As we turn a corner during draft season, the southpaw sector of the top college arms in the draft class is shining the brightest.
Here are this week’s top performances:
NOTE: Ranking listed below is based on Joe Doyle’s most recent Top 300. Click Here for the FULL list.
1. Jamie Arnold, LHP – Florida State
vs. Wake Forest: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 SO, 91 P, 53 S (58%)
Arnold’s five shutout innings were dominant, including 10 strikeouts, but Wake extended at-bats and made him work. His 14 whiffs came on 34 swings, with the slider generating eight in 17. He touched 95 but sat comfortably at 92-94 and held the velocity through his final inning.
The Demon Deacons’ boast projected high picks Marek Houston and Ethan Conrad, so Arnold shut down a pretty good lineup in this one.
Arnold faces in-state rival Florida next week in Gainesville.
8. Liam Doyle, LHP – Tennessee
vs. Texas A&M: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 SO, 95 P, 58 S (61%)
Doyle had allowed 11 earned runs in his prior three outings but got back on track in this one with six no-hit frames. He induced 13 whiffs on 40 swings, including six of nine on the slider. For the season, Doyle has held left-handed batters to a .182/.308/.205 slash – that’s one extra-base hit – but right-handed batters have not fared much better (.154/.235/.269).
Doyle’s third pitch, a mid-80s changeup, shows up in most starts, but it’s been more of a change of pace than an out pitch thus far. He also throws a 79-81 mph curveball a handful of times per start with similar results.
Doyle will get Ole Miss next weekend in Oxford.
15. Tyler Bremner, RHP – UC Santa Barbara
vs. UC Davis: 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 0 BB, 10 SO, 114 P, 81 S (71%)
This was Bremner’s best start of the year. He pounded the zone at 94-96 mph with a couple of 97s sprinkled in, generated 19 whiffs on 63 swings, and added seven groundball outs to the 10 strikeouts.
Bremner’s slider has been on notice all year, and he did throw it 15 times in this start, but it still lags behind the fastball and changeup. For the season, he’s induced 12 whiffs on 42 swings of the slider (86.8 mph), but the changeup remains his two-strike go-to (45% whiff).
Bremner gets UC Riverside this coming weekend.
29. Kade Anderson, LHP – LSU
vs. Oklahoma: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 14 SO, 135 P, 91 S (67%)
Anderson’s four-pitch mix was too much for the Sooners Thursday in Norman, and ‘mix’ is the right word. Anderson threw 21 sliders, 25 curveballs, 31 changeups, and 58 fastballs, throwing strikes and getting outs with all four throughout. He sat 92-95 mph and held most of that velocity through the final out. His last fastball registered at 92 mph.
Anderson wins with stuff more than raw velocity, but he also generates deception and locates his fastball to set up his secondaries, and is fully capable of pitching backward, throwing any pitch in any count.
In eight starts this season, Anderson has gone five or more in all but one and fanned eight or more in all but one. This was the fourth time he’s struck out 10 or more batters.
He’ll take his game to Auburn this weekend.
57. Jared Spencer, LHP – Texas
vs. Georgia: 7.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 BB, 11 SO, 111 P, 70 S (62%)
Spencer set up a plus slider with a 95-96 mph fastball, holding his velocity throughout and using the slider (88.6 mph) to put away hitters (14 whiffs on 22 swings). He mixed in a mid-80s changeup (3 whiffs, 9 swings).
He did walk four batters, but the Bulldogs never figured him out in this one.
Spencer gets back at it in Lexington versus the Kentucky Wildcats this weekend.
80. Cade Obermueller, LHP – Iowa
@ Northwestern: 7 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 12 SO, 96 P, 67 S (70%)
Obermueller has not allowed an earned run in 19 innings and has yielded just seven hits (71 batters faced) in that span.
In this one, the left-hander utilized a 92-95 mph fastball to get to a devastating slider, which generated 12 whiffs on 21 swings.
Obermueller will get Nebraska at home this Friday.
219. Karson Ligon, RHP – Mississippi State
vs. South Carolina: 6 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 8 SO, 74 P, 49 S (66%)
In Ligon’s best start of the season thus far he set a season high for innings and was highly efficient, needing just 74 pitches to get through six.
The right-hander missed bats with his slider and changeup (15 whiffs in 38 swings overall) and used all four pitches effectively. His fastball averaged 95 mph and hit 97 three times.
Ligon will face Alabama on the road this weekend.
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