College Baseball Stock Talk: Standouts from Week 12

Tossing a complete game by a Jayhawk for the first time since 2023, Dominic Voegele strikes out 15 and leads Kansas to a series sweep over Arizona, improving their Big 12 record to 20-4.

Diving into Dominic’s start, he worked a five-pitch arsenal to which the Wildcats had no answer for. Starting things off with the four-seam fastball, living 94-96 (up to 97 mph), obtaining nearly 20 inches of ride. In addition, he incorporated a rare sinker thrown primarily against right-handers, still sitting in the low-to-mid 90s while averaging 16 inches of run.

As for the offspeeds, each was what made this start historic. Voegele threw his mid-80s curveball 49 times on Friday, averaging nearly 3,000 rpm with over a 60% whiff rate while thrown for over 75% strikes.

In addition, Dominic mixed in a slider that holds more sweeper shape while thrown at similar velocity, good for 70% strikes, also averaging nearly 3,000 rpm. Lastly, the changeup, a pitch most often thrown to lefties that sits 88-90 mph and dives off the table, generating gnarly whiff rates often.

An absolute wagon, Kansas has now won 21 of their last 22, with Voegele being a key reason as to why. He’s gotten 45 punchouts in his last four starts, looking more so to his 2024 form while proving the Jayhawks to be a lock for hosting postseason baseball.

Dominic will likely make his next start for Kansas back at home this coming Friday against West Virginia.

Voegele is #95 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Kollin Ritchie | OF

Perhaps the loudest weekend in all of college baseball came on Kollin Ritchie, hitting four home runs, seven walks, and eventually three Big 12 wins for the Cowboys.

Across nine batted balls in the three games against TCU, Ritchie averaged an exit speed of 102 mph as well as a hard-hit rate just shy of 90%. He ambushed everything on the middle-to-inner half, capping out a max exit speed of 107 mph.

Kollin didn’t whiff on a single pitch that came from a left-handed arm, and only one time against a righty. In addition, he ambushed six batted balls with a 104 mph exit speed or higher.

As mentioned above, Ritchie hit four bombs across the entire weekend. Perhaps the most impressive was his last, a 419-foot blast against TCU’s Noah Franco that traveled nearly 420 feet.

Riding a six-game conference win streak, Oklahoma State has overwhelmed opponents offensively, with Ritchie leading the charge, now up to 26 home runs, a 182 wRC+, and a .520 ISO.

Kollin will be back in action for Oklahoma State on the road this coming Friday against Arizona State.

Ritchie is #37 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Hunter Dietz | LHP

Now surpassing 30 innings with over 40 strikeouts across the last five weeks, Hunter Dietz turned in six innings of one-run ball against a hot Ole Miss lineup this past Friday.

Working four offerings against the Rebels in his start, it was primarily a fastball/cutter tandem. The four-seam was fantastic, sitting 92-95 (up to 96) mph, generating over 16 inches of ride with nearly 2,400 rpm. As for the mid-80s cutter, it obtained an absurd 90% whiff rate while averaging just under 2,500 rpm.

Dietz incorporated his curveball more often in this start, and it displays fine traits, though it isn’t executed nearly as often as the primary tandem. Sitting around 80 mph, it’s a pitch that gets good vertical separation, though it can sometimes have a similar shape to the cutter.

Dietz wraps up his arsenal with a mid-80s changeup, primarily thrown against right-handers. Thrown on rare occasions, it’s an offering that’s used when he gets ahead in counts that holds appealing attributes to work off of.

Emerging as one of the SEC’s top starters, Dietz has consistently mowed down lineups week after week, helping Arkansas surge at the right time.

Hunter will likely make his next start for Arkansas back at home this coming Friday against Oklahoma.

Dietz is #22 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Tyson LeBlanc | SS

Our second Jayhawk on this edition of Stock Talk includes shortstop Tyson LeBlanc, hitting nearly .500 this calendar week while collecting a hit in nine of his last ten games.

Over the four-game set, Tyson punished pitches in the lower part of the zone, especially against left-handers, producing a 96 mph average exit velocity and a 67% hard-hit rate.

Recording a double in every game against Arizona, he showed off impressive barrel control and disciplined swing decisions, finishing the week with a 93% in-zone contact rate and a 105 mph max exit velocity.

Cemented in the heart of Kansas’s order, LeBlanc has been a force this season, now up to a 1.085 OPS with a .468 wOBA.

Tyson will be back in action for Kansas at home this coming Friday against Creighton.

LeBlanc is #60 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Wes Mendes | LHP

Helping get Florida State on the right track, Wes Mendes tossed a complete game gem this past weekend against Pitt.

Mendes worked a five-pitch arsenal, though primarily went after hitters with a fastball/cutter combo. When looking at the four-seam, it’s a 91-94 mph weapon that gets over 18 inches of ride and 2,300 rpm with six-and-a-half feet of extension. The mid-80s cut-fastball, it generates over eight inches of lift through the zone with the ability to be thrown to both types of batters.

