Successful college shortstops tend to be overdrafted. Take 2010, when the consensus of area scouts in Southern California preferred Cal State Fullerton speed-merchant outfielder Gary Brown over shortstop Christian Colon, while national evaluators preferred Colon for his track record of hitting and steady, if less flashy tools.

The college middle infielder that can hit is one of the safest profiles for scouts, so Colon went fourth overall, while Brown went 20 picks later and signed for $1.3 million less than Colon. In their first season as pros in 2011, Brown outshined Colon. Both are in Double-A now.

This year's crop of college middle infielders is thin, contributing to the subpar college hitting crop overall. Arizona State's Deven Marrero and Stanford's Kenny Diekroeger led the crop of such players coming into the year, but neither has shined this spring, with Diekroeger (.310/.360/.441) moving to second base while sophomore Lonnie Kaupilla was healthy for the Cardinals and Marrero slumping to .268/.329/.396.

That has left room for others to move up, including two from the rival schools that have occupied the top spot in BA's Top 25 college rankings: Florida State's Justin Gonzalez and as Florida junior Nolan Fontana.

[...] Continue Reading »

Baseball America intern Peter Wardell got out to see Trey Williams again last weekend and shot some video, too. . .

In a down year for Southern California position prospects, Valencia (Calif.) High’s Trey Williams leads the way as a potential first-round talent.

This past weekend, I made it out to Valencia for a double-header and my third look at the Pepperdine-commit this spring. Over the two games against Dana Hills, Williams, the son of former big leaguer Eddie Williams, went 4-for-6 with four singles and a walk.

Williams’ game begins at the plate where he rates as a solid-average pure hitter with power potential. He shows tremendous bat speed, arguably the top of his class, due to quick hands and wrists. This not only allows him to jump on pitches a split-second later than most, but also helps him generate power. Nearly every ball he puts in play is hit hard and he does a tremendous job making consistent contact and squaring up. He really only juiced one ball on Saturday (a deep flyout to center field) but has shown plenty of raw power in previous looks including a no-doubt home run against Harvard-Westlake, shown at the end of the video below.

The biggest difference I saw from Williams last weekend (and a good one at that) was in his plate approach. Back at the MLSB Compton Urban Youth Academy showcase in February and even a little bit against Harvard-Westlake, Williams was overly patient at the plate, to a fault. He was working deep into counts, often getting behind and although he rarely looked phased with two strikes, it was still concerning. On Saturday, he was much more aggressive, jumping on pitches early in the count while capitalizing on the pitcher’s mistakes. It was good to see. [...] Continue Reading »

Last year, Mississippi featured a two-sport high school star who was one of the draft's most electric athletes but ultimately couldn't be enticed to play professional baseball. The Red Sox drafted Pascagoula High outfielder Senquez Golson in the eighth round and offered him a seven-figure bonus before he decided to play football and baseball at Mississippi.

History is repeating itself this spring, as Petal (Miss.) High outfielder Anthony Alford has informed baseball teams that he's intent on playing football and baseball at Southern Mississippi in lieu of turning pro.

The first player in Mississippi history to win the state's Gatorade football player of the year award as both a junior and senior, Alford quarterbacked Petal to the 6-A state championship game last fall. He passed for 2,058 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 1,731 yards and another 24 scores.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Alford offers tantalizing potential on the diamond as well. An outfielder with plus-plus speed and good power potential, he might have commanded a seven-figure bonus if he were willing to commit to baseball. He entered the second round of the state 6-A playoffs hitting .479 with three homers and 12 steals in 25 games.

Missouri State righthander Pierce Johnson had pitched himself into the first round of the 2012 draft before leaving a March 30 start against Dallas Baptist after just three innings. He missed his next two starts with what was diagnosed as a forearm strain, putting his draft status in question. When he finally returned to the mound Sunday against Wichita State, he provided the answers scouts wanted to see.

Johnson followed a shaky first inning in which he allowed two runs to pitch five strong frames afterward. He struck out nine and walked none in his six innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while throwing 49 of 74 pitches for strikes. Despite his layoff, his fastball ran from 91-94 mph and he backed it up with a hard curveball and an effective changeup in a 3-2 loss to the Shockers.

