Back at the ballpark, I took in an ACC tilt on consecutive days between two clubs with some offensive firepower but lacking the depth and arm talent among their pitching corps. Boston College boasted two day one talents in Sal Frelick and Cody Morissette, as well Mason Pelio, a righthanded starter many considered a day one arm as recently as 6 months ago. NC State’s standouts were the ascending Luca Tresh, the solid Tyler McDonough, and the projectable Jose Torres. There were a handful of interesting underclassman and potential late rounders as well. Onto the notes:
Sal Frelick, OF Boston College (2021 Draft Eligible)
One of the best college hitters in the country, Frelick began the season on fire but cooled down some this weekend. He went 1-for-5 at the plate across the two days, but reached base four times across eight plate appearances. Despite not doing a ton of damage Frelick impacted the game in other ways. Showcasing above average defensive abilities in centerfield, athleticism that translates into his game on both sides of the ball, and speed that puts pressure on the defense on every pitch a batted ball off his quick bat. He stole a base in Saturday’s contest, clocked a 4.08 home to first from the left side on a jail break, and got to a couple of balls to the alley (a few more he just missed on fully extended diving plays during Friday’s tilt).
At the plate Frelick’s setup is simple, a wide lower half, some pre-pitch hand waggle, a deep load and a quick compact swing that allows him to catchup to velocity with ease. It’s an oppo-center approach, with a heavy focused on hard line drive contact. There’s slight lift at the end of his swing but the best examples of that came pre-game in Friday’s batting practice. Frelick displays patience in his approach, while avoiding passivity. He' make opposing pitchers work with very little room for error, he works deep into counts, takes what the pitcher gives him, and can feed off of mistakes.
One of the best position players in college baseball and a player that should go within the first 10-15 picks on draft day, with an outside shot he creeps up even higher. An all around everyday guy with some star upside should above-average game power materialize.
Cody Morissette, 2B Boston College (2021 Draft Eligible)
I’ve taken in Morissette a few times over the past few seasons ranging from his Freshman season at The Heights, the 2019 Cape Cod League, the 2020 Futures League, and this weekend. Morissette’s game power has begun to materialize over the last year plus and that on display on Friday and Saturday as he made hard contact on four pitches across the two days spanning eight plate appearances. Including a ball he took to the wall during his first at bat on Saturday. It’s a slightly open setup at the plate with a quiet load and deep coil. He generates quick explosive bat speed at times which materializes in average game power.
He’s aggressive at the plate, and looks to do damage early and put the ball in play. It’s been a somewhat quiet season to this point but Morissette looked to turn the corner on Saturday as he hit the ball as hard as I’ve seen from the infielder versus quality competition. He had started at third base to start the season but has been moved back to second full-time. AT the keystone he is solid but unspectacular. He makes good decisions and rarely finds himself out of position. Rangey is not an adjective I’d use however, he’s an instincts over athleticism fielder. The arm is average, and he makes accurate throws on the turn, it’s by no means a plus tool however.
A late day one type in my eyes that could develop into a second division regular if the bat continues to progress.
Luke Gold, 3B Boston College (2022 Draft Eligible)
A stoutly built corner infielder with a strong but sometimes erratic arm from the third base side. Gold has a powerful violent swing that looks to do damage on mistakes and fastballs in the hitting zone. He had a double in each contest and went 3-for-8 across the two days, with a pair of RBIs and a run. He’s good low ball hitter that should continue to add power in the coming years. There’s some concern around the swing and miss and the seemingly maxed out body but he hit 96 mph from Evan Justice on the screws for an exit velocity around 96 mph per my gun. He was solid in the field, but looks a little slow through his mechanisms and actions, he’s not twitchy. This was a solid first look on Gold who should end up a solid day two guy, barring a breakout performance, come 2022.
