From a production standpoint, it’s been a crazy week in college baseball and 2024 MLB draft prospect watching. Charlie Condon was the first to reach the 20-home run milestone this season and still leads the nation with 23. Behind Condon in the home run race is Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana (who now has set the new Oregon State career record for home runs), Florida’s Jac Caglianone, and Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery.
NCAA National Leaderboard - Home Runs (As of April 11)
| Rank | Player | School | Home Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Condon | Georgia | 23 |
| T-2 | Travis Bazzana | Oregon State | 18 |
| T-2 | Lyle Miller-Green | Austin Peay State | 18 |
| T-4 | Jac Caglianone | Florida | 17 |
| T-4 | Braden Montgomery | Texas A&M | 17 |
Then there is Wake Forest’s Nick Kurtz, who had a plodding start to 2024. Entering the North Carolina series in late March, Kurtz only had three home runs for the season and was a significant factor in why I dropped him in the Sox Machine Top 50. Since March 31, Kurtz has been on a six-game home run streak, where he’s bashed ten dingers. Even crazier, Kurtz was batting a woeful .217 on March 29, and eight games later, heading to this weekend, he now has a .318 average.
This hot streak from Kurtz comes at a good time for Wake Forest, as they have been underachieving this season from their preseason No. 1 ranking. After getting swept by North Carolina, Wake Forest has won five straight games and is looking to get themselves back to the conversation of hosting a Regional.
JJ WETHERHOLT RETURNS
Adding to the good news is that preseason No. 1 ranked prospect JJ Wetherholt of West Virginia has finally returned from his hamstring injury. Last year, Wetherholt led the NCAA in hitting with a fantastic slash line of .449/.517/.782 and an impressive .333 ISO that powered his 23 doubles and 16 home runs. He only spent eight games in Cape Cod before joining Team USA, hitting .263/.481/.579.
Last week, facing Kansas, Wetherholt was limited to just designated hitter duties, as it was clear watching him run that he's still not 100 percent. But West Virginia is in a tight battle in the Big 12 conference and could use their best hitter to hold off Oklahoma. Wetherholt must also prove to scouts that he can still rake and not get lost in the shuffle with other college bats impressing.
I cut together the film of Wetherholt's first game against Kansas last Friday (April 5), and it was a good game to watch. He had six plate appearances, including the go-ahead base knock.
Wetherholt has a standing open stance, but as the pitcher makes their delivery, he incorporates a leg kick while his hands drop into the hitting position. Personally, I'm not crazy about these types of stances anymore, as there are too many moving parts. On this night, Wetherholt was in sync and on time. So the swing looks great, but how does this look when Wetherholt is slightly off his leg kick, or his hands are not in the correct position before starting his swing mechanics? Just watching Andrew Vaughn struggle in 2024 has me really sour on leg kicks.
It didn't take Wetherholt long to get his first base hit, a single up the middle of a sinker. In his next at-bat, he fouled off the first pitch, which was almost caught in foul territory before the Kansas outfielder crashed into the wall. On the next pitch, Wetherholt lined a single to center field.
Wetherholt drew a four-pitch walk in the fifth inning, as he wasn't challenged. I wonder if this will be a strategy for opposing teams facing Wetherholt shortly, especially if a runner is in scoring position. Again, Wetherholt is not 100 percent, and that was well apparent watching him run. He was a little ginger on his jogs, and it seemed like a calculated sprint when trying to score — like he was pushing himself as far as he could without pulling a hamstring muscle.
Wind was a factor for a bit as it impacted Wetherholt's subsequent two plate appearances. In the sixth inning, with runners on first and second base, Wetherholt hit a deep fly to center field that got knocked down by the wind. In the next inning, as the game got crazy with bullpens involved, Wetherholt increased West Virginia's lead by hitting a sacrifice fly to deep right field. If the wind was normal, or in the opposite direction, Wetherholt would have a couple of extra-base hits.
Unlike the White Sox first-round pick last year, Jacob Gonzalez, Wetherholt is not as pull happy. He's aiming for center field with his contact, so he waits longer on pitches as they travel deeper into the pitch tunnel.
But when it comes to open-stance hitters, I have to question their ability to hit pitches on the outside corner. Depending on where their front leg lands, it can be hard for hitters to reach for those tough pitches outside. In the ninth inning, with the game tied, Wetherholt had an opportunity to play the hero with a runner on second base. Facing Kansas closer Hunter Cranton, who was throwing 97 MPH according to the TV gun, Wetherholt was challenged with an outside fastball.
While I'm not crazy about the leg kick, I am impressed with Wetherholt's head control. He does a great job remaining balanced, and I didn't catch him staring ahead while the pitch beat him. Wetherholt has good vision at the plate, and his eyes on each base hit are locked on the ball.
So when Cranton threw an outside fastball, Wetherholt went with the pitch to left field and got the barrel on it. A deep line drive into the left field corner plated the go-ahead run, and Wetherholt reached on a double. A pinch runner would replace him, but it was an excellent night for Wetherholt, who finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a double, and a walk.
That Friday performance was the weekend's best game for Wetherholt. In his last three games, Wetherholt is 2-for-13 with four walks and three strikeouts. It'll take time for Wetherholt to break off more rust, and hopefully, he'll be healthy enough to play in the field soon. With how well Condon, Bazzana, Caglianone, and Montgomery have hit this season, it will take a lot of work for Wetherholt to re-enter the Top 5 conversation. Luckily, another six weeks of the regular season are still left.
NCBWA Top 25 (Week April 8, 2024)
| 2024 NCBWA DIVISION I POLL (APRIL 8) | ||||
| Rk. | School | Conference | Record | Pvs. |
| 1 | Arkansas | SEC | 27-3 | 1 |
| 2 | Clemson | ACC | 28-3 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas A&M | SEC | 28-4 | 3 |
| 4 | Tennessee | SEC | 26-6 | 4 |
| 5 | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 26-4 | 5 |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | SEC | 25-7 | 6 |
| 7 | Duke | ACC | 24-8 | 9 |
| 8 | Kentucky | SEC | 27-4 | 15 |
| 9 | Virginia | ACC | 25-7 | 11 |
| 10 | East Carolina | American Athletic | 23-7 | 13 |
| 11 | Florida State | ACC | 26-5 | 12 |
| 12 | DBU | CUSA | 25-6 | 8 |
| 13 | North Carolina | ACC | 26-6 | 7 |
| 14 | UC Irvine | Big West | 24-4 | 17 |
| 15 | Wake Forest | ACC | 21-10 | 21 |
| 16 | UCF | Big 12 | 21-8 | RV |
| 17 | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 22-9 | 22 |
| 18 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 21-8 | 16 |
| 19 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 22-8 | RV |
| 20 | Nebraska | Big Ten | 22-7 | 23 |
| 21 | Louisiana | Sun Belt | 24-8 | RV |
| 22 | Alabama | SEC | 22-10 | 14 |
| 23 | Mississippi State | SEC | 21-10 | RV |
| 24 | Florida | SEC | 17-14 | 10 |
| 25 | LSU | SEC | 21-12 | 18 |
Games I’m Watching This Weekend
No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. No. 3 Texas A&M
Friday - 6:00 PM CT: SEC+
Saturday - 7:30 PM CT: SEC Network
Sunday - 1:00 PM CT: SEC+
Braden Montgomery is getting more hype as the season progresses with defensive ability to stick in right field and the type of exit velocities he generates. Vanderbilt has been playing better baseball of late and it’s always fun to watch big games at Bryan-College Stadium.
