Editor’s note: College Baseball Nation is joined by guest writer, Owen Surett. Owen Surett is a college student who resides in North Carolina. Owen covers College Baseball for his media outlet, College Baseball USA (@ColBaseUSA on Twitter), which was founded in Fall of 2019. He is passionate about various aspects of the game, including analytics, player development, and player evaluation. Evaluation is from an in-person look on April 3rd, 2021. Steven Hajjar was facing Northwestern. LHP Steven Hajjar - University of Michigan 6’5”, 215 lbs Central Catholic HS (Mass.) Frame/Athleticism: At 6’5”, 215 lbs, Hajjar has an evenly-distributed muscular frame, with long legs. He is an average athlete and still has room to add 10-15 pounds of muscle in the weight room. Fastball: At 89-90, touching 91, Hajjar isn’t blowing up radar guns but it’s his straight over the top arm angle and 12:30-ish spin direction that optimizes the pitch’s vertical ride which in turn helps the pitch play up and miss so many bats. He can also add a tick or two of velocity. Slider: His best secondary, the slider, is a lethal offering at times, especially when thrown off his fastball. He is able to generate some horizontal bite on the pitch, despite his vertical arm angle. Curveball: Hajjar’s curveball is a legitimate second breaking ball that is as close to true 12-6 as curveballs get. It is a good compliment to his arsenal, and can be relied on when he needs a strike, despite maybe not being of the bat-missing variety. Changeup: Used sparingly in this outing, he seemed to have a solid feel for the pitch. Command: Hajjar did get into some hitters counts, but was for the most part able to wiggle his way out of them with ease in this start. He was able to throw enough strikes in this outing, but his control is slightly below average and command lags behind that. Hajjar brings to the table a starter’s frame and what has the potential to be a big league-caliber four-pitch mix from the left side, and that is certainly a profile teams like as early as the first round. For Hajjar, it is the fringy strike-throwing ability that will keep him from being a high first round draft pick. FB 50/55 SL 50/60 CB 40/50 CH 40/50 CMD 40/45 Projection: SP4, Comp Round to 2nd round Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) Two of the best teams in the country will meet this weekend as all eyes will be on Oxford, Mississippi to watch the Razorbacks (24-2, 7-2 SEC) take on the Rebels (23-6, 7-2 SEC) in a battle for first place in the SEC West. Arkansas is coming off a series win against Auburn, but it took the Hogs extra innings in the rubber match to secure the series win. The Rebels lost their series last weekend in Gainesville as the Gators won two games by a combined four runs. The Rebels were in the series all weekend, but could not overcome Coach O’Sullivan’s gritty, hungry team, which was in need of a marquee series win. The biggest news coming out of Oxford this week has been the injury to Tim Elko, who tore his ACL Monday against North Alabama. Elko was off to a monster season, batting .340 and leading the Rebels with nine home runs and 36 RBI. He is going to forgo surgery at this point and attempt to return this season. The Rebels have plenty of options to step up in his absence, but it will take a team effort to match what Elko brought to this roster. They have five other starters batting about .300, led by Kevin Graham at .355. Two of the Rebels freshman, TJ McCants and Jacob Gonzalez, have been providing a huge spark to the offense lately and will be relied upon to fill the void of Elko. Cael Baker just returned from an injury this week so his number will be called on by Coach Bianco this weekend at first base. Ole Miss is slated to stick with Gunnar Hoglund, Doug Nikhazy, and Derek Diamond in their rotation this weekend. On the season, Hoglund and Nikhazy have combined for a 5-2 record and 2.39 ERA, with 110 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. Ole Miss is currently third in the country in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.2 and have had a few impressive performances from their bullpen, starting with closer Taylor Broadway. Broadway leads the team with seven saves and boasts a 2.16 ERA, while Jackson Kimbrell has made ten appearances out of the bullpen, striking out 22 batters in just 15.1 innings of work. It will be difficult for the Rebels to get through this weekend without seeing these two on the mound for meaningful innings. Coach Dave Van Horn has his club rolling, winning 12 of their last 13 games, and winning every series they have played this season. Arkansas has just three qualified batters above the .300 threshold, but two other batters are just slightly below in the .290’s. Arkansas is 66th in the country in batting average but they are 30th in on base percentage because of their patience at the plate. The Razorbacks also lead the country with 50 home runs and are third in the nation in home runs per game with 1.74. Brady Slavens, Cayden Wallace, and Christian Franklin are all tied for the lead with seven, followed by Robert Moore and Matt Goodheart with six apiece. This offense is going to give the Rebels the toughest test they have seen all season. The Razorbacks pitching staff is currently ranked 50th with a 3.78 ERA and is 11th in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings, giving up just under six hits per game. Not only has the pitching staff started the season off strong, the defense has held their own with a .980 fielding percentage, which is good for 12th