Mason Pelio, RHP Boston College (2021 Draft Eligible)
As a Freshman Pelio was a weekend starter and a revelation for the Eagles, high expectations followed and in his first full season since his standout Freshman campaign the Junior has underperformed. He has a very tough afternoon in the Friday game, going six innings, allowing 8 runs, 7 of them earned, on 8 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. He deploys a three pitch mix comprised of a four-seam fastball in the 92-96 mph range, touching 98 mph in Friday’s contest; a mid-80s changeup, and a slow breaking mid-70s curveball. Pelio’s success typically comes in spurts before implosions due to poor command. His fastball has generic shape, but enough velocity to be effective if he spots it, which is hardly to if ever. His changeup is the jewel of his arsenal with tumble and fade, generating five whiffs on twenty pitches. His curveball is a change-of-pace get me over pitch, that gets more takes than anything else, though it was often in the middle of the plate.
It’s below average strike-throwing and poor command. Pelio had two zones he worked Friday, the heart of the plate, and way out of the zone. Hitters sat on his fastball and damage was done as the fastball accounted for 60% of his contact against. He hung a changeup to Vojtech Mensik that the third baseman deposited over the left field wall. He’s poor mechanically and doesn’t repeat well, his arm stroke is stiff and he doesn’t always land in a strong position. It’s a day two arm where someone will gamble on the velocity and changeup.
Emmet Sheehan, RHP Boston College (2021 Draft Eligible)
A tall long and lean righthander that’s been an up and down performer through the first half of the 2021 campaign. He showed two defining characteristics that stuck with me; his plus arm speed, and ability to repeat his motion and subsequently throw strikes with consistency. He probably went a little longer than he should have this outing but he was cruising through six with only one run allowed before allowing three in the 7th. He through 108 pitches, 64 for strikes, punching out six while allowing four free passes.
It’s a long, lean but strong frame, Sheehan stands 6-foot-5 with broad muscular shoulders, and a strong base. He utilizes a semi-windup, drop and drive operation, with a long, but fast arm action, from an over the top slot. Not the most athletic mover on the mound and he can be a little stiff, but he controlled his body well and repeated his motion.
He deploys a three pitch-mix, led by an average fastball that will flash above-average at times, sitting 91-93 mph, finding 95 mph when needed. It has decent ride and he attacked with frequency up in the zone, generating eight swings on the pitch, seven of which were in the upper-quadrants. He showed the ability to locate in the lower quadrants as well and showed average overall command on the offering. His best secondary was a high-70s changeup, showing tumble and fade, the command was inconsistent early, but he got a trio of bad swings across a few at bats versus Terrell Tatum. He’ll throw it right on right as well and it’s overall feel is good. He also showed a low-70s breaking ball, with 12-6 shape, but it’s slow and humpy and was mostly a take when it wasn’t hung and hit for contact.
So far the results haven’t been great, but he’s maybe a late round arm or UFA type with two solid pitches to build from.
John West, RHP Boston College (2023 Draft Eligible)
A quick look at a raw 6-foot-8 monster righthander out of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, with a projectable three pitch mix and room to add velocity in the coming years. It was a rough first look as West was scatter shot with his fastball, but flashed a changeup with average potential. It’s really just a name to add to the watch list for 2023 with some day two upside. West worked 87-90 mph touching 91 mph, with a low-80s changeup and loopy curveball in the mid-70s. It’s a drop and drive delivery with an over-the-top slot, there’s a chance he develops more velocity on the fastball with good shape, and a 12-6 breaker to compliment his already useable changeup.
Luca Tresh, C NC State (2021 Draft Eligible)
A power-hitting back stop, with some swing and miss and growth needed behind the plate. Tresh possesses all the skills of a bat-first catcher, with power that he showed in game on Friday with a 3-for-5 performance with a home run, two singles, two RBIs, and a pair of runs scored. It’s a quick, powerful stroke that can get grooved at times and lead to some swing and miss. He’s aggressive and looks to do damage on his swings. It’s strong compact, and muscular build befitting of a catcher and power hitter. His mechanisms at the plate are stiff but not in a detrimental way necessarily, as it’s less bad movement and more quick strong efficient movements. He does however take some bad swings and I left this weekend wondering how well he handle pitches not middle-in.
