College Hot Sheet: 20 College Baseball Standouts From The Past Week (4/4/23)
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.
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1. Jack Hurley, OF, Virginia Tech
Class: 2023
What He Did: 11-for-20 (.550), 5 HR, 2 2B, 7 R, 11 RBI
Virginia Tech beat Virginia in its rivalry series in back-to-back years thanks in part to Hurley’s tremendous showing with the bat. He had multi-hit games in all three games this weekend, including a 4-for-5 Saturday performance, which featured a home run and a double, and he added a pair of homers and another double in the Sunday finale. Last week he raised his average nearly 50 points, going from .302 to .349. –CC
2. Trey Lewis, INF, South Alabama
Class: 2023
What He Did: 12-for-18 (.667), 3 HR, 2 2B, 7 R, 10 RBI
Thanks to four consecutive three-hit games, Lewis had one of the best individual weeks of anyone in the country. The junior infielder belted a home run in each of South Alabama’s three weekend games and raised his batting average from .270 to an even .400 on the season. Lewis also more than doubled his hit total on the season, raising it from 10 to 22 in just four games. -PF
3. Matt Duffy, RHP, Canisius
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 13 K
Duffy was sensational in his Friday start against Canisius, tossing seven innings with 13 strikeouts to only one walk, while allowing no earned runs. He collected 16 swings and misses on the day, nine of which came against his changeup. Over his last two outings, Duffy has allowed one earned run and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 20-to-3 across 15 innings pitched. The 6-foot-2 righthander is one of the best arms in the MAAC and has a chance to hear his name called in this year’s draft. -PF
4. Paul Skenes, RHP, Louisiana State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Another week, another Paul Skenes appearance on the Hot Sheet. Skenes allowed just one run against Tennessee and struck out 12 batters to continue his streak this season of double-digit strikeouts in each game. He didn’t throw a fastball slower than 97 mph until the fifth inning and threw just two 96 mph pitches the entire game. He’s been the best pitcher in college baseball this spring and proved it in this matchup against Chase Dollander. –CC
5. Roberto Pena, 1B, Kansas State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-15 (.533), 4 HR, 2 2B, 5 R, 14 RBI
Pena came into the week hitting just .213 with four home runs, but after going 8-for-15 with four long balls, he raised his average by 46 points and doubled his home run total. Pena collected five RBIs in two of his five games played, and most notably went 2-for-2 with two home runs and five RBIs in Sunday’s series finale against West Virginia. -PF
6. Parker Smith, RHP, Rice
Class: 2024
What He Did: 8.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K
Smith continued his outstanding 2023 season with 8.2 shutout innings against Florida Atlantic in which he walked none and collected nine strikeouts. Smith has a very loose, whippy arm action and will attack from a mid-to-low three quarter slot. He has run his fastball up to 96 mph, but will pitch in the 91-94 range. Smith’s best secondary pitch is his changeup that he will throw to both righthanded and lefthanded hitters, and it’s a pitch that flashes plus with sharp tumble. He now has a 1.73 ERA this spring with 41 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched. -PF
7. Matt Shaw, SS, Maryland
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-15 (.533), 2 HR, 1 3B, 6 R, 10 RBI
Shaw got off to a slow start this season with four hitless games in his first eight, but he’s been heating up of late and went 7-for-12 (.583) against Iowa this weekend. He got started with a 4-for-4 game on Friday that featured two home runs, including this monstrous grand slam that went an estimated 507 feet. Shaw is now hitting .349/.466/.736 with 10 home runs and nine doubles. –CC
8. Brayden Taylor, 3B, Texas Christian
Class: 2023
What He Did: 10-for-19 (.526), 2 HR, 4 2B, 10 R, 8 RBI
Taylor had the best week of his 2023 season so far, going 10-for-19 with four doubles, a pair of home runs and eight RBIs. He had three straight three-hit games and in Friday’s contest against No. 18 Texas Tech he went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a home run. Taylor has displayed an advanced approach all season and has made quality contact, but previously had little to show for it. It seemed a breakout week like this was inevitable, and Taylor will look to get into a groove as Big 12 play ramps up. –PF
9. Devin Futrell, LHP, Vanderbilt
Class: 2024
What He Did: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Futrell finished Vanderbilt’s sweep of Georgia off in style, with eight shutout innings and seven strikeouts. Futrell utilized a three-pitch mix of a fastball, slider and changeup to keep the Bulldogs’ hitters off-balance all day. He was able to throw quality strikes and avoid hard contact, showing above-average pitchability and sequencing of his pitches. After Sunday’s stellar outing, Futrell now has a 2.70 ERA with 27 strikeouts across 33.1 innings pitched. – PF
10. Ike Irish, DH, Auburn
Class: 2025
What He Did: 9-for-19 (.474), 2 HR, 3 2B, 5 R, 10 RBI
Irish continued to prove why he is one of the best true freshman hitters in the country with a 9-for-19 week against North Alabama and No. 2 Florida. Although he went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs against North Alabama, his most impressive performance came on Friday night against potential day one draft pick Brandon Sproat. Irish went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and four RBIs and showed fantastic feel for the barrel. His combination of natural strength and above-average bat speed allows him to drive the ball to all fields. On the season, Irish is now hitting an impressive .409 with 16 doubles, three home runs and 30 RBIs across 28 games played. -PF
