley

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.

Rhett Wiseman (Photo: Vanderbilt Athletics)

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.

Jared Poche (Photo: Louisiana State)

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.

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