The NCAA Regionals -- the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament -- always get things started with a bang and this year may have exceeded the billing. There were stunning upsets, thrilling walk-offs and countless jaw-dropping plays that make you say, "Wow!" and now that the dust has settled, eight teams move on to play in this weekend's super regionals.
Among those eight squads are 26 of MLB Pipeline's Top 200 Draft prospects. No matchup has more than No. 14 Tennessee at No. 3 Arkansas, which will feature nine Top 100 Draft prospects all ranked within the top 69. The highest ranked college arms, Kade Anderson (LSU) and Jamie Arnold (FSU), remain in the mix along with the top college bat: Aiva Arquette (OSU).
On the latest MLB Pipeline Podcast, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo dive into this weekend's Super Regional matchups and take a closer look at the top Draft prospects who will be participating as well as some others to keep an eye on.
Mayo: The top player is Patrick Forbes from Louisville. And, we can sort of debate about the importance of Regional play, but he had a flexor strain in April and missed a bunch of time. He came back slowly and then against East Tennessee State in the Regional, struck out 13 over six innings. This is a guy who might have been floating upwards. He’s No. 36 and I don’t know who he’ll match up against, but the top-ranked guy from Miami is also a pitcher named Griffin Hugus, who transferred from Cincinnati to go to Miami for his junior year and he’s been a solid member of their rotation. He’s coming off a complete game victory against Columbia in Miami’s Regionals.
Callis: Kade Anderson will be the highest ranked prospect in this matchup, and I think he will definitely be a top five pick in the Draft. A left-hander for LSU, he pitched very well in the Regionals. So did Anthony Eyanson, who I’ll be curious when Jonathan does that two-round mock draft this week … Anthony Eyanson is pushing up towards the first round. We have him ranked at 66, I think he’ll go higher than that. Jared Jones, LSU, homered in the final game and they barely held off Arkansas-Little Rock, which would have been another huge upset. Jones has huge raw power, they have a couple of other guys in Daniel Dickinson and Chase Shores in the Top 100.
West Virginia, their best prospect, as far as I could tell, is Logan Sauve, a catcher. He’s an offensive-minded catcher. He's batting .289 with eight home runs and has good discipline at the plate although he is a fringy catcher. Feels kind of like an 8-15 rounder.
Mayo: I think this one is going to be a lot of fun and I think the key thing will be seeing Jamie Arnold against some of the Oregon State hitters, especially Aiva Arquette. Arnold had a little bit of an up and down season, which is why Kade Anderson is going to move ahead of him, but he had a solid Regional start as well. Arquette has been swinging the bat well as he has all year. Those are the top two guys, but there’s some other really good bats: Alex Lodise and Max Williams from Florida State could be top two-round picks. Gavin Turley is another Top 100 guy. And I’ll just throw in a non-Top 100 guy in Trent Caraway, who a lot of people thought was going to be a first rounder but had a terrible year this year. He did hit five homers in Regional play, so if he gets hot at the right time that could help his Draft status.
Callis: Ike Irish for Auburn, who’s playing more outfield and came into the year as a catcher. Irish has settled more into right field. He had a fractured scapula when he was hit by a pitch earlier in the year. He might be the best all around hitter in college baseball in terms of average, power, discipline. More scouts I talk to now, instead of trying to shoehorn this guy into a catcher, just let the bat play as a right fielder. So I think he’s going to get drafted as an outfielder. I think it’s going to be first round, I think it’s probably going to be in the teens.
Caden Bodine is an extreme contact bat who hasn’t hit for a lot of power at Coastal Carolina, which is a bandbox. But he has some of the best contact numbers in the country. He’s a pretty good receiver behind the plate. Arm is OK, and he’s a definite catcher. It would not shock me if a model-driven team took him as high as the teens. I think he’s more of a comp pick, but those are the two guys who are going to be the focal point for scouts at that Super Regional in Auburn.
Mayo: Luke Stevenson from North Carolina and he is the highest rated catcher on our list at No. 20. He’s a physical left-handed hitter who has a chance to hit 20-25 homers a year. Struggles against softer stuff. But there’s a lot of power there and he has a chance to be a very good catcher behind the plate. He’s more athletic than he was back in his high school days. He was a good high school player in North Carolina as well.
