Florida State

The Seminoles are led on the mound by a trio of lefthanders who are all from the same Florida high school. Tampa Jesuit is a baseball factory that has produced over a dozen Major Leaguers, including Lou Piniella in the 1960s and most recently Lance McCullers, who was drafted in 2012.

FSU ace Jamie Arnold was at his finest against Louisville. He struck out two of the first three hitters he faced and rolled from there. At the end of his day the lefthander struck out 11 and walked one in 7.2 innings on 101 pitches, 72 for strikes. He threw the lowest percentage of fastballs in this start than any other outing this spring and went to a three-ball count just twice. Arnold also held his velocity throughout, still sitting 95 in the seventh. He fired four pitches to the plate from the same 4-foot-6 release height. He can ride it or sink it and his lively fastball topped at 96 while living 93-94. Both his slider (84-86) and cutter (88-90) were plus pitches, and his split change had late dive and some fade at 85-86. It’s an arsenal that has produced 86th percentile swing/miss rates both in the zone (Z-Whiff%) and overall (Whiff%) and is led by a 96th percentile Z-Whiff slider and 92nd percentile Whiff changeup.

Arnold draws some Chris Sale comparisons, especially for the low release height, and is the current favorite to become the first college player to be selected in this year’s draft. The Los Angeles Angels have a strong history of selecting near Major League ready talent the past several years (Christian Moore, Ryan Johnson, Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto, Ben Joyce, Reid Detmers) and with the second pick in this year’s draft, Arnold could move quickly off the board to the Halos.

Saturday starter Joey Volini is a high pitchability, high efficiency lefthander with four pitches that he mixes effectively. The best of the bunch is a high-spin curve in the upper-70s with spin into the 2800s. It’s his chief putaway weapon. Volini looked gassed after just the first two innings, but battled through five-plus. He threw 85 pitches, 50 for strikes. As a fourth-year junior he’s already 22 years of age, but his current performance and pitchability will likely slot him into the top five rounds. Volini currently leads the Seminoles with eight wins and 75 strikeouts in 57.2 innings pitched.

Sophomore Wes Mendes took the hill for the series finale on Sunday. The 6-foot-1 lefthander has had an up/down 2025 season to date, but he’s a top round prospect for 2026. Scattered command of his secondary pitches has been his main weakness. It contributes to an overall strike rate in the 54th percentile (61.4%), despite a strong 80th percentile fastball strike rate of 66.1%. He’s walked 28 in 53 innings, but partially makes up for it with 67 strikeouts. Mendes will touch 95 with his fastball and has averaged 91.9 mph this season. He throws three offspeed pitches in a mid-70s curve, low-80s slider and 78-79 mph changeup with equal use between the slider and changeup as his main two secondaries. His change-of-pace leads all of his pitches with a 98th percentile swing/miss rate of 55.6%.

The Seminoles are also loaded with prospects in the batter’s box. Shortstop Alex Lodise is well-rounded with no glaring weakness. The 6-foot-1, 195 pound righthanded hitter hits for both average and power. He squared up four balls in excess of 100 mph during Friday’s game alone, led by a 107 mph, 437’ home run. His max EV this spring is 113 mph – plus on the pro scale. He also ran a 4.27 down the line on an infield single in the first inning on Friday evening and a 4.35 on a less than hard-90 on Saturday. For the season Lodise leads the Seminoles in nearly every offensive category including a .436 batting average, .812 SLG, 16 doubles and is second in home runs with 16. His batting average places him third in the country.

The only concern with Lodise in the batter’s box is his strikeout rate (18.4%) which hovers around the 20% red flag area. It’s much influenced by a 21% chase rate of the slider which has led to a 25% strikeout rate when facing a slider with two strikes. On the positive side, his strikeout rate is not due to a high in-zone whiff rate on any pitch. Defensively, Lodise grades out as a future average ML shortstop with above average arm strength. Currently at the college level, he’s an above average defender who has a bit better than average range. Overall, Lodise has risen from a day two prospect in the preseason to one who now looks bound to be selected in the top 30 overall picks.

Lodise’s partner up the middle is second baseman Drew Faurot. A switch-hitter who got off to a hot start in 2025, Faurot showed his backside pop from the right side on a 105 mph EV opposite field home run in his first at-bat of the Louisville series.

At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Faurot has more pop and just a better overall everything from the right side with an aggressive lower half that can cause him to rush his swing and become steep in/out of the hitting zone. However, when he’s on-time and in-sync he can stay behind the baseball, rotate to it and punish it the opposite way, just as he did with his home run. From the left side it’s a much less consistent swing with an uphill and sweepy path oftentimes. And it’s also the type of swing that can get locked in and become red hot in short bursts. He pounds the fastball at a .408 clip from the left side, but his struggles are against off speed, batting .275 vs changeups, .143 vs sliders and .182 vs curveballs. Defensively, Faurot showed a big league quick DP pivot with plenty of arm strength. His range is on the fringy side, but has the tools to become a solid average defender at the professional level. Faurot slots into the fourth-to-fifth round whose ML role could become that of a quality utility player.