"Other than being a little rusty in the first inning, he was good," said Bears assistant Paul Evans, who has coached eight Missouri State pitchers who have advanced to the major leagues. "You could tell he was a little jittery at first, but then he settled in. I was very pleased with what I saw."

Before his forearm strain, Johnson was working at 92-94 mph and topping out at 96 with his lively fastball. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder is doing a better job of repeating his delivery and commanding his pitches than he had in his first two college seasons. A 15th-round pick by the Rays out of a Colorado high school in 2009, he has a 2-4, 2.28 record with 80 strikeouts in 55 innings over eight starts this spring.

• St. John’s outfielder Jeremy Baltz helped lead the Red Storm to a sweep of Cincinnati, with scores of 14-1, 9-4 and 9-0. Baltz went 8-for-12 on the weekend with a double and seven RBIs. Baltz wasn’t the only St. John’s player with a dominating week. Righthander Kyle Hansen pitched a complete-game shutout Friday night, allowing just six hits with no walks and 16 strikeouts for the win. He’s now 2-5, 4.05 on the season with 15 walks and 72 strikeouts over 53 innings.

• San Francisco righthander Kyle Zimmer continues to cruise. Against Gonzaga this weekend, Zimmer threw eight innings, allowing three runs on nine hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts. Zimmer got the win, improving to 4-3, 2.87 on the year.

• Mississippi State righthander Chris Stratton continues to deal for the Bulldogs. This weekend against Tennessee, Stratton pitched nine innings, giving up one run on four hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts. The game wound up going 11 innings and Mississippi State won, 2-1.

• Stanford swept Arizona State this weekend, as the Cardinal outscored the Sun Devils 34-17 over the three games, highlighted by a 17-5 rout on Friday night. Left fielder Stephen Piscotty went 6-for-13 on the weekend with a triple and seven RBIs.

• Missouri State righthander Pierce Johnson returned to the mound against Wichita State and gave up three runs on seven hits over six innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. He got the loss and is now 2-4, 2.28 on the season.

• Stony Brook center fielder Travis Jankowski went 7-for-11 on the weekend against Hartford with a double, three triples and three stolen bases. Jankowski is now hitting .354/.436/.556 on the season with 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts.

• Jacksonville outfielder/first baseman Adam Brett Walker went 6-for-11 this weekend against South Carolina Upstate with three doubles, a home run and two stolen bases.

Here are all of the weekend stats for the nation's top draft-eligible college players, listed alphabetically by school. The stats were collected by CollegeSplits.com. Follow CollegeSplits on Twitter @collegesplits. The list of players was selected before the season to include this year's top college talent for the draft. . .

[...] Continue Reading »

• Stanford ace righthander Mark Appel had a great outing against Oregon on Friday night. Appel gave up one run on 10 hits over nine innings while walking two and striking out 13. Appel, who threw 149 pitches, got a no-decision and the Cardinal lost the game in the 10th inning, 4-2.

• Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero has been sliding on draft boards after having a lackluster spring. There are questions about how much he’ll hit at the next level, but he had a good weekend against Southern California, going 5-for-11 with a triple, a home run (his fourth of the season) and a stolen base. Marrero raised his season line to .290/.347/.427. Even after the slide, he still projects to go in the top half of the first round.

• Texas A&M righthander Michael Wacha shut out Kansas in a complete-game victory on Friday. Over the nine innings, Wacha allowed just four hits and no walks while collecting six strikeouts. On the season, Wacha is now 5-0, 2.42 with 50 hits, 11 walks and 66 strikeouts over 63 innings.

• Duke righthander Marcus Stroman held on to the lead for the most strikeouts in the country with eight more against Maryland this weekend, raising his season total to 93. Oklahoma State lefthander Andrew Heaney is in second place with 85 strikeouts on the season.

• Florida lefthander Brian Johnson pitched well against Tennessee, throwing six shutout innings while allowing six hits with one walk and four strikeouts for the win. Johnson also went 6-for-12 with two doubles and a home run to raise his batting line to .315/.347/.517 on the season.

