We’re a little late posting the week #8 USA Collegiate Update from Prospect Nation, but it’s still something you should read.  There is quite a bit of draft player information, about some of the best names through the first half of the season.

Get ready for another 9-innings of collegiate action…

1^st: UCLA junior RHP Trevor Bauer is starting to run away with the 2011 Strikeout Crown and now sits just 3 K’s away from hitting the century mark for the second consecutive year; this past weekend, Bauer pitched a complete game (2^nd over the past 3 starts),  fanning 15 of 33 batters, while allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks; with the season at the halfway point, Bauer figures to pass the 165 K’s he posted last year; just a couple more starts like this and he will be very close…

[LINK: Cougars can’t decipher Bauer]

2^nd: UCLA junior RHP Gerrit Cole took part in the one-up-manship with teammate Trevor Bauer over the weekend as he also tossed a complete game; Cole, however, allowed just 1 unearned run on 5 hits and 1 walk while fanning 7 of the 32 batters he faced; this marked Cole’s second straight complete game (he has 3 on the season) as compared to Bauer’s 2…

[LINK: Cole dominant in complete game win]

[LINK: 2011 Draft – Catching up with Gerrit Cole]

3^rd: Clemson junior SS Brad Miller was named both the ACC Player of the Week and Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week award; these accolades were the result of a 14-for-21, 2 2B’s, 2 3B’s, 7 RBI’s, 4 stolen bases and 8 run effort; his defense wasn’t too shabby as he flawlessly fielded 28 hits with no errors…

[LINK: Miller named both National and ACC Player of the Week]

4^th: Bethune-Cookman junior C Peter O’Brien is widely regarded as the best hitting catcher in the NCAA and looks to be a 1^st-round draftee come June (see article below); on the week, O’Brien was 8-for-20 with 2 2B’s, 1 HR (10), 7 RBI’s, and scored 4 times; his 10^th HR ties him with LSU’s Mikie Mahtook for the group lead…

[LINK: O’Brien a diamond in the rough *Recommended]

5^th: Arizona sophomore OF Robert Refsnyder raised his cumulative batting average a total of 16 points (0.347 to 0.363) after a terrific week at the plate; Refsnyder was 8-for-17 with a 2B, HR (4), 7 RBI’s and a SB…

[LINK: Stereotypes don’t bother adopted Refsnyder]

6^th: We knew that Miami freshman LHP Bryan Radziewski was special when the Hurricanes gave him the season opening start; Rad has been their Friday ace ever since and has rarely disappointed;  this past Friday, he tossed 5.2 IP and allowed just 1 unearned run on 3 hits; he didn’t walk a single batter and fanned 8 of the 21 he faced; investors, get on-board the Bryan Radziewski train now…

[YouTube: Post-game press conference with Bryan Radziewski]

7^th: LSU freshman RHP Kevin Gausman has had his ups-and-downs this year, but his “ups” are what has everyone in Baton Rouge excited; this past weekend was definitely an “up” as Gausman delivered 8-innings of shutout baseball; he gave up just 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 of the 28 batters he faced en-route to his 2^nd win on the year; BTW, there’s a Kevin Gausman train with a lot of potential ; )

[LINK: Terrific performance by Gausman not enough as Tigers lose heartbreaker]

8^th: Vanderbilt junior RHP Sonny Gray has flat-out gotten it done this year; many nay-sayers knocked his size and mediocre curveball before the season began; but Gray has consistently silenced the critics throughout the year (see total weekly stats below); his most recent victory, a 6-inning technical shutout (no earned runs, but 2 unearned runs) where he allowed 4 hits and walks and struck out 4, demonstrates a WHIP of 1.33; not bad, but it’s well over his cumulative season WHIP of 1.03; Gray looks to be a Top 5 pick in June’s MLB Draft; Baseball America’s Jim Callis states, “Gray’s fastball-curveball combination is as good as any in this draft, and don’t bet against him as a starter despite his small frame.”…

[LINK: Vandy romps Tide behind ace Sonny Gray]

9^th: Florida sophomore LHP Brian Johnson combined-on-shutout over the weekend; Johnson tossed 6-scoreless-innings, allowing just 6 hits while fanning 3 and walking none; Johnson’s 2.54 ERA and 5-1 record is a big reason why the Gators have done so well this year…

[LINK: Johnson leads Gators to 18-0 win over Bulldogs]

It’s that time again and we have a great 9-innings of work by our friends at Prospect Nation.  Not only are they some really cool people and love USA baseball like us, but they really go the extra mile to give you the information you need.

