College Hot Sheet: 20 College Baseball Standouts From The Past Week (3/7/23)

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. Payton Tolle, LHP/DH, Wichita State
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 10 K | 9-for-14 (.643), 2 HR, 1 2B, 4 R, 9 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Tolle is currently leading Wichita State with a .442 average and is second on the team with 17 innings pitched. Last week he tossed six innings against Oakland without allowing an earned run and set a career high with 10 strikeouts in one game. A 5-for-5 offensive outburst on the same day he pitched makes him a clear No. 1 on today’s hot sheet. –CC 

2. Jac Caglianone, LHP/1B, Florida
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K | 8-for-23 (.348), 4 HR, 2 2B, 7 R, 12 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K

The two-way sensation showed out on both sides of the baseball last week, crushing four home runs to give him a nation-leading 10 on the season as well as throwing six strong innings against Miami. Caglianone touched 99 mph with his fastball and also featured a slider that could end up being a plus pitch down the road. –PF

3. Paul Skenes, RHP, Louisiana State
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 K

Skenes was lights out on Friday night, dominating with his fastball that he ran up to 101 mph, and he got a ridiculous 30 swings and misses. He has been seemingly untouchable all season, pitching his way to a 0.50 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 36-to-3 through 18 innings pitched. –PF

4. Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee
Draft Class: 2023 
What He Did: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K

Dollander had sky-high expectations coming into this season, drawing comparisons to the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Jacob deGrom. That type of hype is practically impossible to live up to, which resulted in Dollander’s first two starts being dissected. However, on Friday night he was dominant, throwing six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts. Dollander had a ton of arm-side run on his fastball, a pitch he commanded well and got plenty of swing and miss with. He was able to hold his upper-90s velocity for the entirety of his outing, topping out at 98 mph. –PF

5. Josh Hartle, LHP, Wake Forest
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 12 K

After an inconsistent freshman year, Hartle has taken a sizable step forward in 2023. He turned in the best start of his Wake Forest career on Sunday, throwing seven innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out 12. Hartle’s best offering is his newly developed cutter, and with advanced pitchability he has above-average command of his entire arsenal. Through 18 innings pitched, Hartle has a 1.00 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 31-to-1. –PF

6. Colby Shelton, 3B, Alabama
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 7-for-15 (.467), 5 HR, 1 2B, 7 R, 12 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K

Shelton hit a pair of grand slams over the weekend against Illinois-Chicago and moved into a tie for sixth in the country with seven home runs after hitting five in just three days. On the season, Shelton is hitting .394/.500/.1.061 with 35 total bases. –CC 

7. Chris Cannizzaro, OF, Virginia Tech
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 14-for-20 (.700), 2 HR, 1 3B, 3 2B, 6 R, 9 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

It was almost impossible to get Cannizzaro out over the last week. He stuffed the box score with multi-hit games day after day against Radford and Charlotte and his 27 hits are the most in the country through March 6 games. –CC

8. Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 10-for-17 (.588), 2 HR, 4 2B, 6 R, 7 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K

Headlined by a 5-for-5 performance in which he hit three doubles and a home run, Moore put together his most impressive week yet. Early on in his college career he has proven to be an extremely polished hitter with a professional approach. –PF

9. Cannon Peebles, C, North Carolina State
Draft Class: 2025
What He Did: 8-for-10 (.800), 2 HR, 3 2B, 2 R, 11 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K

Peebles made his way onto this week’s Hot Sheet with a sparkling 6-for-6 performance at the plate on Saturday that included a home run from each side of the plate, three doubles and 10 RBIs. The coaching staff was impressed with his offensive ability this fall and he figures to be a key piece for the Wolfpack going forward. –PF

10. Jackson Finley, RHP/1B, Georgia Tech
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 5-for-14 (.357), 4 HR, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K | 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K

Finley’s numbers were muted somewhat after a quiet offensive series against Georgia, where he went 1-for-8, but he tied Georgia Tech’s school record with three homers in one game against Long Island on Tuesday and that offensive explosion is more than enough to make an appearance on the Hot Sheet. In that game, Finley went 3-for-3 with three homers, a walk, four runs scored and six RBIs. –CC