• California second baseman Tony Renda went 6-for-9 on the weekend against Washington with two doubles, a home run and a stolen base. On the season, the 5-foot-8, 173-pounder is now hitting .365/.447/.518.

• Cal Poly outfielder Mitch Haniger collected eight hits in 13 at-bats this weekend against Cal State Northridge, including a double and a home run. The junior raised his line on the season to .333/.405/.589 with 10 doubles and seven home runs.

Here are all of the weekend stats for the nation's top draft-eligible college players, listed alphabetically by school. The stats were collected by CollegeSplits.com. Follow CollegeSplits on Twitter @collegesplits. The list of players was selected before the season to include this year's top college talent for the draft. . .

[...] Continue Reading »

See Also: Byron Buxton scouting report

See Also: Byron Buxton video from Under Armour game

Baseball America headed south this weekend to check out a couple games from outfielder Byron Buxton and the Appling County High (Baxley, Ga.) Pirates. Over the two games against Long County High (Ludowici, Ga.) and Calvary Day School (Savannah, Ga.), Buxton went 4-for-6 with two doubles and two walks. He showed off his well above-average speed on the bases and in the outfield, where he ran down a ball easily in the left-center gap.

Of all those things—getting a hit, stealing a base, or making a good defensive play—there's one Buxton likes better than the other two.

"Running a ball down," Buxton said. "Because you're keeping somebody else from getting on base."

Buxton—"Buck" to most of the fans in the stands, except his grandma, who has always called him "Big Boy"—is the type of athlete who makes everything look easy. He doesn't get overanxious at the plate, remaining patient and waiting for his pitch. He's a smooth, gliding runner and he got on the mound to close out the first game and ran his fastball up to 94 mph.

On top of all that, he handles everything that comes with being the top prospect in the country—the scrutiny from other teams, as well as the fan and media attention—with a relaxed grace.

Buxton, a Georgia recruit, isn't likely to wind up on campus because he projects to be picked in the first five picks of the draft. That was evident on Saturday by the teams in attendance to scout the tooled-up outfielder. The Astros (picking first), Mariners (3rd), Orioles (4th) and Pirates (8th) all had scouts at the game to see Buxton play.

With four more stolen bases over the two games, Buxton is now 21-for-21 in steals on the season. He hasn't stolen home this year yet, but he did do it once last year and always has the green light—both at the plate and on the bases.

"I tell him, if he gets a good read, he's on his own," Appling County High head coach Jeremy Smith said.

Even with all the draft hype and attention this year, Buxton's goal remains simple.

"I want to lead us to the state championships, that's it," Buxton said.

Below is video of Buxton from April 13 & 14.
 

• Clemson third baseman Richie Shaffer had a great weekend against Duke, going 7-for-13 with a double and two stolen bases. Click here to read about his night against Marcus Stroman, which includes video of his batting practice, and two at-bats versus Duke’s ace.

• Baseball America’s Midseason Most Outstanding Player was Florida catcher Mike Zunino, who went 5-for-14 with four doubles and a stolen base this weekend as the Gators lost the series to Louisiana State.

• Alabama senior outfielder Taylor Dugas went 6-for-13 on the weekend against Auburn with a double, a triple, a home run and a stolen base. The 5-foot-7, 175-pounder was a eighth-round draft pick by the Cubs last year and is now hitting .350/.480/.525 on the season.

• Purdue third baseman Cameron Perkins went 8-for-14 on the weekend against Northwestern. Perkins, who stands 6-foot-5, weighs 200 pounds and ranked as the No. 8 prospect this summer in the Northwoods League, hit a double and stole three bases on the weekend. On the season, he’s now hitting .388/.429/.545 with seven doubles and four home runs.

• It was a tough outing for Duke righthander Marcus Stroman, as his brilliant effort wasn’t enough for his team to beat Clemson on Friday night. The future first-rounder went nine innings, giving up one run (unearned) on seven hits while walking three and striking out 13. The 13 strikeouts marked the eighth double-digit strikeout game of Stroman’s career and matched his second-highest strikeout total in a single game. Duke wound up losing the game 4-1 in 11 innings.

