The Cavs had a great week, pounding their opponents by a combined score of 48-7. All-world sophomore LHP Danny Hultzen was magnificent on Friday (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K). Undersized 2B Keith Werman had a great week again, and he seems to have cemented a spot in the starting lineup. The rest of Virginia's offense continues to look strong.
20. Miami (20)
2. LSU (2)
LSU's potent offense was fine this week, and C Micah Gibbs is on fire. The Tigers barely squeaked by in a few games this week, though, and they could use injured ace Anthony Ranaudo back to give their pitching a lift. (Closer Matty Ott is still doing his thing, of course.)
3. Texas (3)
The world returned to normalcy as the preseason #1 team went 4-0 on the week (and swept a dangerous Stanford squad). Hurlers Taylor Jungmann (7 IP, 0 R, 10 K), Chance Ruffin (3.2 IP, 0 R), and Cole Green (5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 6 K) were excellent, and the Horns' first-week struggles look like nothing more than a blip on the radar.
4. Georgia Tech (4)
GT's bash unit showed up in customary form this week, though Jed Bradley's poor start on Sunday against Xavier did hand the Yellow Jackets their first loss. Two of the most encouraging signs I see are Saturday starter Brandon Cumpton (who threw 7 shutout innings this week) and OF Chase Burnette, who is hitting a cool .531/.559/.844 after 34 PAs.
5. Florida State (5)
FSU put a beat-down on an inferior early-season opponent, shaming Hofstra by a combined 40-5 count. OF Tyler Holt and 2B Sherman Johnson were the primary instigators offensively. The Seminoles' vanilla rotation simply needs to keep them in ballgames, and LHPs Sean Gilmartin (6 scoreless, 7 K) and John Gast (5 scoreless, 6 K) were up to the task this weekend.
6. Arizona State (7)
Aussie ace Josh Spence is still out, but ASU didn't need him versus lowly Towson this weekend. The Sun Devils used their balanced offensive attack to put up 10 runs per game on the Tigers, and Riccio Torrez in particular had a strong weekend. Provided Spence can return soon, his absence could be a blessing in disguise, as the Devils have been forced to develop some pitching depth. RHPs Seth Blair, Jake Borup, Brady Rodgers, Merrill Kelly, and Jordan Swagerty (as well as LHP Mitchell Lambson) all showed flashes this week. ASU will finally have some real competition coming up this week.
7. Florida (9)
Florida's weekend series with La Salle was cancelled, but the Gators did pick up two mid-week victories. The upcoming week is huge, with ranked rivals Florida State and Miami on the schedule.
8. Rice (10)
Rice somewhat righted the ship, going 3-1 after a winless first week. The Owls' pitching situation is in flux, as coach Wayne Graham looks for arms to give him some quality innings. Boogie Anagnostou, Taylor Wall, Jared Rogers, and Tony Cingrani figure to handle the bulk of Rice's pitching load. The Owls' high-flying offense still has some room for improvement, but looks fine. Anthony Rendon is understandably being pitched around, and the sophomore third baseman has 11 walks already this season.
9. Coastal Carolina (11)
CCU had a superb week, going 5-0 against quality opponents including UC Irvine. LHP Cody Wheeler and RHP Anthony Meo were adequate, but I was really impressed with #3 starter Jim Birmingham and reliever Austin Fleet. C Jose Iglesias and OFs Chance Gilmore and Rico Noel led the Chants on offense.
10. Louisville (12)
Louisville continues to show why it will be a legitimate Omaha contender this season, beating two quality Big 10 foes en route to a 4-0 week. The Cardinals have ample solid arms (Thomas Royse, Dean Kiekhefer, Tony Zych, Neil Holland) and a tough lineup (including big-time threats Stewart Ijames, Andrew Clark, Phil Wunderlich, and Ryan Wright).
11. East Carolina (14)
As with Coastal Carolina, ECU had a great weekend and showed who the class of the Carolinas is this year. The Pirates lost Friday, but came back to take the series from South Carolina. They have to be thrilled with the bounce-back start on Sunday from Brad Mincey (7 IP, 1 R). ECU could use a boost from slumping but talented OF Devin Harris.
12. TCU (15)
The dangerous Horned Frogs showed again that they have Cal State Fullerton's number, beating the Titans in Fullerton for the second year in a row. Steven Maxwell (6.1 IP, 1 R) pitched well on Friday, as did Kyle Winkler (6 IP, 1 R) on Sunday. Top freshman Matt Purke, who struggled on Saturday, is still looking to get in a groove on the mound. OF Jason Coats and C Bryan Holaday had good weeks at the plate.
