Duke's Bailey Clark (Aaron Fitt)

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Notebook: 2016 Spring Workouts Begin

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At The Ballpark: Duke

DURHAM, N.C. — In last week’s D1Baseball College 300 for the 2016 draft, Duke righthander Bailey Clark ranked as the No. 48 prospect — making him a projected third-round pick. That assessment was based upon several viewings of Clark last spring, summer and fall; Duke is located 10 minutes from my home, so I’ve had plenty of chances to see Clark. But I’ve never seen better stuff from him than I saw Friday, on the first day of spring practice. The pitcher I saw at Jack Coombs Field on Friday has a chance to make a run at the first round.

Clark came out of the chute firing 94-95 mph fastballs with his characteristic heavy arm-side bore, and he touched 96-97 in his first inning of work. He settled into the 93-95 range in his second and third innings of work, and I didn’t see a fastball under 92 (which I saw just once). That was in contrast to when I saw him range from 89-95 in the fall and 91-94 in the summer for Team USA. Clark’s heavy fastball caused opposing hitters to pound choppers into the dirt in front of home plate repeatedly, a good testament to the life on the pitch.

Last spring, Clark’s second pitch was a short cutter that he mostly used to induce ground balls, but in the summer he developed a slider with more depth. It looked like a solid-average offering in the 84-86 range on Friday, though its shape and depth was a bit inconsistent.

Clark also used his developing changeup more than I’ve seen it in the past. At 87-89 mph, the pitch is still too firm, and sometimes it lacks action. But he threw a couple that had decent sink and resulted in swing-throughs. The pitch still needs refinement, but it has some promise.

At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Clark has a great pitcher’s frame, and his arm strength is obvious. If he can continue to hone his fastball command and develop his secondary stuff, he might wind up being a premium pick this June. He certainly made a favorable first impression in 2016 in front of about 15 scouts. It’s early, but Clark looks like a strong candidate to shoot up our prospect list by the time we update the College 300 at midseason.

Duke redshirt sophomore lefthander James Ziemba also impressed Friday, striking out seven through three innings of work. The 6-foot-10 lefthander is an intriguing sleeper for the 2016 draft thanks to the extension in his sidearm-to-low-three-quarters delivery. Despite his low arm slot, Ziemba is capable of touching 90-91 mph, though he worked mostly in the 84-87 range Friday. He has very good feel for his slider, which ranged from 74-76 on Friday and accounted for most of his strikeouts.

—Aaron Fitt

At The Ballpark: Texas



AUSTIN, Texas — Texas looks to have a bona fide weekend anchor on its hands in sophomore righty Kyle Johnston. Johnston worked four innings in Friday’s opening intrasquad action in Austin and showed high-profile type stuff. Johnston worked consistently at 91-94 mph, sitting mostly at 92-93 with late hop through the zone. Johnston did a good job of changing hitters’ eye levels and using his fastball life to miss bats up in the zone.

Johnston also showed off a potential above-average slider with very late tilt at 84-88 mph. He also mixed in an occasional changeup at 81-82 mph. He showed solid feel for this offering and proved willing to use it against righties as well as lefties. While his command was obviously not in peak season form, Johnston’s stuff was truly eye-opening and that of a top-flight Friday starter.

Also impressive and efficient in Texas’ first practice of the season was another sophomore righthander, Connor Mayes. A lean, projectable 6-foot-2 righty, Mayes touches 91 mph with his fastball in what was an efficient, polished effort for such an early-season performance. He worked steadily at 88-91 mph with crisp two-seam life down in the zone. He stayed on top consistently, inducing groundball contact and weak hacks. Mayes also showed a good feel for a solid-average 73-75 curveball with 11-to-5 break. He spotted the curveball on the edges of the plate with precision. He also showed a cutter variation to his fastball at 85-87 mph.