• Georgia lefthander Alex Wood gave up two runs on seven hits for the win against Arkansas this weekend. Wood walked three and struck out 11, improving to 4-1, 2.45.

• Arkansas righthander D.J. Baxendale threw eight scoreless innings against Oregon State on Sunday. He gave up six hits, but didn’t walk anyone and struck out seven. Baxendale lowered picked up his sixth win of the season, improving his record to 6-1, 4.20.

Here are all of the weekend stats for the nation's top draft-eligible college players, listed alphabetically by school. The stats were collected by CollegeSplits.com. Follow CollegeSplits on Twitter @collegesplits. The list of players was selected before the season to include this year's top college talent for the draft. . .

[...] Continue Reading »

Friday night against Duke ace Marcus Stroman, Clemson third baseman Richie Shaffer showed about 20 scouts—including several crosscheckers and a few scouting directors—that he has no trouble catching up to premium velocity.

Shaffer went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout Friday night, with both singles coming off of 95 mph fastballs from Stroman. The strikeout came against Duke reliever Andrew Istler.

After the game, Shaffer was complimentary of Stroman's stuff.

"He was electric today," Shaffer said. "You can't be thinking anything besides fastball, because he's really got a heavy ball. He kind of has that short arm motion, so it really gets on you real fast. I was just trying to look for something up in the zone and was trying to stay off his slider, because when it's on, it's almost unhittable. . . the at-bat that I walked, he threw me a 2-0 slider and I think it might be the sharpest slider I've ever seen. Thankfully, it was a couple inches off the plate and wasn't a strike. But there's a reason he's as good as he is. He has great stuff and I was fortunate enough to get a few pitches up in the zone and get a few hits."

Stroman threw nine innings, giving up one unearned run off of seven hits. He walked three and struck out 13 for a no-decision. Clemson eventually won the game, 4-1, in 11 innings. After the 2-for-4 performance, Shaffer is now hitting .349/.489/.670 on the season with 11 doubles and seven home runs.

Clemson coach Jack Leggett has been impressed with Shaffer's development over the past three years.

"He's been more selective at the plate," Leggett said. "He's patient but aggressive and he's using all fields. He's understanding that line drives and hitting the ball in the gap and those sorts of things are big. He's a big RBI guy, got a big hit early in the game to break the ice early. He's playing good defense at third base and is getting more comfortable all the time over there and he's doing a lot of good things, leadership wise. His leadership colors are coming out."

Shaffer has a tall, physical frame at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. He has broad shoulders, but a trim ways and moves well for his size. He's light on his feet at third base and isn't a clogger on the bases. He has above-average arm strength and, if he has to move off of third base, may be able to handle a move to a corner outfield spot instead of heading straight to first base.

While scouts have to think about the future, Shaffer is very much living in the present.

"People can say whatever they want about me, but I'm confident in my abilities at third base," Shaffer said. "Right now, my goal is to play a good third for our team here. That's the most important thing now for me, is to make all the plays I can make and help our pitchers get outs. Whatever my future holds down the road, that's not really a priority for me right now. I'm just trying to focus on helping my team get wins, but I'm confident in playing wherever on the diamond."

Draft Dope

• Even though Stroman's effort was marred by a loss, he still looked brilliant. His fastball was in the 93-96 mph range and he mixed in his 82-86 mph slider and his 81-83 mph changeup.

• Clemson starter Kevin Brady started out in the 92-94 mph range, but settled in at 90-92 and was down to the 89-90 range by the fourth inning. He recently scrapped his curveball for an 80-82 mph slider, which was a good pitch considering the circumstances. Brady allowed one run on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts over six innings. Righthanded reliever Scott Firth throws across his body a little, but shows a loose arm and a fastball in the 93-95 mph range. The arm strength is interesting, but Firth doesn't have good control—as evidenced by his five walks over five relief innings—and his 83-84 slider is inconsistent.

Matt Smoral, a lefthanded pitcher at Solon (Ohio) High, will have surgery on the fourth metatarsal of his right foot on Friday, April 6, his father confirmed in an e-mail to Baseball America. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Brian Donley of the Cleveland Clinic. Donley said the expected recovery time is 12 to 14 weeks and while he couldn't guarantee anything, he expects a full recovery with no limitations for Smoral afterward.

