Cool temperatures settled into the Midwest on Friday, prompting a single Friday game at Notre Dame into a Saturday twin-bill against North Carolina where top 2026 MLB Draft arms Jason DeCaro, Jack Radel and Ryan Lynch took the mound.

Game one of the series pitted Radel vs DeCaro. Radel wasn’t quite as good as he was the previous weekend against Clemson (College Crosscheck: Week Six) when he pitched a CG SHO on 118 pitches, but against UNC he battled without his best stuff. His fastball mostly sat 93-94 for strikes and he showed two at least average breaking pitches. On a hitter-friendly day he allowed just three runs in six innings with ten strikeouts against one walk. Radel remains a top 40 overall prospect.

Week Seven in South Bend also provided a much better look at two of Notre Dame’s top 2027s. Both are sophomore stars in the making. Switch-hitting shortstop Noah Coy wasted little time impacting the series with a triple his first trip to the plate in game one. On Sunday it was more immediate impact with a 411’ home run, off the bat at 104 mph. For the series, Coy finished 7-for-13 with six RBIs to raise his season average to .364. Not blessed with a ton of bat speed, Coy hits the fastball well, posting a .421 average against heaters to date this spring. He also controls the strike zone (20 BB vs 9 SO), rarely whiffs at pitches in the zone (6.5% – 84th percentile) and has increased his ISO from .065 as a freshman to .193 this spring. Already a smooth, dependable defender with an average arm, if Coy continues to grow into more power (max EV 105 mph), the top three rounds are a logical landing spot.

The other half of the Notre Dame future star tandem does not lack for power. Outfielder Bino Watters banged at the plate with a triple and home run during Saturday’s second game. He possesses plus raw power with a max EV this season of 112.1 mph. However, with this bat strength there’s also some length and below average bat speed (67.7 mph). As a result Watters struggles against velocity. He has a 21.9% Z-Whiff (16th percentile) against heaters and just a 3rd percentile Z-Whiff of 28.6% against fastballs 93+. He is in the process of making some mechanical adjustments with his lower half and the lefthanded slugger looked more in sync and shorter to the ball against the Tar Heels this past weekend than in Week Six vs Clemson. Defensively, Watters battled the high winds to play a strong leftfield throughout the UNC series.

NORTH CAROLINA

Jason DeCaro showed a swing/miss curve, an above average slider, a low-90s fastball and an effective changeup with good depth. His curve had great shape, spin (2900+ rpm) and velocity (77-78). It’s a plus pitch that he may want to use more often. His slider spun tight at 2700+ rpm and went hard left at 84-85 for more swing/miss. He showed both weapons while striking out the side in the second inning – he froze the lefthanded leadoff hitter on a curve, then disposed of two righthanded batters with sliders. DeCaro then flipped the switch in the fourth, freezing the first two batters with fastballs for strikeouts looking. His heater is high-spin (2500s), yet very true with nearly identical IVB and HB. There’s little margin for error and he must locate the pitch. It’s actually impressive that he’s had the success that he’s had with a 57% usage of a straight fastball. With that said, I can appreciate a young college pitcher challenging and pitching off his fastball instead of his offspeed. On the downside, there also hasn’t been any progression with his fastball velo since he entered college as a 17 year-old. DeCaro averaged 92.4 as a freshman, 92.6 as a sophomore and currently 92.4 as a 19 year-old junior.

The 6-foot-5 righthander repeats his delivery well, giving him a consistent release point (6-foot-3) on all of his pitches. His extension to the plate is below average at just 5-foot-4 and he’s so smooth there isn’t much deception. Although a 2.11 ERA through the first half of the season is excellent, pitching for maximum draft value will be partly achieved by increasing swing/miss. This may involve a shift to a breaking ball focused arsenal as his primary offerings and then elevating his heater at the letters for chase and whiff. Instead of his current usage of  57/12-19/12 for his FB/CH-SL/CB that has produced 36 strikeouts in 38.1 innings, a 40/10-25/25 FB/CH-SL/CB mix would likely increase whiff and help to boost his draft value. 

Overall, DeCaro’s projection rivals anyone else in college baseball who is draft eligible this summer as age is a huge factor in his favor – he doesn’t turn 20 years of age until mid-April.