Centerfielder Max Williams possesses both bat speed and strength which has produced a max EV of 115 (65-grade) mph this season. The lefthanded slugger produces this power from a spread and squatty stance. His swing doesn’t have the greatest rhythm and is certainly not a natural swing. Scouts aren’t thrilled with how he does it, but it works for him. He regularly puts barrel to ball (.325 average) and doesn’t have a statistical weakness against any specific pitch type, batting .400 against changeups, .335 vs breaking stuff and .313 vs fastballs. But he does chase too much. His 46.7% chase rate of the curve is in the 0th percentile (D1 average is 18.9%) and he’s super aggressive against pitches in the zone with a 91st percentile Z-Swing (Total swings on pitches inside the zone / Total pitches inside the zone). As a result, he does not walk much (20th percentile 8.0% BB rate). Williams also leads the Seminoles in home runs with 17 which is tied for 13th in the nation with several others. Defensively, the lefthanded thrower is an above average defender with above average range. He also throws above average giving his toolset a strong chance to remain in centerfield at the pro level. Williams is likely to be selected in the back half of day one (picks No. 75-107).

Gage Harrelson has quickly flipped the trajectory of his college career and his draft value in 2025 after relocating from Lubbock to Tallahassee. The 6-foot-3 slender-bodied outfielder has a well-rounded toolset with average to slightly above average tools across the board. He has in-game power with 13 XBHs this season and a 109 mph max EV. As the leadoff hitter for the Seminoles he walked four times in game two of the Louisville series and his current .479 OBP is second on the team. Defensively, he’s above average overall with slightly above average arm strength that shows solid accuracy to the bases. Harrelson slots into the 5th-7th rounds.

Arkansas

Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy was locked in all weekend against Texas, crushing balls to all fields which showcased his plus pop to the opposite field. During each of his first two at-bats during the series’ opening game, Aloy just missed a pair of home runs by a couple feet each. One was a flyout to the wall, the other a double off of it. His double was pasted 103.7 mph to right centerfield off a Ruger Riojas splitter and his flyout sailed 347’ with a 98 mph EV. His laser show continued before Texas began to pitch even more carefully to him with some unintentional, intentional walks. In game three, Aloy struck again, hammering a fastball 110 mph for a single, before adding another single on a 96 mph line drive. He finished the series 5-for-10 with four walks and two RBIs. Just as he’s done all season, Aloy hammers all pitches thrown his way, especially the fastball which he’s hit at a .444 clip and slugged .744 this season. He’s also greatly decreased the chase in his game, lowering his all pitch chase rate from 31.1% last season to 24.4% this year. The greatest improvement has been a decrease from 27.7% to 14.9% against the changeup. His all pitch Whiff% has also fallen from 29.4% to 25.1% and his in-zone Whiff% down 22.4% to 19.9%. In other words, he’s trending up with much better discipline at the plate.

Another positive trend with Aloy’s development is on the dirt. A year ago, most scouts forecasted a move to second base in pro ball. However, players improve, and especially those with Aloy’s work ethic and aptitude. Although he did commit his fourth error of the year on a throw after charging a slow roller during Friday’s game, he’s a much improved defender this season. With just four errors in 171 chances, good for a FLD% of .977, he shows above average range with a plus arm. His DP turn was also impressive with a super-quick transfer against the Longhorns. Making improvements to every area of his game, Aloy is now slam dunk for the first round, and the top 20 overall picks is not out of the question.

Another Razorback riser is outfielder Charles Davalan. The sophomore-eligible has steadily moved up draft lists all spring, much buoyed by his top of the scale bat-to-ball skills: he makes contact 93.8% of the time when he swings at pitches in the strike zone. His crouched, hunched hitting setup bears some resemblance to that of the late Lenny Dykstra. Showing power (13 HR, 111.5 mph max EV this season) and elite level contact skills with just a 7.9% strikeout rate, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound lefthanded hitter has exploded from top five round draft follow this past fall to a very good bet to become a second round pick. Defensively, he played 33 games of second base last season at Florida Gulf Coast then began his transition to the outfield in Cape Cod last summer. He continued to roam the grass last fall before beginning this spring season in centerfield, but has now shifted to left where he shows near average arm strength and sure hands. He hasn’t committed an error in 88 chances this spring.