This is the WEEK #7 installment of the USA Collegiate Updates, featuring some constant performers and some new names to the mix.  Be sure you always check out their site and their supplemental blog when you’re done.  You can also support them (and make some money at draft time!) by buying their first web-only promotion for 2010 Topps USA Retail Box Sets.

Welcome, to the 9 glorious innings of NCAA baseball….

1^st: LSU junior OF Mikie Mahtook has gotten ink on our 9-Innings most every week for his offensive prowess; this past week, Mahtook outperformed all of those previous week’s accomplishments; even his 4-homerun season-opening series couldn’t match his 9-for-14 (0.643) 2 triple, 2 HR, 7 RBI and 3 stolen-base weekend; along the way he extended his hitting streak to 14 games and counting; Mahtook now ranks 2^nd among all NCAA Division-I players in homeruns (10) and tied for 9^th in RBI’s (32);  for his efforts, he was named the SEC Player of the Week…

[LINK: Mahtook named SEC Player of the Week]

2^nd: TCU junior RHP Kyle Winkler is another name that just keeps popping up on this weekly list; not to say it hasn’t been deserved as one glance at his cumulative 1.05 ERA, 5-1 record and 0.74 WHIP will certainly say otherwise; this week, Winkler outdid even himself as he faced 26 batters over 7-innings and fanned 15 of them while allowing just one run on four hits and walking one;  his 15 K’s are the most a TCU player has posted since Matt Purke set the club record with 14 in last year’s playoffs; barring one anomalous start, Winkler is one of only a handful of pitchers to be so consistently good most every time out; here are his weekly numbers since the start of the season to prove the point:

ERA	W	L	APP	GS	CG	SHO	CBO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	2B	3B	HR	AB	B/AVG
0.00	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	7.0	1	1	0	0	8	0	0	0	22	0.045
0.00	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	7.1	6	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	25	0.240
0.00	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	8.0	4	0	0	0	9	0	0	0	27	0.148
0.00	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	6.0	3	1	0	1	7	1	0	0	22	0.136
4.50	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	8.0	8	5	4	1	11	2	0	2	31	0.258
1.13	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	8.0	5	1	1	3	9	0	0	0	28	0.179
1.29	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	7.0	4	1	1	1	15	2	0	0	26	0.154

Said head coach Jim Schlossnagle, “”He’s an elite Division I pitcher. He’s as good as we’ve put out there, including [Matt] Purke, [Jake] Arietta, [Lance] Broadway, Clayton Jerome. He’s going to play baseball for a long time, I think.”

[LINK: Winkler named MWC Pitcher of the Week… again]

3^rd: Clemson sophomore 2b Richie Shaffer went 7-for-15 (.467) with a double, triple, grand slam and five RBIs in four games; he scored seven runs and recorded three walks while posting an .867 slugging percentage and .556 on-base percentage and wa s also perfect in the field, committing no errors in 12 chances at third base and first base; in the final two games at No.6 North Carolina, Shaffer went 5-for-7 with two walks, reaching base in seven of his nine plate appearances; in Shaffer’s biggest play of the week, he broke open a close game with a grand slam in the sixth inning to propel the Tigers to an 11-5 win over Georgia; for his accomplishments, Shaffer was named the ACC Co-Player of the Week…

[LINK: Shaffer’s slam propels Clemson to win]

4^th: UCLA junior RHP Trevor Bauer gave up 2 of 3 total runs in the first inning against Washington before settling down; once Bauer found his groove, he was a lock to nail down his 5^th win of the year; along the way he gave up 1 additional run but fanned 10 and walked 2 in 8-innings; his 10 K’s marks the 6^th time in 7 starts that Bauer has fanned 10+ batters in a game and it’s no surprise that he continues to lead the NCAA in strikeouts…

One night earlier, fellow junior RHP Gerrit Cole tossed a complete game for the Bruins to earn his 3^rd win on the year; it was the second time this year Cole went the distance as he allowed just 1 run on 5 hits, fanning 10 and walking 2… *NOTE: the article below on Cole is highly recommended

