Brandon Koch

Teams found themselves in trouble if they trailed Dallas Baptist in the later innings. Setup man Drew Smith runs his fastball up to 96-97 mph and then hands the game over to Koch, who has proven to be extremely hard to square up with his combination of a 93-96 mph fastball down in the zone and one of the best sliders in the country. Koch (pronounced Coach) had struck out 16.6 batters per nine innings and he'd allowed only two extra-base hits in his first 22 appearances this season. Koch racks up strikeouts thanks to a plus 86-88 mph slider that can be almost unhittable even when hitters suspect it's coming. Koch gets great tilt and depth on the pitch, as it almost resembles a splitter as it reaches the plate. Koch's control can be shaky (5.6 walks per nine this year) and his success is dependent on a pitch that hitters have to chase out of the zone, but his two-pitch mix is one of the best in the college ranks and gives him a chance to move quickly up the ladder in pro ball.