2020 College Baseball Picks and Previews: Week 3

Another week, another Picks and Previews for college baseball. This week is the classic special, featuring four different “classics” and a couple of huge series, as well as some midweek games to top it off.

Note: We are using our own Top 25 for team rankings, not national ones. You can check out those rankings here

Leaderboard:

Anthony Franco: 21

Peter Flaherty: 21

Matt Powers: 18

Tom Mussa: 15

Week 3 Series:

Long Beach St - No.7 Mississippi State

It was a good weekend for Mississippi State as they took down an Oregon State team that flashed some interesting pitching 2-1. The Bulldogs battled on Friday and then took over the game from the jump on Saturday. However, an embarrassing 8-4 loss to an at-the-time winless Texas Southern on Tuesday clouds over the weekend and their bounce-back win on Wednesday against Alcorn State.

For Mississippi State to get back to their normal selves, the Bulldogs will need to hit to stay competitive. Led by a red hot Justin Foscue, Jordan Westburg, and Rowdey Jordan, who has been the catalysts of the Bulldog offense and will need to show up this weekend. As shown in a grinder of a game last Friday, Mississippi State had a little trouble against a fantastic performance from Oregon State’s Christian Chamberland while pitching has been a major strength for Long Beach this year.

The Dirtbags have been one of the best pitching teams this year allowing only 14 earned runs over eight games. LHP Adam Seminaris will return to his Friday night role, and LHP Alfredo Ruiz will get the ball on Saturday of the series. Ruiz has been amazing this year having yet to allow a run and only four hits in 14 innings, meanwhile punching out 14 batters this year. Seminaris looked good in his first start of the year as well against Cal striking out 11 in six innings allowing just three hits.

Tom Mussa: MSU 2-1

Peter Flaherty: MSU 2-1

Matt Powers: MSU 3-0

Anthony Franco: MSU 2-1

No.4 Georgia - No.20 Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech silenced some of the question marks about their teams last week as they swept Ohio State. Tech then went on to win on Tuesday against Gardner-Webb. Tech won three out of their four games with double-digit runs, with the only loss against draft prospect Seth Lonsway. Georgia Tech’s lineup is strong, headed by Michael Guldberg, Drew Compton and Luke Waddell. Guldberg and Compton are the hottest of the three with a combined .993 BA, 26 H,13 RBI, and 9 BB.

Georgia has been one of the quieter teams in the Top 25 this year. 8-1 so far on the year, Georgia in some polls, has been near the Top 10 but this weekend is their first real test of how good this Bulldogs team can be. The two biggest names returning for Georgia are MLB prospects, Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox. Hancock, who was getting nods at a potential 1.1 spot this year, started the year slow against Richmond but picked it up against Santa Clara last weekend. As for Wilcox, he’s been his normal self for the most part. Georgia’s lineup has been a major question mark going into the year after losing Aaron Schunk and LJ Talley to the draft. However, a two-way stud is appearing by the name of Tucker Bradley. Bradley who is already hitting .485 with 4 HR in 33 AB, meanwhile making appearances out of the pen for Georgia allowing just one hit in 3.1 IP with five punch outs on the year.

Tom Mussa: Georgia 2-1

Peter Flaherty: Georgia 2-1

Matt Powers: Georgia Tech 2-1

Anthony Franco: Georgia 2-1

Frisco College Baseball Classic

The first of four classics taking place this weekend is the Frisco College Baseball Classic. Featuring in this tournament is UCLA, Illinois, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma St. UCLA leads the pack with a young team led by the resurgence of Matt McLain and JT Schwartz. Where McLain is hitting .387 with 10 RBI and two homers in 31 AB, and Schwartz hitting .424 with five runs on the year and 17 total bases in 33 AB.

Texas A&M is another interesting team to watch with arguably one of the best pitchers in the nation in Asa Lacy. Who started the year off well so far with 22 strikeouts in just 11 innings pitched. In the field is mega hitter Zach DeLoach who had one of the best summers on the cape, is now on a 10-game hitting streak with a stunning .586/.675/1.103 with four homers in just 29 AB this year.

It hasn’t been the best of seasons so far for the Fighting Illini, but a good weekend in Frisco can kick start Illinois into better play. Friday night RHP Ty Weber has been good for Illinois once again, with Garrett Action as one of better closers in the Big Ten close things out.