best in the country. The last few weekends, Coach Dave Van Horn has settled into a rotation of Patrick Wicklander, Zebulon Vermillion, and Lael Lockhart that has worked out very well. Wicklander has started just three times this year in his seven appearances and has a 2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings thrown. You will be hard pressed to find a pitcher with a better stat line than Kevin Kopps this season. Kopps has appeared in 13 games, throwing 22 innings with 40 strikeouts and a 0.82 ERA. Matt’s Prediction: The Rebels need a series win after the loss to Florida, especially considering that they travel to Starkville next weekend for an in-state clash with Mississippi State, but I do not think this is their weekend. Tim Elko is missing his first series since his injury, and the Hogs are hot right now. Give me DVH and Arkansas in this one, but I think it will be close. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) After starting the season as the #1 team in the country, Florida (16-8, 3-3 SEC) is in need of a series win after being swept by South Carolina last weekend in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately for the Gators, wins will not come easy as they host Ole Miss (20-4, 6-0 SEC), one of the hottest teams in the country. You will not find many teams that have resumes quite as impressive as the Rebels this early in the season, starting 6-0 in SEC play, sweeping both Auburn and Alabama. They also have victories over Texas Tech, Texas, and TCU, all teams that are currently ranked in the top 15. Coach Bianco has his club rolling, off to their best start in the SEC since 1964, sweeping both Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 2001. Part of the reason the Rebels are having this much success is due to Tim Elko, who is off to a monster start. Elko leads the SEC with 34 RBI, is second in the conference in home runs with nine, and leads the SEC in total bases, all while batting .341. These are SEC Player of the Year numbers he is putting up. Peyton Chatagnier, Kevin Graham, Hayden Dunhurst, and Justin Bench all join Elko with batting averages over .300 for the season, with Graham and Dunhurst adding four home runs apiece. After his performance against Alabama this weekend, TJ McCants was named SEC Freshman of the Week. McCants was 4-11 with 3 RBI, a home run, and four runs scored, raising his season average from .278 to .298 in three games. Gunnar Hoglund (3-0) leads the Rebels pitching staff as the Friday night starter and a 2.63 ERA. He is currently the nation's leader in strikeouts with 65 and boasts 15.53 strikeouts per nine innings, the best in the SEC. After missing a few weeks, Doug Nikhazy bounced back this weekend, tossing five shutout innings, allowing just one hit, and seven strikeouts against Alabama. Nikhazy improved to 2-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 3.00 after struggling against TCU and UCF to begin the season. Taylor Broadway (3-0) has been dominant in the closer role for the Rebels with six saves and a 2.45 ERA, which is inflated due to one bad outing against Louisiana Monroe. Coach Bianco’s staff does not walk many batters, ranking sixth in the country with 3.97 strikeouts per free pass. It has been a strange year for the Gators to begin the season, especially in SEC play. Florida began their conference schedule with a sweep of Texas A&M and then proceeded to get swept the following weekend. The Gators offense is currently batting .285 as a team, which is just outside of the top 50 in the nation. Jud Fabian, a College Baseball Nation Preseason All-American, leads the way with eight home runs and is second with 23 RBI, but he is only batting .250 through 24 games. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan needs more out of his star outfielder in order for Florida to get back on track this weekend. Fortunately for Florida fans, this offense has plenty of other options, including five starters batting over .300. Freshman Nathan Hickey is batting .337 and leads the team in total bases (52) and RBI (26). Florida and Ole Miss are both tied for 18th in the country with 178 runs scored. Due to the sweep against South Carolina, Coach O’Sullivan has decided to make a few major changes to the Gators weekend rotation. Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich will not start against the Rebels, as Franco Aleman and Christian Scott will both get their first start of the season. Aleman has appeared in 12 games this year and currently has a 4.58 ERA while Scott has been an anchor for the bullpen. Scott has thrown 20 innings in ten appearances, allowing just three runs on the season. He will be a big loss for the bullpen, but could provide a spark that the Gators pitching staff needs. Like Ole Miss, Florida throws a lot of strikes, ranking 14th in the nation with 3.51 strikeouts per walk. Freshman Brandon Sproat has not allowed a run in his last six appearances, lowering his ERA to 1.64 although he has struggled finding the zone at times. Matt's Prediction: If you are a college baseball fan, you will want to keep your eyes on Gainesville this weekend. The Gators need a series win to get back on track after drawing a blank last weekend, but I think the Rebels rotation will prove to be too much for Sully’s offense. His message to the starting rotation is loud and clear, but how will the Gators respond? I will take Ole Miss in this one, but Florida is going to be hungry. