Appel has always had the stuff to be an ace but there have always been three major question marks surrounding his game; his ability to throw all three of his pitches for strikes at the same time, his passive demeanor on the mound, and the unusual success that hitters have had making contact off him given his stuff. None of those were issues for the 6" 5' righty during his Friday start against Texas. He tossed a complete game shutout, struck out 14, and walked just one. His fastball sat in the mid to upper 90's and he located it well throughout most of the game. His curve was a real weapon for him and had a lot of hard tilting break. His change up was also impressive which he threw with very good arm speed and had some fade. Appel is probably the best pitcher in the country right now, and he sure pitched like it against a very good opponent on Friday.
2.) Kris Bryant
Kris Bryant looked like he was starting to hit his stride for San Diego during the UNC Wilmington tournament last weekend. Bryant collected six hits in twelve at bats for the Toreros and flashed his plus power by connecting for a pair of doubles and two home runs. Bryant is one of the premium college bats in this years class, so look for him to be taken in the top 10 picks.
3.) Kevin Ziomek
No stat-line was more impressive than Ziomek's this past weekend; he pitched all nine innings, allowed only one hit, fanned 15 batters, and did not yield a run. The only reason Appel ranks ahead of him here is because Appel dominated over the Longhorns, while Ziomek faced a lesser opponent in Illinois Chicago. Ziomeks "Bugs Bunny" curve ball was really working for him on Friday. The pitch had tremendous two-plane break and the Flame hitters looked frozen every time he threw it. No pun intended.
4.) Phil Ervin
Ervin had a tremendous summer on the Cape, and is carrying his success into this season so far. He is really raking right now, hitting .340 on the year and has hit six home runs already, two of which came against Purdue this weekend. Ervin is also a threat on the base pads and a potential 20/20 player down the road. If he continues to hit he should see his name called early on the first day of the draft this June.
5.) Dylan Covey
Bryant wasn't the only Torero to have a big weekend. On the mound the former first round pick turned in one of his most dominant starts to date. Covey pitched six innings of shutout baseball and notched 12 strikeouts while yielding just two free passes. If Covey continues to pitch like this he could easily reestablish himself as one of the top college arms and shoot up draft boards.
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