Nick Anderson Chosen As Top Prospect In Texas Collegiate League — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Texas Collegiate League Top Prospects

Nick Anderson, of, Victoria (So., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

MacGregor Hines, rhp, Brazos Valley (R-Fr., Florida)

Willy Amador, rhp, Brazos Valley (Jr., Rice)

Cobie Vance, 2b, Acadiana (So., Alabama)

Garrett McCain, of, Brazos Valley (Jr., Oklahoma State)

Mathew Guidry, 1b/3b, Acadiana (R-Fr., Southern Mississippi)

Pedro Barrios, ss, Victoria (Sr., Tennessee Wesleyan)

Zack McGuire, 1b, Brazos Valley (Jr., Michigan State)

Chance Callihan, rhp, Victoria (R-So., Texas)

Anthony Herrera, 2b/rhp, Brazos Valley (Sr., Louisiana-Monroe)

Postseason Recap: The Brazos Valley Bombers’ domination of the Texas Collegiate League continues unabated. The Bombers roared to a 48-7 regular-season record and claimed their fourth straight championship with, fittingly, a 4-0 win in the TCL championship game against Acadiana. Tim Lichty (Texas A&M) led the offense in the finale, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances, while five Bomber pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Bad weather was the other major player in the TCL playoffs, as the semifinal round was completely washed out and the usual best-of-three title series was forced to be truncated to a single championship game between the two best regular-season teams in Brazos Valley and Acadiana.

1. Nick Anderson, of, Victoria (So., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

Anderson got regular playing time as a freshman for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the spring and served as Victoria’s 3-hole hitter over the summer. Although he stands just 5-foot-10, he has a physical frame and projects to get stronger in the future—he hit only one homer for A&M-CC but drilled four with wood bats for Victoria, making him the team’s leading home run hitter despite his being hobbled by a groin injury in the middle of the season. He’s an instinctive baserunner and has the speed to play center field, though he needs to get better reads and jumps.

2. MacGregor Hines, rhp, Brazos Valley (R-Fr., Florida)

Hines began the summer in Brazos Valley’s bullpen before moving into the rotation at the end of June, but he dominated wherever he was used, going 5-0, 1.16 to finish second in the league in ERA. Although his stuff would tend to drop off the second and third time through an order, he was almost untouchable early in games, showing an 88-92 mph fastball and a put away curveball. He does good job of using his lower half in his delivery and, while he’ll overthrow at times, he controls the strike zone well, issuing just 14 walks in 47 innings. His solid-average changeup gives him a third pitch and the projectability to be a starter after redshirting this past spring at pitching-rich Florida.

3. Willy Amador, rhp, Brazos Valley (Jr., Rice)

Amador closed out Brazos Valley’s championship game win against Acadiana, an exclamation point for a year where he split his time between starting and relieving, both at Rice and in the TCL. Some TCL observers were turned off by Amador’s showing some immaturity on the mound, but there was little questioning his raw ability. He racked up 60 strikeouts in 40 innings in the TCL along with a 2.49 ERA, living off a low 90s fastball and a swing-and-miss curveball. Somewhat thickly built at 6-foot, 198 pounds, Amador needs to show he can maintain his stuff deeper into games, but he otherwise has the tools to pitch at the next level.

4. Cobie Vance, 2b, Acadiana (So., Alabama)

Alabama’s everyday second baseman as a freshman this spring, Vance showed some impressive versatility over the summer with Acadiana, handling himself well at second base, third base and shortstop. An unsigned 16th-round pick in 2015, he stands just 5-foot-8 and while he doesn’t have any flashy tools, he can do a lot of things well. Vance shows a discerning eye at the plate and has a knack for being a pesky out. He makes plenty of contact, and although he’s not a burner, he’s fast enough to be a threat on the bases, stealing nine in 38 games in the TCL while batting .303/.376/.372.