[LINK: Bauer roughed-up early, finds groove for 5^th win]

[LINK: UCLA Coach says Cole could be pitching in Majors by September]

5^th: Arizona sophomore OF Robert Refsnyder posted a 10-for-22 (.455), 2B, 2 HR’s, 9 RBI’s and 17 total bases on the week; it was business as usual for the super sophomore who is batting .347 on the year with 3 HR’s and 26 RBI’s…

[LINK: Refsnyder delivers in 9^th inning to ensure win for Wildcats]

6^th: Virginia senior RHP Tyler Wilson was pitching out of the bullpen last year; Wilson was then drafted in June by the Cincinnati Reds in the 35^th round but did not sign and returned for his senior year; he didn’t know it at the time, but almost one year later he would be the Cav’s #2 starter (behind Danny Hultzen) and having the year of his life; it’s safe to say his draft stock has improved considerably; this past week Wilson notched his 4^th win (4-0 overall) with a dominating performance; he tossed 7 shutout innings, giving up 5 hits and fanning 10 while walking 2 of the 26 batters he faced…

[LINK: Wilson having career-year]

7^th: Kansas senior RHP T.J. Walz also returned for his senior year after getting drafted late (50^th round by the Oakland Athletics); and although he hasn’t been as good as Wilson, he’s still the Jayhawk’s ace; this past week, facing #19 Baylor, Walz notched his 3^rd win going 7.2 innings and allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, but fanned 11 and walked 3; it was the fourth time this year Walz reached 10+ K’s…

[LINK: Walz notches win against #19 Baylor]

8^th: Hawaii junior OF Kolten Wong may be the most underrated offensive player in Division-I baseball; naturally quiet and laid-back, Wong hasn’t garnered the same type of publicity as fellow prospects Anthony Rendon and George Springer; but Wong continues to consistently display an offensive prowess that is going to make him a 1^st-round draft pick come March; says Aaron Fitt in today’s weekly Baseball America College Chat, “He’s a great all-around player and a likely top-half of the first-rounder. I think he’s the nation’s best second baseman, and there are a lot of good ones this year.”  Now that’s some serious praise; this past week, Wong  was 8-for-16 with a 3B, HR, 9 RBI’s and 2-of-3 on stolen base attempts…

[LINK: Wong excelling even with minor injury]

9^th: Florida State RHP Sean Gilmartin pitched 6 shutout-innings to earn his 6^th win on the year (6-0 total);  Gilmartin faced 20 batters and allowed 3 hits, walked 3 and fanned 9; on the year, Gilmartin has notched 53 K’s over 48.1 IP with a WHIP of 0.74 (3^rd best among our group of pitchers)…

[LINK: Gilmartin cruises again in ‘Noles victory]

Here is the week #6 installment of USA Collegiate Player Updates, broken down into 9 action packed innings.  The folks at Prospect Nation have done a great job of highlighting the best performances, along with some outside links highlighting the players within.  Don’t forget to check out their first website only special – 2010 Topps USA Retail Box Sets – featuring the only card of Rice 3B Anthony Rendon.

1^st: UCLA junior RHP Trevor Bauer pitched two of the best games of his career this past week and has been named the PAC-10 Pitcher of the Week as well as the prestigious Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week; Bauer notched 2 consecutive wins during a rare 2-start week following a week-long vacation for the Bruins; he fanned 12 batters over 7-innings on Monday to combine-on-shutout against Cal Poly; he followed that up with a Friday night 1-hit complete game shutout over rival USC that saw him fan 14 batters, taking a no-hit performance into the 8^th inning; Bauer is now the NCAA Strikeout Leader…

[LINK: Bauer tosses complete-game 1-hitter]

[LINK: Bauer named PAC-10 Pitcher of the Week]

[LINK: Bauer named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week]

2^nd: Stanford freshman 1B Brian Ragira entered the Cardinal’s history books as he hit for the cycle this past week; Ragira did it on 5-of-5 hitting that included an early triple followed by a double, homerun (his first collegiate round-tripper) and two consecutive singles; on the week, he was a combined 9-for-21 with a 2B, 3B, HR, and 6 RBI’s…

[LINK: Ragira hits for cycle, collects first collegiate double, homerun]

