Plenty of 2023 MLB Draft talent was on display in the weekend series between Rutgers and Maryland. Last year, Maryland's lineup was absolutely loaded with mashers, but it has taken a slight hit with the loss of Chris Alleyne, Maxwell Costes, and others. But they are still chock full of talent, led by Matt Shaw and Luke Shliger. Maryland has yet to be short of possible draft arms either. Jason Savacool toed the rubber on Friday night for the Terps, and then they rolled out a freshman lefty on Sunday who was sitting low-90s. Rutgers let a couple of games slip away, ultimately allowing Maryland to take the series.
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
OF Ryan Lasko, Rutgers University (NO. 76 ON TOP 400)
Friday Stats: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR, SB, BB
Sunday Stats: 5-for-6, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Lasko was more than impressive on both sides of the ball in this series. Lasko as far from overmatched facing MLB draft prospects Jason Savacool and Nigel Belgrave on Friday night. Sunday was a similar story as Lasko piled on the statistics. At the plate, Lasko is poised and exudes confidence. He worked counts to find his pitch and showed a good feel for the strikezone. He gets barrel to ball with ease, and the ball is LOUD off his bat, which can be seen in the video of his home run against Savacool. The above-average to plus power is very easy to see. Savacool works his fastball from left to right, but Lasko isn't fazed. He is good at getting to the inside pitch but also driving the ball the other way on pitches away. He didn't struggle with spin in this one but did struggle with some velocity up in the zone in his at-bat against Maryland's Nigel Belgrave.
Defensively, Lasko looked good in center. He got good jumps on Friday night but struggled to read a ball hit to center on Sunday, which led to a hit. He utilizes his speed to track down balls. He showcased a plus plus arm on one of the throws I saw on Friday night. He nearly gunned a guy at the plate who was tagging on a deep fly ball to center. The throw was on the money and had on-line carry. Lasko also showed off his speed. He is a near-plus runner who gets out of the box quickly. He nearly beat out a ground ball, and he makes the fielders have to react fast. He looks to make things happen once he's on base and quickly goes first to third. His above-average running ability will allow him to steal a bag, but he could benefit from getting better reads on the base paths. Lasko may be climbing up boards after this weekend.
RHP Drew Conover, Rutgers University (NO. 248 ON TOP 400)
Friday Stats: IP, H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Rutgers tried Conover as a starter this year, but the results could have been better. He was a mixed bag coming out of the bullpen in this one. Conover has a unique and funky delivery. He sets up on the right side of the rubber, and he releases his pitches on the left side. The slider is his go-to pitch. It was about 81-83 with some sweepy break. He used this to get most of his swing-and-miss. His sinker was right at 92 all night, and he struggled to command it quite a bit. Conover is a prototypical two-pitch relief pitcher. He will have to develop a third pitch to want to have any shot at being a starter.
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
SS Matt Shaw, University of Maryland (NO. 29 ON TOP 400)
Friday Stats: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI
Sunday Stats: 2-for-6, RBI, 3 SO
Matt Shaw wasn't all that impressive this series outside of a home run in Friday night's game. He has been considered one of the top prospects in the draft but seemed very uncomfortable at the plate against Rutgers pitchers. He was swinging early and often in his at-bats early in games, swinging first pitch a few times, popping up, and grounding out. The hit tool didn't look as good as advertised, as he struggled to pick up spin, which also had him struggling with timing up the fastball. I'd probably chalk it up to an off weekend.
Despite his size, Shaw has a small, compact stature but can generate some pop. He showed off his power and ability to generate power the other way when he hit his home run to right center. Defensively, Shaw looks more like a second baseman than a shortstop in the future. He can get to balls laterally but won't be making the flashy plays at shortstop. He needs some range to his right and has little carry behind his throws first. The lack of arm strength stuck out to me and made me feel he would be better suited for second. There is still a lot to like about Shaw, and I expect he would likely be a day-one call.
