College Hot Sheet: 20 College Baseball Standouts From The Past Week (3/21/23)

Welcome to the College Hot Sheet! Like our pro hot sheets, the College Hot Sheet recognizes some of the top performers around the country in college baseball after each weekend of play. Carlos Collazo and Peter Flaherty contributed to the College Hot Sheet this week.

Related:

• College Top 25
• Top 2023 Draft Prospects
• Top 2024 Draft Prospects

1. Brandon Sproat, RHP, Florida
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K

Sproat turned in what was arguably his best outing in a Florida uniform on Thursday night, throwing a complete game shutout against SEC foe Alabama. He tallied 11 strikeouts and was in control all night, allowing just one hit and two walks. Sproat held his premium velocity for the entire outing with his fastball topping out at 99 mph. It’s a pitch that has plenty of ride and run, and is one with which he got plenty of swing and miss. Sproat also mixed in a strong 60-grade changeup and hard slider. With Friday’s performance, Sproat’s ERA now sits at 2.73 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 43-to-14 in 29.2 innings. -PF

2. Hunter Owen, LHP, Vanderbilt
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

The junior lefthander was magnificent on Friday night, throwing a complete game shutout against one of the best offenses in the country in No. 15 Mississippi. After a first inning in which Owen navigated around a couple baserunners, he proceeded to retire the last 23 hitters of the game, setting new career highs with 11 strikeouts and nine innings pitched in the process. The 6-foot-6 Owen has a short, quick arm action that adds a level of deception and makes his stuff play up. Owen has pitched his way to a 2.20 ERA on the season with 35 strikeouts to nine walks in 28.2 innings. -PF

3. CJ Kayfus, 1B, Miami
Class: 2023
What He Did: 12-for-16 (.750), 3 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI

After a slow start to his 2023 season, Kayfus exploded last week by going 12-for-16 with three home runs and eight RBIs across four games. His most impressive performance came in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, in which he went 4-for-5 and belted two home runs. Coming into the week Kayfus was hitting .250, but has since seen his average skyrocket over 100 points to .355. -PF

4. Jack Findlay, LHP, Notre Dame
Class: 2024
What He Did: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K

After coming out of the bullpen in his first four appearances, Findlay made his first start this past Sunday against No. 4 Wake Forest. It was apparent Findlay was up for the challenge, as he threw 5.2 shutout innings against one of the best lineups in the country with 10 strikeouts while allowing just two hits. Findlay’s fastball/slider combination, along with his advanced pitchability, allows him to be especially effective against lefthanded-heavy lineups. The sophomore lefthander now boasts an ERA of 1.99 with 35 strikeouts to four walks across 22.2 innings. -PF

5. Paul Skenes, RHP, Louisiana State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K

In his first dose of SEC play, Skenes continued his spectacular season on the mound by spinning yet another quality start in which he threw 6.1 shutout innings and struck out 11. His fastball topped out at a whopping 101 mph with plenty of arm-side run and his slider was sharp again. Skenes now has a minuscule 0.59 ERA and a ridiculous 59-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 30.1 innings. -PF

6. Jonah Cox, INF, Oral Roberts
Class: 2023
What He Did: 15-for-25 (.600), 11 R, 7 RBI

Cox continued his torrid start to the 2023 season, collecting 15 hits over a five-game period last week. He had three or more hits in four of the five games, highlighted by a 4-for-5 performance on Saturday in which he doubled, tripled and drove in three runs. Cox is now hitting .466 on the season and has been a huge piece for the Oral Roberts offense. -PF

7. Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina
Class: 2024
What He Did: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K

Yesavage was outstanding on Friday night, spinning 7.1 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks against a solid Missouri State club. He ran his fastball up to 97 mph and coupled the offering with a sharp downer curveball—a pitch that got nine swings and misses. Yesavage is one of the premier arms in the 2024 draft class, and has a 1.48 ERA and a 43-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. -PF

8. George Klassen, RHP, Minnesota
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Klassen has always had some of the loudest stuff in college baseball, but a lack of command has held the athletic righthander back. He has electric arm speed and his fastball has been clocked as high as 102 mph. On Saturday the righthander set a career high with 7.2 innings pitched and eight strikeouts, but most importantly he was able to consistently throw strikes. Stringing together more quality starts like this moving forward will be key for Klassen’s draft stock. -PF

9. Ethan Petry, OF, South Carolina
Class: 2025
What He Did: 9-for-16 (.563), 3 HR, 4 R, 9 RBI

Petry continued what has been an absolute monster start to his true freshman campaign by going 9-for-16, belting three home runs and driving in nine. His best performance came on the opening night of SEC play, which is an intimidating stage for many. However, the true freshman more than rose to the occasion by going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. Petry has been a huge reason for the Gamecocks’ incredible 20-1 start, and he is now hitting .458 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs. -PF