The catching is subpar but projectable, as there’s certainly room for optimism behind the plate. He displays a strong arm, solid receiving skills, but he struggles with blocking and balls low in the zone. He’s comfortable in the crouch, and likes to deploy the modern one-leg method without runners on. He moves well and shows the athleticism necessary. A day one college bat that has first round upside if a team believes in his ability to stick behind the dish.
Jose Torres, SS NC State (2021 Draft Eligible)
An athletic infielder, Torres stood out over the two game look as he showed impressive range, twitch, and athleticism in the field. Making smart plays and showing the first step, arm strength and footwork of a true shortstop. Torres has a lean, long levered build, he only stands six feet but his long wiry frame makes him look maybe a bit taller in person. He’s an above-average runner with the ability to stretch for extra bases and generally put pressure on the defense.
At the plate he deploys a compact setup, with lower hands placed tightly against his frame, allowing him to stay short on the ball and capable of hitting the inside pitch. He lacks premium bat speed, and showed some inability to catchup to velocity. He can cheat on pitches on the inner-half and has shown some pull-side power in previous looks, but over the two days he mostly looked to drive the ball to the middle of the field. Connecting for one ball deep to center that Sal Frelick attempted to dive on coming up short as Torres reached with a standup double.
A good all around player with the look of a utility infielder role at the big league level. For now he’s a late day one, early day two type draft prospect.
Evan Justice, LHP NC State (2021 Draft Eligible)
A former starter, Justice was moved to the pen earlier this season. I had previous looks on Justice from the 2019 Cape Cod League, but the fastball was way up from previous looks. He’s looked to have added at least ten to fifteen pounds of good weight. Though he’s still thin he’s lanky than he was a few summers back. He showed only two pitches, but his fastball at 95-97 mph, touching 98 mph, flashed some vicious run and more ride than you might expect. He only flashed a low-80s slider with pronounced sweep.
It’s a semi-windup, tall and fall operation with a longer arm action and a low 3/4 slot. He barely gets anything out of his lower half with a whip like arm with plus arm speed. It’s unlikely to translate to starting due to the strain of his motion and his bouts of command but the fastball slider combination worked on Saturday making even Sal Frelick look silly on a swing during his first frame. He worked two full to close out the Saturday matinee and the series for NC State as he punched out his final batter on a 98 mph fastball with vicious arm-side run.
Sam Highfill, RHP NC State (2022 Draft Eligible)
The Saturday starter for the Wolfpack is a second year Freshman who’s made seven starts for NC State and has gone six or more innings in four. Saturday was his third consecutive start where he made it into the seventh inning. He allowed four runs, striking out just three batters, but he only allowed a single free pass and threw above 60% of his pitches for strikes.
He’s a tall, long, lean righthander, with an athletic build, and a fast athletic motion on the mound. He works from a semi-windup, with a light drop and drive motion, long quick arm action from a slightly elevated 3/4 slot. He stays on time and repeats well, giving some hope he can add a few ticks onto his fastball in the coming seasons.
He mixed three pitches in his low-90s fastball, that sat 89-92 mph, touching 94 mph at peak. The pitches shows good ride, and a flatter approach angle when landed to the upper quadrants. He’d do well to attack a little higher a his fastball has the shape to play. He mixed in a low-80s changeup, he went to the off-speed over 25% of the time, showing more fade than tumble. It will get away from him at times, but by and large was around the zone. He actually through the changeup more than his fastball versus lefthanders on the day. A low to mid 70s curveball rounds out his arsenal but it mostly of the get me over variety, through it did steal a lot of strikes and limit hard contact versus righthanders. His go-to secondary in right on right matchups, and a change of pace pitch versus lefties.
There’s some room for growth a projection remaining in the frame the results have been solid through the first half of the season, and Highfill is name to keep on your 2022 draft radar.