As for Oklahoma State, they started the year slowly losing to a series to Grand Canyon but returned to form and now stay 7-2 and the edge of the Top 25. A solid weekend in Frisco can have the Cowboys back in. An overall balanced offensive squad based around the performances from Max Hewitt, LSU transfer Brock Mathis, Alix Garcia, and Kaden Polcovich will lead the bats. Meanwhile, Parker Scott will get the ball Friday night for the Cowboys, having thrown 10 strikeouts in 6 innings against UTRGV.

No.9 UCLA - Oklahoma State

Tom Mussa: UCLA

Peter Flaherty: UCLA

Matt Powers: UCLA

Anthony Franco: Oklahoma State

No.13 Texas A&M - Illinois

Tom Mussa: Texas A&M

Peter Flaherty: Texas A&M

Matt Powers: Texas A&M

Anthony Franco: Texas A&M

No.9 UCLA - No.13 Texas A&M

Tom Mussa: UCLA

Peter Flaherty: UCLA

Matt Powers: Texas A&M

Anthony Franco: UCLA

Illinois - No.9 UCLA

Tom Mussa: UCLA

Peter Flaherty: Illinois

Matt Powers: UCLA

Anthony Franco: UCLA

Oklahoma State - No.13 Texas A&M

Tom Mussa: Texas A&M

Peter Flaherty: Texas A&M

Matt Powers: Oklahoma State

Anthony Franco: Oklahoma State

Cambria College Classic

The Cambria College Classic is the second of the classics this weekend featuring teams from both the Big Ten and ACC. The teams that will be attending are Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, UNC, Duke, and NC State. First off for the hosts Minnesota, the player to watch this weekend will be Max Meyer. Meyer is coming off of a bit of an injured 2019 but a very successful summer with the US Collegiate National Team, and although he is only 1-1 on the year the electric righty has 17 strikeouts in 10.2 IP so far this year with a 1.03 WHIP. Easton Bertrand, Jack Wassel, and Zack Raabe will look to help give Meyer some well deserved run support.

As for Iowa, the hitting has struggled in certain situations but the 1-2 combo between LHP Jack Dreyer and RHP Grant Judkins has been promising for the Hawkeyes. Between the two they have 25 strikeouts in 22.2 innings, with a combined WHIP of 1.35. Purdue has had a good start to 2020 going 6-1, but their first test starts this week having to face three top 25 teams. Catcher Zac Fascia has been a bright spot for the Boilermakers slashing .375/.469/.667 in 24 AB so far this year.

UNC enters Minneapolis coming off of a disappointing series loss to DBU. Good news for them, however, is their star hitter, Aaron Sabato has picked it back up from where he ended this summer in the Cape. In addition to Sabato, Dylan Harris has three home runs on the year now bringing his slash up to .333/.455/.667 a team-high in OBP and SLG. As for the rotation, UNC has decided to mix it up this weekend and have Will Sandy start Friday night for the Tar Heels and have two-way Joey Lancelotti throw on Saturday instead.

However, no storyline was bigger last weekend than Duke’s Bryce Jarvis throwing a perfect game against Cornell last Friday. Jarvis struck out 15 on his way to retiring all 27 batters faced in what was Duke’s first perfect game in program history. Meanwhile, Duke has been excellent on the mound in their 7-1 start to the year, Matt Mervis has been swinging with confidence this year. He’s started the year off with 11 hits 10 runs batted in and 22 total bases leading to a team-high .393/.528/.786 and two homers in 28 at-bats for the Blue Devils.

Finally, NC State has been flying since the beginning of the year, 8-0 with double-digit runs scored in four of their eight wins. Although he will get the ball on Saturday, Nick Swiney has been lights out for NC State, punching out 22 in 13 innings pitched for the Wolfpack. Also, keep an eye out for Devonte Brown to continue his run of form. Brown already has four homers on the year batting in 16 runs with 29 total bases in 29 at-bats, and draft prospect Patrick Bailey who will most likely get back to his 2019 self.