10. Ben Barrett, DH, Florida State
Class: 2025
What He Did: 8-for-15 (.533), 2 HR, 3 R, 8 RBI, 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Barrett starred on both sides of the baseball last week for Florida State by throwing 3.1 perfect innings on the mound against Central Florida, before going 8-for-15 in its weekend series against No. 17 Boston College, including a 5-for-5, two-home run, six-RBI performance in the series opener. The 6-foot-4 true freshman is now 18-for-40 (.450) to start the season with 14 RBIs in 12 games played. -PF

11. Eric Kennedy, OF, Texas
Class: 2023
What He Did: 11-for-20 (.550), 5 HR, 2 2B, 9 R, 10 RBI

Kennedy posted his second .300 average season a year ago in his fourth year with Texas and is well on his way to a third as a redshirt senior in 2023. He tallied hits in all five games against North Dakota State and New Orleans, including a pair of two-homer games—capped by a 3-for-3 day on Sunday that included two home runs and a double. He is now hitting .376/.442/.753 with a team-high seven homers. –CC

12. Noah Fisher, SS, Northern Kentucky
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-12 (.667), 4 HR, 1 2B, 5 R, 11 RBI

Fisher was a consistent run producer last weekend against Milwaukee. He went 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs in the Friday opener and managed a home run in each of the next two games as well and boosted his average from .276 to .343 in just three games in the process. The fifth-year senior is up to five home runs on the season—tied for the team lead—and is hitting .343/.439/.657. –CC

13. Dylan Strickland, 2B, Georgia State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-14 (.500), 5 HR, 9 R, 10 RBI

Strickland went on a home run binge over the weekend, hitting a long ball five times in a span of seven plate appearances across two games. He homered twice on Saturday against Troy and then added a three-homer game that tied Georgia State’s program record on Sunday. He’s up to nine home runs on the season and has slashed .407/.492/.926 through 17 games. –CC

14. Homer Bush Jr., OF, Grand Canyon
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9-for-17 (.529), 1 HR, 8 R, 4 RBI

Bush put together another strong week, highlighted by a five-hit performance against Sacramento State. The 6-foot-3 center fielder has gotten off to a great start this season to the tune of a .419 batting average, 16 RBIs and more walks (12) than strikeouts (7). Bush is also an above-average defender in center field, and with his unique size and speed combination he could hear his name called in the first 3-4 rounds of this year’s draft.  -PF

15. Luke Cantwell, 1B, Fairleigh Dickinson
Class: 2024
What He Did: 6-for-12 (.500), 5 HR, 5 R, 10 RBI

Cantwell rebounded from an 0-for-4 showing against Lehigh in a midweek matchup by exploding in Fairleigh Dickinson’s Friday night opener against Wagner. The sophomore first baseman went 3-for-4 with three home runs and then followed up with a home run in each of the next two games. He’s leading the team with eight homers on the season and is slashing .389/.600/1.167 in 16 games. –CC

16. Luke Holman, RHP, Alabama
Class: 2024
What He Did: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K

Holman threw seven shutout innings against South Alabama last Tuesday and needed only 87 pitches to do it while racking up nine strikeouts and zero walks. He did a nice job establishing a 91-95 mph fastball in the zone that got a few whiffs up, and used both a slider and a downer curveball to get swings and misses down in the zone. On the season he has posted a 2.25 ERA over 20 innings with a sparkling 25-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. –CC

17. JJ Wetherholt, 2B, West Virginia
Class: 2024
What He Did: 11-for-22 (.500), 2 2B, 6 R, 9 RBI

Wetherholt has tallied a hit in 18 of 19 games he’s played so far this season, but his most impressive game came last week against Appalachian State in a midweek matchup, when he went 5-for-6 with a pair of doubles, a pair of runs and six RBIs. On the season, Wetherholt is among the national leaders with a .462 average. –CC

18. Luke Sinnard, RHP, Indiana
Class: 2024
What He Did: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 13 K

Sinnard struck out a career-high 13 batters against Morehead State on Friday, and he retired 65% of the batters he faced via strikeout. The massive, 6-foot-8 righthander overpowered batters with a low-90s fastball and a mid-to-upper-80s slider/cutter. On the year he’s posted a 3.33 ERA over 27 innings with a 39-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. –CC

19. Jayson Kramer, OF, Mount St. Mary’s
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-14 (.500), 3 HR, 1 2B, 5 R, 9 RBI

Kramer entered last weekend’s series against St. Bonaventure with just a pair of home runs, but he homered three times in three games, including a 4-for-5 showing in the Sunday finale, where he homered twice and also added a double. He raised his average from .286 entering the series to .333 after it. –CC

20. Mac Horvath, 3B, North Carolina
Class: 2023
What He Did: 5-for-14 (.357), 3 HR, 2 2B, 6 R, 7 RBI

Horvath didn’t have a huge sample last week after two games of a three-game series against Pittsburgh were canceled due to weather. Still, he homered three times in three games last week, including a 3-for-6 performance on Friday against Pittsburgh with a pair of homers and a double. He is now up to 11 home runs and 11 steals in just 20 games. –CC