The Week(end) in College Baseball

Lots of gigantic high school baseball tournaments took place this week, and we'll catch up on some of those at the end of this post, but first let's talk about the collegians.

A few college lefties recorded nice games this weekend, including Kentucky's Cory Littrell, Vanderbilt's Kevin Ziomek, and Minnesota's Tom Windle. Combined, they pitched 23 innings, giving up 4 earned runs on 13 hits, walking 4 and striking out 35.

Mark Appel did not pitch this weekend, but he did throw a complete game shutout on Thursday, allowing four hits and a walk, and striking out 10. Jonathan Gray also went on Thursday, given the Easter weekend schedule, and threw his own complete game. He took a no-hitter into the 7th, ultimately allowing one earned run on 2 hits, no walks, and 12 strikeouts. His teammate, Matt Oberste, set a new Oklahoma record by extending his hit streak to 30 games.

In a college class short on top-notch catching, California's Andrew Knapp is leading the way, going 5-for-10 with two home runs.

One of the bigger bats, New Mexico's All-American 1B/3B D.J. Peterson, was off to a hot start - going 3-for-3 with three doubles, 4 runs scored, and 1 RBI in the first game of the San Diego State series, but missed the rest of the weekend after tweaking a hamstring.

Batters

• Kris Bryant OF/3B/1B (Jr., San Diego) - 5/12, 2B, 2 HR, 5 R, 5 RBI
• Hunter Dozier SS (Jr., Stephen F. Austin State) - 5/9, 2B, 3 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI
• Adam Engel OF (Jr., Louisville) - 3/10, 2B, 5 R, 5 SB
• Mitch Garver C (Sr., New Mexico) - 6/10, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 6 RBI
• Ryon Healy 1B (Jr., Oregon) - 6/12, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI
• Eric Jagielo 3B (Jr., Notre Dame) - 4/10, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI
• Aaron Judge OF (Jr., Fresno State) - 7/12, 2B, HR, 2 R
• Andrew Knapp C (Jr., California) - 5/10, 2 HR, 4 R, 5 RBI
• Michael Lorenzen OF/RHP (Jr., Cal State Fullerton) - 7/12, 2B, 2 HR, 4 R, 7 RBI
• Matt Oberste 1B (Jr., Oklahoma) - 3/13, 2 2B, 1 R, 5 RBI
• Daniel Palka OF/1B (Jr., Georgia Tech) - 6/13, 3 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI
• Hunter Renfroe OF (Jr., Mississippi State) - 6/12, 2 R

Pitchers

• Mark Appel (Sr., Stanford) - 9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
• Alex Balog (Jr., San Francisco) - 4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
• Aaron Brown (So., Pepperdine) - 7 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
• Jonathan Crawford (Jr., Florida) - 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
• Scott Frazier (Jr., Pepperdine) - 6 IP, 14 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
• Jonathan Gray (Jr., Oklahoma) - 9 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 K
• Alex Haines (Jr., Seton Hill) - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
• Austin Kubitza (Jr., Rice) - 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 6 K
• Corey Littrell (Jr., Kentucky) - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K
• Sean Manaea (Jr., Indiana State) - 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
• Sam Moll (Jr., Memphis) - 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
• Dillon Overton (Jr., Oklahoma) - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• Braden Shipley (Jr., Nevada) - 8 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• Ryne Stanek (Jr., Arkansas) - 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• Tom Windle (Jr., Minnesota) - 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K
• Rob Zastryzny (Jr., Missouri) - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
• Kevin Ziomek (Jr., Vanderbilt) - 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 K

High School

• There was a lot going on this week in prep baseball, as the Easter weekend generally signals some of the bigger tournaments around the nation - in particular, the NHSI. For the second straight year, Mater Dei won the contest, this time on the bats of C Jeremy Martinez and 3B Ryan McMahon. McMahon, in particular, was one of the few big offensive performers at NHSI, and may be a fast riser, with opposite-field power and good plate discipline. His name is entering discussion at the end of the first round.
• In the Tate Aggie Classic, it got a bit heated. Depending on who you listen to, Norman North's (Okla.) players may or may not have been showering Arlington Country Day's (Fla.) players - including one of the top prep catchers, Brian Navaretto - with racial slurs. What is clear is that a brawl erupted on a more-or-less routine play at the plate.
• Hunter Harvey (Bandys, N.C.) has been catching fire lately, and a ton of scouts were on hand for his lat start. It was very cold, but Harvey was consistently 91-93 with his fastball, touching 94. His curveball (74-76) developed in the middle innings. He struck out 17 batters in 6 innings.
• Thomas Hatch (Jenks, Okla.) was 89-92 with his fastball early in his start, with great two-seam movement and decent command. He also flashed a changeup (79-81) and a curveball (74-77). He lost a ton of velocity in the later innings.
• Austin Meadows' (Grayson, Ga.) book is already being written, it seems, as pitchers were jamming him inside all through NHSI. Despite his bat speed, he's having trouble catching up to the inside pitches, though he did put a 90mph fastball on his hands into left center. On the plus side, his center field range, athleticism, and bat speed are still unquestioned.
• Nick Ciuffo (Lexington, So. Car.) is proving himself defensively, with above-average receiving skills and sub-1.8s pop times (a "pop" time is the time between the ball hitting the catcher's glove and it hitting the second baseman's glove on a steal attempt). Every scout at NHSI was raving about his maturity, according to my source.
• Stephen Gonsalves (Cathedral Catholic, Calif.) sat at 90-91 with his fastball, but he seems to be having a lot of trouble with his secondaries. His breaking ball is at 68-70 right now, with limited feel and action. His changeup (73-76) doesn't have a lot of command.
• Jordan Sheffield (Tullahoma, Tenn.) was scratched from the NHSI consolation game, and is scheduled to see a doctor this week after aggravating a forearm injury.
• Speaking of injuries, I headed to the Anaheim Lions tournament this weekend expecting to see Dominic Smith (Serra, Calif.), the top prep prospect in California. After his first at-bat, Smith moved from right field to first base, didn't throw during drills, and grimaced during his at-bats. It was clear something was wrong with his left shoulder, and sure enough he didn't report to Serra's second game on Saturday.
• Catcher Chris Okey (Eustis, Fla.) didn't impress at NHSI quite as much as Ciuffo did, but he did post better pop times and flashed great athleticism and agility behind the plate.
• Outfielder Nick Longhi (Venice, Fla.) continues to show enough of a consistent hit tool to remain in the second/third round talks. He shows a nice approach at the plate, and though he didn't get many pitches to drive at NHSI, he did make solid contact throughout the tournament.
• Trey Michalczewski (Jenks, Oklah.) is a name you don't hear very often, but maybe you should. a 6'3", 195 lb. switch-hitting high school shortstop with a whole lot of projection. He's got a big league body, though - like Carlos Correa - he may end up being too big to play shortstop. Still, he's got a quick stroke, particularly from the left side, and generates a ton of bat speed with it. If you were looking for a prep sleeper, you could do worse than Michalczewski.
• Anyone remember Clay Bellinger, the Yankees and Angels utilityman from the early 2000s? It's okay if you don't; he only put together 311 big league plate appearances over parts of four seasons, all after he'd turned 30. But his son, Cody Bellinger (Hamilton, Ariz.), looks like a big leaguer. 6'4", long and athletic, he's looking more and more like a big power bat from the left side down the line, and he's also showing the speed and the arm to be a valuable commodity at the next level. College may in store for him (he's an Oregon commit), but he could certainly compete as a professional.