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) After being swept by South Carolina the previous week, Florida battled back to take the series against Ole Miss in Gainesville, winning two of three against the number three team in the country. Gators Coach Kevin O’Sullivan sent a message to his team, changing the weekend rotation going into one of the toughest series on their schedule. Message received. On Thursday night, it was all Franco Aleman (W, 1-1) and Tommy Mace (S, 1), who allowed just four hits, as Florida took game one 4-1. Aleman, who started his first game of the year, shut down Ole Miss for the first four innings, allowing three hits and one run (unearned) before turning things over to Mace. From the fifth inning on, the Rebels only recorded one more hit as Mace struck out 7 and never gave Ole Miss an opportunity to get back in it. At the plate, Jacob Young and freshman Jordan Carrion led the Gators with two hits apiece. Young had a double, a triple, and one RBI. Gunnar Hoglund (L, 3-1) picked up his first loss of the season, but only gave up one run on six hits through six innings. The game on Friday night was fairly quiet with only three total runs scored going into the 7th inning. Then the bats woke up. Jud Fabian homered for the Gators to tie the game at 2-2 but it was all Ole Miss after that. The Rebels tacked on two runs in the 8th inning and four runs in the 9th to win game two, 8-2. Freshman Jacob Gonzalez tallied three hits, a home run, and four RBI. Kevin Graham also had a multi-hit game, with two, as Peyton Chatagnier added two RBI. The Ole Miss pitching staff put together an impressive afternoon, striking out 18 batters and allowing just three hits the entire game. Doug Nikhazy started for the Rebels, going 6.0 innings and striking out 11, giving up one unearned run. Drew McDaniel (W, 4-0) and Taylor Broadway (S, 7) finished the final three innings, striking out an additional seven batters. After being relegated to the bullpen, Jack Leftwich (L, 4-2) took the loss, allowing six runs in 3.1 innings of work. The rubber match took place on Saturday afternoon, and we could not have asked for much more from two teams ranked in the top 16, as Florida took the game 6-5, winning the series. Hunter Barco (W, 4-2) did just enough to keep the Rebels bats at bay and give his offense an opportunity to take the series. He allowed six hits and three runs (two earned) through five innings before letting the bullpen take over. The Gators bullpen would give up an additional two runs in the final four innings. At the plate, the Gators were led by Young and Nathan Hickey, both with two hits apiece. Hickey and Carrion both homered as Hickey added a game leading 3 RBI. The Rebels also had a few solid performances at the plate as Kevin Graham and Tim Elko each added three hits on the day. The Rebels will have their work cut out for them after losing their first series in the SEC. Next weekend they return home to host Arkansas, the current number two team in the country before traveling to Starkville to take on in-state rival #4 Mississippi State. The Gators will head to Knoxville next weekend to take on Tennessee followed by a mid-week matchup against Florida State, a team that beat the Gators 10-2 earlier this season in Tallahassee. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

John and Kyle discuss Vanderbilt returning to number one, the NCAA announcing plans for Regionals and Super Regionals, and pick Week 8's best games. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Apple Podcasts Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Spotify. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Google Podcasts Have a question for Kyle and John? Send a DM to us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or an email to podcast@collegebaseball.info and we might answer it on the podcast. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

On Easter weekend in Baton Rouge, Vanderbilt made a statement. It was a statement that propelled the Commodores back into a #1 national ranking. Vanderbilt entered its three-game series at #27 LSU with a 5-1 SEC record, but left at 8-1, having completed its second straight conference sweep. The Tigers, who could not match Vanderbilt, dropped to 1-8 in conference action. Baton Rouge is a tough place for any team to play, but the Commodores did not appear rattled by the raucous environment, winning game one 13-1, game two 11-2, and capped off the sweep with a 5-4 victory in game three. It marked the first time that Vanderbilt has swept LSU in Baton Rouge, and Vanderbilt extended its conference road win streak to 15 games. The high scores in the first two contests are somewhat misleading. The Vanderbilt offense was phenomenal, but it was the Commodores pitching that gave way to the trio of victories. As a staff, Vanderbilt allowed 12 hits, 10 walks, seven runs, two homers, and struck out 26 over the course of the weekend. Kumar Rocker did not waste much time in taking it to the Tigers on Thursday evening, as the right-hander worked his slider to perfection. He had little trouble against LSU’s bats, allowing four hits, no walks, and just one earned run with eight strikeouts. Rocker consistently hit the low 90s with his fastball and his off-speed pitches challenged the Tigers all evening in the 13-1 win, which was Rocker’s seventh of the season. Jack Leiter had perhaps an even better performance Friday night in front of a crowd of 4,904 as he was virtually unhittable. Through six innings of work, the sophomore gave up three hits and one earned run with three walks and tallied an eye-popping 16 strikeouts. His no-hit streak was extended to 