Here is a recap of how each of the top 2011 draft prospects did this past week. Click on their names to go to their tracker pages.
Rendon went 6-for-13 this past week, with an amazing 10 walks, reaching base in 16 of his 24 plate appearances. Most of his hits came on Friday, in a 4-for-4 game against Marshall. Some quick facts on Rendon:
-He hasn’t hit a home run since March 6th. He’s currently got a streak of 19 games without a homer, and 61 at-bats during those games.
-He currently has a .552 OBP, thanks to a 27.9% walk rate.
–A few weeks ago I mentioned how Rendon could run in to trouble getting pitches to hit with Jeremy Rathjen out for the season. Prior to Rathjen going down for the season, Rendon had a .358/.500/.627 line, with a 19.8% walk rate. Since Rathjen has gone down, Rendon has a .375/.618/.500 line, with a 38.2% walk rate. His walk rate has almost doubled since Rathjen has been out of the lineup. He has walked in 13 of those 14 games. He doesn’t have any triples in that stretch, but five of his 15 hits have gone for doubles.
I’ll be watching Rendon this weekend as Rice takes on ECU. Check out the site for recaps each night, along with video, and hopefully an interview.
Cole bounced back from his worst start of the season last week, this time pitching another complete game, his third of the season. He allowed just one run on five hits, with two walks and ten strikeouts against Washington. His fastball peaked at 99 MPH, and was hitting 97 in the ninth inning.
I raised some concern last week about Cole potentially being overused. I want to clarify that I was never saying he has been overused. Despite throwing three complete games, Cole only has one game with a high pitch count, relative to his innings. His complete games have been respectable levels: 104, 101, and 116 pitches. It’s not an issue right now, but it is something to watch going forward, especially with the weak UCLA offense, and the tendency for college coaches to leave their pitchers out for too long, especially later in the season.
There was a good article about Cole in the New York Times. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you check it out.
OTHER PROSPECTS
-Matt Purke had his longest outing of the season, going eight innings against Air Force. Purke allowed one run on six hits, with three walks and six strikeouts.
-Catching up on a few 2008 Pirates’ draft picks who went un-signed and are draft eligible this year:
Zach Wilson, 3B, Arizona State: Drafted in the 26th round in 2008, and is the 37th best prospect in the draft this year. Wilson is hitting for a .274/.333/.443 line in 106 at-bats, which is level with his .284/.343/.442 line in 95 at-bats at the start of last week.
Drew Gagnon, LHP, Long Beach State: Drafted in the 10th round in 2008, and is the 49th best prospect in the draft this year. Gagnon pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits, no walks, and striking out eight. On the season, he has a 1.97 ERA in 45.2 innings, with a 47:15 K/BB ratio.
-Catching up on an un-signed prep pitchers from the 2010 draft:
Austin Kubitza, 7th Round, Rice: Kubitza had a strong outing on Friday, pitching eight shutout innings, allowing four hits, one walk, and striking out six. He is having an impressive freshman year, with a 1.47 ERA in 49 innings, along with a 46:11 K/BB ratio.