Heating back up after several weeks on the midseason struggle bus, Brent Iredale laced a 104 mph line drive double off a Riojas first-pitch cutter in the second inning. He then flew out on a slider that left his bat 103.3 mph. On Friday he lifted a second inning home run (12th of the season) that was struck at a 45 degree launch angle and 102 mph. It backspun for days and floated out of the park. He was also glued to Longhorns’ game two starter Luke Harrison’s curveball, which he hit hard to left for a 103 mph line out. Overall, Iredale connected on pitches with an EV over 99 mph five times during the three-game set. He was also an on-base machine, reaching base nine times in 14 plate appearances. The Australian native will likely be selected in the top five rounds.

The Razorbacks were also impressive on the mound during their three-game sweep of Texas. Zach Root set the tone in the opener with eight shutout innings. He allowed just two hits, two walks and struck out 11. In the early innings he induced numerous swing/misses via his changeup for strikeouts, and then in the middle innings he froze the Longhorns for called thirds with his fastball as they looked for soft away. He relied mostly on his sinker, slider and changeup. He throws all two-seamers, but when elevated to his glove side the pitch can give four-seam carry action. He did not have to use his cutter much since he throws the pitch mostly to lefthanded hitters and Texas had just two in the lineup.

Root draws comparisons to Max Fried as a bat-misser and run-preventer with a multi-pitch mix. This arsenal is led by his changeup as the greatest swing/miss pitch, especially to righthanded hitters against whom it has a 43.2% Whiff and a .130 batting average against. Not the most projectable at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds Root has raised his average fastball velo to 92.8 (from 92.1) this season and touched 97 on his 98th pitch against Texas. With continued stuff and performance similar to his latest outing, expect Root to start receiving consideration towards the back of the first round. He’s a strike-throwing, quick to the big leagues lefthander.

Gage Wood was absolutely electric during his four inning, 57 pitch start on Friday. The 6-foot, 205-pound righthander looked fully recovered from early season shoulder issues that sidelined him for seven weeks. The ball came easy out of his hand with great carry to the plate. Wood struck out five of the first six, and it was “on” from there. He repeated a plus hammer at 83-86 (2600-2700 rpm, 17-20” Vertical Break) and then elevated an electric riding fastball at 96-98 mph with spin in the 2200 rpm range. It was near unhittable stuff with plus command. From a 5-foot-4 release height he generates 17-19” of IVB which is good, but even better is his Vertical Approach Angle; the angle at which the ball approaches home plate from the pitcher's release point. It’s a key metric in pitch analysis, as it influences how a batter perceives the pitch. Wood has one of the lowest VAA’s in college baseball at -3.78 on average. And when located in the upper third of the zone it’s even more deadly at -3.34. For reference, anything closer to zero from -4.05 is considered an elite VAA. Overall, the pitch metrics of his stuff is comparable to Jack Leiter, the second overall pick in 2021. Wood won’t go that tall, but if his past medicals check out, it won’t be long before he hears his name called on day one.

Righthander Aiden Jimenez is another likely day one pick for the Hogs. He combines command and stuff with his fastball touching 96 and averaging 93-94 against Texas. He also mixed an 88-89 cutter and an 82-84 mph out-pitch slider. Opponents are hitting just .056 against his slider this season. Jimenez can also subtract with a firm 88-89 mph changeup, but did not on this look. For the season he’s posted a 5-1 record with a 1.76 ERA in 30.2 innings. He has struck out 31 against just four walks. Lefty Landon Beidelschies, has been inconsistent throughout the season with his stuff and performance. One time it’s 92-96 mph, the next it can be 91-93. During his game three start on Saturday he sat 90-94 with an 81-84 slider and 85-87 changeup. Although he attacks with his heater, Beidelschies must get his changeup going to slow bats. It’s a pitch that has developed nicely this season and has become a key to his success. A high-level competitor, Beidelschies is likely to be selected in the 4th-to-6th round. Christian Foutch falls into that same range. The righthander started slowly this season, but has made a jump the past few weeks. Back to throwing exclusively a four-seam fastball, he went from a super sinker to a flat approach angle with his riding heater. His fastball regularly touches 100 and has averaged 97.8 mph this spring. His splitter remains a plus pitch, but the command needs to be there for it to grade at that level in the present. A plus pitch last fall during my look, his cutter hasn’t been there this spring and the usage has dropped to just  7%, making Foutch mostly a two-pitch reliever.

The Razorbacks also have a draft sleeper in righthander Ben Bybee. Due to the high end talent on the staff, Bybee doesn’t pile up the innings and get the looks equivalent to his talent, but he’s a strike-thrower (66.5% strike rate) who attacks with a four pitch mix of a fastball, slider, curve and changeup. His fastball has averaged 93.4 mph this season with a 99th percentile strike rate of 72.1%. Although he struggled against Texas allowing three runs in one inning of work, Bybee is a 5th-7th round talent and could be a mid-round steal this summer.