11. Isaiah Coupet, LHP, Ohio State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K
Coupet threw his third shutout effort of the season on Friday against Minnesota. He pitched around three walks and five hits over seven innings and struck out 10—the second time he’s reached double-digit strikeouts in an outing this season. Coupet has a 3.25 ERA on the season, with 52 strikeouts and 12 walks, good for a 35.6% strikeout rate and an 8.2% walk rate. –CC
12. Tommy Troy, 2B, Stanford
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9-for-18 (.500), 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 8 R, 4 RBI
Troy has lived up to his reputation as a pure hitter, while adding a bit of pull-side power that has impressed scouts early this spring as well. He struck out just once in a four-game set against Oklahoma, while adding three multi-hit games and making plenty of extra-base damage. His weekend was highlighted by a 4-for-6 effort on Sunday in which he was a homer shy of the cycle. He’s hitting .413/.500/.688 on the season after 19 games. –CC
13. Owen Cobb, SS, Stanford
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-17 (.471), 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI
Cobb had a pair of multi-hit games this weekend against Oklahoma, and he started the four-game series with a bang by going 5-for-5 with a home run and a triple on Thursday. He missed the cycle by a double and raised his average 20 points in the series, going from .358 to .378—the fourth-best mark on the team. –CC
14. Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP, Oklahoma State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
Watts-Brown has been one of the most consistent starters in the country this spring. Against a red-hot Texas team, Watts-Brown managed a season-high eight innings and struck out 12 batters. He generated a ridiculous 27 whiffs throughout the game, good for a 54% whiff rate overall, including 12 swings and misses against his vicious, mid-80s slider. His 39.2% strikeout rate is No. 8 among Division I pitchers. –CC
15. Ben Shields, LHP, George Mason
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 14 K
Shields struck out a season-high 14 batters against Rhode Island on Friday, and retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced in an excellent seven-inning start. Shields throws a fastball in the upper 80s, but he pitches heavily off a sweeping slider around 80 mph. The breaking ball was working nicely in this start, and generated 22 whiffs for him and finished 10 of his 14 punchouts. –CC
16. Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa
Class: 2024
What He Did: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 13 K
Brecht was fantastic in his Friday start against Maryland, collecting 13 strikeouts across five innings pitched. His fastball topped out at a whopping 104 mph on the stadium radar gun and he also got his fair share of swings and misses with his power breaking ball. In his first year as a member of the weekend rotation, Brecht has established himself as a premier talent in the 2024 draft class, pitching his way to a 2.67 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 33.2 innings pitched. -PF
17. Ramon Jimenez, INF, Central Connecticut State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-14 (.500), 1 HR, 4 2B, 3 R, 11 RBI
Jimenez had the best individual game of his five-year college career, going 6-for-6 with four doubles, one home run and 11 RBIs against Wagner. The physical first baseman leads the team in batting average (.406), doubles (8) and RBIs (27). Jimenez is a huge reason for the Blue Devils’ 11-1 start in conference play and he’ll look to keep producing at a high level in the second half of the season. -PF
18. Dosi Jonas, OF, UNC-Greensboro
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-10 (.700), 4 HR, 2 2B, 5 R, 12 RBI
Jonas started in just two games for the Spartans this past week, but he more than made the most of it. The physical junior outfielder walloped four home runs, two in each of his games started, and drove in 12 runs. After a 4-for-4, two-double and two-home run performance on Saturday, Jonas went 3-for-6 with two more long balls and seven RBIs in Sunday’s series finale against VMI. Jonas is now hitting a solid .319 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 23 RBIs across 19 games played. -PF
19. Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina
Class: 2024
What He Did: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 13 K
The physically imposing Yesavage was fantastic in his start against Houston, collecting 13 strikeouts, surrendering three hits and allowing just two earned runs across six innings pitched. Yesavage has a fairly short arm action while throwing from almost a straight over-the-top slot and is able to generate serious hand speed. On Friday, his heavy fastball was up to 97 mph and got 11 swings and misses. His hellacious power slider is his best offering with sharp two-plane break and a miss rate over 50%. Yesavage has turned himself into one of the best pitchers in the 2024 draft class and has a 2.08 ERA with 67 strikeouts to just 10 walks across 43.1 innings pitched this season. -PF.
20. Ethan Mann, DH, Dallas Baptist
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-15 (.467), 4 HR, 1 2B, 6 R, 12 RBI
Mann had a pair of multi-hit games for the week, with a 2-for-4 effort with a home run in a midweek game against Oklahoma State, and he exploded on Sunday against Louisiana Tech. The 6-foot DH had a career day with three home runs from foul pole to foul pole. –CC
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