Iowa - No.12 NC State

Tom Mussa: NC State

Peter Flaherty: NC State

Matt Powers: NC State

Anthony Franco: Iowa

UNC - Minnesota

Tom Mussa: Minnesota

Peter Flaherty: UNC

Matt Powers: Minnesota

Anthony Franco: Minnesota

UNC - Iowa

Tom Mussa: UNC

Peter Flaherty: Iowa

Matt Powers: Iowa

Anthony Franco: UNC

No.16 Duke - Minnesota

Tom Mussa: Duke

Peter Flaherty: Minnesota

Matt Powers: Duke

Anthony Franco: Duke

No.16 Duke - Iowa

Tom Mussa: Duke

Peter Flaherty: Duke

Matt Powers: Duke

Anthony Franco: Duke

Minnesota - No.12 NC State

Tom Mussa: NC State

Peter Flaherty: NC State

Matt Powers: NC State

Anthony Franco: NC State

Keith LeClair Classic

The next classic on the list is the Keith LeClair Classic featuring East Carolina, Ole Miss, Indiana, and High Point. East Carolina, similar to NC State, will be tested for the first time this year as they hosted the Keith LeClair Classic. Outside of a loss to Campbell, a 7-1 start to the year has been what they wanted in Greenville. The Pirates lineup headlined by two-way stud Alec Burleson, Bryson Worrell, and Thomas Fransico. The Pirates will have Alec Burleson, Tyler Smith, and Jack Kuchmaner on the mound for the weekend and they’ll need them to show up against a powerful hitting Ole Miss.

Ole Miss who has shown off well taking two of three from Louisville, and winning out against Alcorn St, Xavier, and Southern Miss. Ole Miss has had some stellar performances from Anthony Servideo .429/.590/.893 in 28 AB, former JUCO player of the year Cael Baker .259/.382/.741 with 4 HR in 27 AB, and freshman phenom Hayden Dunhurst. Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy will get the ball on the mound for the Rebels as they try to continue to build their resume

Indiana will be tested again this weekend after sweeping last weekend against South Alabama, Siena, and UT Martin after losing 2 out of 3 to LSU on opening weekend. Elijah Dunham .476/.621/.762 and Grant Richardson .389/.455/.889/2 HR have been bright spots for Indiana so far this year.

Indiana - No.21 ECU

Tom Mussa: ECU

Peter Flaherty: ECU

Matt Powers: ECU

Anthony Franco: Indiana

No.11 Ole Miss - No.21 ECU

Tom Mussa: Ole Miss

Peter Flaherty: Ole Miss

Matt Powers: Ole Miss

Anthony Franco: Ole Miss

Indiana - No.11 Ole Miss

Tom Mussa: Ole Miss

Peter Flaherty: Ole Miss

Matt Powers: Ole Miss

Anthony Franco: Indiana

Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic

To finish up our list of Classics for this week of College Baseball is the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic. This tournament will arguably be the best of the weekend with Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Arkansas, LSU, and Mizzou. First off, Baylor is entering the weekend after the disappointing dropping of a series for the Bears against Oral Roberts. However, there are some positives to look forward to for the Bears as MLB Draft Prospect, Nick Loftin is off to a hot start slashing .333/.355/.600, as well as newcomer Jared McKenzie (1.073 OPS in 33 BA) whose .485 batting average is leading the team so far this season.

As for the SEC side of things, Mizzou has been promising this year even with a postseason ban clouding over the heads of the Tigers. However, there are some real standouts on the team such as Brant Belk .480/.600/.760/2 HR, and Mark Vierling .324/.395/.412. Our very own Anthony Franco interviewed the head skipper of Mizzou, Steve Bieser here.

Next up Oklahoma, the Sooners have been steady risers in the Top 25 polls since the first week with series wins over Virginia and Illinois State leading to a solid 7-2 record for the Sooners. The majority of that success can come down to the success of Cade Cavalli and Levi Prater on the mound for the Sooners. Cavalli so far this year has 17 Ks in 11.2 IP while Prater has 12 in 10.2 IP. However, Wyatt Olds has been fantastic for this bullpen this year gaining 15 strikeouts this year in just 9 IP. Mix that with guys like Tanner Treadway .405/.410/.811 3 3B, Peyton Graham .355/.462/.484 4 SB, and Tyler Hardman .333/.436/.667 make for a well-balanced team ready to make noise in Houston.

To finish off the Big 12 clubs at the tournament is Texas. Texas’ biggest question marks going into the year was how would their youth handle the big lights of D1 Baseball. So far they’ve had some growing pains but a good weekend against some of the best clubs in the nation could do wonders for Texas, meanwhile, the hitters are figuring out, the pitching staff is full of power arms like the stellar Bryce Elder who has 17 strikeouts in 13 IP on the year with a 0.69 WHIP.

