2nd: Miami junior Yasmani Grandal turned in a monster offensive week; Grandal was 11-for-20 with 1 2B, 4 HR’s, 10 RBI’s; “Yaz” has really turned it up over the past few weeks (Grandal Among Nation’s Best Hitters); over the prior 3 weeks, he’s hitting 0.473 on 26-for-55 with 5 2B’s, 1 3B, 6 HR’s, 21 RBI’sand just 4 K’s; back in February, BA ranked Yasmani as the #29 college prospect for the upcoming draft; but it’s hard to see this switch-hitting catcher escaping the first round; for his efforts, Grandal was named the ACC Player of the Week…
3rd: We just can’t say enough good things about Florida freshman catcher Austin Maddox; Maddox has started every game, batting cleanup, since Florida’s season opener (Maddox Adjusting Well to College Game); expectations were high before he stepped on campus and skyrocketed after he homered in his first college at-bat; he’s been a model of consistency, and this past week was no exception as he was 6-for-18 with 2 HR’s and only 1 strikeout…
4th: Vanderbilt sophomore Sonny Gray has pitched masterfully much of this season, much better than his 4-4 record would suggest; on the year, Gray sports a solid 2.44 ERA and has 54K’s in 55IP, but his run support has been sorely lacking (‘Dores Can’t Get Bats Going); he logged his first complete game of the year this past Friday, giving up 3 runs, notching 8K’s versus 5 BB’s, but the hitters couldn’t manage more than the 2 runs they scored in the 1st inning…
5th: UCLA sophomore ace tandem Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole keep turning out quality starts; both took no-decisions this past week with Bauer going 7.1IP allowing no runs with 8K’s and 1 BB, while Cole logged 6IP, allowing 1 run, fanning 10 and walking 7; Bauer and Cole headline the best starting rotation in college baseball (UCLA Baseball Soars to #1 Ranking) and are the main pieces in what’s likely culminating in a run-up to Omaha…
6th: Mississippi junior Drew Pomeranz is just plain nasty; Pomz most recent dominance was against an overmatched Georgia team that was promptly dismantled in a brilliant 8-inning pitching masterpiece that saw him fan 15 of the 28 batters he faced, allowing only 1 run and walking 3; Drew was recently tabbed by Baseball America as it’s Midseason Player of the Year
7th: A week after Virginia junior reliever Tyler Wilson was raked over the coles by NC State, Wilson erased that nightmare by blanking the #2 Georgia Tech Yellowjackets in 3 appearances (Wilson’s Demons Don’t Haunt Him); called in three times over the three game series, Wilson tossed a combined 4.2 shutout innings, allowing no runs and a paltry 2 hits while fanning 9 of the 16 batters he faced from one of the nation’s best offensive lineups…
8th: San Diego senior A.J. Griffin logged 13 K’s in 13 innings that spanned two separate starts over the past week; Griffin sports a 2-3 record over a season that’s had flashes of brilliance, but the “big inning” has been hard for him to avoid in several starts; it’s unclear if any team will take a flyer on Griffin come June…
9th: Florida State junior Tyler Holt with an impressive week, posting a .421 AVG on 8-of-19 hitting with 3 2B’s, 2 HR’s and 8 RBI’s; Holt was tabbed in the preseason by Baseball America as the #46 college prospect; sounds about right, and that lands him somewhere in rounds 2-3…
Extra Innings: Coastal Carolina junior Scott Woodward 5 SB’s; UT-Arlington junior Michael Choice 8 BB’s; Rice junior Rick Hague 3 2B’s, 2 HR’s; Wright State senior Casey McGrew 10 H’s, 7 R’s; Arizona State sophomore Riccio Torrez 4 HBP; Texas Tech junior Chad Bettis 2 SV’s; UNC junior Matt Harvey 7IP, 1R; Oklahoma State senior Tyler Lyons 7.2IP, 9K’s; Oregon State junior Greg Peavey CG, 1R, 6K’s; TCU freshman Matt Purke 5IP, 1R, 5K’s…
