2013 Draft: College Pitchers – Stock Up

02/20/2013

Just some quick thoughts on guys who are/could trend upward in the near future:

  1. Jon Simms, Rice: Tore up Stanford this past Sunday: 7.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 7 FO, 9 GB. Definitely has some understated value in his ability to get ground balls and consistently generate weak contact (when he’s on). Solid fastball and some very interesting secondary offerings.
  2. Aaron Brown, Pepperdine: With above-average velocity from the left-side and sophomore eligibility, he could slip into the first round quite easily. A 5.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K, 8 FO, 4 GB outing against Western Michigan was just OK, but definitely something to build on in the coming weeks. Scouts will have plenty of opportunities to see him when scouting Friday starter and possible 1st rounder Scott Frazier (who’s stock is on the way up as well).
  3. Jonathan Gray, Oklahoma: Not a bad start by the big righty against Hofstra: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 10 FO, 5 GB. He’s going to get hammered if he keeps giving up that much contact in the air though.
  4. Barrett Astin, Arkansas: Quite a one-two punch with Astin following Stanek. Astin will certainly be one to watch as he moves to a full-time starter role. His first start of the year (against Western Illinois) was solid: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 5 FO, 7 GB.
  5. Austin Kubitza, Rice: Not exactly a big fan of Rice arms (injury history considered), but can’t ignore his domination of Stanford on Friday: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 12 K, 1 FO, 4 GB. Pretty impressive that he only gave up 1 out in the air with that many Ks. He’s always been a relevant college prospect (2.58 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 8.40 K/9, 4.15 bb/9 in 2012).
  6. Buck Farmer, Georgia Tech: The senior wrecked the Akron lineup to the tune of 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 14 K  (76 of 97 pitches for strikes) this past Friday. Yes, I know it was against a lowly MAC opponent, but this is how he should perform against them if he wants to rehab his draft stock.
  7. Andrew Pierce, Southern Miss: Solid outing against Missouri on Friday: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 7 FO, 4 GB. Speaking of seniors, he transferred from the JUCO ranks last year to post a pretty impressive 3.38 FIP (1.90 ERA) in 99 IP (97 k, 16 bb).
  8. Kyle Finnegan, Texas State: Against the talented Nick Petree, Finnegan held up: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 K, 1 FO, 6 GB. Really strong K rate and GB rate in his first start of the year. Finnegan is already on most teams’ radar, so this will only further improve his reputation.