Weekly Draft Notes

 

2-5-21 - Vinnie Cervino @vcervinoPG

 

Some mlb draft news to drop: Canadian RHP Calvin Ziegler will be attending @TNXL_Baseball this spring in Florida starting in March. A way for Ziegler to get a lot of looks where there’s a lot of baseball being played

 

Joe  - @JoeDoyleMiLB

 

Ziegler has some of the loudest pitch data in the prep class. Extremely loud breaking ball. Needs to throws strikes. Playing Florida will help 

 

 

2-5-21 - SEC preview -

 

Player of the Year: Jud Fabian, OF, Florida.

 

Fabian can impact the game in every facet and was voted a unanimous first-team Preseason All-American by major league scouting directors. He’s a talented center fielder and has impressive all-around tools at the plate. He hit .294/.407/.603 last spring and 11 of his 20 hits went for extra bases, including five home runs. If he has the kind of season that leads him to be a top 5-10 draft pick, it’ll go a long way to helping the Gators.

 

 

2-5-21 - SEC preview  -

 

Pitcher of the Year: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt.

 

Rocker lived up to the hype as a freshman in 2019, helping lead the Commodores to the national championship and being named Freshman of the Year and College World Series Most Outstanding Player along the way. He was again excellent in 2020, going 2-1, 1.80 with 28 strikeouts in 15 innings. Now, the hype train is rolling again as Rocker enters the 2021 season as the top-ranked player in the draft class. He’s sure to be appointment viewing this spring.

 

 

2-4-21 - Big 12  -

 

Pitcher of the Year: Ty Madden, RHP, Texas

 

Madden looks poised for a huge year in what might be a banner season for pitchers in the Big 12. After serving as an effective swingman in 2019, the righthander jumped into the weekend rotation full time and thrived in 2020, putting up a 1.80 ERA and a 26-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25 innings. And while his stuff was already good, with a fastball that sat in the low 90s and touched the mid 90s, it took a jump this fall, with his fastball now running close to triple digits at times, complemented by a plus slider. If Texas reaches its potential in 2021, it’s almost certainly thanks in part to Madden locking down Friday nights.

 

 

2-4-21 - atlantic sun -

 

Player of the Year: Terence Norman, OF, Kennesaw State

 

A first-team all-conference honoree in 2018 and 2019, all Norman has done since arriving at Kennesaw State is hit. Including the abbreviated 2020 season, he’s never hit worse than .315 in any of his four seasons on campus, and his best work came in 2019, his most recent full season. That year, he hit .350/.431/.481 with 13 doubles, five home runs and 40 RBIs. The fifth-year senior will be a spark plug in a deep KSU lineup that will provide him plenty of protection.

 

2-4-21 - atlantic sun -

 

Pitcher of the Year: Mason Studstill, RHP, Florida Gulf Coast

 

After spending one year at Miami and another at the junior college level, Studstill has found a home as the Friday starter at Florida Gulf Coast, a role he has held each of the last two years. In that time, the righthander has gone 8-2, 2.30 with a .167 opponent batting average and 131 strikeouts in 109.2 innings of work. He’s lauded for his competitive nature, but his stuff is notable as well, including a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and touches 95. Even in a pitching-first league like the Atlantic Sun, Studstill stands above the rest.

 

 

2-4-21 - southland conference -

 

Player of the Year: Colton Cowser, OF, Sam Houston State

 

In just 70 games, Cowser has already established himself as one of the most decorated players in Sam Houston and Southland history. A .339/.436/.554 career hitter, the outfielder was named Southland hitter of the year in 2019, played the following summer for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team and went into the 2020 season as the first player in program history to be named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list. And now he has a chance to be the highest SHSU draft pick since Glenn Wilson went 18th overall in 1980 and the highest in the conference since Stephen F. Austin’s Hunter Dozier was selected eighth overall in 2013. The Bearkats have other talented hitters in the lineup, but it’s not a stretch to suggest that they will go as Cowser goes.

 

 

2-4-21 - southland conference -

 

Pitcher of the Year: Trey Shaffer, LHP, Southeastern Louisiana

 

Formerly a two-way player at Southeastern Louisiana, Shaffer focused solely on pitching in 2020 and great results followed. The lefthander went 3-1 with a 1.23 ERA, 32 strikeouts and a .113 opponent batting average in 22 innings across four starts. His only loss came in his final start against Central Arkansas and it was only a loss because that was the game in which UCA’s Gavin Stone threw a no-hitter. Shaffer can run his high-spin fastball up to 94 mph with a curveball and changeup that he feels comfortable throwing in any count. As the draft unfolded, he was approached by teams interested in drafting him, but he was intent on returning to school as a fourth-year junior, where he will serve as the team’s Friday starter, looking to return the Lions to the postseason for the first time since 2017.

 

 

2-4-21 - PAC 12 -

 

Player of the Year: Matt McLain, SS, UCLA

 

McLain, a third-year sophomore, used the 2020 season to bounce back from a difficult freshman campaign. He moved from the outfield, where he was pressed into duty in 2019, back to his natural shortstop position, and production at the plate followed. He finished the season hitting .397/.422/.621 with increased power, and he was clearly the focal point of the Bruins offense. McLain can do a little bit of everything, including hitting for average and power, playing a solid shortstop and stealing some bases here and there. That will make him a catalyst once again for UCLA in 2021 and a first-round pick come June.