— Frankie Piliere

National Notebook

• Arkansas had a busy first day of fall workouts with some scrimmages. While Zach Jackson and some others might be the headliners with this group, 6-foot, 185-pound junior righthander James Teague made the strongest impression to scouts and the UA coaching staff, showing good stuff and keeping the Hogs’ hitters off balance. I’ve documented this in past Arkansas pieces, but Teague is a guy who doesn’t quite get as much credit as he probably should. And he’s off to a terrific start.

• Auburn ushered in a new era on Friday with coach Butch Thompson opening spring workouts. AU veteran righthander Cole Lipscomb had a great night on the mound, tossing a pair of shutout innings, while offensively, Lewisville, Texas (Grayson CC) product Niko Buentello impressed with a pair of doubles.

• Florida is the nation’s top-ranked team entering the 2016 campaign, and the Gators had a strong first day of spring workouts. LHP A.J. Puk was his usual self, sitting 93-96 with his fastball, while Dane Dunning was 92-95 mph with his fastball, Shaun Anderson was 91-93 and Buddy Reed, Dalton Guthrie and freshman talent Jonathan India each impressed at the plate.

• Florida State opened spring workouts with a bang, and a pair of guys who must have strong seasons were impressive, including John Sansone and Quincy Nieporte. Sansone struggled at the plate at times last season, but showed some promise during the fall, and has started off the spring with a bang. The Seminoles also were pleased with the pitching staff, a unit that is quite an interesting story with some potential, but a plethora of unproven arms.

• Houston continues to make impressive strides under the direction of head coach Todd Whitting, and this looks to be another good group. UH junior RHP Andrew Lantrip was his usual self on Friday, showing crisp stuff, and as Whitting said, “looked to be in midseason form.”Junior RHP Nick Hernandez was impressive in his stint, as well, sitting 90-92 with more juice in the tank as a reliever. The Cougars describe his “look” as a Jake Arrieta-type of approach.

• Illinois made national headlines last season with a magical campaign that nearly finished with a trip to the College World Series. Well, the Fighting Illini might’ve lost some key cogs from that team, but all still appears well entering a year where the Big Ten Conference will be wide open. Though it’s a tough task, some feel like righthander Cody Sedlock has a chance to be this year’s Tyler Jay. Sedlock was very good in the first scrimmage, sitting 92-93 mph with his FB, along with crisp secondary stuff. The Fighting Illini staff also was pleased with the offense on the first day of workouts.

• Louisiana-Lafayette is preparing for yet an other highly anticipated campaign, and it expects some instant contributions from Texas product and middle infielder Hunter Kasuls. Kasuls was slated to play second base after fall workouts, but looked terrific defensively at shortstop on Friday, opening the door for the possibility that he replaces Blake Trahan, with JUCO transfer Brad Antchak possibly moving over to second base. That is not set in stone, however. In another interesting development, RHP Reagan Bazar continues to have very good bullpens and could be on the rise.

• Michigan is nearing the start of one of the most anticipated campaigns in a while after reaching the NCAA postseason last year. We were able to catch up with head coach Erik Bakich, and LHP Oliver Jaskie, LHP Michael Hendrickson and LHP William Tribucher all impressed today, each getting up to 90 mph with their fastballs, while also showing good feel for their secondary offerings. Not surprisingly, RHP Mac Lozer, RHP Jayce Vancena and RHP Troy Miller also were impressive. Middle infielders Michael Brdar and Ako Thomas were very crisp in the field, while in a bit of bad news, talented Jonathan Engelmann sprained his wrist and was unable to play today. He will be back next week and will be counted on after having a quality fall.

• Mississippi State has a very talented team entering the spring, and RHP Dakota Hudson is the most heralded of them all. Hudson didn’t have the best day with four walks in two innings, however, he also struck out some hitters and showed premium potential. He sat 94-97 with his fastball, along with a slider that was up to 90 mph. One scout we spoke with said the big key with Hudson is just making sure he can figure out his command moving forward … Freshman LHP Kale Breaux showed good stuff in his scrimmage stint, sitting 88-92 mph with his fastball, along with a good breaking ball and excellent command, while offensively, Nathaniel Lowe and Brent Rooker were both terrific. Scouts said Rooker’s body looked great, and it’s clear he has the potential to be one of the league’s elite hitters.

