There was some concern about Nick Lodolo during April. In four starts against Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Kansas State, and Baylor, Lodolo only pitched 23 innings allowing 25 H 14 R 11 ER while striking out 17 and walking four. Not exactly the type of month you’d expect from someone who is being considered a Top-10 pick.
Last week in a marquee matchup against West Virginia and starting pitcher Alek Manoah, Lodolo started terribly allowing a single, double, and home run to the first three batters, but recovered nicely not to allow anymore runs over the next five innings. Still, speaking with those who write and scout prospects, they were a bit concerned with what they were seeing from Lodolo. Was the left-hander running out of gas?
Watching Lodolo last night against Kansas, this was the starting pitcher I saw in March. According to the broadcast, Lodolo was hitting 95 mph with his fastball while still featuring his sharp slider.
Lodolo Slider
Lodolo Fastball
What I thought was an essential sequence for Lodolo happened in the fourth inning. After back-to-back walks and holding on to a 2-0 lead, Lodolo faced his first jam of the game. In the video below, you can see how Lodolo was able to regroup and struck out both batters to get out of the jam.
Lodolo did allow two runs in the fifth inning as his fastball caught too much of the zone. Kansas hitters did an excellent job of allowing the fastballs to get deep into the zone and go opposite field hitting a couple of fly balls to the warning track. Again, wondering if Lodolo was running out of gas, in his final inning, Lodolo struck out the side and hit 95 mph on his last pitch of the evening for his 11th strikeout of the game.
I believe that Lodolo is a Top-10 talent in this year’s draft class (more on that later in the column) who has two-plus pitches in the fastball and slider. I don’t think he’s very efficient at times, fastball could use better command, and right now there isn’t a third pitch. Last year, Lodolo would be a Top-25 pick, but with how scarce pitching in this draft class, I can see Lodolo going as high as sixth overall to San Diego.
Is he still an option for the White Sox at pick three? Sure, but I’d rank Lodolo behind Adley Rutschman, Bobby Witt Jr, Andrew Vaughn, and CJ Abrams. In my opinion, it’d be a reach to grab Lodolo, but with the current pitching state there is a significant need for better arms in the system. Lodolo would be a good addition but at the cost of passing by better players.
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Other draft notes from last night:
- Missouri visiting Vanderbilt was touted as a tilt between outfielders Kameron Misner and JJ Bleday. Leading the nation in home runs, Bleday is a serious contender to win the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser awards for College Player of the Year. In SEC play, Bleday is hitting .295/.433/.695 with an eye-opening 11 home runs. His draft stock is rising because Bleday is facing the best teams in the country and still producing power at a high rate. Last night, no fireworks from Bledy or Misner. Both batters hit only singles and Misner had a fielders choice RBI. Maybe we’ll see more power from Bleday later this weekend, but a lot of eyes are on him as he’s being considered as high as pick four to Miami.
- Andrew Vaughn had a good night against #3 Stanford. Going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI, and his conference numbers have gotten a lot better. Vaughn is now hitting .317/.457/.549 in 22 Pac-12 games which I think the pitching has been better than the SEC this season. For some weird reason, there is no Pac-12 conference tournament but Cal’s odds of making the Regionals are getting better. Both Baseball America and D1Baseball have the Cal Bears making the tournament as either a two or three seed. Giving everyone an extra weekend of baseball to watch Vaughn before draft day.
There will be updated mock drafts from numerous outlets this upcoming week but here is my updated Top 10 board.
- Adley Rutschman, catcher
- Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop
- Andrew Vaughn, first base
- CJ Abrams, shortstop
- Riley Greene, right field
- JJ Bleday. right field
- Hunter Bishop, center field
- Nick Lodolo, LHP
- Bryson Stott, shortstop
- Zack Thompson, LHP
