Just a couple links and notes before the Friday night starters take the mound on a busy night in college baseball.
Nathan Rode from Prep Baseball Report(formerly worked for Baseball America) tweeted Thursday that South Carolina high school righty Grant Holmes was hitting 98 MPH during a scrimmage on Wednesday night. He was previously topping out at 96 MPH. Holmes was covered in our draft preview for prep pitchers. I’ve included a video of him from Big League Futures down below. His school’s season doesn’t begin until March 26th.
Sox Prospects and Student Sports got together for a top 100 list of high school players in the 2014 draft. No surprise that Tyler Kolek was in the top spot. Grant Holmes came in at the 18th spot, which currently puts him right around the Pirates range. The current draft class is top heavy with pitching, though the college ranks seem to be the best group of players this year.
Dan Kirby from Through The Fences gave his list of ten college players on the rise. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the 24th overall pick in the 2014 draft and Kirby mentions Michael Conforto from Oregon State, who he ranked 24th, as a player on the move. Conforto was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after he hit .500 in four games, with six walks, no strikeouts and 11 RBIs.
