Draft League Scouting Notes - June 24

Mahoning Valley Scrappers

+LHP Jimmy Burnette (Saint Leo) seems to improve his Draft stock each time he takes the mound. He was at his best Thursday, striking out nine over five innings to help lead the Scrappers past State College, 5-2. He allowed one unearned run on four without issuing a walk. Burnette carved up the opposition with his fastball, posting a 40% whiff rate (10 whiffs) and 37% CSW with the 91-93 mph offering. He picked up three more whiffs using his plus, 80-83 mph slider and another with his 85-86 mph changeup. Burnette lowered his Draft League ERA to 2.79 with the performance and now ranks second in the Draft League with 36 strikeouts -- a total he’s amassed in just 19.1 innings. 

+RHP Kerry Wright (Louisville) was up to 94.1 mph in relief of Burnette. LHP Eric Sapp (Gannon University) mixed an 89-90 mph fastball with a big, 75-76 mph curveball to strike out the side in the eighth. RHP Gabe Shepherd (Southern Mississippi) pitched around two walks in the ninth to record the save. 

+OF Zaid Walker (Michigan St.) hit a two-run homer off Andrew Moore in the sixth to highlight a 2-for-4 night at the dish. The home run, Walker’s first in the Draft League, traveled 416 feet at 100 mph off the bat over the left-field wall. OF Sam Crail (Saint Leo) tallied two hits and also scored a run, and 3B/1B Jarrod Belbin (Western Arizona) reached base three times in the contest, going 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a walk.

State College Spikes

+Starter RHP Joe Miceli (Bergen CC) permitted three runs on five hits over four innings, posting three strikeouts against two walks. He was 90-92 mph and once again showcased one of the better curveballs in the league, spinning the 75-78 mph offering up to 2945 rpm en route to a 57.1% whiff rate (41.2% CSW).  

+RHP Andrew Moore (Chipola) made one mistake -- the two-run home run to Walker -- but was otherwise lights-out, striking out seven over three innings in relief of Miceli. The 6-foot-5 right-hander featured a dominant fastball, registering 11 whiffs on 22 swings (39.5% CSW) while sitting 95.9 mph and bumping 97.6. He only threw four changeups (85-86 mph) but picked his spots wisely, recording three whiffs on as many swings.

+RHP Austin Cheeley (Middle Tennessee St.) ran his heater up to 94.9 mph in the eighth, while RHP Blake Seiger (USC-Aiken) bumped 92.5 in the ninth, notching a pair of strikeouts in the frame.  

+C Kenny Piper (Columbia College) and Arizona commit 3B Damiano Palmegiani tallied two hits apiece. Piper laced a 100-mph single and recorded the Spikes’ only extra-base hit (a sixth-inning double) on the night. OF James Jett (Lincoln Trail) also finished with two hits, going 2-for-3 and scoring a run from the bottom of the lineup.

Trenton Thunder

+Trenton’s pitching staff carried a combined no-hit bid into the ninth inning in Thursday’s 4-0 win over Williamsport. Starter RHP Jack Carey (Duke) spun four hitless frames, striking out five and walking one, to pace the Thunder on the mound. He mixed his pitches well in the outing, complementing his 91-93 mph (T93.8) fastball with a pair of nasty breaking balls. He posted the day’s top two spin rates with his curveball and slider, spinning them up to 3064 and 3017 rpm, respectively. Carey racked up six whiffs with his heater and three apiece with his curveball and slider. 

+RHP Hayden Seig (St. Joseph) furthered the Thunder’s no-hit bid by fanning three over the next three innings while sitting 92.5 mph and topping out at 94.9. He induced three whiffs on five swings using his curveball and slider, both of which registered in the low 80s with late, barrel-evading action. RHP Alex Mack (St. Thomas Aquinas, NY) struck out three over the final two frames, albeit while allowing a ninth-inning single after issuing a leadoff walk. He pitched effectively with his fastball in the outing, posting a 36% CSW while throwing the T94.2 mph offering 25 times. 

+OF Shane Marshall (Binghamton) came off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh. He got every bit of Francisco Mateo’s 0-1 offering, blasting the pitch 448 feet at 105.2 mph well over the left-center field wall for his first homer of the season. 

West Virginia Black Bears

+Leadoff hitter OF Garrett Spain (Austin Peay) plated two runs with an infield single -- thanks to some heads-up baserunning by OF Amari Bartee (Yavapai) -- to cap the Black Bears’ four-run fourth inning. C Tucker Mitchell (State College of Florida) continued to swing a hot bat by going 1-for-3 with a 100-mph double. 3B Kaeber Rog (Eastern Florida State) reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks, while INF Jake Reinhardt (North Park) collected a team-high two hits and scored a run. 

+Starter LHP Cam Baumann (Iowa) allowed two runs on five hits over five innings to claim his first Draft League win. He showed feel for three pitches, mixing an 89-92 mph fastball (T92.6) with a 78-80 changeup and a curveball whose speed, pace and shape he manipulated well in the outing. 

+RHP Patrick Pridgen (Oregon) struck out three over two innings in relief of Baumann. He recorded a 50% whiff rate with his 91-93 mph fastball, which he threw with 20-22 inches of induced vertical break in the outing. RHP Madison Jeffrey (West Virginia) touched 96.7 mph and sat at 96 in the ninth, striking out two to record the save.

Williamsport Crosscutters

+Starter RHP Chase Costello (Stetson) was the recipient of a tough-luck loss but impressed once again for the Crosscutters, allowing one run on two hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked two. Costello posted a 28.8% CSW and averaged 92.5 mph (94.8) with his fastball, throwing the pitch at a 66.7% clip in the outing. He recorded a 60% whiff rate with his 83-86 mph slider and also mixed in some quality changeups. Costello has been one of the Draft League’s top starting pitchers, posting a 1.04 ERA with 27 strikeouts over 26 innings (six starts). 

+OF Lance Logsdon (Quincy) spoiled Trenton’s no-hit bid with a 105.4-mph single in the ninth. He’s batting .366 with 15 hits through his first 11 games in the Draft League.  

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