College Hot Sheet: 20 College Baseball Standouts From The Past Week (5/16/23)
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. Nico Zeglin, RHP, Long Beach State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 KThe veteran righthander continued his strong 2023 campaign, throwing a complete game shutout against a quality UC Santa Barbara club in which he notched 10 strikeouts. Zeglin generated 16 total swings and misses, with nine coming on his plus changeup which has an impressive miss rate of 49% this season. He has struck out 20 and allowed just one run in his last two starts. Zeglin continued to shrink his ERA, which now sits at 2.21 to go along with 104 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. -PF
2. Roman Angelo, RHP, Fresno State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 KAfter surrendering 17 runs across his last two starts, Angelo responded by spinning a complete game against UNLV without allowing an earned run. Not only was it the deepest Angelo pitched into a game all year, he also set a new season high in strikeouts with 10. He shrunk his ERA from 5.52 to 4.82 and is limiting opposing hitters to a .242 average. -PF
3. Hunter Hollan, LHP, Arkansas
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 KHollan has been excellent for Arkansas all season, but on Sunday he turned in his best start to date. The junior lefthander carved his way through one of the best lineups in college baseball, as he allowed only one run and struck out 10 in a complete game effort. Hollan made use of his entire arsenal and had advanced feel for each of his four offerings. After an infield single in the third inning, Hollan proceeded to set down 19 South Carolina hitters in a row before surrendering a two-out single in the ninth inning. Hollan this year has pitched his way to a 3.75 ERA with 61 strikeouts to 26 walks across 69.2 innings. -PF
4. Cade Fontenot, LHP, Texas Southern
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 KFontenot began the season as a reliever, but has been a reliable starter for Texas Southern in recent weeks and had a career day on Sunday when he shut out Prairie View in a complete game effort while striking out a season-high 11 batters. On the season, Fontenot has posted a 3.79 ERA over 35.2 innings with a 28.4% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and .206 opponent batting average. –CC
5. Cole Foster, SS, Auburn
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9-for-15 (.600), 3 HR, 1 2B, 7 R, 6 RBIsFoster had at least two hits in each of his three games against Ole Miss, headlined by a 4-for-5 performance in the series-opening game in which he walloped two home runs, doubled and had four RBIs. Foster is a switch-hitter, though his swing is much more polished and rhythmic from the left side, where he has serious hand speed. Foster upped his average to .337 on the season and now has 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. -PF
6. Alberto Rios, OF, Stanford
Class: 2023
What He Did: 10-for-18 (.556), 4 HR, 2 2B, 7 R, 11 RBIsRios was crowned Pac-12 player of the week for the second time in a row as he turned in three multi-hit performances, culminating in a 5-for-6 game against Arizona in which he doubled, belted three home runs and had nine RBIs. On a roster filled with big-time draft prospects, Rios ranks first among Cardinal hitters in batting average (.402), home runs (16) and RBIs (60). He is also boasting an on-base percentage of .502 and is walking as much as he is striking out. -PF
7. Caden Aoki, RHP, Southern California
Class: 2024
What He Did: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 KFollowing a 2022 season at Notre Dame in which Aoki threw just 9.1 innings, he opted to enter the transfer portal and return to his home state of California. In Saturday’s series-clinching win over Arizona State, Aoki tossed eight shutout innings and allowed only three hits. While his strikeout numbers were modest, he was able to avoid hard contact and keep the ball on the ground, as evidenced by his 63% groundball rate. Aoki worked primarily on the arm side of the plate, where his fading changeup is most effective. Aoki this spring leads all Trojans starters with a 2.04 ERA, and opposing batters are hitting just .226 against him. -PF
8. Andrew Pinckney, OF, Alabama
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9-for-19 (.474), 3 HR, 1 2B, 4 R, 9 RBIsPinckney’s week got off to a modest start as he was 3-for-8 through his first two games, but he ended it with a bang as he went 6-for-11 with three home runs and nine RBIs in the last two games. Pinckney has risen steadily up draft boards this spring and his stock should only continue to improve with a strong end to the season. He is hitting .353 and has set new career highs in both home runs (14) and RBIs (45). -PF
9. Lorenzo Petersen, RHP, Grambling State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 KPetersen struck out a season-high 10 batters last Friday against Arkansas Pine Bluff, while allowing just one earned run in a complete game effort. Petersen has been a steady presence for Grambling State this spring, despite a relatively low strikeout rate overall, and on the season he’s posted a 4.66 ERA in 73.1 innings of work. –CC
10. Carter Graham, 1B, Stanford
Class: 2023
What He Did: 12-for-21 (.571), 3 HR, 3 2B, 10 R, 11 RBIsGraham last week continued his hot hitting as he collected a dozen hits across four games. He had multiple hits in each game, as well as two separate four-hit performances. The physical first baseman started his week by going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs against Santa Clara and finished it with a 4-for-7 game against Arizona. After a sluggish start to the season, Graham is currently riding a 15-game hitting streak and has driven in at least one run in nine of his last 10 games. He is hitting .311 with 14 doubles and 12 home runs, and his 55 RBIs rank second among all Stanford hitters. -PF
