Throughout the past year or so I have read and listened to many MLB prospect writers/experts that have dismissed many collegiate baseball players as non-prospects, deficient talent, career minor leaguers, or organizational fillers. At first I did not agree with what these writers and experts were saying. How could college baseball players not be legitimate talent? However, as I’ve become more familiar with scouting and player development their theory makes sense. Players drafted out of high school are thrust into a professional environment at the age of 17 or 18, while those drafted out of the Latin markets are afforded the ability to refine their tools and learn from professional instruction when they are 16. There is no doubt that college coaches are knowledgeable, competent, and solid instructors and mentors, but NCAA rules limits practice time thereby cutting into the student-athletes development as baseball players. So why the 16-22 year olds drafted out of high school or signed out of various Latin markets are constantly cultivating their tools without much limitation, collegiate baseball players are not able to consistently train and have to navigate class, homework, etc.
The past few weekends I have been able to watch Florida State’s baseball team take on the Hofstra Pride and the Florida International Golden Panthers. Rankings in college baseball typically from a number of sources (Coaches, NCBBWA, Baseball America, etc.), but just for perspective, FSU’s baseball team was ranked anywhere from #8 to #20 in the pre-season. They lost a handful of key players to the MLB draft last year, including LHP Sean Gilmartin, who was drafted by Atlanta Braves in the first round year.
As I have had the chance to attend (and actively “scout”) a number of minor-league baseball games and seen firsthand what top prospects look and perform like, I was interested to see how everything would play out because I had never had the chance to attend a Division-I baseball game in person.
FSU v. Hofstra
This three-game series was the opening weekend for college baseball in 2012 and FSU handled Hofstra pretty easily, taking all three games of the series. While team results are not of any importance for scouts (or aspiring scouts), the talent disparity between the two programs was easily discernable. However, in order to showcase my #want I will still run down a number of players that caught my eye, even if their professional prospects are slim to none (hey, they are all still more talented than I).
Game 2 starter for Hofstra was RHP John Tiedemann, who listed as 6’0 and 175 pounds by the Hofstra website. Tiedemann is a junior college transfer from Cuenta College in San Luis Opispo, California. Tiedemann’s high three-quarter delivery was clean and simple but he still had some command issues and only lasted 2+ innings after walking four and giving up three hits (and three runs). I didn’t have a radar gun and there was no listing on the stadium, but it was clear that he was throwing his fastball in the mid-80’s and might have run it up as high as 86-87 (maybe). Even though I was not able to sit behind home plate, I did get to see him warm up in the bullpen before the game started, and his FB did show a bit of run and sink to it. Additionally, Tiedemann featured a half-decent slider that he was able to use to induce a strikeout, but the pitch was not professional-quality as it did not feature an especially sharp or two-plane break.
Hofstra’s Game 3 starter was John Schilt (listed a 6’1, 190). His arsenal was extremely similar to Tiedemann’s, as his fastball was nowhere near overpowering and his breaking pitches were not especially sharp either. Like Tiedemann, Schilt struggled with his command and was removed from the game after 0.2 IP with 5 BB. Hofstra’s relief pitchers were not particularly impressive or relevant so I’ll move on to a few of their position players.
SS Dalton Rouleau had a solid series and is the prototypical scrappy college shortstop. Like Tiedmann, Rouleau is a transfer from California; however he attended Allan Hancock College. Rouleau’s lack of size and projection is evident, as he is only 5-9 and 170 pounds (listed). His size limits his pop and ability to drive balls into the gaps consistently, but throughout the series he worked the count and fouled off numerous pitches in two-strike counts. While he was able to steal two bases in GM 2, he did so by smart and aggressive baserunning—he is by no means a blazer. In GM 2 Rouleau was 1-3, 2 BB, 2 SB and in GM 3 he was 1-3.
OF Danny Poma is yet another transfer out of California. He previously attended Cuesta College, but in 2011 he proved that he was up to the task at the Division-I level, as he garnered All-Colonial Athletic Association honors by hitting .382/.452/.528 with 16 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, and 20 SB. Out of all of the Hofstra position players, Poma (listed at 6-1, 220) definitely looked the most like a future professional baseball player. However, it should be noted that Poma does not really profile as a true prospect. He has decent size and athleticism and his movements in the field looked fluid, but he did not play in center field. Instead, in all three games Poma started at RF. While it may not seem like a big deal, the fact that he does not play center field at the college level indicates that he will probably not be able to handle the increased defensive responsibilities at the professional level either. Furthermore, while in RF he badly misplayed a fly ball (committing an error) and also took a few poor angles. Now some of this may be because the wind was swirling throughout the game (and because it is still early in the season and teams from the north have had limited practice time outdoors) but it does raise potential questions about his defensive chops and focus. Also, while I mentioned Poma’s athletic frame, his 4.5 time from home to first on a play that required maximum effort down the line signifies that speed is not necessarily one of Poma’s greatest assets despite his 20 SB last season (it also shows how pitchers and catchers struggle to control the running game at the college level). At the plate Poma had an aggressive, yet solid approach and he displayed the ability to sit back and work to the opposite field. Furthermore, Poma remained balanced throughout most of his ABs and was able to generate significant torque from his core and hips to flash gap-power. Poma went 4-5 (2B and SB) and 0-4 in Games 2 and 3 respectively.
Finally, Hofstra’s 1B Jared Hammer had solid a series offensively, going 2 for 5 in GM2 and 3 for 4 with a double in GM 3. However, Hammer at 6-1, 235 is a typical “bad body” baseball player. He only profiles as a first basemen, and given the offensive demands of the position he will have to hit consistently and for power to be a legitimate prospect. While Hammer hit well during the series, it should be noted that FSU does not feature top-line or even plus pitching for the college level (much less even average and below-average in the professional realm). So it should come as little surprise to find out that Hammer had some notable deficiencies in his swing. For somebody his size, Hammer’s swing is not particularly long, but the swing path is not direct—rather it appeared as if he had a hitch that prevented him from consistently keeping the barrel through the zone. As a result his swing was a bit loopy, which will leave him vulnerable to plus velocity in on the hands (provided he faces such quality in the future). Regardless, Hammer showed good hand-eye coordination and ability to work the count and get the bat on the ball. While his professional prospects are slim, if he continues to produce and get on base he will earn the chance to play at the next level until he fails.
Upcoming Posts
While I had originally planned on including analysis of FSU players in this entry as well, I have decided to hold off on posting my thoughts on them until a later date, when I hope to publish more complete player-specific profiles and actual OFPs. In my next entry, I will write about FSU's series with Florida International University and a number of Golden Panthers such as Pablo Bermudez, Tyler Shantz, and Mason McVay.
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