C
Collyn Taylor
Guest
Three pitchers made their fall debuts Tuesday with all three guys arms that will factor into the pitching staff in some way this season.
--First up was Will Sanders, who looked like a top 100 prospect in his one inning of work. He'd get two outs on his first two pitches, both ground balls to second base, but lose his command with a walk to Andrew Eyster. He'd give up one run, unearned, in his outing but was up to 93 miles per hour on his fastball with a changeup at 82 and a breaking ball at 77. He also throws a splitter, but I didn't see him throw much of that in Tuesday's inning. His pitching motion is repeatable and is very clean and his frame is incredibly projectable, which means there is much more velocity in the tank and he's got a chance to be a very good pitcher in his career at South Carolina. He'd get out of the inning striking out Jalen Vasquez on a changeup.
--During the recruitment process, I heard Travis Luensmann described as a live arm, and he didn't disappoint in his first outing of the fall. The long, lanky right-hander was sitting 92-94 on his fastball, touching 95 miles per hour on his final pitch of his inning on a strikeout of George Callil. He'd finish pitching around a one-out double and escape the inning without any damage. His stuff is absolutely electric with a spin rate on his fastball near 2,500 revolutions per minute—which is really good for a fastball—and has a chance to help this team, especially as a bullpen arm. His delivery is a little wonky with a high leg kick and late arm movement which messes with a hitter's timing.
--Brett Thomas also pitched one inning in his first outing of the fall and looked like a premier back end of the bullpen kind of pitcher. He was up to 93 miles per hour on his fastball with a really high spin rate on it (around 2400 RPM) with what can only be described as a big-league breaking ball. He was up to 83 miles per hour on his curveball with a spin rate at over 3,000 RPM with some elite break to it. He struck out two and got a line out in a perfect inning. He also threw a changeup in the mid-80s. Health was a big thing last year for him, and he looks to be much healthier this year and it showed on the mound.
--John Gilreath also threw two innings, looking good in his first inning, pitching a 1-2-3 inning before struggling some in his second inning. He gave up one run on two hits while also hitting a batter. He looked better than he did in previous outings, though, and was up to 89 miles per hour with a really good breaking ball.
--After throwing on Saturday, Jackson Phipps threw two innings Tuesday. It was an up and down outing, but Phipps showed some promise. He struck out three in his first inning, pitching around a one-out walk. In his second inning he walked two batters and gave up a RBI single before reaching his pitch count with two outs in the inning. He'd sit in the low-90s on his fastball with a solid breaking ball at 77 miles per hour. He threw a changeup at 82 miles per hour. His fastball did have a little movement to it in what looked like a cutter at 87 miles per hour. He has starter potential in his time at South Carolina but has a chance to be a big bullpen arm this season.
--CJ Weins pitched an inning and got out of a big jam after giving up a leadoff double and a walk. His defense really helped him out with David Mendham catching a runner stealing before a double play ended the inning. Jalen Vasquez had a really nice pick at short before Jeff Heinrich fired to first. He was in the low 90s on his fastball and remains in the thick of the competition to start or be a back-end guy.
--David Mendham continues to impress me in his performances this fall. He'd drive in a run on a single (exit velocity 95.2) and almost legged out an infield single if not for a good defensive play between Jalen Vasquez and Joe Satterfield. He also started at catcher Tuesday and threw out a runner (Brandon Fields) trying to steal third and was pretty good framing pitches. Skylar Meade said multiple times from the dugout how pleased he was with Mendham's ability to make pitches look good. He can play first base and third base and can catch too. I wouldn't be shocked to see him play all three at some point this season. He's more of a first and third baseman, though.
--David Cromer also had a really nice RBI single, going opposite-field on a Phipps pitch and driving a ball down the right field line. He's someone who I didn't expect to make an impact this early, but he's hit really well to start the fall and is just a really productive player. He's been taking the most of his reps in left field.
--Brennan Milone continues to look good in the fall, doubling twice in Tuesday's scrimmage. Jeff Heinrich also doubled at 101.9 miles per hour off the bat. Both guys are two players who will be impact bats for South Carolina. Brandon Fields also doubled off of a full count and remains one of the better hitters from fall scrimmages.
