College Hot Sheet: 20 College Baseball Standouts From The Past Week (3/28/23)
Welcome to the College Hot Sheet! Like our pro hot sheets, the College Hot Sheet recognizes some of the top performers around the country in college baseball after each weekend of play. Carlos Collazo and Peter Flaherty contributed to the College Hot Sheet this week.
Related:
- College Top 25
- Top 2023 Draft Prospects
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Top 2024 Draft Prospects
1. Dylan Crews, OF, Louisiana State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 10-for-12 (.833), 4 HR, 9 R, 9 RBICrews is the No. 1 player in the class and through his first 24 games has hit like the best player in the country. After a scorching-hot week where he homered in each game he played in, with multi-hit games in every game he played in, he’s leading Division I hitters with a .531 average, a .658 on-base percentage and a 1.645 OPS. It’s hard to be a better offensive player than what he’s been so far. -CC
2. Kris Armstrong, 3B, Jacksonville
Class: 2023
What He Did: 13-for-21 (.620), 8 HR, 3 2B, 12 R, 24 RBIArmstrong went ballistic last week with 13 hits, eight of which were home runs. He had back-to-back three-homer games against Central Arkansas over the weekend and added a two-homer game in a midweek matchup with Dartmouth. That showing catapulted him into the national home run race and with 16 homers he’s now just one behind Florida’s Jac Caglianone. -CC
3. Jake Noviello, RHP, Fairfield
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 KNoviello was dominant in his start against Siena, tossing a complete game shutout and collecting 10 strikeouts in the process. While he does not blow hitters away with velocity, he has above-average pitchability—a trait that was on full display this past Friday. – PF
4. Andy Bean, LHP, Belmont
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 KBean was fantastic in his weekend start against Illinois State, throwing a complete game shutout with six strikeouts. Dating back to March 17, Bean has thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings while allowing just seven total hits. His ERA sits at a strong 3.26 on the season with 39 strikeouts in 38.2 innings pitched. – PF
5. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
Class: 2024
What He Did: 11-for-18 (.611), 4 HR, 1 2B, 5 R, 8 RBI | 3.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 8 BB, 3 KCaglianone continued his historic start to the 2023 season by lacing 11 hits, including a 4-for-5 performance against rival Florida State. The 6-foot-5 first baseman also belted four more home runs, putting his season total at 17—first in the nation. Caglianone is hitting an even .400 this spring with seven doubles and 37 RBIs across 26 games played. – PF
6. Ryan Johnson, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Class: 2024
What He Did: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 12 KJohnson set a career high in strikeouts last Friday when he fanned 12 Charlotte batters in seven innings of work. He did so without walking a single batter and improved his season-long strikeout-to-walk rate to a sterling 47-to-8, while lowering his ERA from 3.20 to 3.06 on the season. In this outing he pitched off of his 80 mph slider and generated 13 whiffs with the pitch.
7. Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa
Class: 2024
What He Did: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 10 KBrecht carved his way through the Western Michigan lineup on Friday, turning in 5.2 innings of shutout baseball to go along with 10 strikeouts and just one hit allowed. His thunderous fastball was up to 101 mph, a pitch that was supplemented by his hellacious slurve-like breaking ball. Brecht has a 2.20 ERA this spring and is averaging close to two strikeouts per inning, with 46 in 28.2 innings. – PF
8. Raider Tello, 3B, Iowa
Class: 2023
What He Did: 11-for-20 (.550), 5 2B, 6 R, 7 RBIIt takes a big performance to land on the Hot Sheet as a hitter without homering, but Tello was a tough out all week. He tallied a three-hit game against Grand View on Wednesday, then turned in a pair of multi-hit efforts in a weekend series against Western Michigan, with a 2-for-4 effort on Saturday and a perfect 5-for-5 showing on Sunday, which included five RBIs. -CC
9. Parker Noland, 1B, Vanderbilt
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-15 (.533), 3 HR, 1 2B, 6 R, 14 RBINoland had a great week overall, but he finds his name on the Hot Sheet due in large part to his 5-for-6, two-homer, 11-RBI performance in Friday’s demolition of Mississippi State. Noland is now hitting .290 this spring and has nearly matched his 2022 season total in both home runs (6) and RBIs (26)—the senior first baseman already has five home runs and 24 RBIs in 2023. – PF
10. Luke Mann, 3B, Missouri
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-15 (.467), 3 HR, 5 R, 7 RBIMann almost willed No. 25 Missouri to victory all by himself on Friday night, as he went 4-for-5 with three home runs and drove in six of the Tigers’ eight runs. He polished off his great week with a hit in each of the last two games of the series. The fifth-year third baseman is well on his way to his best season of his collegiate career, and is now hitting .352 this spring with eight home runs and 21 RBIs. – PF