Smoral, a North Carolina signee, has an imposing presence on the mound. He stands at 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds. His fastball sits in the 89-92 mph range and tops out at 94. He also throws a slider in the 81-84 mph range and a changeup with similar velocity. His low arm slot causes him to sometimes get around his slider, but when he stays on top of it, it's a tight pitch with late break. Like many big pitchers, Smoral is still growing into his frame and learning how to control his delivery. He currently lands a little open and a little stiff, sometimes stumbling off the mound in his follow through. This causes his control to come and go, but when he's on, his stuff is dominating. Smoral has the athleticism to smooth things out. He made a recent start at a tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and struggled before exiting the game in the fourth inning with blisters.

CHARLOTTE — Providence High righthander Ty Buttrey from Charlotte has been a player who has been rising up draft boards lately after he was touching 95-96 mph earlier in the season.

He didn't quite have his best stuff in his April 4 start against Charlotte Christian in the Jack Sink Memorial Tournament, but Buttrey still battled through 6 1/3 innings.

"I definitely didn't feel my best," Buttrey said of the outing. "It kind of started in the 'pen. I just felt like my fastball wasn't on today. Later on, I think the fifth inning, Coach (Danny) Hignight just asked me what I have to throw to get outs, so we switched to two-seamers and changeups and I just kind of used those from the fifth inning on. It was just one of those days when you don't have your best stuff and you just try to manage with what you've got."

Buttrey's fastball in this outing was in the 92-93 mph range early on, but he quickly settled into the 90-92 range and held that velocity throughout the game. He throws a changeup with good fade at times in the 83-85 mph range and a hard downer curveball that is consistently between 77-79 mph.

"It's actually a knuckle-curve," Buttrey said. "I've never really been able to throw the traditional curveball and I just feel like I can really get on top of this one. It was pretty much my go-to pitch today. It's always been my go-to strikeout pitch."

Buttrey has a large frame and even at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, he still has room to add muscle. His delivery is pretty smooth, although he does have a little wrist wrap in the back that can cause his curveball to flatten out at times. In addition to his stuff, one of Buttrey's best attributes is his breakneck tempo on the mound. He pitches like his car is parked next to a fire hydrant, never letting batters get comfortable and he also didn't show any emotion on the mound.

Some scouts believe Buttrey's drop in fastball velocity from earlier in the year is because he's also used sometimes as a reliever in between his start days.

"I've come in relief about two times this year and closed once," Buttrey said. "It's all right. I like the preparation and getting mentally focused before a start and if I had to pick one, it'd be to start any day. But I'll do whatever it takes to help us win."

Buttrey, an Arkansas recruit, was taken out of the game in the seventh with Providence trailing 3-2 and they were losing 4-2 as they came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh, but wound up scoring two runs to win the game.

Below is video of Buttrey's second inning. . .

By Peter Wardell

Editor’s note: Baseball America intern Peter Wardell hit the road last week to get a look at San Francisco ace Kyle Zimmer and Camarillo (Calif.) High lefthander Hunter Virant, who took the mound at Oxnard. He filed this report.

Kyle Zimmer, rhp, San Francisco

Zimmer has been one of the hottest names among draft circles this spring. Over 46 innings, the Dons junior is 2-2, 2.14 with a 51-7 strikeout-walk rate. In just a couple of months, he’s gone from a presumed late first-rounder or supplemental pick to a strong candidate for the top overall selection. 

Following a pair of complete game shutouts the past two weekends against Hawaii and UC Santa Barbara, Zimmer took the mound Friday against No. 24 San Diego on Friday in front of a dozen scouts and even a couple GMs. While the Toreros did knock around the La Jolla native for four runs on 10 hits over 7 1/3 innings, Zimmer impressed, displaying solid command and composure and flashing dominance, finishing the contest with six strikeouts and just one walk.