--First up was Will Sanders, who looked like a top 100 prospect in his one inning of work. He'd get two outs on his first two pitches, both ground balls to second base, but lose his command with a walk to Andrew Eyster. He'd give up one run, unearned, in his outing but was up to 93 miles per hour on his fastball with a changeup at 82 and a breaking ball at 77. He also throws a splitter, but I didn't see him throw much of that in Tuesday's inning. His pitching motion is repeatable and is very clean and his frame is incredibly projectable, which means there is much more velocity in the tank and he's got a chance to be a very good pitcher in his career at South Carolina. He'd get out of the inning striking out Jalen Vasquez on a changeup.
--During the recruitment process, I heard Travis Luensmann described as a live arm, and he didn't disappoint in his first outing of the fall. The long, lanky right-hander was sitting 92-94 on his fastball, touching 95 miles per hour on his final pitch of his inning on a strikeout of George Callil. He'd finish pitching around a one-out double and escape the inning without any damage. His stuff is absolutely electric with a spin rate on his fastball near 2,500 revolutions per minute—which is really good for a fastball—and has a chance to help this team, especially as a bullpen arm. His delivery is a little wonky with a high leg kick and late arm movement which messes with a hitter's timing.
--Brett Thomas also pitched one inning in his first outing of the fall and looked like a premier back end of the bullpen kind of pitcher. He was up to 93 miles per hour on his fastball with a really high spin rate on it (around 2400 RPM) with what can only be described as a big-league breaking ball. He was up to 83 miles per hour on his curveball with a spin rate at over 3,000 RPM with some elite break to it. He struck out two and got a line out in a perfect inning. He also threw a changeup in the mid-80s. Health was a big thing last year for him, and he looks to be much healthier this year and it showed on the mound.
--John Gilreath also threw two innings, looking good in his first inning, pitching a 1-2-3 inning before struggling some in his second inning. He gave up one run on two hits while also hitting a batter. He looked better than he did in previous outings, though, and was up to 89 miles per hour with a really good breaking ball.
--After throwing on Saturday, Jackson Phipps threw two innings Tuesday. It was an up and down outing, but Phipps showed some promise. He struck out three in his first inning, pitching around a one-out walk. In his second inning he walked two batters and gave up a RBI single before reaching his pitch count with two outs in the inning. He'd sit in the low-90s on his fastball with a solid breaking ball at 77 miles per hour. He threw a changeup at 82 miles per hour. His fastball did have a little movement to it in what looked like a cutter at 87 miles per hour. He has starter potential in his time at South Carolina but has a chance to be a big bullpen arm this season.
--CJ Weins pitched an inning and got out of a big jam after giving up a leadoff double and a walk. His defense really helped him out with David Mendham catching a runner stealing before a double play ended the inning. Jalen Vasquez had a really nice pick at short before Jeff Heinrich fired to first. He was in the low 90s on his fastball and remains in the thick of the competition to start or be a back-end guy.
--David Mendham continues to impress me in his performances this fall. He'd drive in a run on a single (exit velocity 95.2) and almost legged out an infield single if not for a good defensive play between Jalen Vasquez and Joe Satterfield. He also started at catcher Tuesday and threw out a runner (Brandon Fields) trying to steal third and was pretty good framing pitches. Skylar Meade said multiple times from the dugout how pleased he was with Mendham's ability to make pitches look good. He can play first base and third base and can catch too. I wouldn't be shocked to see him play all three at some point this season. He's more of a first and third baseman, though.
--David Cromer also had a really nice RBI single, going opposite-field on a Phipps pitch and driving a ball down the right field line. He's someone who I didn't expect to make an impact this early, but he's hit really well to start the fall and is just a really productive player. He's been taking the most of his reps in left field.
--Brennan Milone continues to look good in the fall, doubling twice in Tuesday's scrimmage. Jeff Heinrich also doubled at 101.9 miles per hour off the bat. Both guys are two players who will be impact bats for South Carolina. Brandon Fields also doubled off of a full count and remains one of the better hitters from fall scrimmages.
