MLB Draft: NCAA Regionals Friday Recap

June 8, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; TCU Horned Frogs pitcher Brandon Finnegan (29) against the UCLA Bruins during the Los Angeles super regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

I will be breaking down each day’s action in the NCAA baseball tournament, highlighting MLB Draft prospects. I will start by breaking down the players that I have projected to go in my top two rounds, and then expand my list of prospects once the draft occurs and we know where each player will be starting their pro career.

It was a pair of pitchers that shined the brightest on the first day of tournament action, with none looking better than Vanderbilt’s Tyler Beede. Beede did not need a dominant outing for Vandy to get the win, as their offense broke through with 11 runs, but dominated anyway. Beede went eight innings while allowing four hits and walking two. He did not allow a single run, and 14 of the 24 outs he recorded came via the strikeout. His fastball was sitting 92-93 MPH while he regularly reached back to touch 94-95 MPH. His curve was working well, and his change simply fell off the table, making the Xavier hitters look foolish.

Brandon Finnegan of TCU was another of the dominant front line starters. He pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up just four hits and a walk, while surrendering just a single run. He struck out 12 batters, but TCU needed 11 innings to knock off Siena.

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Matt Imhof, Jake Stinnett, and Spencer Turnbull all took the hill for their respective teams, but only Imhof walked away with a victory to his credit. Imhof’s control was an issue, as he issued five walks, but he only allowed one earned run over 7 2/3 innings in the Cal Poly victory. Stinnett put in eight solid innings, but left the game trailing 3-0. Maryland would wind up coming back and winning the game on a walk off hit batsman. Turnbull was saddled with the loss after allowing just a single run, but Alabama was unable to score against Kennesaw St.

At the plate, there might not have been a player projected to go in the first couple rounds that had a better day than Kyle Schwarber. Indiana easily knocked off Youngstown St. 10-2, while Schwarber went 4-5, scored three runs, hit a triple, and drove in three on a three run shot in the 5^th inning. His teammate Sam Travis also contributed with a two run home run of his own in the third and scored twice himself.

J.D. Davis of Cal State Fullerton was the most versatile contributor of the day. Before he took to the hill to finish off the game with a scoreless ninth inning, he launched a grand slam earlier in the game on the way to a Fullerton 5-1 win over Nebraska.

It was great start to what will surely be an enjoyable NCAA tournament.

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