Mack Draft: – Danny Hultzen, Barrett Barnes, Matt Barnes, Scott McGough, Sean Gilmartin

Virginia pitcher Danny Hultzen: There’s not a player in the country more impressive than the two-way star. Hultzen again was fantastic on the mound against Clemson on Friday, striking out 14 and allowing just five hits in 6 2/3 innings as the Cavaliers defeated their ACC foe 5-0. Hultzen is the leader for National Pitcher of the Year honors.

http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5352

 

Barrett Barnes – This was also my first extended look at Barnes, another exciting athlete who has obvious potential for bigger and better things. Physically he is built similar to Milton Bradley, somewhat resembling an NFL running back, but he takes long, loping strides in the outfield similar to Devon White. I’m not quite so sure Barnes can consistently play the centerfield position that well, but he has the tools to do so, with a pretty good arm as well.

http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-3-7-11.html

 

Matt Barnes was hitting 95 on the gun in the 6th inning of Sunday’s game. He picked up his first win of the season after striking out six over 7.1 innings, He got some major help defensively as Nick Ahmed threw out Chad Bunting on 6-2 groundout after Bunting tripled to start the 2nd inning. Renda was thrown out at home the inning before on a double steal attempt to end the first. –

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/03/10/george-springer-garrett-buechele-tony-renda-matt-barnes

 

Scott McGough – The report on his body and arm speed remain the same, as it’s easy to see why he excelled as an infielder and actually began his career at Oregon as a two-way performer. Reports indicate that he still throws in the low-90s with the ability to touch 93-94, and he has also done a nice job tightening up his slider which is thrown with the exact same arm speed and angle as his fastball. His fastball explodes out of his hand given his loose arm, but the pitch can be fairly straight, making it hittable. He was always around the zone, but he did fall off hard to the first base side of the diamond, an indication that he may throw across his body some.

http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-3-11-11.html

 

Florida State pitcher Sean Gilmartin: The Seminoles have repeatedly said Gilmartin is back to his freshman form. And it’s now easy to believe. The talented left-handed pitcher struck out 11 and allowed just a run on two hits in seven innings as the ‘Noles defeated Boston College on Friday. Getting a solid start on Friday is setting the tone for the weekend for the Seminoles.

http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5352

 

Mack Draft: – Kelby Tomlinson, George Springer, Tyler Anderson, Danny Hultzen, Andrew Chafin

Kelby Tomlinson – This was my first look at Tomlinson, a transfer from Seward County Community College. The first thing you notice is his athleticism, as he is really put together well with good size and some strength. I had only been aware of him after being named the third best prospect in the Jayhawk League where he was hailed for his combination of speed and defense. He didn’t have an opportunity to show off his speed, but he made a few nice looking plays at short, showing good instincts and overall feel for the game.

http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-3-7-11.html

 

George Springer came into the game struggling a bit, only hitting .138, but broke the game open in the 8th with a triple to right center. Just before the at-bat during a pitching change, he was talking to a few players taking notes next to the dugout and told them he was swinging first pitch. He called his shot and crushed it, legging out the triple. He’s back up to hitting .257. –

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/03/10/george-springer-garrett-buechele-tony-renda-matt-barnes

 

Tyler Anderson – Aside from watching some third-party footage of Anderson, this was my first chance to see him pitch. I really had a different picture painted of his style and abilities, which is why it is always important to me to try and watch any player perform to get a sense of what they’re all about, and more importantly, what they could become at the next level.

http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-3-11-11.html

 

Danny Hultzen continues to dominate on Friday nights for the Virginia Cavaliers as he lasted 6.2 innings, giving up just five hits and three walks while striking out 14, Interesting enough, he struck out at least two batters in six out of the seven innings pitched. The Cavaliers were able to take the opening game of the series behind his strong performance by a scoreline of 5-0.

 http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/03/12/foleys-quick-hits-for-march-11th

 

Kent State pitcher Andrew Chafin: The Golden Flashes received yet another outstanding performance from the left-handed hurler. Chafin struck out six batters and allowed just four runs in seven shutout innings in a 2-0 victory over Coastal Carolina. Chafin is increasing his draft stock with every dominant performance.

 http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5352

 

Draft Dope: Dylan Nasiatka , Logan Vick, Keegan Linza, Paul Cusick, Danny Hultzen, Jake Lowery

Hofstra (0-8) finally registered their first win on Friday, downing 30th ranked James Madison, 4-3. Junior DH Dylan Nasiatka went yard, which was the difference in the game.

