Saturday, February 27, 2010

College Corner: Friday Night Starters, Week 2

You'll have to bear with me on all the college posts lately. I always get amped up at the start of the college season and again as the draft approaches. The middle, not so much. We'll just take it one day at a time.

Once again, the Friday Starter focus is on the Sophomore pitchers:

Taylor Jungman, RHP, Texas, dominated a Stanford lineup that clobbered Rice last weekend: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 10 K's. Pretty darn impressive!

Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA, got the best of the Marquee Matchup between him and Sonny Gray of Vanderbilt: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K's. Gray didn't fare as well: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's. UCLA won 9-2 and looks like they have a strong, young team that should be even better next year. Most of their star players are freshmen and sophomores.

Another nice start by a sophomore was turned in by Sammy Solis of San Diego vs. SD State: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K's. Solis is listed at 6'5", 228 lbs., so he's a big boy. Solis is draft eligible, #32 on BA's list of College Draft Prospects.

Yet another sophomore, Danny Hultzen of Virginia had a good looking line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K's against Rhode Island. He ran his record to 2-0, 1.38, 13 IP, 3 BB, 16 K's.

Junior Thomas Royse of Louisville over Michigan: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K's. Royse is listed at 6'5", 210 lbs. He ran his season stat line to 2-0, 0.00, 11 IP, 2 BB, 14 K's. Last year he was 3-2, 3.48, 41.1 IP, 10 BB, 48 K's., moving into the rotation in the second half. Could be a riser on draft boards this year.

Junior LHP Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss, K'd 15 against a school called Oakland who I've never heard of. Gotta wonder about the level of competition there.

Here's one to look for in later rounds, Eric Cantrell, JR, RHP, George Washington U. 6'4", 200 lbs. Held his own last Friday against Matt Harvey and North Carolina. Great game last night against Coppin State: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K's. Last year, he was 5-2, 4.46, 72.2 IP, 26 BB, 60 K's as a sophomore starter. After last night's game, he stands at 1-0, 2.45, 11 IP, 2 BB, 16 K's. I'll try to find out more about him.

A couple more interesting lines from last night: Jason Mitchell, Senior, RHP, UT Arlington, 6'2", 185 lbs.- 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 18 K's!! Cody Martin, Junior, RHP, Gonzaga, 6'3", 210 lbs.- 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 13 K's.

The draft class is looking a bit thin for college pitchers, especially with Ranaudo on the shelf. I would say the college hitters, especially OF's are looking stronger and deeper. I think HS pitching is fairly strong. This might be a good year to be drafting lower in the first round. It looks like there is a ton of talent in the late first round through 2'nd or even 3'rd round, but not a whole lot to justify high first round money. The Giants should be able to find talent in the first and second rounds that is as good, or almost as good as in the top 10 rounds and save $2-3 M in bonus money. Maybe they can use that on another high end international signing?

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