Sept. 17, 2014
Six Commodores have landed on Baseball America’s top prospects from summer league’s with Walker Buehler leading the way in the Cape Cod League.
Entering his junior season, Buehler continued his stellar work in the Cape and in one outing for Team USA in Cuba. The right-hander finished his sophomore season with a team-best 12 wins going 12-2 with a 2.64 ERA. He backed that up by winning co-MVP of the Cape Cod League postseason as he helped Yarmouth-Dennis to the league title. In the CCL postseason, Buehler went 2-0 with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings without allowing a run.
According to the Baseball America scouting report: “That his stuff remained so electric after nearly 140 innings between the spring and summer allays concerns about his durability stemming from his wiry 6-foot-1 build. Buehler’s lack of physicality is the only significant knock against him, but he has a smooth delivery and arm action. He racks up groundball outs with his heavy fastball, which peaks at 96 mph, and he is a natural strike-thrower.”
Rhett Wiseman joins Buehler on the CCL list as the No. 28 prospect in what is widely regarded as the best summer league in the nation. After being slowed by an injury early in his sophomore season, Wiseman came on to hit .277 with 18 doubles for the Dores while taking over the starting right field position.
“He’s gone from an athlete in a baseball uniform to approaching becoming a really good baseball player,” Cotuit coach Mike Roberts told BA. “The thing that sets him apart is he plays every pitch. He never takes a pitch off, and he just does everything all out.”
Three Commodores spent the summer with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National team with Baseball America placing all three in the top 15 prospects on the squad led by Dansby Swanson.
Swanson’s All-American sophomore season continued onto Team USA with the Marietta, Ga. native being named the second-best prospect on Team USA. Swanson hit .288 with 14 runs scored and five doubles for Team USA in 18 games after serving as one of the Commodores’ catalysts. The College World Series Most Outstanding Player hit .333 with a nation-leading 27 doubles and team-best 63 runs scored last season.
According to the BA scouting report: “A second baseman this spring, Swanson will transition to shortstop this fall and could become one of the top college position players taken if he makes the transition successfully and continues to hit (.333/.411/.475 this spring). His transition will be one of the most heavily watched storylines of the draft next spring.”
Right behind Swanson was roommate Carson Fulmer at No. 3 on the list. Fulmer backed up a dominating sophomore season for the Dores with a dominant summer for Team USA. For the Red, White & Blue, Fulmer went 3-1 in five games with a 0.73 ERA – best among the team’s starters. His lone loss of the summer came in Cuba when Team USA was shutout. Fulmer led Vandy with a 1.98 ERA and went 7-1 with 10 saves to help the Commodores win the national title in June.
According to the BA scouting report: “Fulmer is likely to be one of the most heavily watched college players next spring because he offers some of the best stuff of any college pitcher in a way that elicits a range of opinions; some scouts project his power three-pitch mix in the rotation while others think he fits best in the bullpen. Fulmer pitches aggressively and attacks with a fastball that jumps out of his hand, sitting 93-95 while touching 97 in the rotation. Fulmer hides the ball well and gets above-average life with arm-side run and sink. His breaking ball shows plus potential while his changeup offers above-average potential.”
The third Commodore on the list is Bryan Reynolds, who checks in at No. 15 on Team USA’s top prospects. Reynolds put together one of the best freshman seasons of any Commodore in history, leading the national champs with a .338 average and leading the nation’s freshmen with 24 doubles. He also led VU with 54 RBI and a .480 slugging percentage. Reynolds was the first Dore to report to Team USA during the summer and was not assured a spot but quickly cemented his spot on the squad playing in 18 games, making 16 starts at first base and the outfield. He hit .246 with 14 RBI and seven runs scored as one of the young players on the team.
According to the BA scouting report: “Scouts can project power for the broad-shouldered, lean 6-foot-2, 195-pound Reynolds, who has significant room to get stronger, as his doubles power could turn into home runs down the road. He hit more doubles (24) than any other freshman in the country and tied for seventh among all players. The athletic Reynolds runs well enough to handle center field in college and play all three outfield spots.”
The final Commodore to make one of Baseball America’s top summer prospects list hasn’t even put on a Vanderbilt uniform. Incoming freshman Will Toffey was named the top prospect in the Futures League. The Barnstable, Mass. native hit .322 with seven home runs in 46 games for Martha’s Vineyard this summer.
According to the BA scouting report: “One evaluator said that while Toffey is probably a third baseman at the next level, he has the ability to play shortstop and second base in a pinch. ‘Toffey’s got it all,” the evaluator said. “He’s strong, he can run well and he drives the ball. He’s a professional hitter right now.'”
To check out Baseball America’s prospect lists from every summer league click here and follow BA’s college writer Aaron Fitt on twitter at @aaronfitt.