11. Paul Skenes, RHP, Louisiana State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 KWhat Skenes and Crews are doing in Baton Rouge means there’s a real chance the teammates go back-to-back as the first and second picks in the draft. Skenes has been featured on all but one Hot Sheet so far this season and last Friday he once again dominated: this time against Arkansas—he struck out 12 and walked three, while getting whiffs on all three of his pitches. He’s struck out at least 11 batters in each outing and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is now a stunning 71-to-7. -CC
12. Will Greer, RHP, Bucknell
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 8 KGreer was outstanding in the Bison’s 20-2 victory over Lafayette on Friday afternoon, throwing seven innings while allowing just one hit and striking out eight. The senior righthander continues to be one of the more reliable arms on the Bucknell staff and will be a key piece as Patriot League play heats up. – PF
13. Patrick Copen, RHP, Marshall
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 KCopen threw a career-best 11 strikeouts a week ago against Appalachian State and matched that total this past Friday against Old Dominion, while setting a new career high with eight innings pitched. The 6-foot-6 righty got his fastball into the upper 90s and racked up 17 whiffs with the pitch in an overpowering effort. -CC
14. Jarrod Belbin, 2B, Campbell
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-16 (.500), 4 HR, 8 R, 13 RBIIt was hard to pick one standout from a Campbell offense that lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 60 runs scored across three games this weekend, but Belbin separated himself from the rest thanks to a 5-for-7, two-homer, seven-RBI performance in the Camels’ Sunday afternoon game. The redshirt senior from Australia is now hitting .379 this spring with eight doubles, eight home runs and a team-leading 32 RBIs. – PF
15. Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 KLowder was again excellent on Friday night, shutting down a red-hot Miami lineup with seven shutout innings while tallying nine strikeouts. His fastball peaked at 96 mph, but he was able to hold low-to-mid-90s velocity for the entirety of his outing. Lowder’s changeup was again superb in addition to his plus slider. His ERA now sits at a sparkling 1.42 on the year with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 48-to-7 across 38 innings pitched. – PF
16. Hunter Hollan, LHP, Arkansas
Class: 2023
What He Did: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 KHollan proved to be more than up for the extreme challenge he faced on Friday afternoon in Baton Rouge, as he went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in the country and spun 5.1 innings of shutout baseball with seven strikeouts to just one walk. He threw quality strikes all afternoon and his advanced pitch sequencing kept a stacked Louisiana State lineup off balance all day. Hollan has a perfect 4-0 record this season with a 2.36 ERA in 26.2 innings pitched. – PF
17. Noah Hall, RHP, South Carolina
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 KHall tallied his second double-digit strikeout game of the season on Saturday against Missouri, when he fanned 10 batters and walked one while scattering five hits across seven frames. The senior righthander once again used his high-spin changeup to great effect, and earned 10 swings and misses with the pitch, while touching 95 mph with his fastball. -CC
18. Roc Riggio, 2B, Oklahoma State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 8-for-18 (.444), 3 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B, 8 R, 11 RBIRiggio was hitting around .250 halfway through March, but he’s been swinging a hot bat in recent weeks and last week earned a hit in each game in addition to a pair of three-hit efforts. His best day over the last week was a 3-for-5 game against Baylor on Saturday when he hit his eighth home run of the season and his ninth double. He’s now hitting .337/.487/.739 with 23 walks and 24 strikeouts. -CC
19. Noah Thompson, LHP, Lipscomb
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 KThompson is quietly putting together one of the more impressive seasons of any starting pitcher in the country. On Sunday he threw a complete game shutout and struck out 10, while lowering his ERA down to a minuscule 0.91. Thompson also boasts a strikeout-to-walk-ratio of 31-to-9 and has not allowed an earned run in his last 23 innings. – PF
20. Kyle McCoy, LHP, Maryland
Class: 2025
What He Did: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 KThe true freshman continued his dominant month of March with the best outing of his young college career on Sunday, in which he threw eight shutout innings and struck out nine. In his last 16 innings pitched, McCoy has allowed one earned run and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 17-to-1. McCoy has seen his ERA plummet from 7.94 on March 4 down to 2.81 as of March 26. – PF
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