Draft Prospect Watch: The Vandy Boys Take the Mound

We usually start our weekly Draft Prospect Watch this week, but this year is a bit different, so we are going to start the profiles a little later. With the first overall pick, there aren’t many possibilities for the spot right now. Not enough to go weekly until the draft starts at least. The other reason for the later start is that the draft begins five weeks later this year, going off during the All-Star break instead of early June. Basically, we still have a lot of time before the Pittsburgh Pirates make the first overall pick. That being said, Vanderbilt had a nice sneak peek of our preview articles on Monday afternoon. They played a doubleheader with Kumar Rocker starting the opener and Jack Leiter starting the second game. The two of them both have a chance to go first overall, with Rocker currently holding the advantage. People have been posting highlights from their days, so why not share the early looks at these two college aces against Wright State. These come courtesy of Pitching Ninja, who is a must follow account.

Rocker went four scoreless innings, allowing one hit, three walks and he struck out eight batters. He threw 67 pitches, 39 for strikes.

This is a great clip:

and

Leiter went five scoreless innings on one hit, no walks and eight strikeouts. Both pitchers reportedly topped out at 98 MPH, even though the stadium gun read higher.

and

and

 

Menu