D1 Game Notes – Walker Weickel, Cameron Perkins, Kyle Twomey, Courtney Hawkins, Kevin Gausman

D1 Game Notes –  Walker Weickel, Cameron Perkins, Kyle Twomey, Courtney Hawkins, Kevin Gausman

Walker Weickel RHP – Olympia HS (Orlando, FL) - The reason to draft a player with the name Walker Weickel should be fairly self-evident but Weickel offers plenty of other advantages. He’s got size and projectability at 6’6” with solid present velocity consistently in the low 90s, touching the mid 90s. He’s got a free and easy over-the-top delivery which he doesn’t always repeat but allows him to achieve a good downward plane and take advantage of his height. There is a fair amount of deception in this delivery, allowing his changeup (which doesn’t have much movement yet) to play up. Weickel’s main weapon besides the fastball is a slow 12-6 curve which he locates well and can freeze hitters. Weickel could easily go within the first ten picks with the trifecta of size, stuff and command coming out of high school. Still, very little is defined in these early stages and it’s conceivable that he could fall all the way to 19.  http://www.futureredbirds.net/2012/04/10/the-2012-mlb-amateur-draft-an-intro-an-overview-and-a-few-random-dudes  

Cameron Perkins has been a fixture in the No. 3 hole in Purdue's lineup since his freshman year. The junior third baseman established himself long ago as one of the top hitters in the Big Ten. But just because opponents are prepared for him doesn't mean they can get him out. "Everyone's going to know who he is, and despite that he's still leading the team in hitting and home runs," Boilermakers coach Doug Schreiber said. "His numbers, at some point you'd think they'd plateau a little bit, but he keeps improving each year. He's going to hit for average, he's got power and speed as well, so he really brings a lot to the table offensively." http://web.goldenspikesaward.com/index.html?page=news_archive&article_id=111

The final game of the first day of the Hard 9 National Classic featured a no-hitter by El Dorado's Kyle Twomey in a 7-0 victory over Reno (Nev.) Galena at Cal State Fullerton. Twomey finished with 14 strikeouts. El Dorado advances to a 1 p.m. quarterfinal game on Tuesday against Surprise (Ariz.) Valley Vista at home. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/varsitytimesinsider/2012/04/baseball-kyle-twomey-strikes-out-14-in-no-hitter.html

Clemson's Richie Shaffer Named NCBWA National Hitter of the Week

Kyle Zimmer‏ @kylez9113 - Everyday is a new opportunity to do something great. Gotta keep grindin

Former 3-time PBR All-Stater Kevin Koziol (Brother Rice HS, Class of 2010), who's now at Parkland, has committed to Bradley

Harvard-Westlake 3, Culver City 0 Final. Max Fried CG, 2 H, BB, 14 K. He was also 2-3, 3B, run

Aaron Fitt‏ @aaronfitt - LHP Sam Selman in his last 3 starts for Vandy: 16 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 6 BB, 21 K. Heard a couple reports that he's been 90-94, bumping 96.

Courtney Hawkins, OF, Carrol, TX - Hawkins is 6'3, 210 LBS and looks like he could play in the big leagues right now. He passes the eye test. His all around ability is very impressive and he is one of the few players from this year's draft that could be a star on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, he can hit mid-90's and can make good hitters look bad, but I'm not going to focus on that because his arm is best used from the Outfield. He can cover a lot of ground right now but will likely slow down as he gets a little older. He is likely to end up in RF but could stay in CF just long enough for you to hope he can stick there. No matter where he plays, he will be an above average defender. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/4/12/2943521/draft-prospect-of-the-day-courtney-hawkins

Kevin Gausman: The ball was really exploding out of his hand in this game, a big difference from when I watched him pitch 2 weekends ago, but similar to how he threw a week ago. Similar to a week ago, he was hit around a little bit despite having ace stuff. He throws downhill and does a nice job working the lower half of the zone. He continues to develop his slider, although in this game it was used more as a wipeout pitch than something he uses to throw strikes and get ahead in the count. He is able to throw strikes with both his sharp breaking curveball and his nice fading changeup, giving him a legit 4-pitch mix that includes his 93-99 FB, 85-87 SL, 80-81 CH and 76-79 CB, a nice variety of movement and velocities. He also has a pretty good pickoff move and repeats his delivery well. As he continues to get better and better, it's easy to envision him being the No. 1 overall pick to the Astros, as I have thought he could go that high for over a year now. http://www.perfectgame.org/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=7553&MessageID=13651#post13651