3^rd: Vanderbilt junior RHP Sonny Gray lost his first game of the season after tossing 7 shutout innings; Gray went the distance but couldn’t garner the run-support to overcome a 2-1 deficit during an otherwise brilliant pitching performance; on the night, Gray finished with 8-innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while fanning 12 and walking 4; the 2 earned runs was the highest he has allowed since opening day, and matched the 2 combined runs allowed over his prior four starts that spanned 29.1 innings…

[LINK: Gray drops first game in hard-luck fashion]

4^th: South Carolina junior OF Jackie Bradley, Jr., shined this week against #1-ranked Florida; last year’s College World Series “Most Outstanding Player” showed again that he could play under pressure as USC handed Florida their first losing series; Bradley was a combined 8-for-19 with a 2B, 2 HR’s and 6 RBI’s…

[LINK: Bradley gets hot after finding new baseball “superstition”]

[LINK: Gators drop first series of season to South Carolina]

5^th: LSU junior OF Mikie Mahtook found his power stroke again; Mahtook opened the season with a four homerun week followed by two consecutive weeks with just one each; he then hit a dry-spell and hasn’t had a round-tripper in over 15 days; that ended this past weekend as Mahtook was a combined 7-for-16 with 2 HR’s, 4 RBI’s and a SB…

6^th: CS-Fullerton pitching tandem Nick Ramirez & Noe Ramirez (no relation) combined-on-shutout against conference rival Hawaii; Noe started the game and pitched 8 scoreless innings, allowing just 4 hits while fanning 8 and walking 2; Nick closed out the shutout with a perfect 9^th inning to collect his 22^nd save on the year…

[LINK: Ramirez tandem blanks Rainbows]

7^th: TCU junior RHP Kyle Winkler took a tough no-decision after a dominating performance this past Friday in a game that coach Jim Schlossnagle called his “worst loss in eight years”; for 8 innings Winkler showed the ace-form that has him projected to be a first-round draft pick in June after suffering his first loss of the season last week; he avenged that loss by fanning 9 over eight frames, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and walking 3…

[LINK: Winkler dominates, bullpen falls apart]

8^th: Kansas senior RHP T.J. Walz knows the season did not start well; over his first two starts he had accumulated two consecutive losses by allowing 9 runs over a combined 5.2 innings of work; Walz got back in the saddle after that and won his next two consecutive starts; since then he got a no-decision and a tough loss with a decent outing; this past week he pitched the best game of his senior season, going 7.2 innings and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits while fanning 10 and walking one…

[LINK: Walz delivers sterling performance, loses heartbreaker]

9^th: Virginia senior RPH Tyler Wilson was converted to a starting role from relief this year and has responded well to the move; on the year, Wilson is 3-0 over 6 starts with a 2.27 ERA and has fanned 45 in 35.2 IP; this past week he got his 3^rd no-decision but pitched very well, going 7.1 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 4 hits, fanning 11 and walking one…

[LINK: Wilson logs career-high innings, strikeouts]

One of the biggest points of focus was Bryce Harper and his first spring training with the big league camp.  Just 18-years-old and fresh out of the Arizona Fall League, Harper wasted no time in showing how good he really can be.  Don’t get it wrong though, he still had his struggles, but his final spring training numbers spoke volumes to everyone in baseball.

Even though it was 13 games in total, the variance in hits, the pitch selection, and the production left fans wanting more.  He’ll be headed to Single-A to start the season, but don’t expect that to last long.  If the Strasburg train is any example, Harper will surely be moving quickly through the Nationals system.

Baseball America Blog brought out the quotes from names around major league baseball.  If you’re one of those comparison type of fans, they ranged from Mark Grace to Mickey Mantle to Clint Hurdle.  Check them out below, including one from Albert Pujols (although quite PC and vague).

