Today we take a look at some action from early this week, as well as some notes at the bottom from the weekend. The draft begins on June 8th and the Pittsburgh Pirates have the 19th and 32nd overall picks. The Pirates will have the 11th highest draft bonus pool.
Cincinnati right fielder Ian Happ has been the best hitter early on and he has played two games during this week so far. On Monday against Niagara, he went 1-for-3 with two walks in a 2-1 win. On Wednesday against Kentucky, he went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts in a 9-1 loss.
Florida shortstop Richie Martin went 1-for-5 on Tuesday against Fairfield. He scored a run, drove in one and stole his fourth base of the season. On Wednesday, he had another 1-for-5 day, driving home a run with an RBI double. His hitting hasn’t been that good early in the season, but his ability to stick at shortstop should keep him in the first round even if the bat doesn’t come around.
Florida State took on UCF twice this week. On Tuesday, left fielder D.J. Stewart went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. On Wednesday, he was 0-for-4 with a HBP and run scored. Stewart is hitting .273/.512/.600 through 18 games. He has five homers and 23 walks.
Vanderbilt took on Quinnipiac on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Shortstop Dansby Swanson went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored on Tuesday in a 9-2 win. On Wednesday, he went 3-for-3 with two runs driven in and three runs scored. He hit his second homer, drew a walk and also stole his eighth base. You can read more on Swanson below in the Links and Notes section.
Early in the year, Tyler Ferguson looked like a possible first round pick. The righty from Vanderbilt was rated as high as 24th by one source prior to the beginning of the season. His control has been horrible this year, which has pushed him to a mid-week pitcher that can barely get through an inning. On Wednesday, he started and pitched one inning, working into the second without recording an out. Ferguson walked five batters before he was removed and threw a total of 44 pitches. In 4.1 innings over two starts and three relief appearances, he has walked 19 batters this season. Last year, he had 30 walks in 77 innings.
Left fielder Christin Stewart from Tennessee is someone we have been following closer lately. His team has had a tough time with the schedule, having eight games either canceled or postponed. Stewart went 1-for-3 against East Tennessee State on Tuesday, hitting his third homer and drawing a walk. On Wednesday against Morehead State, he went 1-for-3 with a walk and HBP.
Wednesday’s Tennessee game was started by Zach Warren, who was making his college debut. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 23rd round in the 2014 draft. Warren went 3.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. He allowed a home run and a double, while striking out one batter. Warren threw 63 pitches, 36 for strikes.
We had a look at Texas shortstop C.J. Hinojosa on Monday after he was rated 18th overall among all college juniors. Hinojosa went 0-for-4 on Tuesday against UIW, which dropped him down to .200/.333/.250 through 17 games. His glove/position got him rated high, but he is going to have to hit to remain a first round possibility.
We also took a look at prep outfielder Kyle Tucker a few weeks ago when he was one of the first top-ranked high school players to see action this season. He homered on Tuesday night and drove home a second run on a sacrifice fly in his team’s 2-0 victory. Through seven games, he is hitting .471, with three homers and a 1.654 OPS.
Right-handed prep pitcher Joe Demers threw a perfect game on Tuesday. The link includes video, though it obviously wasn’t from Tuesday as you can see runners on base. He was throwing low-90’s and struck out seven batters. He was rated as high as 28th in pre-season rankings of this draft class and was listed among the “others to watch” in our prep pitcher draft preview.
Links and Notes
**Perfect Game recaps the weekend action from Vanderbilt’s shortstop Dansby Swanson and starting pitcher Carson Fulmer. There is a video for Swanson as well. Also included is a recap of the start from UCLA’s James Kaprielian, plus plenty of notes from around college.
**Baseball America has the stats from week four of the college season, plus the take a look at Cal Poly second baseman Mark Mathias, who has a strong bat, but a questionable glove. Mathias is recovering from surgery on his arm and hasn’t played in the field yet this year.
**Also from Baseball America, their Three Strike article, which is actually three articles in one. The main one focuses on Vanderbilt’s Walker Buehler and his successful return to action. I’ve included a video of Buehler’s weekend below courtesy of The Prospect Pipeline.
**Minor League Ball takes a look at the start of Michael Matuella, with an in-person report from Jesse Burkhart. Matuella is still on a limited pitch count as he works his way back from a strained forearm.
