MLB Draft Report: Conference play set to get underway this weekend
Big draft eligible matchups awaiting as most teams start conference play
This weekend, most college baseball teams will start conference play. Stanford and North Carolina kicked things off last weekend, with the former coming out victorious in their first conference series as members of the ACC.
With conference play starting, many top draft-eligible players will have a good opportunity to face tougher competition.
While there are many great matchups this weekend, none might be as big as the one between Tennessee and Florida in Knoxville, especially regarding potential draft prospects.
On the Tennessee side, they have one of the most dominant pitchers in college baseball, Liam Doyle, who pitched the first 5.2 innings of a no-hitter last week for the Vols.
He features an upper 90s fastball that has good life (statcast shows it as a flat approach two-seamer) with an improving changeup. He’s struck out 47 batters in 20.1 innings pitched this season and has held hitters to a .095 average.
Doyle is joined in the rotation by Marcus Phillips, who is also draft-eligible. He’s struck out 25 over 19.1 innings pitched. His March 1st start had statcast data, showing a high-spin fastball, an above-average breaking ball and plus extension.
They have a few players on the offensive side worth watching, including Dean Curley, one of the top shortstop prospects in the draft. He’s batting .346/.521/.692 with six home runs, 16 RBI, and an impressive 16:10 BB:K ratio.
Baseball America currently gives him a ‘55’ grade for both hit and power and a ‘60’ for his arm.
Gavin Kilen leads the team in home runs, which is impressive considering he is more known for his bat-to-ball skills. He has an incredible walk-to-strikeout ratio (16:3) and has five stolen bases on six attempts.
Another player building up steam is outfielder Reese Chapman, who is hitting .352/.417/.630 with four home runs and 18 RBI. He has a thick 6’1” 224-pound frame and has shown big power in some big spots (two grand slams this year).
Speaking of power, Andrew Fischer is slugging over .800 right now while walking 22 times in 16 games played. He is also tied with Curley with six home runs for second on the team behind Kilen. He transferred from Ole Miss and has a ‘60’ grade power on Baseball America.
Florida doesn’t have anyone in the top end of the early rankings, but some players will get looks come draft time.
Pierce Coppola stands at a massive 6’8” and has 23 strikeouts in 12.2 innings pitched. He left his last start early and didn’t throw last week. He’s dealt with several injuries in his career, and there isn’t a timeframe on his return right now.
Another pitcher, Jake Clemente, relies heavily on his fastball, which has reached 97 mph. He had some walk issues previously and currently has six in 14 innings pitched. He’s also struck out 21 and has a 3.86 ERA.
Colby Shelton hit 45 home runs during his first two years on campus, splitting time between Alabama (2023) and Florida (2024). He isn’t quite on that pace this year, with just one home run but he does have 10 doubles and has cut down on the strikeouts.
He punched out in 25.5% of his plate appearances in his first two years, but he has cut that down to 8.9% this season. Cade Kurland also isn’t hitting for the same power he has in the past, but his batting average is over 100 points from what it was a year ago.
Here are a couple more interesting matchups going into the weekend to follow:
Texas A&M and Alabama
It’s been a slow start to the season for the player many considered to be the best in the draft class, Jace LaViolette. It won’t get any easier this weekend for him as he faces a pair of draft-eligible starting pitchers for Alabama, Riley Quick and Zane Adams.
Quick is a towering pitcher returning from Tommy John who has gotten many ground-outs in his career while topping out at 98 mph. Adams is ‘more pitcher than punchout artist’ according to BA. He is 6’4” with a fastball at 90-93 from the left side and a curveball and change up.
For LaViolette, he took a hit on Baseball America’s latest mock draft. There are some swing concerns and his current .235 average reflects that. He’s drawn as many walks (16) as strikeouts (16) but has just four home runs on the season, the first two happening opening weekend.
Kyson Witherspoon vs Ethan Petry
Oklahoma takes on South Carolina this weekend with Kyson Witherspoon set to face Ethan Petry. Witherspoon has been fantastic this season, sitting at 4-0 with 40 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched and holding hitters to a .138 average.
Petry is hitting .377/.486/.754 with five home runs and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (10). Both are ranked in the top 20 among college players available for the 2025 draft.
Baseball America’s College Top 100 Draft Prospects
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BA mock draft has the buccos taking Marek Houston, SS-Wake Forest
One of the most important aspects of Liam Doyle of UT is that he is a LHSP throwing in the 90's. He averages about 93, but has hit 97/98.
Next draft pick on that team for me would be Gavin Kilen, LH hitter who can hit for average and power who is playing 2B for the Vols. You mentioned his BB/K numbers so far of 16/3, but they have been seeing a steady parade of teams from the North just getting into the sun, and some VG small schools from TN and GA. Pitching was not the caliber they will see in the SEC. He played his first two years at Louisville in the ACC, playing almost the whole season of 2024 at SS. As a Freshman he played both 2B and SS. 3rd team All-ACC last year at SS, and 2 years on the All-Academic Team in the ACC, which takes some smarts! State Champion in HS in Wisconsin.