Texas

The Longhorns were previously featured in Week Two of the Scouting Trail, but it’s a long season and things change. They’ve ascended to No. 1 in the team rankings with less big-time prospects for the 2025 draft than anyone and their top two have been in/out of the medical tent. Friday night ace lefthander Jared Spencer will remain on the sidelines for the remainder of the season after recent shoulder surgery. Prior to, he had shown the stuff (FB up to 98 with a wipeout sweeper) and performance (4-1, 3.27 ERA, 66 SO, 52.1 IP) to be selected during day one. He was steadily rising towards the first 40 overall picks. Five-tool outfielder Max Belyeu is in the same situation as a day one talent who is now sidelined by injury. Health-wise he’s had a rough 2025 to date as he recovered from mono early in the season and is now out with a hand injury. Good news is that he could return for postseason play. Regardless, he still projects to be selected with the top 35 overall picks.

Shortstop Jalin Flores looked improved at the plate in comparison to opening weekend at Globe Life Field. He squared up the baseball with multiple exit velocities greater than 100 mph, but finished the three-game set 2-for-13. Entering the series he had struggled to consistently hit the fastball. Veteran scouts use the terms “slider bat speed” and “has to cheat to get to the fastball” to describe his swing. It’s more strength and leverage-based than whistling the pole through the zone with bat speed. To date this season he has destroyed the slider at a .400 clip and a .956 SLG%, but has chased breakers too often leading his greatest weakness of a 21.5% strikeout rate. However, during this series the fastball data (.228 batting average against this season) didn’t tell the whole story. Flores squared up a 92 mph sinking fastball from Zach Root for a 103.9 mph EV groundout in game one. He smoked another groundout, this one 105.5 mph EV off an Aiden Jimenez 94 mph sinker in game two. Flores then lined out (100.5 mph EV) against a 95 mph fastball from Dylan Carter and homered 361’ (96 mph EV) against a 98 mph heater off Christian Foutch in game three. All in all, his bat can be a mixed bag, but offers enticing upside if the potential is tapped and turned into greater consistent contact. Defensively, Flores has made strides to the point where many believe he will be able to remain at shortstop at the pro level. He’s a confident defender with plenty of arm strength (plus) to make the throw on any ball that his range allows. Flores projects to become a late pick on day one in the third round or early on day two.

The emergence of Ruger Riojas and Rylan Galvan has been two primary reasons for the Longhorns’ success. Galvan put Texas on the board for the first time in the series during the fourth inning of game two with a home run. He turned around a 96 mph Gage Wood heater 366’ to left field for a solo shot. He has consistently squared up heaters all spring (.406 average / .986 SLG%), but like Flores, Galvan’s strikeout rate of 24% is concerning. Unlike Flores, Galvan’s swing/miss is more in the zone than chase, which isn’t ideal. His all pitch in-zone swing/miss (Z-Whiff) is 24.5% which places it in the 21st percentile. It’s impacted the most by a 2nd percentile rate of 45.8% vs changeups. Despite the swing/miss shortcomings, catchers are given the greatest latitude in the batter’s box, especially ones with above average arm strength, a clean transfer and solid receiving skills. These defensive skills, combined with his big-time makeup and leadership of the Longhorns’ pitching staff provide a 5th-to-6th round floor. However, he’s likely to go taller since college catchers have draft day helium year in and year out of the draft.

Without the slightest blip, Riojas moved from the back end of the bullpen to now fill Spencer’s spot as the ace of the weekend rotation. Riojas was lights out against LSU during week six as the Sunday starter, sitting 93-94 and up 96, while striking out six in 5.2 innings. He wasn’t that guy against the Razorbacks, outside of the first inning when he retired the side in order. He surrendered eight batted balls of 100+ mph or better in 3.2 innings (four alone in the second inning). His velocity was down, topping at 94. Much may have been due to the short rest between innings as Zach Root was quickly chewing through the Longhorn lineup with 11-pitch innings. When it was time for his exit, Riojas allowed nine runs on seven hits and one walk. Some pitchers are max effort, but Riojas is max feel. His pitch assortment and arm angle variance is amazing. In addition to his fastball, Riojas controls a cutter, slider, curve and will also drop slot for a sweeper. If that isn’t enough, he also entertains with a 53-56 mph Eephus. His most effective pitches have been his fastball that has averaged 93 mph this season with a 98th percentile chase rate of 31.7% and his cutter that boast similar chase rates. Not only is Riojas a talented pitcher with a high level of performance throughout his college career, he’s now a 6th-to-8th round prospect for this summer’s draft.

One final Texas arm that caught my attention was reliever Cody Howard. The junior righthander has only pitched 11 innings this spring, but he ran his fastball into the 93-96 mph range with an 89 mph cutter in relief of Riojas. Howard allowed just one hit in 3.1 innings with three strikeouts on 53 total pitches.