20 innings before LSU’s Collier Cranford punched a single through the right side of the infield in the fifth inning. What the stat line does not tell is how much the Tigers struggled to even muster that much offense, as Leiter’s fastball blew past hitters. In the second inning, he struck out the side, using a slider to notch the first strikeout, a curveball to secure the second, before finishing off the frame with a high fastball that registered 96 mph on the radar gun. He also showed tremendous poise in the opening frame after LSU managed to load the bases with one out on two walks and a throwing error. Leiter regained his command and struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning without surrendering a run. Following that hiccup, he fanned 10 of the next 12 batters, and struck out the side in both the second and third innings. Saturday’s pitching duel between Leiter and LSU’s Jaden Hill was cut short, as Hill headed for the locker room after throwing just 1.1 innings, giving up two hits, two walks, and two earned runs. The reason for leaving the game was not his stat line, however, as D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reported that LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said postgame that Hill had “felt something in his elbow” and would be evaluated Monday. The right-hander, also a projected first-round pick, did get a chance to flash his arsenal of pitches in the first, as he struck out two. Leiter took over the game as Hill’s day came to an abrupt close and Vanderbilt ran away with the win. In the first two games of the series, the pitching suffocated LSU’s offense, but the Vanderbilt bats played no small role in the Commodores outscoring the Tigers 24-3. They hit .359 as a team for the series against quality pitching, and had little trouble letting the offense come to them. Two standouts for Vanderbilt at the plate were left fielder Jack Bulger and shortstop Carter Young, who each tallied two home runs in the series. Bulger began his weekend 0-for-4 on Thursday, but rebounded to go 3-for-8 for the final two contests with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI. Young was 2-for-6 in the series opener, and went 2-for-5 in the next two games with two homers and an impressive 6 RBI. The confidence of Bulger and Young at the plate helped Vanderbilt secure the win in game three, as the contest was narrowly decided by a score of 5-4. In the series’ most balanced duel, Vanderbilt capitalized on its opportunities and held off a late ninth-inning rally from LSU to claim the sweep. Starter Thomas Schultz failed to earn the decision, as he made it though just 3.1 innings with two hits, three walks and three earned runs. LSU struck first on a solo homer off the bat of left fielder Gavin Dugas, who went 1-for-9 on the series. But Vanderbilt countered with a solo shot of its own, as Young swatted his second home run of the weekend. A single through the middle gave Vanderbilt its first lead of the game, 3-1, in the third, but unlike the previous two contests, LSU remained step-for-step with the Commodores. The score was knotted at three in the fourth by the Tigers, but Vanderbilt fought back. In a momentum shifting play, Bulger mashed a two-run homer to left field, breaking the tie and putting the Commodores in front for good. The Tigers never abandoned the fight, but did not match Vanderbilt’s power, though they did push one run across on the second-to-last at-bat of the game to cut the deficit to one. Dugas earned his second RBI of the day on that play, as his long flyball to right field was deep enough to score Morgan from third. In the final at-bat of the game, as Vanderbilt reliever Luke Murphy faced third baseman Cade Doughty, the Commodores led by just one. One out away from the series sweep, LSU was on the defensive, attempting to edge out a win in at least one of the three games on its home field. Murphy had other ideas, as he picked up his fifth save of the season after inducing a game-ending popup to the shortstop. For Mainieri, much of the slow SEC start for his squad can be attributed to the youth of his squad. Seven of the nine players in the lineup are just three weeks into their first time in SEC play. “I think the first time around this league, there’s an adjustment physically, there’s an adjustment skills-wise, there’s an adjustment mentally,” Mainieri told The Advocate. “I mean, for seven of the nine players in our lineup, this is the first time through the SEC. There’s a huge adjustment in a lot of ways for them.” Vanderbilt will face Georgia in its next SEC series next weekend in Nashville, while LSU will try to get back in the win column at Kentucky. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Editor's Note: The College Baseball Nation Top 50 is brought to you by Press Sports. Over 1,000 college coaches from all levels are finding and connecting with prospects on Press Sports for FREE during COVID and it’s not too late to hop on the first wave! Every athlete should be posting all their top achievements together in one place and Press Sports is the #1 platform that is empowering athletes, engaging fans, and helping scouts discover talent. We’re getting ready to roll out a rankings filter for every level of college baseball as well as the option for college players to enter the transfer portal so coaches can easily find and watch all their highlights while they are trying to find a new program to play in. Join Press Sports today and follow us on Twitter! #1 Vanderbilt is back in the top spot of the College Baseball