West Lafayette, Ind. – A beautiful weekend of weather in early March wasn’t the only highlight of the Purdue vs Oregon Big Ten opening series, but it did make for a much more enjoyable weekend of scouting.

Friday’s contest featured a strong start on the mound by Will Sanford for the Ducks, while senior DH Dominic Hellman provided the offensive punch for Oregon. Junior third baseman Sam Flores had a big day at the plate for the Boilers, but the Ducks prevailed 8-7.

On Saturday it was a pitcher’s duel between Collin Clarke for Oregon and five arms led by starter Zach Erdman for Purdue. In the end it was a 2-1 Purdue win to even the series.

Oregon’s bats awoke on Sunday to seal the series win for the Ducks who pounded out 15 runs on 20 hits. The offensive onslaught was led by senior third baseman Drew Smith and a stellar start on the mound by Cal Scolari.

Oregon

Scolari showed as the top prospect for the Ducks. He’s a redshirt sophomore and 2026 draft-eligible who transferred from San Diego and was named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year last season. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Scolari is a good athlete with a loose arm. His other starter-type traits include two above average pitches for strikes, a repeatable delivery with a loose, high leg lift and above average extension out front (6-foot-6 for Scolari with 6-foot-2 the MLB fastball average). His fastball touched 97 and sat 94-95 for much of his five inning, eight strikeout start on 84 pitches on a hitter’s day. And it’s just not a garden variety heater. It showed riding life and some swing-throughs at the top of the zone and had good carry, holding its plane down in the zone which resulted in some called third strikes. His 78-81 mph downer curveball is an even better pitch with up to -15” IVB depth and spin rates into the 2600s rpm. It’s a pitch he threw to both sides of the plate with success. He also flashed a promising 86-87 mph cutter/slider. Scolari looks to be building into another Friday option for a spot that’s already a strength for Oregon with Sanford as the current Ducks’ ace. At this point the industry has Scolari evaluated around the fifth round, but I saw a higher round prospect on my look. Time will tell what he turns out to be, but Scolari impressed during week four.

Coming into the season Maddox Molony was regarded as the top Oregon prospect for the 2026 draft, but it was not the best weekend series to evaluate the Ducks’ shortstop in the batter’s box. The 6-foot-2, 200 pound righthander spun off most everything. His bat path was in/out of the zone. As a result, lots of popups, weak ground balls including some cappers. He was bumped down in the lineup on Sunday but continued on the struggle bus, ending the series 2-for-13 with six strikeouts. Defensively, he was strong as usual showing plus arm strength, sure hands and athletic actions. As a defense-first shortstop from a major conference he’s a top five round pick. How much above that area will be determined by his bat, in particular his 90th percentile EV.

Drew Smith and Dominic Hellman led the weekend’s offensive attack. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Hellman showed man-strength power with consistent EVs in excess of 100 mph throughout the series. He currently “only” has four home runs on the season, but soon his near-misses should lessen and 20-plus round-trippers are very reasonable. His career best max EV is 119.8 mph (80-grade raw power on the pro scale) and he also belted one 115.1 mph earlier this spring against George Mason. Oregon’s hottest hitting prospect eligible for 2026 was Smith who barreled ball after ball resulting in a 7-for-11 series that included a 4-for-4, four RBIs Sunday finale. Smith has shown average bat speed and average raw power with a 110.3 mph max EV already this spring. He’s currently batting .511 with five home runs and 23 RBIs.

Sophomore Will Sanford took the ball in the series’ opener. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound righthander tossed five innings and struck out eight. He fired 92-94 mph fastballs (T96) with a compact arm path with a high three-quarters release point. He’s largely “old-fashioned”, pitching mainly with his fastball, but his high-spinning (2800 rpm) up/down breaker at 75-77 mph with -15” IVB depth is also a weapon. Sanford currently ranks No. 43 on our recently released 2027 top college prospects and leads the Oregon pitching staff with a 0.92 ERA in 19.2 innings this spring.

On Saturday Collin Clarke pitched an eight inning complete game with nine strikeouts. He’s a good athlete who works extremely quickly and efficiently. The junior righthander threw 109 pitches, 80 for strikes with a best pitch 82-83 mph changeup and a straighter 89-91 mph fastball that he located throughout.

2026 draft-eligible sophomore catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus hit a grand slam (109 EV) and showed above average arm strength on Friday. There’s some stiffness to the 6-foot-4, 215-pounders game, but also average raw power and above average arm strength which are coveted tools for catching prospects. He’s not a top ten round prospect at this point in the process, but does have the tools and talent to rise to that level.

It hasn’t taken much time for true freshman Angel Laya to adjust to college pitching. The Ducks’ rightfielder is off to a .370/.443/.778 with six home runs to start this season. His 353’ blast to deep right right on Sunday knocked out Boilers’ starter Jarvis Evans and allowed Oregon to get into Purdue’s bullpen in the third inning. He finished Sunday’s game 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. The 6-foot-3, 205 pound lefthanded hitter has obvious developing power to go along with a strong arm and plus athleticism. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on for the 2028 draft.

Purdue

Texas Tech transfer Zach Erdman impressed on Saturday against a potent Oregon lineup. The lefthander dealt for five shutout innings, striking out seven. He’s a loose, three-quarter slot tosser with a best pitch slurvey 75-79 mph breaking ball which induced a ton of chase and whiff. His fastball sat 87-89 and also mixed a firm 82-83 mph changeup.

Sam Flores stood out as the Boilers’ top power hitter with two home runs (one inside-the-park) and a double in the series. The lefthanded hitting third baseman also made a nice play on a slow roller on Friday.

Freshman shortstop Westin Boyle was limited to just one hit over the series, but has been a spark atop the Boilers’ lineup. The righthanded hitter currently leads the club in average at .386 and RBIs (16). Standing 6-foot-3, 180 pounds there’s plenty of projection to his frame to go along with strong athleticism and is one to watch develop for the 2028 draft.

Brandon Rogers is a tremendous athlete with speed and range to burn in center field. He made all the plays from gap-to-gap throughout the series, including a highlight dive onto the warning track. Rogers is also third on the team in batting average at .333 to date this spring.

Rogers was exceptional all series in the big field, covering gap to gap, including this amazing catch. https://t.co/30PGeLjCsZ

— David Seifert (@DSeifertD1PBR) March 8, 2026