It was quite a bloodletting for seeded teams in the tournament this weekend. Seven of the sixteen seeded were wiped away in the first weekend, including the top two seeds in UCLA and Georgia Tech. There were some great performances in the tournament though. It’s possible some of these players that we’re tracking were able to move up the board.
To start off, let’s talk about Aiden Robbins.
Well, that’s some opposite field power. Per Baseball America, he’s not a player that puts the ball in the air a lot and has a “hit-over-power” profile. He appears to have made an exception today. If he keeps trending in this direction, he might not stay in the middle of the first round very long. Aiden continues play next weekend versus Oregon.
Justin Lebron looks like a solid five-tool guy. Here he is showing off the power, pulling a ball on the outside corner into the scoreboard area. He displayed some speed as well with two stolen bases. He plays solid defense as shortstop as well. The only knock is his contact skills, but it’s a smal knock. Justin will play against St. John’s this weekend.
Oklahoma took out the number two seed in the tournament with two wins over Georgia Tech. Brendan Brock helped lead the way with two home runs and 8/15 overall at the plate. He can play catcher and center field, which might make him an unique one in this year’s draft. Brendan will be at Kansas this weekend.
Here’s another catcher with pop. Daniel Jackson had two home runs and a double and went 5/10 overall. The power is there with above average speed. The defense is a bit of a question mark despite his good arm. Daniel will play Mississippi State this weekend.
Alex Hernandez went ham over the weekend in a losing effort for Georgia Tech. He grabbed 4 home runs and 3 other hits. There is a lot of swing-and-miss in his profile, but hoo boy the power is there. He has some work to do with zone recognition, but it’s nothing that a summer in High A ball wouldn’t cure. Georgia Tech’s season is over, but that just allows some of their players more prep time for the draft.
Speaking of Georgia Tech players getting ready for the draft, I present Drew Burress. If you can call 4/16 and 2 home runs as a quiet weekend, it’s because there were some ridiculous lines put up this week. Burress is listed at number 4 to 10 depending on what publication you are reading. A lot of mock draft have him going to the Braves. The hit, power, and speed tools are there, and most observers think he can stick in center field. 60 home runs in a college career for a 5-9 180 guy seems like a ton.
Want to see a late first round pitching prospect? Hunter Dietz punched out 14 Jayhawks in a loss to Kansas. Dietz is a big lefty at 6-6 230. He sits 95 on the fastball and touches 98. He features a pretty good slider/cutter and a curveball. He’s a guy with a lot of bullets left, as he dealt with a stress fracture early in his college career. I’m not saying he’s not going to the Braves. He’s too big to say that to him. We can say his college season has ended.
Gavin Grahovac had three home runs, three walks, and a single in a regional loss over the weekend. There were some questions about his contact skills, but he seems to have dealt with those. He has overcome shoulder surgery in 2025 to hit 47 home runs in his college career. The observers love his physicality, but it’s unclear if he will play corner outfield in the pros. Texas A&M’s season is over.
AJ Gracia displayed all of his skills over the weekend, reaching base 10 times. He was spraying the ball around the park and had this super catch to rob Jacksonville State of a home run. AJ put up a .354/.489/.632 line with 24 home runs for Virginia. Baseball America likes him in the 10-15 range. Virginia’s season is over.
I didn’t watch college baseball at all, but I did get to see some late Sunday and Monday. There are more 95+ MPH pitchers in college than I realized. These hitters are using he aluminum bats, but their contact skills are no joke. Their defense collectively looks to be a work in progress, but these guys will play two or three seasons in the minor leagues anyway. There appears to be a ton of hitting talent in the draft, and the Braves could even grab a catcher or center fielder.