Nation Top 50. Jousting back and forth with #2 Arkansas, the Commodores have now spent two weeks in the top spot. Vanderbilt swept LSU on the road over the weekend while Arkansas took two out of three games at home against Auburn. #3 ECU hits its highest ranking in program history. The Pirates had a 5-0 week including a win against North Carolina and a four-game sweep of Cincinnati. #4 Mississippi State swept Kentucky this weekend, while #5 Ole Miss lost two out of three games on the road at Florida. #6 Louisville is the highest ranked ACC team, and the Cardinals are followed by three straight Big 12 teams: #7 Texas, #8 Texas Tech, and #9 Oklahoma State. #10 Tennessee rounds out the top ten. #24 Pitt and #25 Florida State re-enter the top 25 this week. New to this week's top 50 are #44 Ohio State, #46 Wichita State, #47 Louisiana, #48 Kansas State, #49 Charlotte, and #50 UConn. The full top 50 can be found below. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Records can be deceiving. On paper, this weekend’s three-game series between #2 Vanderbilt and #27 LSU looks anything but competitive. That could not be any further from the truth, as the two SEC bluebloods will battle it out in Baton Rouge, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. EST contest on Thursday, followed by duels on Friday and Saturday. The series was moved up a day due to Easter Sunday on April 4. Vanderbilt has rarely struggled this season, posting a near-perfect 20-3 record, having gone 5-1 in SEC play. LSU, who began the season at #13, has failed to generate offense consistently, posting a 1-5 record in conference action. It is far from where the Tigers wanted to be heading into this marquee home series, but again, records are deceiving and LSU is a much better team than its record reveals. The Tigers’ only SEC win thus far came in the series finale against #7 Mississippi State two weeks ago, as LSU was swept by #12 Tennessee this past weekend. Each of those games was decided by two runs or less, but the Tigers failed to connect at the plate when it mattered in the late innings. Vanderbilt was the one doing the sweeping this last weekend, and took it to Missouri, outscoring the Tigers 24-6. A large part of Saturday’s 11-3 win for the Commodores was due to its pitching. Co-ace Jack Leiter rises to the occasion every time he steps on the mound and almost everyone who follows college baseball has heard the right-hander’s name. In the victory over Missouri, he fired seven scoreless innings with no hits, just two walks, and 10 strikeouts. Already this season, he has made headlines for a slew of dominant performances, a minute 0.25 ERA, and a perfect 6-0 record. Just two weeks ago, he retired 27 straight in a no-hitter against South Carolina, striking out 16. In fact, Leiter is averaging 1.63 strikeouts per inning, as few have been able to make contact when he is on the hill. Leiter relies heavily on his curveball, which allows him to mix speeds and keep batters on their toes, as the pitch goes from right to left, breaking just before the plate. His slider is above average as well, meaning LSU will be in for a challenge Friday afternoon against Leiter’s secondary pitches. Things will not be any easier in game one for LSU, as Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker will earn the start. Vanderbilt very much relies on its pitching to win games, especially the first two of a series. Rocker will undoubtedly be a top five pick in the MLB Draft, and his stats back that up. The right-hander also has a sub-one ERA (0.73) and a perfect 6-0 record. Though he has allowed nine more hits than Leiter this season, 16 hits through 37 innings is still an impressive feat. The only question mark in Vanderbilt’s starting rotation is Thomas Schultz, a right-hander, who is 2-2 on the season with a 5.14 ERA. He has struggled throughout the season but recently gave up just five hits and one run in a 3-1 victory over Missouri. As good as Vanderbilt is on the mound, LSU has shown just as much talent at the plate. Four hitters; Dylan Crews, Cade Doughty, Tre’ Morgan, and Gavin Dugas, enter the series hitting above .300 on the season, and a duo of freshmen in Jordan Thompson and Brody Drost have shown promise against strong SEC pitching. Crews, a true freshman himself who was projected by many to go high in the MLB Draft but opted to play at LSU, has surprised many across the country with his offensive firepower. A true five-tool player, he will be hard for even Vanderbilt’s pitching staff to keep off the basepaths. The Longwood, Florida native can hit the ball a mile, and has shown it with a team-leading eight home runs. His .483 on-base percentage also ranks as best on the team and fourth in the SEC. One of just three players on LSU’s roster who has started all 25 of the team’s games this season, his plate appearances against Rocker and Leiter will be must-see moments in the first two games. Though the Tigers have plenty of standout sluggers, Crews has to be hitting in order for the Tigers to have a shot at taking at least one, if not two games. The fact that this series is being played in Baton Rouge adds another element to the equation. Alex Box Stadium was voted by players as the best ballpark, other than their home stadium, to play in. Interestingly, it is also one of the toughest places for visiting teams to play, as the LSU crowd provides a raucous atmosphere, and the Tigers are 15-5 at home this season. Riley's Prediction: Vanderbilt’s pitching is top-notch and I do not see LSU having an easy time at the plate, no matter where the series is being played. While I think the Commodores have the advantage, especially in the series’ first two games, LSU will give Vanderbilt a challenge, and the Tigers look to have the edge on Saturday. Frankly, as good as the Tigers are at the plate, I’ll take Vanderbilt riding its starters to claim the first two games before LSU’s bats kick in against Schultz in game three. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