 
“Today was a big win for our team,” said Nasiatka. “We haven’t been playing the best baseball lately but we have been working extremely hard during the week and we are starting to put some pieces together. Our starting pitching has been throwing consistently and our bullpen is beginning to gain confidence. I am in the same boat with all of our hitters. We have all had some struggles but are beginning to see the ball better and are getting better swings and more quality at bats. Let me know if you need anything else, I’d be happy to answer.”

 
Naisatka is a former Bakersfield College All-American catcher, whobroke the school record for batting average after hitting .473 in 2010.

 
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Baylor (8-5) beat Louisiana Tech (8-4) Thursday, 8-4, in the first game of their four game series. The Bears’ left fielder, sophomore Logan Vick, went 3-4, 3-R, and raised his season batting average to .241. Logan was happy with his performance:

 

“it was nice to finally have some hits fall,” said Vick. “I think tonight we played well as a team and hit the ball well and had great pitching for us tonight. For me, the season may not look that great in the books, but I feel like i have been hitting the ball really well and squaring balls up but they have just been right at people. I’ve just stuck with my process knowing that they will start to fall and tonight I feel like that’s what happened. I have been taking quality at-bats this year and not worrying about the results, but about the process which has really helped me because I feel like I have been hitting well, but the results haven’t been coming out the way i would like. But that is the game of baseball. You’re going to square balls up that will be caught and that has been happening to me more than usual these past few weeks. I am going to stick with my process and I am excited about the rest of season and what our team is capable of achieving.”

 
Vick comes out of Kerrville, Texas (great steak!) and hit .329/.473/.553 as a fireshman.

 
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Liberty (6-8) opened up their weekend at the Keith LeClair Classic, in Greenville, South Carolina, with a 5-2 win against Rutgers (5-6). Starter Keenan Linza went all the way with stats of 9.0-IP, 2-R, 7-H, 5-K, 0-BB

 
Linza’s interview was as efficient as his outing:

 
“We played a good game today. Our team defense was awesome and made some really great plays. Being from North Carolina, it was an honor to pitch in the Keith LeClair Classic.”

 
In the past, Linza has made the roster for both Northwest Florida CC and the University of South Carolina before pitching for Liberty.
The weekend series is part of the event named after the late baseball coach of Western Carolina University, who passed away in 2006, from ALS.

 
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The University of Pennsylvania’s Paul Cusick lead his team Friday to a 4-0 win against Georgetown. Custick pitched 8.1 innings, striking out five, and giving up no runs. Paul talked “team” after the game:

 
“I just faced Georgetown earlier in the week and it didn’t end quite the way I wanted it to. Luckily, I got to come back and face them on four days rest. The defense behind me today was awesome which really makes it easy to challenge hitters and throw strikes. Obviously being 3-4 we’d like to see a bigger number in the win column, but I really feel like we are starting to learn a lot about ourselves and are coming together as a team. Hopefully we can build upon the performance we had today, both offensively and defensively, and get a couple more wins before heading home.”

 
Cusak was named a Pacific West Baseball League all-star this past summer where he went 5-1, 2.86 for the Atwater Aviators.
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Most of the draft pundits, including me, keep dissecting Virginia’s Danny Hultzen’s game and complaining he doesn’t have the velo that others have in this upcoming draft. And yet… so far this season he’s pitched 27.1 innings, walking 4… and striking out 50.

 
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#30 James Madison got back to their winning ways Saturday, routing Hofstra 21-8. Not sure who kicked the extra points, but the game included a 12-run 4th inning, most of which were unearned. What was earned was the job JMU junior catcher Jake Lowery did: 3-4, 3-R, 1-HR, 5-K. I asked Jake to fill me in on his exploits; however, the class act chose to talk about his team instead:

 

“I am pretty game happy with the season so far. We are winning games and have gotten off to a nice start as a team. My personal season has been off to a good start I’d say and have been fortunate to be seeing the ball well.”

Lowery went into his junior year as a member of the 2nd team All-CAA team, and a JMU Athletic Director Scholar-Athlete. Sophomore stats include: .285, 53-H, 8-HR, 11-doubles, 3-triples, 41-RBIs, and defensively, he threw out 18 runners attempting to steal.