5. Garrett McCain, of, Brazos Valley (Jr., Oklahoma State)

McCain’s summer season got off to a late start following Oklahoma State’s run to the College World Series. Used mainly in a reserve role with the Cowboys, he proved to be a major contributor in the second half for Brazos Valley. While he hasn’t made much of an offensive impact in Stillwater—he has just a .315 career slugging percentage at OSU—he showed a feel for the barrel and ability to drive balls to all fields with the Bombers, batting .363/.505/.588 with 12 extra-base hits in 25 games. Playing center field, he has the closing speed to run down balls in the gaps—and also stole 16 bases in his half season in the league—to go with a solid throwing arm.

6. Mathew Guidry, 1b/3b, Acadiana (R-Fr., Southern Mississippi)

Guidry redshirted in the spring for Southern Mississippi but knocked off the rust pretty quickly though, finishing third in the league batting race with a .331/.433/.439 line in 139 at-bats. Guidry has a strong build with projectable power. Although he didn’t hit any homers in the TCL—Acadiana plays in a cavernous home park—he was able to drive the gaps effectively, producing 13 extra-base hits. Although he’ll chase off the plate at times, he showed enough contact ability to produce an even 23-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He played third base for Acadiana, and while he has the arm strength to stay there, his mobility is better suited for first base, where he expects to play for Southern Miss.

7. Pedro Barrios, ss, Victoria (Sr., Tennessee Wesleyan)

Barrios, a native of Venezuela, went undrafted in June after hitting .381 for NAIA Tennessee Wesleyan. If that level of competition was a turnoff, Barrios should’ve answered some doubts with his .340/.398/.410 line in the TCL, where he finished second in the batting race. Other than a lack of power, Barrios’ other tools are all usable. Pro teams would likely hope to see him show more patience, but he hits well to all fields with a contact-oriented approach and consistently has competitive at-bats. He’s a smooth defender, showing the arm strength and range to make plays deep in the hole at shortstop.

8. Zack McGuire, 1b, Brazos Valley (Jr., Michigan State)

McGuire’s seen only limited playing time—29 starts in two years—with Michigan State, but he enjoyed a fine summer in the TCL, winning the home run title with seven long balls along with hitting .312/.381/.535. McGuire’s power is easily his biggest selling point, and he tends to take all-or-nothing swings. Teams that were able to pitch him effectively could get him to chase elevated fastballs or breaking pitches in the dirt. Solidly built at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he’s strictly a first baseman but showed good hands there, routinely saving his infielders errors with his ability to pick bad throws out of the dirt.

9. Chance Callihan, rhp, Victoria (R-So., Texas)

Callihan has yet to see any live game action for Texas, but should’ve made a good first impression on the Longhorns’ new coaching staff with his performance in the TCL, going 7-1, 1.80 in 60 innings. The highlight came Aug. 2, when he threw a 7-inning no-hitter with eight strikeouts against the Texas Marshals. Callihan has the three-pitch mix and sturdy 6-foot, 200 pound frame to profile as an innings eating starter. He has a smooth delivery and the ball jumps out of his hand, his fastball working in the upper 80s to 91 mph. He has a usable changeup, but his bread and butter is his slider, as he racked up 60 strikeouts in his 60 TCL innings.

10. Anthony Herrera, 2b/rhp, Brazos Valley (Sr., Louisiana-Monroe)

Noted more for his pitching than his hitting at Louisiana-Monroe, where he doubles as the Warhawks’ second baseman and closer, Herrera won the TCL batting title with a .363/.436/.503 line for league champion Brazos Valley. He has good speed and gap power—witness his league-high 20 doubles—but he nonetheless still stood out more as a pitcher, where he struck out 28 in 20 innings with a 2.25 ERA. While Herrera lacks overpowering velocity, working in the mid- to upper 80s, his sidearm delivery and ability to pound the lower half of the zone give him a chance to overcome it. He gets running action on his fastball and compliments it with a slider he can use as a chase pitch. He’s not afraid to challenge hitters and pitch aggressively either, as he walked just 17 batters in 61 innings this year combined between ULM and Brazos Valley.