11. Blake Burke, 1B, Tennessee
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 11-for-22 (.500), 3 HR, 2 2B, 5 R, 14 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K

With the rise of Caglianone, Burke has been somewhat overshadowed. Last week he exploded for 11 hits, five of which went for extra bases, and 14 RBIs. He had three or more hits in three of his five games last week and possesses some of the best raw power of any hitter in the country. Burke now has seven home runs on the season to go with 20 RBIs. Watching Burke and Caglianone keep pace with each other in home runs will be a fun storyline to follow as we head into conference play. –PF

12. Ryan Vanderhei, RHP, Texas Christian
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

Vanderhei has put together three solid outings so far this season but his latest against Michigan on Friday was his best yet. He needed 90 pitches to work through six shutout innings and allowed only three singles, one walk and one hit batter while racking up eight strikeouts. He pitched heavily off his mid-80s slider and got 11 whiffs with the pitch. –CC

13. Carson Liggett, RHP, Louisville
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K

Perhaps it says something about Michigan’s offense that a pair of pitchers who faced them are featured in this week’s Hot Sheet, but like Vanderhei, Liggett was able to shut out the Wolverines over seven innings of work, while allowing just a single hit. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced and was named the ACC pitcher of the week for his efforts. –CC

14. Anthony Martinez, 1B, UC Irvine
Draft Class: 2025
What He Did: 8-for-14 (.571), 2 HR, 3 2B, 7 R, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 0 K

Martinez hit well last week in a single game against Michigan and a three-game set against Arizona State, but even when the hits weren’t falling he was getting on base. His six walks and no strikeouts in that four-game sample is impressive and he’s now leading UC Irvine with a .386 average and an .841 slugging percentage and is second on the team with a .518 on-base percentage. –CC

15. Parker Smith, RHP, Rice
Draft Class: 2024
What He Did: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

Smith lowered his season ERA more than a full run, from 3.09 to 2.04, with a six-inning shutout effort against Texas Tech on Friday in the Shriners Classic. All three of the hits he allowed were singles. He sat in the 92-94 mph range with his fastball and did a great job pounding the strike zone with that pitch. –CC

16. LeBarron Johnson, RHP, Texas
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Johnson was called to the mound multiple times last week. First he started in a midweek game against No. 1 Louisiana State and more than held his own with five shutout innings and nine strikeouts, then pitched in relief in a Sunday game where Texas needed to use 10 pitchers. In that outing he threw one shutout inning and allowed a single hit. Johnson leads all Texas pitchers with 17 strikeouts.  –CC

17. Nolan Schubart, OF, Oklahoma State
Draft Class: 2025
What He Did: 8-for-18 (.444), 2 HR, 1 2B, 5 R, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K

Schubart put together a pair of multi-hit games last week, first a 3-for-6 showing against Missouri State on Tuesday, followed by a 4-for-5 game against Austin Peay on Friday. Schubart has big raw power and tapped into it against Missouri State with a pair of homers, both of which went over the fence at deep parts of the park, to left-center and center field respectively. –CC

18. Cam Brown, RHP, Texas Christian
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K

Effectively wild seems to be a reasonable descriptor for Brown. He’s walked 5.5 batters per nine innings so far in four outings and he issued three free passes against Rice, but he also held the team scoreless over seven frames and his season ERA sits at 2.45. –CC

19. Ryan Hawks, RHP, Louisville
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 8 K

Hawks has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the country early this spring, and while he did walk four batters and hit another against Texas A&M over the weekend, he didn’t allow any runs for the second straight outing and lowered his season ERA from 0.66 to 0.46. –CC

20. Alberto Rios, OF, Stanford
Draft Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-17 (.412), 2 HR, 5 R, 12 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K

Rios was having a modest week before a 5-for-7 outburst on Sunday that included two home runs and 11 RBIs. Those were Rios’ first two collegiate home runs and prior to 2023 he had not driven in a run in his first two seasons with the Cardinal. –PF