In College Baseball Nation’s Touching the Bases, we’ll take a periodic look at college baseball through a draft-inspired lens. We’ll dissect the recent performances of the nation’s best players in the run up to the July draft and provide information on whose stock is rising or falling. And we’ll also give a rundown on what’s happening with some of the nation’s premier high school players and how they’ll impact the draft. Find previous chapters here. Singing Different Tunes in Nashville To say Jack Leiter has begun to pull away from the rest of the pack would be a gross understatement. The Vanderbilt righthander followed his 16-strikeout no-hitter on March 20th with seven more hitless innings on Saturday. Though command of his breaking stuff has been spotty at times, Leiter has demonstrated why his fastball is considered the best pitch in college. He’s commanded the 94-97 MPH rocket to all quadrants of the strike zone, where the movement induced by the high spin rate has simply been too much for college hitters to handle. Barring an injury, Leiter is currently the odds-on favorite to be the first overall selection by the Pirates this July. No other pitcher—college or high school—has come close to exhibiting the combination of high-end stuff and polish as Leiter. Even his frame—6-00/190—once thought of as too small to handle the rigors of a 162-game season may work in his favor. While 200 inning workloads are considered a thing of the past (in 2019 only 15 pitchers tossed 200 innings; 36 hurlers reached this threshold in 2009 and 44 in 1999), shorter pitchers have been getting plus marks when it comes to the idea of vertical approach angle. When a shorter pitcher such as Leiter locates his heater up in the zone it comes in on a flatter plane. This creates the optical illusion commonly known as the “rising” fastball, and hitters often swing under it. As swimmingly as things have gone for Leiter, this weekend may have negatively affected the draft fortunes of his rotation mate Kumar Rocker. Although Rocker’s stat line from Thursday’s start against Missouri appeared solid—6 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks—his average fastball velocity has gradually dropped from 95.4 MPH during his start on March 6th to just 91.4 MPH on Thursday. As ESPN analyst Kiley McDaniel has pointed out on Twitter, Rocker has begun working with a higher arm slot to improve his spin efficiency and address questions surrounding the swing-and-miss qualities on his fastball. However, rest assured that scouts will continue to closely monitor the radar gun readings on Rocker’s heater and any inability to eventually regain the lost oomph on the pitch will adversely impact where he’s selected this July. Tough Times in Gainesville Going into this year, CBN ranked Florida CF Jud Fabian as the top college position player and a likely top-five pick in the 2021 draft. Six weeks into the season, Fabian’s contact issues have become so acute that he’s played himself out of the top 10. And his stock continues to drop, with this weekend serving as the nadir of Fabian’s challenging spring. Against South Carolina, the right-handed slugger went 0-13 with 11 strikeouts. Despite 8 HR, Fabian now has 40 Ks in just 111 PAs, for a K-rate of 36 percent. In the tiny sample size of 30 PAs in SEC play, Fabian has struck out 50 percent of the time. “Just a perplexing guy,” said one professional scout. “He’s got talent, he hit well on the Cape, he plays a good center field, and he’s young for the (draft) class. But at the end of the day, you have to be able to show something, and he hasn’t done that this year. I mean, how can you justify going to your owner and asking for $4 or $5 million to sign a guy who’s K’d in over a third of his at bats?” It’s important to note that since 2012, the player taken in the 1st round with the highest K-rate in his draft year was Vanderbilt’s Jeren Kendall. Kendall struck out in 25.1 percent of his PAs in 2017 (Kendell’s career has stalled in High A, where he’s slashed .216/.309/.406 and posted a 33.7 percent strikeout rate in over 900 PAs). At his current pace, Fabian’s K-rate would obliterate the mark set by Kendall. That said, we believe Fabian’s immense potential will prompt a team picking in the back half of the 1st round to roll the dice. His upside is just too enticing to ignore. Lefty Sluggers Rounding into Form As Fabian’s draft-year woes have worsened, highly touted sluggers Alex Binelas (Louisville), Ethan Wilson (South Alabama), and Colton Cowser (Sam Houston State) have finally awoken from their slumber. Binelas, #4 on CBN’s preseason list, is the most interesting case of the three. Prior to March 21st, his slash line read a miserable .155/.253/.268 with a 25.3 percent K-rate. And to make matters worse, he had started to see less action at 3B, which was putting increased pressure on his bat. There was even some talk among scouts that Binelas would fall out of the 1st round completely. In the four games since, Binelas is 9 for 14 with three dingers and two triples and just two strikeouts. While his current slash line of .235/.317/.482 indicates