Heading into the 2026 season, Coastal Carolina’s ace Cam Flukey was our top mid-major prospect and UC Santa Barbara’s Jackson Flora was a split-the-hairs second. Both were well-known talents and potential top half of the first round picks. Flukey made one start on opening day, striking out seven in 5.1 innings, but went down with a rib cage stress reaction and has been out of service since. Flora was lights out in his first start of the spring, leveled a bit in his next few appearances and recently put together a scoreless streak of 38.2 innings. He’s currently 6-0 with a 0.63 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 57 innings. The 6-foot-5 righthander is an athletic mover with a quick arm. His best pitch is a 70-grade changeup in the upper-80s with big bottom. It’s a freeze-em dropper that starts up in the zone then dives into the zone for repeated called strikes. He can also throw it into and then below the zone for chase. He’s thrown this pitch 23.4% of the time and it has produced a 32.5% chase rate along with a 47.1% whiff. Flora’s eye-popping statistical performance this season has been buoyed by his improved ability to pitch which is much due to throwing his change-of-pace right on right.

His fastball command of a lively 95-98 mph heater is more control than spotting to a precise location. It spins in the 2500-2600 rpm range and is released with above average, 6-foot-3 extension out front. On the latest look against UC San Diego this past Friday, Flora primarily pitched off his secondary offerings. And he has a lot of them. In addition to the elite changeup, he’ll also mix a 90-91 cutter, an 87-88 slider and a 79-84 sweeper that has 20-22” of horizontal break. His strike rate of all pitches is 64.4% (72nd percentile). He’s a no-doubt first round pick.

Opposing Flora on Friday afternoon for UC San Diego was the quick-rising Steele Murdock. He punched out 17 Gauchos without a walk and stuff-wise was very similar to a look last summer in the Cape – “A thick, strong 6-foot-2, 215-pounder with a big arm, Murdock attacked at 94-96 and bumped 97 with solid arm-side life. He used a sharp 83-85 mph slider with good tilt as the putaway pitch on two of his three strikeouts over two innings of work, and he manipulated the shape and depth on the pitch, making it look more like a power curveball with downer action at times. At other times, it had big lateral tilt, as evidenced by up to 22 inches of horizontal break. The slider was a putaway pitch, generating a 45% whiff rate. He also flashed a changeup at 84, but he used it very sparingly, just 3% of the time. Murdock has some effort in his delivery and has a reliever-ish look, but it’s a big-time power arm with shutdown closer potential for the Tritons.”

Against UC Santa Barbara there was less effort to his operation compared to what I saw during the Cape Cod All-Star game. What also stood out was 6-foot-7 extension out front on his high-spin fastball (2500-2600+ rpm), allowing it to play up. He also induced repeated chase and whiff with a dominant 70-grade breaking pitch. Despite his underwhelming season statistics to date (6.18 ERA, 43.2 IP, 40 H, 22 BB, 11 HBP, 68 SO), the redshirt sophomore jumps into the potential starter bucket. He’s a durable-bodied, high ceiling righthander with a difference-making breaking ball and upper-90s velo which places him into the top four-to-five round conversation.

In addition to those three righthanders, several others have emerged this spring as potential top five round picks from mid-majors. Leading the race are potential top three round talents Andrew Williamson (Central Florida), Ben Blair (Liberty) and Missouri State centerfielder Caden Bogenpohl who I broke down in Week Six College Crosschecker.

Williamson has been streaky at times, but solid overall this spring. The 6-foot, 195-pound lefthanded hitter is currently slashing .324/.438/.672 and combines a little bit of everything at the plate with above average power (112.1 mph max EV) and solid contact rates. The rightfielder is also an above average defender with average (pro scale) arm strength. He’s committed just three errors in three seasons with 253 total chances (.988 FLD%).

Before Blair’s most recent start against Jacksonville State where he allowed seven runs on nine hits in six innings, the Liberty righthander had been unreal this spring. The industry talk was the second-to-third round and D1 Baseball's Joe Healy was in the house on the PxP to see the Flames’ ace. Here’s what he wrote — “Though Blair endured arguably his worst outing of the season, he showed the potential that has scouts flocking to Lynchburg. He ran his fastball up to 98 mph, a season-high velocity, and showed two putaway offspeed offerings, a short cutter at 86-89 mph that he often uses to either backdoor lefthanded hitters for looking strikes or slip under the barrel of righthanded hitters for swings and misses and a slider with significant sweep at 80-83 mph that he buries. He'll also show a changeup at 84-87 mph, but that's a distant fourth pitch at present.”

Blair’s high effort delivery to a low three-quarter slot (5-foot release height) adds to his deception and creates a different look. He does rush his lower half during his delivery, but a quick arm and lower release point allow him to consistently be on time. He’s walked only five in 55.1 innings this season to go along with 74 strikeouts. Blair is also a good athlete and fields his position well. He made a really nice play on a well-placed bunt in the third, as well as a routine PFP bunt in the 5th. Both were made to look easy and under control at all times. Regardless of his most recent outing, Blair profiles to become a quick mover in a pro relief role, but the second round where some clubs had him evaluated is too tall for me. I’m more comfortable in the fourth. Blair is more athletic, but his delivery, release point and FB/SL/CTR mix reminds of former Major Leaguer Ben Heller, a late round overachieving pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2013.

