Based on a combination of respecting the results, strength of schedule, and more than anything else, just how good these teams appear to be at the moment, here are our college basketball rankings for February 27th from 1 to 68. Morales was one of three Miami hitters to go deep three times, as he drove in nine and produced a 1.379 OPS. Hes likely to move off shortstop eventually, but it probably wont be for a while; the longer he stays there, the more margin for error the hit tool component, which were a tad apprehensive about, will have as he begins his big league career. Previous ranking: No. He slashed .327/.426/.617 combined at High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery (for the final month), hitting 22 homers across the two levels. Hes such a good athlete with such polished baseball aptitude (the Rays field staff raves about it unprompted) that this forecast expects him to make the necessary adjustments to do so. ECU hosts the Keith LeClair Classic this weekend. He blew triple-digits at the top of the zone past batters at every stop, with his fastball averaging 99 mph at Triple-A. In the past, Ortizs high-effort delivery and sub-optimal fastball shape put him on the starter/reliever line, but hes thrown plenty of strikes across multiple seasons while simultaneously developing more velocity and comfortably projects as a starting pitcher now. Previous ranking: No. Cartayas size was sometimes a problem on defense early in pro ball. Davis plate crowding helps enable his pull-heavy approach. This is where we value a contending teams plug-and-play third or fourth starter. His overall chase rates remain a little worse than average but theyre not terrifying. Williams swing makes it tough for him to get to pitches finishing down-and-in, and eyeball scouts think his breaking ball recognition is middling. He shares many similarities with Eduardo Escobar. Wood was a divisive amateur prospect, with some scouts seeing him as a center fielder with 70 raw power projection and others seeing him as an eventual first baseman with hit tool risk. Among the high school prospects, he not only had perhaps the best chance to remain at shortstop, but he also had one of the better bat-to-ball track records in the class, accumulating a 3-to-1 ball in play-to-whiff ratio on the showcase circuit. He did this amid multiple wrist injuries, which is something to keep in the back of your mind in the event that it becomes a chronic issue, as Woods wrists are an integral part of keeping his swing short enough to be manageable. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 after winning the Karbach Round Rock Classic. He has a big frame, a mature approach, and a left-handed stroke so gorgeous that its now rumored to be dating Pete Davidson. He receives on one knee with the bases empty but mixes his technique with runners on. His ability to locate his arsenal showed improvement over previous seasons as well. His time on the Twins roster was too short-lived to put much stake in, but was just as brilliant more so, given his ability to translate those above-average across-the-board numbers to the highest level. Youve probably seen big league hitters use a toe tap, or heard broadcasters use that phrase. Unless hed throwing on the run, he just sort of lollipops the ball over to first. Veen rotates with rare ferocity and his broad-shouldered, 6-foot-4 frame leaves room for immense strength as he matures. He has continued on that path as a pro, slashing an incredible .305/.402/.510 so far in the minors, reaching Double-A and the Arizona Fall League at age 20 after he had torn his labrum the year before. Other Teams Receiving Votes: Clemson (25-27), Baylor (31-20), Washington St. (26-23), California (29-26), Grand Canyon (39-21-1), California Baptist (40-16), Brigham Young (23-27), Abilene Christian (36-21), Sam Houston St. (30-25), San Diego (33-12), Auburn (25-27), Texas A&M (29-27), Kentucky (29-23), Coastal Carolina (27-24), Georgia Southern As a right-handed hitter almost all of Endys damage is done on outer-third pitches that he can get fully extended against. Merrills feel to hit is sublime. The son of two-time Pro Bowl tight end Eric Green, Elijah became Draft Famous during his junior year, homering a couple of times in high school tournaments held in big league parks and looking much toolsier than all but a couple of the prospects who were a year older than him. 45BaylorBig 126TX6-11346259 Lesko hasnt thrown a pro pitch yet due to TJ rehab, but his changeup and pre-injury velocity and fastball playability demand he be one here toward the back. RHP Ryan Hawks Hawks returns to Louisville for his senior season and figures to be a big part of the starting rotation. 67VCUA-101VA525927675 His approach is solid, though there are some issues chasing breaking balls, and his in-zone swing-and-miss was a fair bit below average in 2022 (he swings inside a lot of sliders), but were talking about a 20-year-old at Double-A here. He also features a looser breaking ball in his high-70s curveball, and his changeup flashes plus, but he hasnt yet maintained his feel for it, which may ultimately represent the difference between his future as a back-end starter and his viability as a solid number three. 1 in the D1Baseball Top 25, which began in 2015. 17. Through five games, Caglianone is slugging .938 and popped two bombs, and figured to be a huge part of this Gators team in 2023. He was a coveted prospect as a prep player, but his strong commitment to Cal Poly, where his dad coaches, and some general concerns about his physical longevity due to a back issue pushed the industrys assessment of him down, so he went to school. Wherever he ends up, if you have the means to head to the ballpark early to watch lvarez take batting practice, you should. Teams 6-10 Miami this weekend travels to Gainesville to renew its rivalry with Florida. Bibee seems to have altered his stride direction so that he isnt landing quite as closed as he was at Fullerton, which appears to enable him to stay behind the baseball a little better, creating riding action on a fastball that wasnt previously as explosive. Even though his career walk rates are extremely low (7%) for a complex-level prospect (where pitchers often struggle to throw strikes), Bleis chase rates are closer to average. McGarrys mid-80s slider and low-80s changeup are both plus, but his control issues extend to those pitches. It comes out of his hand from a high arm slot that looks like the kind optimized for data-friendly ride, but the pitchs downhill angle makes it less of a weapon at the letters and actually makes it very vulnerable within the strike zone. LHP Hagen Smith Smith is one of the best left-handers in college baseball and he put that on display last Friday. A free swinger with huge pull power, Ramirez has performed in the low minors despite offering at just about anything. 