Mack – Draft 5-Pack – Brendan McKay, Jake Magnum, Will Gaddis, Joe Perez, Mark Vientos

Aaron Fitt‏ - @aaronfitt - Here’s your crazy @UofLBaseball Brendan McKay stat of the day: His batting average (.548) is higher than his ERA (0.50). Are you serious?

    

         Red Rooster

D1 Baseball - There’s not much that Brendan McKay (Louisville) can do at this point that will shock us. He’s got a firm grasp on the title of best player in college baseball or at least most valuable player in college baseball. He has dominated on the offensive side of the ball and has been equally or more dominant on the mound with his left arm as well. The big lefthander was electric once again on Friday, striking out 15 batters over seven two-hit shutout frames. And he did all that on just 97 pitches. He attacked hitters with a 90-93 mph fastball that topped at 94 and he continues to tighten up his already superb breaking ball. He threw some as hard as 84 mph on Friday and it was consistently a swing and miss offering. The most important part of McKay’s development on the mound is his changeup and he showed further improvement in that department as well, throwing some high quality, well-spotted ones throughout the outing. There is not a more polished commodity in this draft class than McKay.

Teddy Cahill‏ -  @tedcahill  -

Mississippi State LHP-OF Jake Mangum made his pitching debut Sunday against South Alabama. Got two outs for the save. Also hitting .417/.488/.500 this season.

 For Whom The Cowbell Tolls - The Mississippi State Bulldog Baseball team has had its fair share of iconic players come through the program. Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, and Jeff Brantley just to name a few. What Jake Mangum did in his freshman season as a Bulldog sits right there with them. Mangum was the obvious choice for SEC Freshman of the Year. He won the SEC batting title with a .408 batting average, and had 22 multi hit games. Even more impressive, he was BETTER in SEC play than he was against non SEC opponents. He hit .437 against SEC pitching in 2016.

 

Frankie Piliere –

           D1 Baseball - Will Gaddis (Furman) has been battled tested against elite competition, putting together an outstanding summer in the Cape Cod League, but getting to see the Furman ace against a talented Ole Miss lineup was an outstanding setting for professional scouts to see him in. And, he passed the test with flying colors. He was very strong over seven innings of two run baseball, showing an ultra-polished approach. Gaddis had outstanding command of his fastball against the Rebels, working at 90-93 mph in cold conditions. Gaddis is shown for a sharp, big breaking ball but his best pitch in this particular outing was sharp, tight cutter at 84-88 mph. His best weapon, however, was his ability to move his fastball in and out, and up and down at will.

          

 Prep Baseball Report - With the Florida high school season in full swing and the MLB Draft quickly approaching in June, it’s time to make an update to the Florida Class of 2017 Rankings. There has been some shuffling up top, most notably in the Top 5 with 3B/RHP Joe Perez (Archbishop McCarthy HS, FL) taking over the top spot. The two-way Miami recruit has been impressive so far this spring not only at the plate with multiple home-runs, but on the mound as well where he has been up to 98 mph with his fastball.

          

          

Mark Vientos, SS, American Heritage (Miami) –

 Prep Baseball Report - Vientos is one of the youngest players in the 2017 class with some of the most potential. He has a projectable frame, with athleticism and shows the ability to be a solid defender at short or fill out and be a plus defender at third. He has a line drive approach with a level swing thrive the zone with a present feel for the barrel. He projects to fill out and the present feel for the barrel coupled with the athleticism should lend to future power. He has a lot of present tools with a big ceiling going forward.