2/15/25

MACK - Random Draft Shite

 

MLB:  Here's the High School All-Prospect Team for the '25 Draft

C: Omar Serna, Lutheran South (Tex.)

He’s big and strong with tremendous power to all fields, looking to do damage at all times. He also has what might be a double-plus arm behind the dish.

Commitment: Louisiana State

 

1B: Gavin Fien, Great Oak (Calif.)

Some scouts thought he was the best pure prep hitter on the summer showcase circuit. He has a ton of bat speed from the right side of the plate, and he’s hit-over-power right now, but he keeps adding physicality so there should be more pop to come. It’s also possible he can play third long term.

Commitment: Texas

 

2B: Kayson Cunningham, Johnson (Tex.)

He has every chance to play shortstop for a long time, just so you know. And he has excellent barrel control to go along with a solid all-fields approach and more power than you might think to go along with plus speed.

Commitment: Texas

 

3B: Ethan Holliday, Stillwater (Okla.)

A shortstop right now, Jackson’s brother has good actions but likely will outgrow the premium position. The good news is he could be an outstanding third baseman, with more than enough power potential from the left side of the plate to profile there.

Commitment: Oklahoma State

 

Kendall Rogers           @KendallRogers

INJURY NEWS: TCU LHP Ben Abeldt, No. 90 in our 2025 Prospect Rankings and a projected weekend starter for the #Frogs, will miss the 2025 season because of a partially torn UCL/flexor. He will have surgery next week and it's a 6-9 month recovery process. 

 

Ian Smith           @IanSmittyGA

I’ve been impressed with GT baseball junior SS Kyle Lodise in every look throughout the fall/early spring.

Bat-to-ball is advanced w/ ability to stay simple and on-plane in an all-fields approach. A-A bat speed is present for the Augusta transfer.

104 EV on the 2-RBI knock. 

 

Shooter Hunt         @ShooterHunt

‘25 Cooper Moss (Florida)

FB: 92-94

SL: 83-84 (23-2400, slv)

SPL: 86 (1300s)

Fresh off his Super 60 showing, getting IZMs on heater down & mixing secondary for K. COMPETES. Bullying AA. Double digit whiffs thru 2 

 

Prep Baseball Georgia         @PrepBaseballGA

2025 RHP/SS Dean Livingston came out flashing premium fuel on opening night.

Imposing 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame.

FB: 92-94 T95

SL: 80-81; tight, late bite

CB: 76-79; depth, IZMs

CH: 84

Big-time arm talent in the class‼️

UGA commit 

 

Peter Flaherty III          @PeterGFlaherty 

LHP Ben Moore (@ODU Baseball) is a Mid-Atlantic name to keep close tabs on this season. He had a productive freshman year to the tune of a 1.88 ERA with 24 Ks across 28.2 innings, and followed with a successful 2024 campaign in which he worked a 2.68 ERA with 39 Ks to 11 BB in 37 innings. Moore took on a more prominent role last spring and made a handful of starts, so expect him to do the same in 2025 and likely pitch in the Monarchs’ rotation full-time.

At 6'4" and 225-lbs, Moore has a large and imposing frame with strength throughout. He side steps with his front foot towards the third base side which leads into a high leg lift. Moore attacks from a three-quarters slot (will drop down closer to a low-3/4 slot on his SL) with present arm speed, though he could get more into his lower-half.

Moore’s fastball sits in the low-90s and has been up to 94 (up to 95 this fall) with life through the zone, particularly to his arm side. While it doesn’t miss a ton of bats right now, Moore has done a nice job of staying off the barrel of opposing hitters and keeping the ball on the ground.

His bread-and-butter pitch is his low-to-mid-80s SL, and it’s a pitch for which he has an advanced feel. Moore has shown to manipulate its shape, and it’s effective against both left and righthanded hitters. Against the former, it will take on a two-plane look with more depth than sweep and Moore can back-foot it for whiffs. Against the latter, it looks like a legitimate plus pitch with plenty of sweep and bite. As mentioned, Moore will drop to a low-3/4 slot when delivering the pitch which makes for an extra tough look for lefties. Last spring, it held opposing hitters to a .125 average and generated a 47% miss rate.

Moore rounds out his arsenal with an upper-70s-to-low-80s CH that he threw just 8% of the time last season. He’s still harnessing his feel for it, but he has demonstrated he can kill spin on it and it will flash tumbling life at times. Average command and control. I’ll be curious to see how Moore fares as a stalwart within Old Dominion’s rotation and he profiles as a 4th-6th round pick this July.

 

RHP Callan Fang (Harvard)  is a mid-major arm to follow this season. After a solid freshman season, Fang was lights-out in relief for the Vermont Lake Monsters of the Futures League to the tune of a 1.14 ERA with 45 Ks to just 8 BB in 23.2 innings. He carried that momentum over to the spring, where he made the jump from the bullpen to the rotation and compiled a 4.64 ERA with 83 Ks to 20 BB en route to taking home Ivy League Pitcher of the Year honors. Fang’s success continued through the summer, as he was a Cape League All-Star with the Orleans Firebirds and pitched his way to a 2.15 ERA with 39 Ks against 9 BB across 29.1 innings.