“He’s handled himself good. He’s mature beyond his age. He’s absorbing a lot—he’s really being a sponge and taking in everything that is major league spring training. We’ve got a lot of veteran players on this team that are capable of sharing a lot of information with him and he’s following my advice when he came to spring training: keep your ears open and your mouth closed. It’s very unique, I’ve never seen this with a player his age. I had Justin Upton, who I think is in that same category and Bryce is beyond Justin, as far as readiness for spring training and readiness for a player and that’s a big comparison because Justin Upton is one of the most talented players I ever drafted.”
—Mike Rizzo, general manager, Washington Nationals

“I’ve been pretty impressed that he’s been able to handle his own at this level and the way he’s read pitches and understands the strike zone. We’ve all seen him attack the ball and do all the things with the tools he’s got. But to see him do that, it looks like he can compete here a little bit. It’s pretty exciting. He’s an aggressive kid. They’re going to knock it out of him a little bit, but he’s a pleasure to be around. He plays the game right and you can tell his daddy trained his son very well. He’s fun to be around. He’s supposed to be playing high school games, so it’s pretty amazing what he’s done. The big thing is, socially, he’s above his years. He interacts with everybody very well and he’s fit in in a situation that’s sometimes tough to fit in. He’s done a great job with that.”
—Bob Boone, assistant general manager, Washington Nationals

“He’s been outstanding. He’s really impressed everybody in camp, not just with his hitting but with his athleticism, his defense, his throwing and his baserunning. He’s an aggressive young kid that just needs to play a lot more baseball and experience every situation that can come up and let everything run its course to get him here.

Our media relations department has done a good job to kind of monitor how much time the media gets with him and the demands on him and the organization is very well experienced with this type of stuff to make sure he’s not overloaded. The other part of it is that his teammates keep him in check with a little razzing and stuff and they kind of police that also.

He does remind me of somebody, but it’s not the answer people want to hear because people want him to be Mickey Mantle. But the guy he reminds me of is Clint Hurdle. Clint was a 19-year-old in Triple-A, the best player in Triple-A at 19, when everybody else in the league at 25. Physically, he’s a lefthanded hitter, righthanded thrower, same size as Clint, same skill set and Clint had a very nice career. He didn’t have a Mickey Mantle career, but he had a great career, but that’s not what people want out of this kid. They want him to be Mickey Mantle right away or Ken Griffey Jr., but Clint was an aggressive animal and a heck of a ballplayer.”
—Jim Riggleman, manager, Washington Nationals

“He is very direct to the ball. The bat speed that he possesses when it goes through the zone is tremendous. He generates a lot of torque in his body and with a short swing and a lot of torque, he impacts the ball as hard as anyone in the game, really. What’s probably even more impressive is being 18 and being where he is mentally and the adjustments that he’s made just in the short time that I’ve seen him here in big league camp has been such a huge positive. I think the credit goes to his parents for the way he was raised and how he goes about his day and to himself, that through all the hoopla, he’s maintained a very level head and a passion to want to be the best and a work ethic that warrants him reaching those goals. All around, he’s an impressive young man.

He’s taught me a little bit about himself and we sat down and watched some film and he’d describe certain things and talk about himself, so that gives me a chance to learn better. Through that process, I’ve shared with him some thoughts and some of the plan and the ideas when it comes to hitting at the major league level to give him some of that perspective. The biggest thing right now is just allowing him to get acclimated as a professional in major league camp, his first camp, and allowing him to get his feet wet and get comfortable and settle in. There’s a lot going on for him to learn our system, to learn the expectations when it comes to being a professional baseball player, so that whole process in a nutshell is just him getting to learn about us and us getting to learn about him.

He generates a lot and sometimes gets out to his front side too fast, which doesn’t allow him to stay behind the baseball. That’s one of the things we’ve talked about and looked at and shared. When you’re trying to generate a lot like that and you’re not staying behind the ball, a pitch with depth like a cutter or something where the bottom falls out of it, it can put him in a position where he can’t do what he knows he can do. When he gets to that front side real fast, he’s not staying behind the baseball and not putting himself in the best position to react to different pitches that he might see.”
—Rick Eckstein, hitting coach, Washington Nationals

“He’s a special kid and he’s going to have his time. He looks like he’s pretty humbled, so I think if he can stay healthy, he can have some success at this level.”
—Albert Pujols, 1b, St. Louis Cardinals

If you were interested in checking out the eBay market for Harper cards, you will find they have exploded once again.  We all thought the spike was right after the draft, but spring training has made almost anything sell for highs.

Bryce Harper Chrome Buyback Autos

Bryce Harper AFLAC Autos

Bryce Harper Topps Anniversary Autos

Bryce Harper USA Base, Chromes, & Autos