Clay Casey, Cameron Varga, Matt Imhof, Tyler Beede, Michael Kopech, Luke Weaver

5-12-14  -  Clay Casey, OF, De Soto Central HS (MS) - Few got into a zone quite like Casey did this year — and he’s still in it. Over his last 11 games, he has gone 23-for-32 (.719) with a double, four triples, nine home runs and 27 RBI. On the season, he is now hitting .511/.587/1.136 over 30 games with six doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and exactly 100 total bases. A very good athlete who also stars in football, the 6’-3”, 205 pound right-hander has tremendous power potential to go along with a strong arm in the outfield. He has a patient approach at the plate and has a lot of upside once he focuses full time on baseball. Committed to Ole Miss. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-high-school-players-rise-final-edition/42853#cZ17mE5vsjiSvU18.99

5-18-14  -  Cameron Varga -  I know high school stats can be deceiving, and scouts don’t put a whole lot of stock into them. However, when you have struck out every batter you have faced over your last two starts like Varga has, you should take notice. The 6’-4”, 200 pound right-hander has 31 K/0 BB over his last 10 innings without allowing a hit. In fact, over his last five starts, he has tossed four no-hitters with 68 K/1 BB over 25 innings. With a fastball that sits 91-95 mph and one of the best curveballs in his class — an upper-70s knee buckler that he has great command of, he has been one of the most dominant prep pitchers this spring. His change-up is still developing, but with his athleticism, most believe it will become a quality offering. He is one of the older players in his class but he has a fresh arm as he was a shortstop his first two years of high school in Florida. For the season, he has 110 K/4 BB over 44 innings, allowing one run on 10 hits. Getting a lot of first-round buzz, he is committed to North Carolina.
Read more at http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-five-high-school-players/42931#BrqM3BlCZROcRBlE.99

3-26-14 - For the debut of the Big West Spotlight, I am in fact featuring the star of one of these power schools: Cal Poly pitcher Matt Imhof. Imhof — a 6’5”, 220 lb southpaw with a wicked arsenal—has been phenomenal this season, compiling a 4-1 record with a 1.29 ERA for the 16-3 Mustangs. The junior has also tallied 55 strikeouts in 35.0 IP, tied with TCU’s Brandon Finnegan for first in D1 baseball, and sports a 0.914 WHIP on the year.  His success hasn’t gone unnoticed on the national level, as he has received a National Player of the Week award on three different occasions this season in addition to his three Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week awards, all of them coming from performances in which he tallied 14 or more strikeouts in a game.  http://www.bestcoastbaseball.com/2014/03/big-west-spotlight-matt-imhof-shining.html

3-11-14 – TTF - Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt (2) - Beede has answered his critics through his first four starts. In his latest start against Winthrop on March 7, he struck out nine to no walks over seven innings, allowing one run on six hits. He is now 4-0 with a 1.08 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 33 K/5 BB over 25 innings. He is holding opponents to a miniscule .129 batting average. As a sophomore, he had a 5.6 BB/9 ratio over 101 innings. This year, he has a 1.8 BB/9 ratio, showing incredible improvement in his command and responding to the only knock on him by scouts. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-10-college-players-rise-week-4/41715#PjStmsQ7UB5h8BYU.99

3-14-14 – Prospect Insider - Mt. Pleasant’s Michael Kopech has been turning heads this spring and is quickly rising up draftboards. Kopech has a projectable frame and a lively fastball with heavy life. Last summer he flashed impressive stuff, but struggled to repeat his delivery. Although it still has a lot of moving parts, the delivery seems to be more rhythmic, and his curveball also shows enticing potential with sharp break and good depth. http://prospectinsider.com/category/2014-mlb-draft

3-16-14 – BLF –  Luke Weaver, Florida State Seminoles Ace, has seen his fair share of hype surrounding a prospect, Jameis Winston is after all, his teammate and not sure anyone in College sports has gotten the attention he did this year winning the Heisman and all. As a small side note, Jameis Winston came in for 3 IP and notched 7 K against NC State. Coming into this weekend series, Weaver has really run the board in terms of his projection for the draft, I’ve seen anywhere from the 20′s to the top10. Well, on Friday, he met with Rodon for a faceoff and while Rodon was solid, Weaver really took the show with 7K 2BB and only 1 ER over 6.1 IP. In comparison, Rodon had 12 K with 4 BB and 2 ER over 6.2IP. I think it must be my luck, but the past couple of times I’ve seen Rodon, I get excited, as any fan would, to see the top talent in the country and he ends up being just slightly less then his full dominant self. To be fair, This is probably the best performance I’ve got to see of Rodon live, hopefully that’ll change his next time out. But as some scouts have concerns about his command and control getting away from him, time to time, I’ve been unlucky enough to catch those games, it appears almost exclusively. While he has been absolutely dominant at times, and is every bit deserving of the hype he’s received recently, I certainly believe he has some work to do on his command and control. As I mentioned above, it has gotten away from him at times in the past and certainly this year so far, particularly against Notre Dame and FSU, he’s been a little less dominant then you would expect from him. Clearly, the 12 K game is going to catch some attention but I also look at the fact he had the 4 walks and gave up the 2 ER. Can’t be perfect no, but that’s a pretty big in conference game, you’re going to need your ace to have his absolute best stuff. Certainly, I’d take him over Gray and Appel right now, although Gray does put up quite the fight, Zimmer and Gausman for sure.  I’m by far, one of the biggest Appel detractors, placing him 13th in rankings at points last cycle, for Houston fans though, and fans of Appel, you have to get excited about the prospect of a rotation with Appel, Rodon, Cosart, and even Folty if you want to get into that line of thought. NC State 3B Andrew Knizner was one of the younger players on the field who really caught my attention, as a true freshman out of Glen Allen, Va., he showed some skill in the field and at the plate he’s been their best hitter to date, leading the team in batting average as well as RBI and tied for the lead in HR with 2. He’s got 2 errors so far, but with youth on his side I expect him to enjoy some success during his time in the Wolfpack lineup. http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2014/03/16/luke-weaver-shines-against-rodon-and-wolfpack-beede-strong-as-dores-fall-to-nola-and-tigers/