At 6'3" and 215-lbs, Fang has an average build with some present strength. He works exclusively out of the stretch and attacks from a three-quarters slot. Fang’s arm stroke is a bit stabby and he has a drop-and-drive type operation. His fastball sits in the low-90s and has been up to 94, but it plays well in the top-half of the zone thanks to its riding life. Not a big time bat-misser right now, though, and generated a modest 20% miss rate across the spring and summer.

Fang’s money-makers are his secondary offerings. His low-to-mid-70s CB has immense depth and takes on a true 12-to-6 shape with some sharpness. It’s a legitimate “moon ball” that’s especially a weapon against righthanded hitters, and across this spring and summer it generated a 40% whiff rate and held opposing hitters to a minuscule .083 average.

From this chair, Fang’s most valuable offering is his high-70s-to-low-80s CH. He throws it with conviction—and in any count—to both left and righthanded hitters. It gets solid separation off his heater and routinely flashes arm-side fade as well as late tumbling life. It’s a true out-pitch that across this spring and summer garnered a 54% whiff rate, 42% in-zone whiff rate and a 50% chase rate.

The cherry on top with Fang is his pitchability. He locates his entire arsenal, sequences his pitches well and keeps opposing hitters off balance. Simply put, he knows how to pitch which, unfortunately, has become an increasingly rare quality in today’s game. Top-10 round upside in this year's Draft.

 

RHP/1B Trace Phillips  is an interesting draft-eligible sophomore on which to keep close tabs. Last spring, he hit .304/.360/.547 with 8 2B, 13 HR and 47 RBIs, but it’s his ability on the mound that's the root of his buzz. Phillips' back of the baseball card numbers last season are modest, but there is more to it than meets the eye.

At 6'3" and 185-lbs, Phillips has an athletic, high-waisted frame. In the box, he has a simple setup with an ear-high handset and the bat horizontal above his back shoulder. Phillips has a slight load in which he has a noticeable barrel tip and a small stride. He moves well in the box and has some scissor action with his back leg. Phillips’ pure hit tool is fringey, but he has plus raw power and has shown the ability to drive the baseball to all fields. Max EV last spring of 109.4, if he's able to lift the ball more it will lead to a more impressive power output.

Phillips’ current prospect status is largely driven by his ability on the mound. His numbers were unimpressive last season, but he took a step forward this fall. There’s some low hanging fruit to clean up in his delivery, but he has a short, whippy arm stroke and attacks from a low-three quarters slot with plenty of arm speed. Phillips’ FB has been up to 96 with ride through the zone (particular life at the top), though his best pitch is a high-70s-to-low-80s CH. He does a nice job of killing spin on it, and It averaged almost 15 MPH off his fastball this fall. It’s a plus pitch that flashes both fade to the arm side as well late tumble.

Phillips completes his arsenal with a mid-80s slider that flashed above-average this fall with sharp, two-plane tilt. Both his changeup and slider profile as legitimate swing-and-miss offerings. Another positive development with Phillips this fall is that his strike-throwing took a step in the right direction. Mid-4th-6th round type this July.

  

Just Means Less ACC          @FQACC

Stanford Pitcher to Watch:

RHP Matt Scott

The 6'7", 247 lb fire balling ace is expected to be a 1st rd pick in July's MLB Draft but will first pitch for Stanford on Fridays. Scott struck out 103 batters last year in 80 innings & leads one of the best rotations in the country. 

 

Kendall Rogers        @KendallRogers

PLAYER RANKINGS: TOP 100 RELIEVERS

Who are the Top 100 relievers in @NCAABaseball entering the 2025 season?

1. Jacob Dudan, @NCStateBaseball

2. Cole Tryba, @UCSB_Baseball

3. Matt Matthijs, @DiamondHeel 

 

Baseball America          @BaseballAmerica 

Billy Carlson is the best defensive shortstop in the prep class, and his double-plus arm that is an asset as a fielder and a pitcher

 

Top five shortstops in the 2025 draft class entering the season

1. Ethan Holliday

2. Kayson Cunningham

3. Billy Carlson

4. Eli Willits

5. Dean Curley 

 

Joe Doyle            @JoeDoyleMiLB

Corona SS Billy Carlson wasting no time this weekend going yard in Vegas. Launched.

Corona HS is out in Nevada this weekend playing a menu of games against Bishop Gorman HS and Basic HS (where Tate Southisene plays). Sounds like a lot of heat in for the soiree.

Carlson is currently projected to be drafted in the 1.11 – 1.15 range of the draft.

6 comments:

TexasGusCC said...

Can someone translate Lodise’s writeup in words I can understand?

Will Holliday last until the 38th pick? Do Mets want to keep getting punished by this rule forever?

Mack Ade said...

college baseball started yesterday

Holiday will go top 5

Mack Ade said...

Lodise is projected to be a very successful spray hitter

TexasGusCC said...

And Tremarr Johnson was a “can’t miss” bat, but he missed.

Mack Ade said...

Johnson is TWENTY YEARS OLD

Boy, you write thee guys off quicker than Tom

Tom Brennan said...

And I do write them off FAST, Mack, but I am uncharacteristically urging patience on one struggler, in my article next Wednesday at 9 AM.