Tennessee LHP Liam Doyle's best start of his career came less than a week after questions from MLB scouts emerged about his future

"He's an extreme competitor, so the extra focus or whatever it was, helped him control that emotion and passion," said Vitello after the game when asked about Doyle. "Maybe there was extra, but to be honest with you, he's always got that to him. Maybe a little added focus -- teammates helped him out behind him, but he was a Friday night SEC guy tonight." 

It's interesting that Doyle's fantastic start came just a few days after The Athletic's Keith Law pointed out some concerns that scouts have about the southpaw's future as a starter, noting that some scouts are concerned that he could be a reliever in the long run. 

"The delivery is funky, and his arm is somewhat late relative to his front leg, which may be why his slider is his worst pitch and is definitely why I have heard plenty of concerns from scouts that he might be a reliever in the long run because of how the arm works," wrote Law. 

I don't know if Doyle saw that criticism, but his 14 strike out performance while pitching into the 9th inning in an SEC road game on a Friday night certainly felt like a statement from the potential future first round pick. 

The talent is obviously there to be a big league starter. Whether it translates to the next level is anyone's guess (for now). What we do know, though, is that Doyle is the ultimate competitor, and that's the kind of guy that every pro team should want on their roster in some form or fashion.