What’s interesting about this series is that you have Stevenson and then you have Brendan Summerhill, who we have at 19 on our list from Arizona. He got hurt, he broke a hand and then had a pulled hamstring, but he got back and when he’s on the field and healthy, he can really hit. He’s dynamic on both sides of the ball, he can run, he can play great defense and has a chance to play center field. So, that’s going to be an exciting matchup right there.
Murray State (NR) at Duke (NR)
Top 200 Draft prospects: None
Others to watch: Will Vierling, C, Murray St; James Tallon, LHP, Duke
Callis: It does not have a Top 200 prospect in it, and sadly it does not have my Georgia Bulldogs in it either after Duke won the Regional in Athens. But, the two best guys in this Super Regional for each team, for Murray State it’s a catcher named Will Vierling, who began his college career at Louisville, hit .312 with 10 homers so far this year. Good eye at the plate. He’s an OK catcher. I don’t think he’s going to be a super high pick, but he’ll get the opportunity to play pro ball. And, for Duke, they have lefty reliever named James Tallon, who is probably going to be their best pick. It might be more of a 8-20 guy, but he’s lefty, throws low 90s to 95 mph and misses a lot of bats with the fastball because of run and carry. He also throws both a cutter and a slider. So, I think he is a reliever at the next level as well, but he’s left-handed and he has pretty decent stuff. Also, first ever Super Regional at Duke, they are hosting for the first time.
Texas-San Antonio (NR) at UCLA (No. 15)
Top 200 Draft prospects: None
Others: Zach Royse, RHP, UTSA; Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
Mayo: Texas-San Antonio’s best Draft guy is Zach Royse. He is a pitcher that could go on Day 2. The numbers aren’t great, but he’s got a fastball that touches 97 and a cutter-slider that is in the upper 80s and is his best pitch. If he gets hot that can be effective. And, for UCLA, their best player and the best player in the Big 10 is Roch Cholowsky. He’s a sophomore, he’s going to be Draft eligible next year. He hit .370 with 23 homers, more walks than strikeouts, plays shortstop every day. He was the highest ranked player on our 2023 Draft rankings, who didn’t sign at No. 44.
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Tennessee (No. 14) at Arkansas (No. 3)
Top 200 Draft prospects: Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee (No. 9); Gavin Kilen, 2B, Tennessee (No. 17); Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas (No. 22); Andrew Fischer, 1B/3B, Tennessee (No. 29); Zach Root, LHP, Arkansas (No. 43); Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas (No. 50); Charles Davalan, OF, Arkansas (No. 55); Dean Curley, INF, Tennessee (No. 58); AJ Russell, RHP, Tennessee (No. 69)
Callis: This is the best matchup. Nine Top 100 Draft prospects all ranked within the top 69. Both teams have legitimate chances to win the National Championship and only one of them is going to get to Omaha. If I can go to any Super Regional this weekend, it would be this one. You got Liam Doyle, who is battling Kade Anderson for the national lead in strikeouts. He’s going to be a top 10 pick and could go as high as No. 2, I think to the Angels. Gavin Kilen, an infielder for Tennessee, is one of the best pure hitters in the college ranks. Wehiwa Aloy, for Arkansas, shortstop, SEC Player of the Year, offensive-minded guy but also improved defensively. Andrew Fischer, corner infielder for Tennessee, one of the better all-around hitters in college baseball. You have two pitchers for Arkansas in Zach Root and Gage Wood, who were lights out during the Regionals. Those guys may push themselves into the first round. All six of those guys have potential to be first-round picks.
You have Charles Davalan, an outfielder for Arkansas, who could go in the sandwich round. Dean Curley, Tennessee, kind of slumped offensively and defensively, but was a pretty solid first-round pick before that. Then AJ Russell, who was a legit first-round arm for Tennessee before he had internal brace surgery last summer. They kind of worked him back in slowly, but it’s a big-time arm. This Super Regional is just loaded. Tennessee can make a run at the overall record of 14 players taken in a single Draft this year and Arkansas could have up to 10. You might have 24 drafted players from this Super Regional.