As we dive deeper into the college baseball season, some common names are beginning to buoy their way to the surface as prime performers. It’s only been five weeks. The road is long and winding ahead. Much can change. And it will. Conference has begun. It’s go time. Week five provided a few familiar names, and a few less-so to keep an eye on moving forward…
Stock Rising…
PITCHERS
Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt
9 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 16 K
How can you start anywhere but Jack Leiter’s magnificent outing against South Carolina? The diminutive righty absolutely bodied the Gamecocks in a complete game no-hitter, burning fastball after fastball over the hapless barrels of opposing hitters.
The race to become the no. 1 overall pick between Leiter and cohort Kumar Rocker got even thicker Saturday, that’s for sure. Neither is moving an inch, Leiter seemingly raising the bar after every Rocker start. Leiter has now shown dominant fastballs, sliders, curveballs, changeups and cutter at different points this season. Maybe more terrifying, Leiter threw a couple curveballs at 79mph this week.
Leiter is now 5-0 for the season with 49 punch outs in just 29 innings. He does have 11 walks on the season, but even that part of his game has been improving has the season has progressed. He’s allowed just one earned run all season.
Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt
8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 14 K
Save one tough inning for Rocker, he carved his way through the Gamecocks lineup at will, punching out 14 and working his way deep into another outing. The slider was sharp as hell and the fastball averaged over 95mph on the day.
When Rocker punched out 14, it was hard to imagine Leiter topping his outing, but that’s just what happened. He’s been ‘the guy’ for most of the cycle and he’s done nothing to dissuade evaluators from continuing to believe that. Whether Leiter catches him is another question.
Rocker has been solid this season logging 48 strikeouts in just 31 innings. He’s allowed just two earned runs, and issued just 10 walks on the season.
GUNNAR HOGLUND, RHP, OLE MISS
8 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 13 K
For the third week in a row, Hoglund finds his name on our stock watch feature. He continues to simply eliminate the opposition, and this week was his most impressive yet shutting down a talented Auburn squad.
At 6-foot-4, 220-pounds, Hoglund already very much looks the part. He’s one of the best command pitchers at the top of the class. The fastball has been up to 98 this season, but more comfortably sits 92-95 most nights. His best pitch is a masterfully commanded slider that induces a ton of bad swings. It’s a firm 84-86 mph offering that’s easily plus, and it’s his go-to out pitch. He also works in a changeup when necessary.
Over four starts, Hoglund has 32.1 innings logged and has struck out an awfully impressive 55 hitters. He’s issued just seven walks on the year. Hoglund hasn’t surrendered an earned run in his last 18 innings of work. Hoglund’s type of profile generally doesn’t make it out of the first round most years.
Other Notables: Christian Macleod (Mississippi State), Austin Love (North Carolina), Zebulon Vermillion (Arkansas), Walker Powell (Southern Miss), Tommy Mace (Florida), Blake Wimberly (Memphis), Christian Edwards (Jacksonville State), Aaron Brown (Middle Tennessee State), Michael Kirian (Louisville), Brandon Birdsell (Texas Tech), Ryan Cusick (Wake Forest), RJ Petit (Charleston Southern), Mitch Myers (Pittsburgh), Cullen Kafka (Oregon), Sean Sullivan (California), Austin Krob (TCU)
HITTERS
Robby Martin, OF, Florida State
11 for 20 (.550/.571/1.150) 3 HR, 3 2B, 12 RBI, 1 K
Martin was one of the more hyped outfielder entering the 2020 season. An improved body and more physical approach at the plate, Martin let it rip this weekend and pummeled Miami along the way.
Martin is likely a corner outfielder at the next level as a fringe-average runner with a big arm. There’s a lot of pressure on the bat, but Martin is producing once again this season. Scouts want to see more power as conference play gets going.
The batting average is up to .338 this season, but Martin has just 4 homers, three of which came this weekend. He’s still striking out as much as he has in his career, and that will need to improve. That said, if Martin logs more weekends like this last one, he’ll hear his name early in July.
Jimmy Oberton, C/IF, Michigan
5 for 10 (.500/.583/1.400) 3 HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
The Wolverines need Obertop to produce this year, and he certainly did this weekend, capping off the series against Michigan State with a walk-off two-run bomb to win it for the Maze and Blue.
Obertop can do a little bit of it all for Michigan. He’s a versatile player who’s had scouts attention well before his time on campus thanks to burgeoning power. He hasn’t hit like scouts would like to see early, but it’s a good bat that has promise.
After starting the season mired in a 1 for 19 slump, Obertop has his average back up to .282 and surging. His five homers leads the club. There’s still a good bit of swing-and-miss to Obertop’s game, but we’ll see if he can work through those struggles as he gets comfortable this season.
Ryan Bliss, SS, Auburn
8 for 19 (.421/.421/.895), 3 HR, 4 RBI, 2 K
Bliss was one our stock watch feature earlier this year, and his bat continues to impress finding it’s way back here once again. Despite the challenge of having to take on the imposing staff at Ole Miss that includes Hoglund, Bliss still found a way to get on base.
Bliss isn’t a big guy. He’s likely a second baseman at the next level, but scouts love the spark-plug nature of his game with the burgeoning power. One scout told me this weekend he thinks it could be an average tool. Bliss always seems to be a guy that will get more out of his tools than you expect.
Bliss has his average up to .369 on the season. His six homers is more than he had in his freshman and sophomore years combined. His .692 slugging percentage currently sits over .250 points higher than his career average. More impressive still, Bliss has just 6 strikeouts in almost 70 at-bats. That’s the sort of bio that will get you picked nice and early in July.
Other Notables: Henry Davis (Louisville), Jud Fabian (Florida), Liam Spence (Tennessee), Tate Kolwyck (Vanderbilt), Cameron Check (LA Tech), Jose Torres (NC State), Marcus Castanon (UCSB)