As for the offspeeds, each one wasn’t thrown often, though they had great success. First with the slider, a pitch sitting 82-85 mph with some sweep, a primary offering thrown to left-handers. Next, a changeup hovering around 80 mph, getting fantastic separation off the heater as well as nearly 19 inches of dive. Lastly, a two-plane curveball living in the upper-70s, generating nearly 12 inches of drop and thrown most often times when ahead in counts.

Working within the lower half of the zone start-to-finish, Mendes was in complete control, getting the Seminoles back in business while lowering his season ERA to 2.25.

Wes will likely make his next start for Florida State on the road this coming Friday against Clemson.

Mendes is #41 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Tyler Bell | SS

Quite a loud weekend for Tyler Bell, hitting for over a .500 average in a crucial series win over Tennessee.

Across 12 batted balls, Bell averaged an exit speed of 90 mph. In addition, he maxed out at an exit speed of 106 mph, good for a solo shot in the series finale.

Bell’s other homer wasn’t cheap either, coming off the bat at 105 mph in Saturday’s game. He also barreled up two balls at 99 mph, both turning into doubles.

It’s really nice to see Bell getting back to his groove, incorporating slug more often from both sides of the dish while flashing the leather at the six.

Tyler will be back in action for Kentucky on the road this coming Friday against Florida.

Bell is #8 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Caden McDonald | TWP

This past Saturday will go down as Caden McDonald’s legacy game, entering for Liam Peterson in a 6–4 contest with the Gators already trailing in the series.

Tossing three shutout frames, Caden worked a four-pitch arsenal with lots of intrigue. Starting off with the heater, it’s a 92-94 (up to 96) mph weapon that gets over 20 inches of ride that he locates well east/west.

McDonald worked in three different offspeeds to go along with the four-seam. First, a low-80s changeup showcasing plus tumble with 1,400 rpm, generating over a 35% whiff rate. Next, a low-80s slider, featuring bullet shape and often thrown against righties. Lastly, an upper-70s curveball averaging over 2,400 rpm along with 11 inches of drop, creating intriguing depth.

But that wasn’t all he did over the weekend.

Across his 11 batted balls, Caden averaged an exit speed of 103 mph as well as a hard-hit rate of 82%.

Saturday marked a career day at the plate, as he went 4-for-5 with two home runs, each traveling over 410 feet with exit velocities of 111 and 114 mph, along with two doubles that were both hit at 111 mph.

It’s worth mentioning McDonald grabbed another 111 mph exit velocity, though it ended up as a flyout.

Caden punished anything in the lower part of the zone, as both left- and right-handers consistently attacked him there. His swing decisions were impressive also, hardly missing in-zone while posting a 12% chase rate over the four-game sequence.

Serving as the obvious difference-maker in the series, McDonald is emerging as a pillar of this offense as they push for a national seed with seven regular-season games remaining.

McDonald will be back in action for Florida at home this coming Friday against Kentucky.

Mulivai Levu | 1B

As consistent as they come, Mulivai Levu reached base ten times this past week, helping UCLA remain undefeated at 24-0 in Big Ten play with two weeks to go.

Across 13 batted balls, Levu averaged a perfect 100% zone-contact rate as well as an average exit speed of 90 mph.

Mulivai maxed out with a 104 mph exit velocity, good for a two-run blast in the series opener against Michigan State. He added another blast later in the week, hit at 102 mph and traveling 410 feet in Sunday’s finale.

Having an advanced feel for the zone, Levu crushed everything on the middle-to-outer half against right-handed pitching while attacking the lower portion of the zone against lefties.

Mulivai will be back in action for UCLA at home this coming Friday against Oregon.

Levu is #30 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Alec Bouchard | RHP

One of the top mid-major performances of the weekend, Bouchard goes the distance, striking out 14 without issuing a walk against Western Carolina.

Diving into his arsenal, Alec went after hitters with a three-pitch arsenal, each having their own intrigue. Beginning with the four-seam fastball, a 90-93 mph offering generating nearly 19 inches of ride with over 2,600 rpm that’s often located up in the zone.

Bouchard also leaned on both his slider and changeup throughout the outing. The slider is a low-80s pitch with tight, bullet-like action, averaging nearly 2,700 rpm and producing a 50% whiff rate. His changeup sits in the upper 80s and shows significant depth, featuring over 18 inches of fade while generating a whiff rate north of 55%.

Now up to nearly 70 innings with a 1.68 ERA in 2026, Bouchard has firmly established himself as one of the most undervalued non-Power Four aces in college baseball, and an arm an organization will be more than happy to sign come July.

Alec will likely make his next start for Wofford back at home this coming Friday against ETSU.