Starting the second game of the double-header, sophomore-eligible Ryan Lynch struck out the side in the first inning, but not before allowing three runs as he was touched by Bino Watters for a 353’ oppo shot against a 96 mph heater. Lynch soon after settled and posted zeroes over the next three frames before exiting after 4.2 and 88 pitches. There’s much to like about the righthander’s stuff. His slider spins consistently in the 2700-3000 rpm range with an average movement of 2.5”/-13.4”. He throws both a sinker and four-seamer. His sinker is heavy at 94-95 and his four-seamer enters the zone with a VAA in the -2.10 to -2.90 range, which is elite. Making it even tougher to square is its low 4-foot-9 release height. Lynch also added a handful of changeups in the 86-88 mph range. It showed as a fringe (45-grade) quality pitch with the potential to become above average (55-grade). Overall he throws with more control for strikes than command of the zone and his current strike rate of 63.9% resides in the 69th percentile. Profiling at the next level as a reliever rather than starter, Lynch is still a safe bet to be selected within the top 75 overall picks.

Sophomore reliever Walker McDuffie pounded the zone with a late-action fastball/slider mix. His mid-80s slider is a nasty, plus pitch and his go-to offering. He’s thrown it on 47% of his pitches this spring and for good reason. It has produced a 47.6% whiff rate this spring. The righthander’s fastball sits 91-94 with good run to his armside and he’ll mix an effective 85-87 mph changeup. All of his pitches show late action and he controls them well. McDuffie has struck out 40 in 28 innings this spring as a high leverage, middle-innings reliever.

Several UNC hitters also had impressive weekends, led by leadoff man Jake Schaffner. A transfer from North Dakota State, Schaffner hasn’t missed a beat with his progression from the Summit League to the ACC. He controls the strike zone with just a 8.3% strikeout rate (11 SO in 133 plate appearances), doesn’t whiff much at pitches in the strike zone (6% Z-Whiff / 85th percentile) and has improving bat speed that produces gap power (15 XBH, 106.1 max EV). In the field the shortstop is a reliable defender with sure hands and uses momentum to create average arm strength across the diamond. He’s committed just two errors in 92 chances for a .978 FLD% this spring.

Stonybrook transfer Erik Paulsen has brought an immediate impact to the lineup with six home runs, 29 RBIs and an equal number of walks and strikeouts (29). The 6-foot-3, 215-pound slugger had a huge second game on Saturday with four hits in six at-bats that included two doubles, one struck 411’ off of a hanging changeup. The lefthanded hitter also lined an RBI single his first at-bat, staying through a slurve and barreling into right field. He showed average bat speed that has produced a max EV of 111 mph this spring. Paulsen is also an aggressive and instinctive defender. He showed good hands and is also very adept at popups. He has not committed an error this season.

Centerfielder Owen Hull provides protection in the five spot for Paulsen and cleanup hitter Macon Winslow. Hull, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound lefthanded hitter put together a strong 5-for-14 weekend, highlighted with 5 RBIs against the Irish in the second game on Saturday. He showed average range with a solid first step and mostly direct routes in the big field. He also showed below average arm strength from a lower than usual slot for an outfielder causing his throws to tail and decreased accuracy. Overall, he graded as a fringe defender. At the plate the lefthanded hitter operates with a small load and quiet setup. He produces close to average bat speed (scouts call it slider bat speed) and turns it into average raw power (111.2 max EV), but so far it hasn’t translated into over-the-fence production with only one home run to date. Hull also wants to pull the baseball and as a result he tends to get out in front of off speed pitches and struggles to consistently find the barrel – 7.3% (57th percentile) barrel rate per 6-4-3 Charts.

A top 150 college prospect entering the spring, junior second baseman Gavin Gallaher has not yet put together what was expected for his draft year. However, he showed some positive signs in the series, finishing the last two games with four total hits. Other than his present hit ability tool, the athletic Gallaher has shown average tools across the board throughout his collegiate career. However, his top tool of above average raw power has yet to reach beyond 108 mph this season after peaking at 112.6 mph last year.

CINCINNATI

On Friday in Cincinnati Nathan Taylor stole the show with seven innings of shutout baseball and nine strikeouts. The 6-foot-5 sophomore righthander pitches with emotion and has continued his development after successful freshman and sophomore campaigns. Here’s a quick excerpt from last season’s Scouting Trail- “There was some ride to his 93-95 mph heater with 17-19” IVB, but the pitch played below its velocity, despite 6-foot-10 inches of extension out front. Taylor also showed a 83-85 mph slider that flashed average and has produced a 43% Whiff rate (85th percentile) to date this season. He’s a top five round draft follow for 2026.”

