Marc Rzepczynski

Rzepczynski joins Gonzaga's Clayton Mortensen as two seniors who would be first-five-round picks based solely on talent. That they are seniors (and presumably easier, less expensive signs) will push them up draft boards. Rzepczynski had elbow soreness early in the season but has shown plus stuff since then, making that less of a concern. He was unavailable to the Highlanders in May for their showdown series against Long Beach State and UC Irvine, with first place in the Big West on the line, due to a broken knuckle on his pitching hand. He may have done enough to impress scouts last summer, when he was the No. 4 prospect in the West Coast Collegiate League, and again this spring, particularly in a three-hit shutout of Cal State Fullerton. When he's right, his fastball sits at 88-91 mph and touches 93, and he throws three other pitches for strikes: a low-80s power curveball, a slider that at times touches 84 mph, and a changeup he keeps down in the zone. He had not allowed a home run through 73 innings and was throwing more quality strikes than ever before, as command always had been a major problem. His four-pitch mix profiles him as a middle-of-the-rotation starter.