70Grand CanyonWAC1AZ3N/ANRNRNR 8 TCU. Best Colleges for Baseball. Painter overpowered low minors hitters with velocity then showed competent use of four pitches by the end of 2022. Stones plus (at least) on-mound athleticism and gorgeous arm action allow for continued projection on his fastball utility and command even though hes in his mid-20s, which gives him bigger long-term ceiling than that. It looked like he would continue his dominant performance at the higher level. If Stanford has the season that many expect them to, Montgomery will be a huge part of it, and he started off hot. Across the season as a whole, his fastball only sat 95 mph, and in his final start of the year it was mostly in the 93-96 mph range, which is a two-tick regression from 2021, when Rodriguez sat 96-98 all year. FILED UNDER Alabama, Arkansas, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, This category can only be viewed by members. Hell be just one of a whole host of All-American candidates in the LSU lineup. He does look quite vulnerable out there but it isnt an issue opposing pitchers have consistently been able to exploit just yet. Long Beach State; 47. 4 Ole Miss in Oxford for the first time since 1989, LSU remains No. Preseason All-American righthander/outfielder Nolan McLean earned the save in both no-hitters. Allen was an undersized, pitchability high school lefty who worked 88-92 mph with mostly average secondary stuff and a changeup that flashed plus. Carrolls surprising power development bolsters what was once a traditional leadoff mans skill set featuring elite speed and a great approach. Winns huge arm is icing on a cake made mostly of plus bat-to-ball skills and viable shortstop defense. He has also seen a lot of time at first base and, more recently, a little bit in the outfield corners. 53LouisianaSun Belt3LA3-15382630 Even when he cuts his leg kick with two strikes, there is enough bat speed and power for Chourio to do huge damage. Theres enough hit/power combination for Neto to be a first-division regular there. He has impeccable hitters timing and a swing that is equal parts balanced and explosive, generating plus all-fields power despite barely utilizing any sort of stride. Whitaker went for both length and quality against Wagner, lasting seven innings and not allowing a run, striking out three. After hitting .352/.439/.676 with 17 home runs as a freshman at Arizona, Berry followed coach Jay Johnson from Tucson to Baton Rouge, becoming the highest-profile transfer in the first offseason in over a decade in which players were able to transfers between Division I schools without sitting out a year. McGarry has three plus pitches but also the worst control on the Top 100. His feeds around the bag sometimes lack touch and accuracy, but hes otherwise a capable shortstop defender and would easily be plus at third base. The A-Sun, CAA, MVC, MWC, WAC and WCC landed two teams apiece in the Top 100. Hes also worked to make himself more lithe and athletic since first arriving on the Dodgers backfields shortly after he signed, when Dodgers coaches were asking a fresh-faced Vargas to make mid-game swing-changes that incorporated more movement into his conservative cut. Hes only ever played shortstop in affiliated ball but saw time at third base in LIDOM, where he understandably looked uncomfortable at times. All count against the team's salary cap. His left-handed swing is very uphill, the sort typically associated with strikeout issues, but his levers are so short that his swing is still fairly compact. His slider (Hall was almost exclusively a fastball/slider pitcher against lefties during his big league run) is firm and now has better movement demarcation from his curveball, which is easily his least-used offering, usually a backdoor option to righties. Allen sat 88-90 again as a junior and then, like many Cleveland pitching prospects, enjoyed a two-tick bump pretty quickly, sitting 90-93 throughout his first full season in pro ball, a velocity he maintained across 110 innings, many more than he had thrown during the pandemic-shortened year. Short levers enable Frelick to turn on inner-third fastballs and let him spray or spoil pitches that travel deep into the hitting zone, making him very tough to strike out. While Flores didnt throw quite that hard throughout 2022, he did a lot to prove that despite a relatively violent delivery, he can throw strikes and work efficiently enough to be a starter. college analytics, and baseball card news. Hes only been able to pull breaking balls that dont quite finish. His swing is a Mookie Betts clone, rhythmic and athletic, though Rafaela doesnt take a very discerning at-bat the way Betts does, chasing at a whopping 40% clip in 2022. Hence was picked up in the shortened 2020 draft, one of the youngest players taken that year, and in 2021 threw just eight innings on the complex, virtually all in relief. He has quick actions and his lateral agility is better than his long speed on the bases. UC Santa Barbara; 34. Hamstring issues aside, Merrill is a pretty good bet to stay at shortstop. The junior third baseman slashed .529/.526/1.235 with three bombs, driving in 13. He issued more strikeouts and lowered his WHIP, all while racking up more innings and advancing two levels without showing many growing pains in the process. The SEC also occupies six of the top eight spots, and nine of the top 20. Power and arm strength have been Cartayas headline tools since his amateur days, and despite missing lots of time in the 2020-21 window due to the pandemic and injuries, he has still developed on defense and managed his strikeout tendencies, and played enough in 2022 to reinforce industry confidence in his plate discipline across a larger sample of plate appearances. His ability to do this consistently is surprising considering that Peraza is a fairly aggressive hitter in general, likely to run OBPs in the .310-.320 range. Heres the full conference-by-conference breakdown: ACC (12 of 14 teams landed in the Top 100), Pac-12 (8 of 11), Big Ten (8 of 13), Big 12 (7 of 9), Sun Belt (7 of 14), American (5 of 8), Big West (4 of 9), Conference USA (4 of 8). Hes now a career .303/.394/.533 hitter and has had meaningful statistical success up through Double-A, where he spent about a month toward the end of 2022. 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