Taylor has been a rotation workhorse for the Bearcats, posting EVERY weekend of his college career in Cincinnati – 38 starts and counting. On this most recent look his fastball touched 96 while sitting 93-94 mph. It’s a straight heater and doesn’t miss many barrels as opponents are hitting .314 against this pitch to date. To combat its true shape, Taylor has excellent extension out front of just over seven feet. He’s also begun experimenting with a sinker which is a great idea to further maximize his slider and get away a bit more from a straight heater that doesn’t have the greatest shape.

However, his primary pitch (51.8% usage rate) is an above average 83-86 mph slider. Opponents are batting just .113 against his primary pitch and are whiffing often – 42.3% / 85th percentile. Taylor’s third pitch is a firm changeup in the upper-80s. It’s a developing, work-in-progress pitch, but he did flash an average one with good armside run and fastball arm speed to Kansas’ leadoff hitter Jordan Bach in the fifth inning. Taylor will need to further develop this pitch as a weapon to combat LHHs who are hitting .342 against him this season compared to RHHs at .101. He hits a lot of barrels and the opponent's EV 90 is 106.1 (12th percentile).

Taylor’s batterymate is another top five round prospect. Catcher Jack Natili has a power arm and a power bat. The righthanded hitter belted a hanging slider his last at-bat on Friday, sending it 107 mph and 362’ to left field for his eighth home run of the season. His plus bat speed has averaged 72.2 mph this season and it produces above average raw power with a 110.9 max EV this spring after 112.4 in 2025. He does bury his hands at the plate and will get jammed. Behind the plate he’ll show 70-grade arm strength and 2.05 POP times. His tall 6-foot-3 frame and how he folds up behind the plate reminds me of former Wright State backstop and current Major Leaguer Sean Murphy.

And any look at Cincinnati wouldn’t be complete without mention of slugger Quinton Coats. The Bearcats’ first baseman banged six home runs with a .315 average in a part-time role as a freshman. Fast forward to this spring and he’s already slugged 20 through just half of the 2026 season. Producing an average of 74.1 mph of bat speed this year, Coats has the third-highest average bat speed in D1 college baseball to date this spring. Much more importantly is how he’s able to use that tool in the game. Entering Friday’s contest against Kansas, Coats had sweet-spotted 19 baseballs in excess of 110 mph. And, in his first at-bat he made it an even 20 with a one-hopper right at the shortstop. His max EV this season is 115.3 mph.

Coats has struck out in 27% of his plate appearances this season, but he’s not your typical big-swinging slugger. He showed a disciplined selective-aggressive approach at the plate, laying off borderline sliders away. During his third at-bat, he hung with a two-strike slider and laced it 103 mph for a single the other way. At this point in the draft process for 2027, he’s a no-doubt day one prospect.

Derrick Pitts is another underclassman for the Bearcasts with top five round potential. His righthanded swing lacks a bit in regards to bat speed, but he has great balance and maximizes what he has. Currently batting .366 this season, he turned around a two-strike curve for a single up the middle his first at-bat — 103 mph off the bat and laced another single through the left side during his second trip to the plate. His top EV this season is 107.4. Defensively, in right field he’s a plus defender with a plus arm. He has not committed an error in 71 chances.

Kansas

Less than a year after batting .353 with 21 doubles, 16 home runs and more walks (56) than strikeouts (44), Brady Ballinger has struggled to a .291 average with a power outage of just 11 XBH in his first 28 games for a .191 ISO. Of even more concern, his strikeout rate has risen from 15% to 19% season over season. Moving from first base to left field this spring, the lefthanded hitter shows a big leg lift at the plate and twists into an awkward starting position to launch his swing. It’s not a natural look for someone who was highly regarded as a pure hitter last spring. His bat speed is fringe at 68.3 mph, but he turns it into above average power with a 112 mph max EV to date this season. He’s also finding the barrel against the fastball at a 41.2% rate (100th percentile) and his barrel rate against all pitches is also elite at 26.2% (99th).

It was a breakout outing for Frenchman Mathis Nayral on Saturday. A former youth soccer player for the French National team, Nayral attended Cochise JC, Ariz. before arriving in Lawrence this past fall. Still very projectable at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds with a loose arm, repeatable delivery and high spin stuff, Nayral dominated the Bearcats. He struck out the side in the second and third innings en route to 11 over seven. The righthander’s best pitch was an above average 81-82 mph changeup and there was also good shape and action to his same speed slider that spun over 2800 at times. He’ll need a little more juice to his 91-93 mph fastball, but it was an overall intriguing look at one who could become a top ten round prospect.