13. Clemson (13)
Clemson enjoyed another perfect weekend and moved to 6-0. OFs Jeff Schaus and Kyle Parker had good weeks at the dish. The Tigers have a monster series against South Carolina on tap. Give the slight edge to Clemson, but that will be a battle with both bitter rivals looking to make a statement.
14. UC Irvine (6)
Irvine had a tough week, losing to N.C. State and twice to Coastal Carolina. Daniel Bibona didn't throw Bibona-esque, and the Anteaters primarily relied on a Johnny Wholestaff approach. Many 'Eater bats went cold, but middle-of-the-order threat Brian Hernandez is back and UCI should be fine long-term.
15. Cal State Fullerton (8)
The Titans disappointed again, dropping two of three to (admittedly lethal) TCU. Daniel Renken, Noe Ramirez, and Tyler Pill were not able to produce any dominant outings, and CSF simply hasn't played vintage Titan ball over the season's first six games. Fullerton will undoubtedly rebound soon.
16. UCLA (19)
The Bruins' pitching might (opponents mustered 4 runs over 3 games) carried them to a perfect week again. There are louder offenses than UCLA's, but pitchers like Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer look poised to help their program shake the underachiever tag.
17. Arkansas (17)
Arkansas swept a decent Troy team over the weekend and holds steady. The Hogs received brief, effective outings from Mike Bolsinger (4 IP, 1 R), Brett Eibner (3 IP, 1 R), and T.J. Forrest (4 scoreless), and were carried offensively by stalwarts Andy Wilkins and Zack Cox.
18. North Carolina (18)
UNC's depleted offense only scraped together five hits in a loss against Maine on Saturday, but the Tar Heels won the rest of their games on the week. The big question is if ace RHP Matt Harvey's Friday night start (6.1, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K) was an aberration or a sign that he's harnessing his big-time stuff.
19. Ole Miss (21)
Granted it was against a weak Oakland team, but the Rebels had three very encouraging pitching performances over the weekend. If Drew Pomeranz (7 IP, 1 R, 0 BB, 15 K), Aaron Barrett (6 IP, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K), and Trent Rothlin (5 IP, 0 R) can maintain this, Ole Miss will be in fantastic shape.
Lefties Chris Hernandez (7 IP, 1 R) and Eric Erickson (6 IP, 3 ER) both pitched well again this weekend. Jason Santana's struggles on Sunday, however, have to be a concern for the Hurricanes. The most intriguing matchup of the week (Wednesday vs. Florida Gulf Coast and Chris Sale) was wiped out. The week to come offers a good gauge of the Miami's talent, as the U welcomes the Florida Gators for a three-game set.
21. Oregon State (22)
The big storyline surrounding OSU's 3-1 week has to be Greg Peavey's sensational start on Sunday. The junior righty is one of many ballyhooed members of the Beavers' arms corps, but his CG shutout was the first time he truly dominated. Tyler Waldron also had a great showing (7.2 IP, 1 R) on Friday.
22. San Diego (16)
The Toreros lost a series to San Diego State and are now just 4-4 overall. They will need to reawaken their bats after pushing across just 8 runs in 4 games on the week. USD pitchers piled up the Ks, but only LHP Sammy Solis (6 scoreless on Saturday) completely held the Aztec offense in check.
23. Vanderbilt (24)
Vandy lost to UCLA on Friday (as ace Sonny Gray allowed 6 runs in 4.1 IP), but rebounded with wins over USC and Oklahoma State to make their cross-country trek worthwhile. Righty Taylor Hill threw well again Saturday (6 IP, 1 R) and was backed up by Bryan Johns (4-for-5) and Jason Esposito (2-for-4 with a homer). LHP Richie Goodenow bailed starter Jack Armstrong out with a sterling relief effort and the Commodores outlasted the Cowboys on Sunday. Esposito and Johns have torn the cover off the ball, but Vanderbilt would like to get the bats of 2B Riley Reynolds and OF Mike Yastrzemski going.
24. Ohio State (NR)
The Buckeyes toppled South Florida and Notre Dame in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge, before losing to Cincinnati on Sunday. OSU's Alex Wimmers, one of the top hurlers in the country, pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball on Friday.
25. Kentucky (NR)
Even without James Paxton, the Wildcats appear confident and ready to compete with anyone. UK has built an imposing rotation of Alex Meyer, Taylor Rogers, and Logan Darnell, and the trio has helped the 'Cats to their 6-0 start. Chris Bisson is getting the job done at second base to the tune of .414/.514/.759.
Out
Stanford (25)
Southern Miss (23)
Next Tier
South Carolina
Georgia
Kansas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
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