Zimmer utilizes four pitches, all of which have the potential to rate as above-average offerings. His fastball sat 92-94, touching 96 mph, with decent life. The pitch flattens out at times up in the zone, but overall Zimmer commands it well, working both sides of the plate and challenging hitters. His curveball came in 79-81 with sharp, 11-to-5 break, and already rates as a solid out pitch. It has hard falling-off-the-table drop, drawing lots of swings and misses. [...] Continue Reading »

• South Carolina first baseman Christian Walker mashed against Vanderbilt this weekend, going 6-for-12 with three home runs as the Gamecocks won the series, 2-1. Walker is now hitting .332/.452/.569 on the season with six doubles and six home runs.

• California catcher Chadd Krist went 5-for-12 with two doubles and a home run this weekend against Texas. Krist is now hitting .315/.353/.454 on the season.

• Georgia Tech righthander Buck Farmer and Duke righthander Marcus Stroman went head-to-head on Saturday in what turned out to be the pitching duel of the weekend. Farmer and the Yellow Jackets got the best of Stroman’s Blue Devils, winning 1-0. Farmer threw a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out 11. Stroman threw 7 2/3 innings, giving up one run on six hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts.

• Georgia Southern righthander Chris Beck dominated against College of Charleston, striking out 16 over six innings. He also gave up two runs on seven hits and walked two. Beck’s 16 strikeouts were two short of the school record, set in 1959 by Ray Mims.

[...] Continue Reading »

USA Baseball's National High School Invitational is loaded with prospects. Watch the video below to learn a little more about the lighter side of Max Fried, Luke Sims, Joey Gallo, Courtney Hawkins, Ty Moore and Matt Olson. . .

Courtney Hawkins has been one of the stars of the National High School Invitational. The outfielder/pitcher for Corpus Christi, Texas' Carroll High hit a home run while also dominating on the mound on Thursday. Ranked as the No. 38 draft prospect in our February Draft Top 100 rankings, Hawkins has pro potential either in the field or on the mound.

But that's not all Hawkins can do. On Friday morning, he showed off his athleticism with an easy backflip, as you can see here.

Klein-Collins (Spring, Texas) shortstop C.J. Hinojosa will miss the rest of the season with an injured left shoulder and probably won't be healthy by the draft, which is scheduled for June 4-6.

"Back at USA Trials in the summer, I dislocated it and I didn't think much of it," Hinojosa said. "But I kept playing on it and I worked it out and everything to strengthen it and the first game of the season this year it popped out again. And then two weeks ago, I was going for a ball up the middle and I dove on it and it popped out and that was the third time. I had seen the doctor and he said after about the third time it can happen just about whenever."
[...] Continue Reading »

The second day of the USA Baseball's National High School Invitational had numerous highlights, but Carroll High (Corpus Christi, Texas) outfielder/righthander Courtney Hawkins stole the show.

In the team's first game against Gulliver Prep from Pinecrest, Fla., Hawkins was a one-man wrecking crew. He started the game on the mound where he threw 5 1/3 shutout innings, giving up four hits, walking two and striking out nine for the win. His fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range, topping out at 94, but it wasn't his only weapon.

"He's got a split and a slider," Carroll head coach Lee Yeager said. "He struck their four-hole guy out on a pretty good slider. They've got a good bunch of hitters so he did a pretty good job of keeping them off balance and giving us a chance."

The Tigers' only run of the game came from a Hawkins home run. The pitch was a little outside and Hawkins didn't even get all of it, but he's strong enough for it to still leave the yard nearly 400 feet to left-center. The home run was one of Hawkins' two hits during four at-bats on the day.

"I kind of got around it a little bit," Hawkins said. "It was a lefty and he had good movement, so the whole plan was to go the other way with it and he ended up running it into my bat. I got a good swing on it." [...] Continue Reading »

The first marquee mound matchup of USA Baseball's National High School Invitational certainly did not disappoint.

Nearly 100 scouts crowded behind the backstop to watch Brookwood High (Snellville, Ga.) righthander Luke Sims take on Highlands Ranch (Colo.) High and their ace righthander, Ryan Burr.

Sims dominated, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He wound up giving up one weak hit—a little dribbler past the mound—over six innings of work for the win. The Clemson signee walked three and struck out 11.