11. Connor Fenlong, RHP, Indiana State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 KFenlong was named the Missouri Valley pitcher of the week for the second time this season. He threw back-to-back complete game shutouts—first shutting out Bradley on May 6 and then shutting out Murray State on Saturday. He’s thrown 19 straight scoreless innings going back to his April 29 game against Evansville—though he hasn’t struck out more than eight batters a single time this season. Fenlong has to thank his defense a bit for his success, given the amount of balls in play. He drove a 64% groundball rate against Murray State. –CC
12. Chris Difiore, LHP, Bucknell
Class: 2023
What He Did: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 KDifiore topped Fenlong for the “most dominant outing without striking anyone out” award. He threw a complete game shutout despite striking out just two batters, and it was his second shutout of the season. He needed just 101 pitches to finish the game and got through his first five innings on just 36 pitches—the positive spin on not striking out many batters is you can be plenty efficient if you’re pitching to contact and that worked for Difiore perfectly in this outing. –CC
13. Jac Caglianone, LHP, Florida
Class: 2024
What He Did: 6.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 KCaglianone on Sunday had a career day on the mound, as he set a new career high in innings pitched and tied a career high in strikeouts. This was the best Caglianone’s stuff has looked all season, as both his slider and changeup flashed plus and he held his premium upper-90s velocity the entire outing. Caglianone also mixed in a cutter that proved to be effective and played nicely off his fastball. The 6-foot-5 sophomore has shined on both sides of the baseball this season and is hitting .351 with a nation-leading 27 home runs, while on the mound he has a 4.47 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 54.1 innings pitched. -PF
14. Chase Adkison, C, Oklahoma State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7-for-11 (.636), 1 HR, 1 3B, 6 R, 8 RBIsAdkison was named co-player of the week in the Big 12 after an extremely productive series against Kansas State. He had multiple hits and multiple RBIs in each of his three games, most notably going 3-for-4 with a triple, a home run and four RBIs on Saturday. After hitting .240 last season, Adkison is hitting .342 this year with eight doubles, six home runs and 38 RBIs. On top of his production with the bat, Adkison is also a capable defender behind the dish. -PF
15. Tommy White, 3B, Louisiana State
Class: 2024
What He Did: 11-for-18 (.611), 2 HR, 4 2B, 6 R, 9 RBIsWhite had a pair of three-hit games and a 4-for-5 effort on Saturday against Mississippi State last week. He doubled in all four games he played in and raised his slash line to .401/.460/.802 on the season. He currently has 18 home runs and 21 doubles and is 12th among Division I hitters with his .802 slugging percentage. –CC
16. Anthony Martinez, 1B, UC Irvine
Class: 2025
What He Did: 11-for-18 (.611), 3 HR, 1 2B, 5 R, 11 RBIsMartinez had a pair of four-hit games last week, one against San Diego in a midweek matchup and one against Cal State Northridge. He also homered in three consecutive games, which was enough for him to be named the Big West player of the week. The true freshman is having an outstanding season and is slashing .402/.479/.652 with 11 home runs, 18 doubles and a strikeout rate under 10%. –CC
17. JJ Wetherholt, 2B, West Virginia
Class: 2024
What He Did: 8-for-16 (.500), 2 HR, 2 2B, 3 R, 4 RBIsWetherholt continued his exceptional 2023 season with a .500 week, including a three-hit performance against Pittsburgh and a pair of two-hit games over the weekend against Texas Tech. Wetherholt earned Big 12 co-player of the week honors and is now the leading hitter in the country with a .466 average—just ahead of Florida Atlantic’s Nolan Schanuel and Louisiana State’s Dylan Crews. –CC
18. Travis Bazzana, 2B, Oregon State
Class: 2024
What He Did: 10-for-19 (.526), 3 HR, 2 2B, 9 R, 11 RBIsBazzana went bananas last week, with three multi-hit games, and he capped off a four-game week with a 5-for-7 game against UCLA, where he hit his ninth home run of the season. Bazzana has improved in most offensive categories this spring and is slashing .381/.510/.639 with a 19.9% walk rate and 15.5% strikeout rate. His 33 stolen bases are also tied for eighth among Division I hitters. –CC
19. Josh Pyne, 3B, Indiana
Class: 2024
What He Did: 10-for-17 (.588), 3 HR, 1 3B, 9 R, 14 RBIsPyne was named the Big Ten player of the week after hitting three home runs and tallying multi-hit games in all three weekend contests against Purdue. The series was highlighted by a 4-for-5 performance on Friday. On the season, Pyne is hitting .321/.385/.467 and he’s been remarkably consistent over the first two years of his career for Indiana. –CC
20. Ty Weatherly, RHP, Ball State
Class: 2023
What He Did: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 KWeatherly started against Miami last Saturday and struck out a career-best 11 batters over seven shutout innings and was named the MAC pitcher of the week. The 6-foot-6 grad student’s previous high this season was nine. Weatherly has battled control issues throughout the season, so walking just two batters in this outing and showing good feel for four pitches was an encouraging sign. –CC
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