C Luke Shliger, University of Maryland (NO. 125 ON TOP 400)
Friday Stats: 1-for-3, R, BB, SO
Sunday Stats: 3-for-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB
I wasn't too impressed with Shliger on Friday, but he showed up Sunday, and you could see why scouts love him. Like Shaw, Shliger is small, compact, and an absolute table setter at the top of Maryland's lineup. Patience at the plate is Shliger's calling card. He has an incredible feel for the zone, can pick up spin, and will wait until he finds a pitch he can drive. Every hit he had was a hard-line drive. His power is more gap power than over the fence, but he could drive into one to hit them over the fence. Shliger has increased some swing and miss in his game, but the hit tool still looks plus.
Defensively, Shliger did well behind the plate. He receives the ball well and blocks most pitches n the dirt. He had some strong snap throws back to first, which almost picked off runners. The fun part of Shliger's game is that he isn't afraid to run. He looks to have fringe above-average speed but gets good jumps at first to steal the occasional bag. He had double-digit steals last year. His ability to get on base, the hit tool, and decent speed for a catcher will have teams very intrigued come draft day.
RHP Nigel Belgrave, University of Maryland (NO. 250 ON TOP 400)
Friday Stats: 1.2 IP, H, K
Sunday Stats: 1.1, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB
The 6'4 right-hander is a presence on the mound. He pitched with confidence and wasn't afraid to attack hitters inside with his fastball. His tall, athletic frame that looks like it still has room for growth will interest many teams. It was a cold night, but Belgrave was sitting consistently 92-93 with his fastball. Reports in the past had him flashing upper-90s, but the conditions on Friday night didn't seem like it was made for peak velocity for guys. He is your prototypical two-pitch pitcher. The slider is nasty, and he isn't afraid to throw it in any count. It has late life to it and sits in the mid-80s. He struggled to repeat his delivery at times, which led to inconsistencies with his fastball and slider command, but he could work through those and battle back on Friday night.
Sunday was a complete 180 of Friday night for Belgrave. He came into the game at the last minute as Maryland's starter Kyle McCoy took a scary line drive to the face. Belgrave didn't have confidence in either pitch, which showed in his command. It could've been because he didn't get the proper warmup. The fastball was lively, but he left a lot middle-middle, leading to him getting torched. He couldn't find the command of his slider either, spiking many in the dirt. Overall, I hoped to see him miss more bats with his stuff. He has the confidence needed in his pitches, and once he tightens up his command, he should get plenty of more swing and miss. The two-pitch combo is very solid, but they need lots of refinement to be effective.
RHP Jason Savacool, University of Maryland (NO. 246 ON TOP 400)
Friday Stats: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
The Terps Friday night starter is a pretty intriguing draft prospect. He doesn't have much to blow you away, but he has a decent enough arsenal you could build on. He has an imposing presence on the mound and has a good feel for pitching. The fastball sat in the low-90s for the entire game on a cold day. He works it on both sides of the plate on both lefties and righties. He keeps the ball down in the zone, which helps keep him from getting burnt up in the zone. He had a lot of confidence in his fastball in this one but struggled to command it at times, even getting burnt by leaving a fastball middle-middle to Lasko. His slider is a borderline above-average pitch that was sitting in the mid-80s. Any whiffs he got in this one mainly came on that pitch. He also has a curveball that lacks bite and is more of an average get-me-over pitch. He was able to generate some weak contact with it to get him out of jams. Savacool profiles as more of a relief type, but if he can find any increase in velo or get his curveball to above-average, he could be a back end of the rotation type.
LHP Tommy Kane, University of Maryland
Friday Stats: 0.2 IP, BB
I came away intrigued with Tommy Kane's stuff. The 6'1 left-hander has a prolonged delivery. His fastball was sitting a consistent 92-93 mph on a pretty chilly night. The biggest thing holding his fastball effectiveness back was his command. He sometimes struggled to repeat his delivery and would leave the fastball up and out of the zone or spike it in the dirt. He leaned heavily on his fastball, making me wonder if he needs more confidence in his secondaries. He did flash an average curveball which had some sharp bite to it.