he still is far away from respectability, he’s headed in the right direction. “The kid has an explosive swing,” began our scout friend. “I think it was just a combination of him taking a while to get going after the (hamate) injury and putting too much pressure on himself.” I don’t love the fact he’s not at third anymore, but he moves well enough to give the corner outfield a try in pro ball. Still it’s the bat that’s his ticket. With so many of those guys (college hitters) scuffling, if he continues to roll, he’ll still wind up getting popped in the 1st (round). Just a little later than we all thought.” The bat will also be the ticket for Wilson, who has stepped it up after missing some early action with a sprained ankle. Wilson, CBN’s 5th ranked collegiate entering the season, also got off to a slow start, yet, unlike Binelas, never had any problems making contact. In his last five games, Wilson’s hits have started to fall—as well as fly out of the ballpark. He’s gone 8 for 18 with five extra base hits and six walks to bring his season line up to .320/.427/.627 with 5 HR and an outstanding 13/11 BB/K ratio in 89 PAs. Like his two contemporaries, Cowser scuffled out of the gate in 2021, but he too has turned it up a notch as of late. Prior to a 1 for 5 performance on Sunday, Cowser had been a scalding 10 for 14 with 4 HR over a four-game span, raising his batting line to .342/.462/.645. What separates Cowser from Binelas and Wilson is his ability to play in the middle of the diamond. He’s currently Sam Houston State’s center fielder, and the general consensus is that he should be able to stay in the middle through most of his 20’s. However, Cowser, like Wilson, will have to continue to post big numbers to offset the small conference stigma that will dog him throughout the spring. Comeback in Oxford As Leiter has separated himself from the rest of the pack, other starters continue to jostle to see who will make up the second tier of college pitching in the run up to the draft. Miami (OH) RHP Sam Bachman is one of those under consideration. Bachman looked like a sure bet to firmly entrench himself in that second tier until he missed three weeks with a sore shoulder following a sterling six-inning, 10-K shutout performance against Florida International on February 26th. Bachman responded with a vengeance on Saturday in his second start back, striking out all nine batters he faced with a fastball that touched 101 MPH and a slider that baffled opposing hitters. There’s no question that Bachman’s stuff is elite—once again we’ll point our readers in the direction of Lookout Landing’s Joe Doyle’s excellent analysis of Bachman’s repertoire from last November. However, big league clubs will be most interested to see whether Bachman’s arm will be able to hold up for the remainder of the season. If it does, we’re talking about a top-10 pick and potential front-of-the-rotation stalwart. Short Hops In the last edition of Touching the Bases, we mentioned that California prep SS Marcelo Mayer had started his club team’s season on fire, going 8 for 13 with four home runs. Because of COVID, Mayer’s high school team didn’t begin its season until a week ago, and Mayer hadn’t missed a beat, going 3 for 9 with a homer, two doubles, four walks and no strikeouts as of the start of this week. The left-handed hitter has four games this week against some of the best pitching in the San Diego high school ranks. In the eyes of many scouts, Mayer has overtaken Vanderbilt commit Jordan Lawlar as the top prep bat available. Speaking of Lawlar, while he’s had a solid spring, his 19 strikeouts in just 85 plate appearances are a concern for scouts. As one evaluator mentioned, “The kid is tooled up and should still go very early (in the draft), but what he’s done so far this spring hasn’t yet matched what he did last summer on the (showcase) circuit.” One high schooler who has so far this spring exceeded what he did during last summer’s showcase season is Winder-Barrow (GA) SS and Tennessee commit Brady House. As of last week, through 15 games House was hitting .644 with 9 2B, 7 HR, and just 3 Ks. He was also playing a strong SS, though many foresee a move to 3B in pro ball. It is important to note that scouts view the pitching that House has faced as inferior in quality to that seen by Mayer and Lawlar. Still, House is a name expected to jump off the board within the first 10 picks. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

John and Kyle are back to talk about Arkansas rising to number one in the rankings and more. The podcast is joined by Little Rock Head Coach Chris Curry. Little Rock is fresh off a series win at Southern Illinois. The guys pick Week 7's best series. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Apple Podcasts Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Spotify. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Google Podcasts Have a question for Kyle and John? Send a DM to us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or an email to podcast@collegebaseball.info and we might answer it on the podcast. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Editor's Note: The College Baseball Nation Top 50 is brought to you by Press Sports. Over 1,000 college coaches from all levels are finding and connecting with prospects on Press Sports for FREE during COVID and it’s not too late to hop on the first wave! Every athlete should be posting all their top achievements together in one place and Press Sports is the #1 platform that is empowering athletes, engaging fans, and helping scouts discover talent. We’re getting ready to roll out a rankings filter for every level of college baseball as well as the option for college players to enter the transfer portal so coaches can easily find and watch all their highlights while they are trying to find a new program to play in. Join Press Sports today and follow us on Twitter! After taking down Mississippi State in Starkville in dominating fashion, Arkansas rises back to the top of the College Baseball Nation Top 50. The Razorbacks swept the Bulldogs and stole the top spot from #2 Vanderbilt, who swept Missouri on the road. #3 Ole Miss earned its own road sweep, taking down Alabama, and #4 Louisville split two games on the road at Notre Dame before the third game was cancelled due to high winds. #5 Texas Tech swept South Florida in Lubbock. #15 South Carolina swept Florida, joining a number of other SEC teams who earned sweeps over the weekend. The Gamecocks shot up 15 spots in the rankings. #19 Louisiana Tech moved up six spots after taking three out of four games on the road at Southern Miss to start Conference USA play. #25 Stanford joins the top 25 for the first time this season. The Cardinal swept a two-game set against Fresno State over the weekend. The SEC leads the way with seven teams ranked in the top 25, followed by the Pac-12 with six, and the ACC with five. Six ACC teams are ranked from 26-50, while three SEC teams join from this group. No Pac-12 teams are ranked from 26-50, underlying the top-heaviness of the conference. Nebraska and UC Irvine join the top 50 for the first time the season. Clemson rejoins the top 50 after sweeping Boston College. The full top 50 can be found below. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) In the much anticipated series between two of the best teams in the ACC Coastal Division, it is still unclear who the better team is. Louisville and Notre Dame split the first two games before the rubber match was postponed due to anticipated wind speeds in the area. It was suggested that the teams play a doubleheader on Saturday, but the home team did not appear to favor that decision. Although the game was cancelled, the Cardinals were able to practice on Notre Dame’s field on Sunday afternoon. When Louisville has the opportunity to start Michael Kirian, followed by Adam Elliott and Kaleb Corbett, they will be tough to beat, which was the case on Friday night. Kirian did not have his best stuff, walking six batters, but was able to hold the hot Notre Dame offense to three runs in 4.2 innings before turning things over to the bullpen. Elliott (W, 3-1) gave up just one run in his three innings of work. Corbett (S, 4) came in to close out the game for the Cards, increasing his scoreless streak to 16 innings to begin his freshman campaign. At the plate, Louisville recorded eight hits by eight different batters, led by Alex Binelas with 4 RBI, including a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Niko Kavadas continued his hot streak to begin the season, leading the way for the Fighting Irish with a no-doubter in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull Notre Dame within a run. Louisville would go on to score two more runs in the ninth inning to win by a final score of 7-4. Spencer Myers and Carter Putz each added two hits apice for the Irish. Joe Sheridan (L, 0-1) entered the weekend as one of the top relievers for Coach Jarrett’s rotation, earned his first start of the season against the Cardinals. He had not given up a single run during his first 14.1 innings, but surrendered five runs in five innings of work. Both teams showed on Saturday why they are two of the best in the ACC, battling it out until the last pitch. Ryan Cole hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to take game two, 5-3 in favor of the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame’s most consistent starting pitcher, John Bertrand, kept Louisville in check for seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. Binelas homered for the second day in a row, this time with a towering shot in the ninth inning to tie the game. He led the Cardinals at the plate with two hits, raising his average to .235, the highest of the season. Louisville was without their Saturday starter, Glenn Albanese (3-0, 1.76 ERA) who was out with a minor injury, but Luke Seed stepped up in a major way. Seed, in only his second weekend start, tossed 6.2 innings, allowing just four hits and one run before Coach McDonell questionably turned the game over to the bullpen. Tate Kuehner (L, 1-3) gave up the home run in the bottom of the ninth innings to Cole, who led the Irish with two hits. Jack Brannigan (W, 1-0) who also had two hits at the plate, picked up his first victory of the year after taking over in the ninth inning, stranding two inherited baserunners to end the frame. Entering the game, Notre Dame was on a 20 game losing streak to Louisville with their last win coming May 21, 2011. The Irish were also able to keep Henry Davis hitless, breaking his 23 game hitting streak, the second longest in school history. Although we did not see the series finale, it would not surprise me to see these two meetup again in the conference tournament at the end of May. It will not get easier for either team going forward as Louisville returns home to face a Wake Forest team that just won a series in Tallahassee against Florida State. Notre Dame will spend next weekend at Pittsburgh, a club that will be hungry after being swept by Virginia Tech. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!