The University of Georgia trekked up to Nashville this past weekend to test their chances against a relatively young talented #4 ranked Vanderbilt team. Vanderbilt has been known for producing high-profile draft picks in both forms of position players and arms within the last decade. After a live look this weekend, it seems they are going to remain on that same path. Vanderbilt started their sophomore work horse on the mound Friday then Saturday rolled out another lefty against UGA’s starting combo of Jaden Woods and Liam Sullivan.
LHP Carter HoltoN, Vanderbilt
Friday afternoon 2024 eligible Carter Holton started against the Bulldogs and was impressive to say the least. Holton made very few mistakes in his 7 innings pitched, one which gave the Bulldogs an early lead with a two-run bomb in the second inning from Will David. After the home run, Holton sat down the next 17 of 19 batters faced finishing with 10 strikeouts, two walks and giving up three hits on the day.
The lefty came out firing fastballs that held in the 94-96 range the entirety of the game touching a 97 with tons of life in the top of the zone. Carter stands at 5’11, a tad on the shorter side. This allows a flatter VAA that lets the fastball to get a ton of perceived ride in the upper portion of the zone on top of an already high carry fastball. The fastball had heavy usage against righties which proved well drawing a good number of chases and whiffs. Carter showed he could beat some barrels in and then run it back up and out to get the chase.
He showed a 75-80 MPH curveball that had big shape and good depth. The curveball drew a good bit of takes from righties and as the game went on Carter began to land the pitch in all counts. Against lefties, Holton was slider heavy and brought out a slider with average sweep and did a good job spotting the pitch low and away. Sporadically, the slider would show downward bite but overall, he spun the pitch well and had good command of both breaking balls. Carter only showcased one CH at 88 that was hammered into the outfield seats, but it seemed as though he did just fine without it throughout the rest of the day. Bulldog mentality and presence on the mound with explosive movements.
LHP Hunter Owen, Vanderbilt
Hunter Owen listed at 6’6 261 LB has a build of an everyday big-league starter. This is a big physical lefty that throws hard from the left side and can repeat his delivery very well with good body control, and he delivers from a relatively short and quick arm stroke.
Throughout the game Owen mainly lived at 91-94, sometimes dialing it back when struggling to find the zone. When it looked like he may be running out of gas in the fourth, he then came out in the top of the 5th and reached back for some 94-96 T 97 MPH heaters. Owen pounded the middle away portion of the zone to lefties getting uncomfortable foul balls and looks with the fastballs. To righties he created a good number of in zone swing and misses, as well as chases.
Owen also did a good job on putting some fastballs in the inner third proving he was able to get the call on the inside corner on righties. Overall, his fastball seemed to hold plane well. The lefty showed a solid breaking ball that had good snap and true top to bottom spin that ranged anywhere from 71-80 MPH. He showed good ability to finesse the CB in the strike zone for a taken strike as well as manipulate velo and action for chases down in the zone. Owen showed off a cutter that seemed like a work in progress that lived in the 83-87 range. The pitch showed ability to possibly be an option in the future, but on Saturday, the lack of velo and command did not allow it to show well. Lastly, Owen showed flashes of a good changeup. The velo stuck around 82-86, only down 6-9 MPH from avg. FB, but when kept down showed some ability to have fade/run. Eventually, the lefty was pulled in the 6th and the stat line looked worse than the way he threw, but he has an interesting and projectable arm that has room to grow.
LHP Jaden Woods, UGA
Woods worked out of the pen last year for UGA and was a reliable arm in 2022. He worked his way into a Friday night role this year displaying a lively 90-93 FB that can work up to 95 along with slider at 78-82 that shows promise. Woods does not lack athleticism and works with a good tempo delivery that is very compact. Friday night against Vanderbilt, he did struggle to locate the fastball and also could not create the swing and misses the pitch typically produces. Woods did display the slider that played excellent off of the fastball that created 8 whiffs all against righties and a decent amount of chase swings. Woods typically sticks with the fastball and slider, but he did mix in some changeups that showed a tad firm.
RHP Bryce Cunningham, Vanderbilt
Bryce Cunningham came into a jam Saturday after Vanderbilt pulled Hunter Owens. A 95 MPH fastball he left belt high went for an opposite field grand slam to UGA’s Connor Tate (who is having a loud season at the plate). After the smoke settled from the big homerun Cunningham settled in and went scoreless the next 3.1 innings.
Cunningham is listed at 6’5 234 pounds, and he uses every inch of his body to create some explosive fastballs. He worked with a longer arm swing that timed up well with his long explosive leg drive. Cunningham showed a very relaxed upper body that helped created a ton of deep arm retraction that tapped into some impressive ranges of motion.
After watching film, the mechanics reminds me of Tyler Glasnow on the mound. The fastball worked 94-98 even touching a couple of 99’s. The heater showed some cut/ride ability that got in on the hands of some lefties and also worked up to get elevated chases. It also showed some late arm side life to RHH. Slider offering was 82-87 with good tight bite that if missed, ended up down and glove side. Based on the spin, the slider projects as a possible above-average pitch in the future and already gets an average amount of in zone takes but, in the future, could provide even more chases.
The changeup needs further development as it did not fool many lefties. There was not any present depth with the change and, like the fastball, seemed to cut/carry some. Possibly going to a split change could bode well for the righty. With Cunningham’s deceptive arm action and power fastball a change or split could be a devastating out pitch for him.
OF Enrique Bradfield jr., Vanderbilt
As everyone already knows, Bradfield could cover half of Nashville to track down baseballs if needed. Multiple balls put into play had no chance of falling because of his effortless ++ speed and efficient routes. At the plate, he continued to prove his great feel for the zone taking close pitches with confidence and not giving into tough chase pitches from lefty pitchers. He led off game 2 for Vandy with a pull-side gap bomb following up with a backside double next at bat. The bat-to-ball skills this weekend showcases well.
RF Charlie Condon, UGA
Condon has been having an insane Redshirt freshman year so far and hit an absolute jack in game two this past weekend. He was kept at bay this weekend though being pitched well by the Vanderbilt staff. He still showed good zone awareness, ability to pick up spin, and handled the high velocity well. Impressive bat that has put many scouts on high alert this year heading into next year’s draft in 2024.