"Sims obviously is a very good pitcher," Highlands Ranch head coach John Cackowski said. "We got better by facing him today."

Sims sat in the 90-92 mph range with his lively fastball. He touched a handful of 93s and 94s, held his velocity deep into the game and threw his fastball for strikes to both sides of the plate, never afraid to own the inner half.
[...] Continue Reading »

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Things didn't quite go as planned for Solon (Ohio) High lefthander Matt Smoral in his first game of the season.

Pitching in a spring break tournament March 26 against Westerville (Ohio) Central High at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Smoral didn't get hit hard but battled his control due to a couple of blisters flaring up on his middle finger. Over 3 1/3 innings before being pulled, he gave up three hits, walked five and struck out five.

"From the very beginning, I didn't feel like I had my best stuff, even in the bullpen," Smoral said. "My arm didn't feel that great, but it was a matter of making adjustments. The first inning I went out there and it was good and then the second inning I went out there and pounded the outside corner, but I didn't make that adjustment and didn't get inside on those guys and didn't get to where I could use my secondary pitches a lot and take advantage of those."

With about 30 crosscheckers and scouting directors on hand, Smoral sat in the 89-91 mph range with his fastball. His lack of control didn't allow him to get into his secondary pitches much. Of his 74 pitches on the day, 61 of them were fastballs. His slider wasn't as sharp as it's been in the past, sitting in the 81-82 mph range and he only threw one changeup.

This offseason, Smoral worked to get stronger and improve his secondary pitches. He did some of his training in Houston with David Evans, who was a sixth-round pick by the Mariners in 1989 and spent 11 years in professional baseball. Now he conducts pitching lessons and coaches for the Houston Heat travel team.

"The biggest thing this offseason was I wanted to get stronger and get my body in the best possible shape I could," Smoral said. "I came out very confident and I really felt good about my mechanics and stuff. I felt really good about what I did this offseason and preparing mentally, as well."

Smoral said he worked to use his legs more in his delivery and focused on not letting his hips leak open early to get the most out of his size. It was during his training last year when he met a new friend in fellow gargantuan pitching prospect Mitchell Traver from Houston Christian High.

"We met the first time I went down to Houston, which was about a year and a half ago, last February," Smoral said. "Then we saw each other a lot last summer at the showcases and I started to develop a friendship with him. I went back down to Houston in December and stayed at his house. Ever since then, we've been real close friends. We talk after each one of our starts and it's good to have a guy you can relate with and a real good friend who also knows a lot about pitching."

Below is a video of Smoral's outing today. . .

• Texas A&M righthander Michael Wacha is rising on draft boards as he continues to carve teams up this spring.

• Oklahoma State lefthander Andrew Heaney continues to dominate. In his start against Missouri this weekend, Heaney threw a complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts. Heaney got the win, improving his record to 5-1 and is second for Division I pitchers with 65 strikeouts this season.

• The pitcher with the most strikeouts so far this season (66) is Missouri State righthander Pierce Johnson, who took the lead this weekend after posting 16 strikeouts in a comple-game shutout against Creighton. Johnson gave up five hits and one walk in the effort, picking up his second win of the season and lowering his ERA to 1.94.

• Catcher Dane Phillips continues to rake for NAIA Oklahoma City. This weekend, he went 6-for-13 with five doubles, raising his season line to .416/.500/.850. Phillips' Stars are now 25-6 on the year.

• Florida State senior outfielder James Ramsey has been red-hot all year for the Seminoles. This weekend against Wake Forest, Ramsey went 4-for-11 with a double and three home runs. He's now hitting .427/.564/.890 with five doubles and nine home runs.

• Florida catcher Mike Zunino only had two hits on the weekend, but they were both home runs against South Carolina, helping the Gators win the series over the Gamecocks.

Here are all of the weekend stats for the nation's top draft-eligible college players, listed alphabetically by school. The stats were collected by CollegeSplits.com. Follow CollegeSplits on Twitter @collegesplits. The list of players was selected before the season to include this year's top college talent for the draft. . .

[...] Continue Reading »