The college baseball season kicks off today on a very rainy evening in Southern California. Here are some of the things I will be watching in college baseball this season:
Ricky Oropesa- My man Ricky is starting his junior season at USC. He's going to be playing 3B. If he's successful fielding the position, it should help his draft stock. The burning question is whether the new college bat limitations will suppress his power nunbers, which are his main selling point, or will they separate Ricky's true power from the pretenders? I'm betting on the latter, but we'll see. BTW, for those of you who don't remember, I work with Ricky's mom, so am a huge fan.
The Draft- I always watch college baseball with an eye on the draft, especially for who the Giants might draft. Since they are drafting #29, they obviously aren't in line for a lot of the Friday night starting studs like Gerrit Cole, Matt Purke, Taylor Jungmann and Sonny Gray. Here's some of the names I think might be available when the Giants make their pick, in no particular order:
Jason Esposito, 3B, Vanderbilt- nice combination of power, speed and fielding.
My man, Ricky Oropesa, 3B/1B, USC- Power to spare. Much more athletic and a better all-around hitter than he's given credit for.
Tony Zych, SP, Louisville- Hard thrower with closer potential.
BA Vollmuth, SS/3B, Southern Mississippi- Big college SS with power. Will probably move to 3B in the pros, but has enough bat that he would be a great prospect even at the corner. May be there in the supplemental first round or even round 2.
Alex Meyer, RHP, Kentucky- A giant of a pitcher, 6'9" 220 lb with a big fastball. Hasn't had success in college, but the scouts like him.
Other pitchers- Andrew Chafin LHP Kent State(mid 90's FB), Austin Wood RHP USC(has hit 99 MPH), Noe Ramirez RHP, Cal State Fullerton(polished college pitcher with great command of multiple pitches).
Other hitters- Zach Cone OF, Georgia, Mikie Mahtook OF LSU, Levi Michael SS UNC, Harold Martinez 3B Miami.
Stanford Freshmen- I became really fascinated by Austin Wilson and Brian Ragira as high schoolers from reading baseballbeginnings.com. I will be watching their progress at Stanford with interest.
Friday Night Starters- I like to scroll through the college boxscores after the Friday games and look at the pitching lines. You find some pretty amazing stuff. That's where I first found out about Tim Lincecum! I particularly pay attention to double digit strikeouts. If the BB's are 2 or less, it's even better! Those are dominating performances and tend to be good predictors of future success in the pros.
Non-Pac 10 California schools- Nothing against the Pac 10. I love the Pac 10! It's just that there is an amazing amount of great college baseball in California outside the Pac 10: Long Beach State, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Cal Poly SLO, San Francisco, Fresno State, UCSB......the list goes on and on....Pepperdine, Cal State Northridge, UC Davis. Great way to find gems that will be drafted in the later rounds on draft day.
Anything you will be watching for?
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Andrew Barbosa - Does he still have eligibility left?
ReplyDeleteI'll be following Trevor Bauer from UCLA. He lead the nation in Ks last year and hope he will be available when the giants select
ReplyDeleteBarbosa is eligible for his senior season at University of South Florida, or is it University of Central Florida? Anyway, he sure isn't in any hurry to turn pro, or else he really hates the Giants!
ReplyDeleteBauer is currently being projected to go higher in the draft than #29, but yes, if he fell to the Giants due to his size or unorthodox, Timmy-like delivery, he would be a nice pickup.
I made the Barbosa comment strictly tongue in cheek. But, I wonder who in the Giant's organization thinks that highly of him. Afterall, a 15th round pick is too high to be a throw away pick. If I were one of the other teams, I would take a flyer on him in the later rounds if he is still available, just to see what the Giant's see in him.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteWell, LHP's who are 6'8, 235 lb aren't exactly a dime a dozen. I'm guessing that's one thing the Giants see in him.
Esposito played SS and batted 2nd for Vandy last night. Said to be very athletic and may be able to handle the position. That would make him a great target for the Giants.
ReplyDeleteIf Espo can stick at SS, I would think he'd be gone by the time the Giants pick at #29. He's a bit iffy to last that long even at 3B.
ReplyDelete