For LSU, its another year of early miniature panic for the Tigers after a shocking loss to Nicholls St and followed by a loss to Eastern Kentucky, but all that fear can be cleared away by a nice showing in Houston this weekend. There’s no denying that the Tigers have oodles of talent, even while losing guys to draft last year the core of Saul Garza, Daniel Cabrera, and Zack Mathis is a solid core to work with. Mix in a couple of breakout stars in big hitter Cade Beloso .429/.459/.571 and two-sport athlete Maurice Hampton Jr .300/.364/.350 means that LSU can hit it with the best of them. There’s even plenty of talent on the mound for the Tigers as well with Cole Henry coming back, Landon Marceaux, and Jaden Hill.

Finally, arguably the number one team in the nation right now, Arkansas. Arkansas has been stellar so far this year but looks forward to their first test of the year after sweeping Eastern Illinois and a 4 game series with Gonzaga. It is truly insane how much talent is still on this Arkansas team, headlined by the biggest stock riser in college baseball Heston Kjerstad. Kjerstad .393/.500/.929 currently leads Arkansas with 4 homers this year and 11 RBIs. Behind him is a soon to get warm Casey Martin, who is looking to get back to his freshman year of form, even with getting walked 6 times already this year. As well as Casey Opitz .364/.462/.727, Christian Franklin .440/.531/.800, and the former top prep talents this draft before coming to campus this spring Robert Moore .375/.483/.542. 

No. 2 Arkansas - No.19 Oklahoma

Tom Mussa: Arkansas

Peter Flaherty: Arkansas

Matt Powers: Oklahoma

Anthony Franco: Arkansas

No.25 Texas - No.13 LSU

Tom Mussa: LSU

Peter Flaherty: LSU

Matt Powers: Texas

Anthony Franco: Texas

No.19 Oklahoma - Mizzou

Tom Mussa: Oklahoma

Peter Flaherty: Oklahoma

Matt Powers: Oklahoma

Anthony Franco: Oklahoma

No.2 Arkansas - No.25 Texas

Tom Mussa: Arkansas

Peter Flaherty: Texas

Matt Powers: Arkansas

Anthony Franco: Arkansas

No.13 LSU - No.19 Oklahoma

Tom Mussa: Oklahoma

Peter Flaherty: LSU

Matt Powers: LSU

Anthony Franco: LSU

Baylor - No.2 Arkansas

Tom Mussa: Arkansas

Peter Flaherty: Arkansas

Matt Powers: Arkansas

Anthony Franco: Arkansas

Other Series to Watch:

Clemson - South Carolina

While this isn't the best Clemson or South Carolina team of the last decade, this is still a huge in-state rivalry and both teams are filled with talent. The pitching will be a key for both schools, as Clemson's pitching has looked even better than expected, while South Carolina has some interesting prospect arms itself. If not for this series, I would have picked Pitt and Lehigh, as it would have been an interesting chance to see Lehigh's 2021 eligible ace Mason Black face off against a solid offense and Pitt's emerging 2021 arm in the 6'9" Billy Corcoran. - Matt Powers

Cal vs. TCU

TCU's veteran lineup has them on the verge of the top 25. They've scored 5+ runs in each of their first eight games and have won a pair of weekend series against Power Five opponents (Kentucky and Minnesota). On the mound, JUCO transfer Johnny Ray looks like one of the top newcomers to the Big 12 as the Horned Frogs' Friday night starter. Cal, meanwhile, is off to a tough 3-5 start; offensively, they've got quite a bit of talent, led by third baseman Quentin Selma and second baseman Darren Baker. The Bears could use a resume-building non-conference series win. - Anthony Franco

Midweek Games To Hold You Over:

No.24 DBU - No.19 Oklahoma

Tom Mussa: Oklahoma

Peter Flaherty: Oklahoma

Matt Powers: DBU

Anthony Franco: Oklahoma

No.9 UCLA - UCSB

Tom Mussa: UCLA

Peter Flaherty: UCLA

Matt Powers: UCLA

Anthony Franco: UCLA

No.16 Arizona St - Fullerton (2 game series)

Tom Mussa: Arizona St 2-0

Peter Flaherty: 1-1 Split

Matt Powers: 1-1 Split

Anthony Franco: Arizona St 2-0

No.15 Michigan - Stanford

Tom Mussa: Michigan

Peter Flaherty: Michigan

Matt Powers: Michigan

Anthony Franco: Stanford

No.7 Mississippi State - Southern Miss

Tom Mussa: Mississippi State

Peter Flaherty: Southern Miss

Matt Powers: Mississippi State

Anthony Franco: Southern Miss