• Missouri has a lot of potential this spring, and the Tigers started practices with a bang, particularly SS Ryan Howard. Howard is the most heralded junior on this squad, and he smacked a pair of homers on Friday, one off talented sophomore RHP Tanner Houck. Another good development was RHP Reggie McClain, who impressed in his stint on the mound.

• Oklahoma State has an exciting campaign on the horizon, and the Cowboys have a potential diamond in the rough in sophomore RHP Thomas Hatch. Hatch has been a highly touted prospect in the past, but also has battled the injury bug. Well, the Cowboys coaching staff said Hatch was very impressive and commanded the zone well on Friday. OSU feels like there’s plenty to work on between now and February, but there’s clearly confidence streaming out of Stillwater at an impressive pace.

• Ole Miss said in the fall that Colby Bortles needed to have a big spring for this team to meet their goals. Well, Bortles got off to a nice start on Friday with a home run in the scrimmage. In more interesting news, JUCO transfer and RHP Chad Smith lived up to expectations on this day, sitting 90-95 mph with his fastball with easy action and consistency … Also watch out for Louisiana product and freshman RHP Andrew Lowe, who was 89-92 with his fastball, along with good overall stuff.

• South Carolina has a big season on the horizon, and the Gamecocks had a quality first day on the diamond. The Gamecocks are looking at some rising arms to make statements this spring, and righthanders Clarke Schmidt and Braden Webb were very impressive. Both were in the 92-94 mph range with their fastballs, both also showing good command. Righty Brandon Murray, another power arm, also impressed.

• TCU has an interesting season on the horizon after losing some key players to the draft. But there are plenty of reasons for optimism, including the addition of RHP Durbin Feltman. The Conroe, Texas native has only played baseball for two years, but the sheer power in his arm is impressive, as he sat 91-95 with a pair of strikeouts in an inning of work on Friday. Not so surprising, veteran RHP Mitchell Traver showed premium stuff and velocity, sitting 92-95 mph with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts.

• Tulane took a step forward last season with a trip to the NCAA postseason, and David Pierce’s club looks primed for yet another step forward. The Green Wave had a good first day of workouts, as veteran slugger Hunter Hope went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. But the toughness award of the day goes to athletic outfielder Richard Carthon, who broke his nose at the beginning of practice and still played through the scrimmage.

• Vanderbilt opening spring workouts on Friday and, to no surprise, sophomore outfielder Jeren Kendall was very impressive at the plate. Jason Delay and Ro Coleman also stood out to the coaching staff, while righthander Jordan Sheffield had a quality performance on the mound with his usual power stuff.

• Virginia can’t seem to catch a break from a weather standpoint. As all of you know, or should know by now, the Mid-Atlantic region got obliterated by a snowstorm last week. Well, the Cavaliers are still having issues getting snow off their field, thus were only able to clear the mound and home plate today. RHP Connor Jones looked very crisp despite the unorthodox conditions, while the Cavaliers will continue workouts tomorrow at Liberty’s ballpark in Lynchburg, an hour south.

— Kendall Rogers

The Sights: Around The Nation

Mississippi State's opening day preseason scrimmage at Dudy Noble Field. #hailstate pic.twitter.com/08ElNJq9DS — Joe Dier (@joe_dier) January 29, 2016

1st practice in the books. Ground balls on the field on January 29! #baseballshouldbeplayedongrass #SpartansWill pic.twitter.com/BnN4upyjE0 — Jake Boss (@BossJake) January 29, 2016

Watching @WIUBaseball live game action at Hanson Field from the Pressbox. Opening Day 3 weeks away #W1U pic.twitter.com/mZifbpyTnr — Patrick Osterman (@PROsterman_MDH) January 29, 2016