D1 Game Notes – Tyler Naquin, Richie Schaffer, Chad Carman, Mark Appel

D1 Game Notes –  Tyler Naquin, Richie Schaffer, Chad Carman, Mark Appel

A&M rightfielder Tyler Naquin is my favorite college outfielder.  He hits to all fields, hustles, and has a great arm for right.  On the year, Naquin is batting .425/.500/.592 with 2 home runs in 120 at bats.  There is still room on his frame to bulk up and add more power. draft  

South Carolina won three of four games this past week with a win at College of Charleston and a series victory over Tennessee winning two out of three games this past weekend. The Gamecocks are 23-9 and 5-7 in the SEC. South Carolina has a five-game slate this upcoming week, hosting The Citadel on Tuesday, traveling to Francis Marion on Wednesday night and hosting Mississippi State for a three-game SEC series over the weekend. The Gamecocks have won two straight conference series as well as six of the last eight games the team has played. link  

Florida State won its eighth consecutive series of the year, sweeping Georgia Tech to earn the No. 1 spot in Baseball America's Top 25 rankings. The Seminoles have won 14 of their first 15 Atlantic Coast Conference games. link 

Clemson third baseman Richie Shaffer had a great weekend against Duke, going 7-for-13 with a double and two stolen bases. Click here to read about his night against Marcus Stroman, which includes video of his batting practice, and two at-bats versus Duke’s ace. - link

I have Dane Phillips at number 9 on one of my catcher lists; however, he is currently backing up the 4 year starter, Chad Carman, at Oklahoma City University. Chad was the 2011 NAIA Rawlings Gold Glove winner at catcher, had the 8th best batting average in the Coastal Plains League last summer, made the Coastal Plains All-Star team, and his numbers far exceeded every other catcher in the Coastal Plains League last summer. Phillips and Chad split time catching and playing right field during non-conference games, but Carman has handled all the duties during conference because of his excellent defensive skills. 

Arkansas DJ Baxendale – 8.0-IP, 0-R, 6-H, 7-K, 0-BB 

The season began with no clear No. 1 pick, and that appears to be the way it remains. Stanford right-hander Mark Appel started the campaign as the favorite to go first overall to the Houston Astros, and that might still be the case, but there's been no separation between those in the top 5. Appel started the season with questions about his breaking ball and ability to miss bats consistently despite a mid-to-upper 90s fastball. Those questions remain after his most recent outing. The 6-foot-5 Cardinal ace went the distance versus Washington, sitting 95-97 mph with the four-seamer in the first inning, but struggling with his command of the pitch, often falling behind in the count. link  

Jim Callis on Dylan Bundy:

Can't remember a HS pitcher this advanced. Gooden didn't come out of HS w/same polish as Bundy