Two-way talent Evan Dempsey (Florida Gulf Coast) is regarded as a top four-to-five round talent as a pitcher. As is Ethan Norby (East Carolina) and I also like Max Bayles (Santa Clara) in this range, a couple rounds higher than the industry. Dempsey has pro value as a hitter and pitcher, but projects more on the mound with a best-pitch high-riding fastball that gets up to 95 mph and enters the zone with a plus VAA of -4.20 degrees. He also stuffs the zone with his heater for a 71.9% strike rate (99th percentile) and its 38.5% Whiff rate is 100th percentile. Dempsey’s curve is also a weapon with spin rates into the 3100s. The righthander has struck out 77 in 54.2 innings this season while limiting opponents to a .189 batting average.

Norby is one of the most competitive pitchers in college baseball. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound lefty has struck out 65 in 46 innings with a best-pitch 3000+ rpm slider (97th percentile Whiff) that averages nearly 17” of horizontal movement. He also attacks with a fastball that has averaged 91.5 mph this spring. There’s not a ton of ceiling to his game, but his “what you see is what you get” does have top five round value.

Santa Clara’s Friday night ace features a dominant slider and a fastball in the low-90s. Bayles has struck out 69 in 43.2 innings for the Broncos, while limiting opponents to a .186 batting average. Like Norby, Bayles’ slider is his best pitch with spin in the 2800 rpm range and a 98th percentile Whiff rate of 54.2%.

Sam Houston State’s Ryan Peterson is also intriguing. With high level control (71% strike rate) of a fastball that averages over 93 mph, he also spins an 80 mph and 3000+ rpm curve. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound righthander has struck out 73 in 55.2 innings this season.

UCSB’s Saturday starter, Nathan Aceves is also receiving top ten round attention, much due to a fastball that is averaging 93.5 mph and a top shelf mid-80s changeup with big bottom similar to his teammate, Flora.

Two additional mid-major power arms with a fastball that drives their draft profile include Cody Brasch (Louisiana) and Eric Nachtsheim (McNeese State). Brasch has touched 98 this season and follows his heater with a deep-breaking mid-80s slider. The 6-foot-3, 215 pound junior righthander has dominated out of the pen with five saves and 47 strikeouts in 33 innings. Nachtsheim has punched out even more with 76 in 48.2 innings as a swing arm for the Cowboys. He has a bit less heat than Brasch, topping at 96 and averaging 93, but with 6-foot-9 inches of extension and good ride of 20” IVB, the heater plays up. He also mixes a pair of breaking balls and an effective changeup.

Mercer’s Michael Graziano batted just .239 as a sophomore last season for the Bears with a 29.5% strikeout rate. To say he’s adjusted since is a vast understatement. Currently sizzling along with a .382/.480/.667 slash and a greatly reduced 15% strikeout rate, the centerfielder thrives from the leadoff spot. This past Saturday he hit the first pitch of the game for his fifth home run of the season and added two more knocks for a 3-for-5 day at the plate. His swing is a bit “armsy” and upright – he could get into the ground with his lower half a bit more — but he’s long through the hitting zone. This operation has produced a 99th percentile barrel rate of 25% and above average raw power (111.8 max EV) with fringe average bat speed of 68.5 mph. The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket is also a good athlete, standing 6-foot-3, 215 pounds.

Reece Moroney (Rhode Island) and Kyle Morrison (Southern Miss) are two mid-major middle infielders drawing some attention for their high level performance. Moroney is currently batting .393 and has shown good raw power with a 112.4 max EV, but has struggled to make consistent hard contact, posting just a 42nd percentile barrel rate of 4.1%. He’s regarded as a sure-handed defender (three errors in 143 chances) with fringe-average arm strength at shortstop. The lefthanded hitting Morrison has average bat speed (69.3 mph), fair pop (108.3 max EV) and finds the barrel at a 22.2% rate (98th percentile). He’s currently hitting .382 in Sun Belt Conference play and .336 with 11 home runs overall.

From the Missouri Valley Conference a few notable prospects include Michael Addari a righthander from Illinois State who pitches at 92-95 with a high-spin 80 mph sweeper that overwhelms same-sided hitters. He’s posted a 1.71 season ERA which leads the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Valley also boasts centerfielder Carter Beck from Indiana State who is arguably the top position prospect in the conference this season, along with another top talent in Brayden Bakes (Illinois State). Beck has average bat speed of 69.7 mph and plus raw power with a 114.8 max EV. He currently leads the Sycamores with a .354 average and is tied for third in the Valley in home runs (9).

Bakes is second in the MVC in batting average (.364) and home runs (10). He controls the strike zone with more walks than strikeouts, has a max EV of 111.2, a 99th percentile Barrel rate of 22.5% and leads the Redbirds with 22 XBHs.