 |
| Photo Credit: Newsday |
Here at Baseball on the Island, we don’t believe in the adage ‘out of sight, out of mind’. After all, there were some players whose names were primitive fixtures on this website for months.
We’re going to check in and see how the top prospects from last year are fairing in their freshman year at college.
(Editor’s Note: This list will not include those who chose to red-shirt this season)
Jesse Berardi-St. John’s University:
The reigning Carl Yastrzemski Award winner is struggling so far in his transition to Division-I baseball. Through 39 at bats, he has nine hits, six runs scored and seven RBI. He has started eight games for the Red Storm, but has failed to hit an extra-base hit to this point. He’s committed two errors in 39 chances.
Jack Piekos- University of Maryland:
The reigning Class-A Player of the Year, Piekos has compiled only 1.2 innings to this point. He has not allowed a run, while striking out one. The Terps are off to a tremendous 23-8 start.
Adam Heidenfelder-Hofstra:
The two-time Diamond Award winner has started five games for the Pride and pitched seven innings in relief in his only appearance out of the bullpen. He has thrown 26 innings, compiled a 6.23. He has allowed 26 hits, but also 21 walks while striking out 19. The opposition is batting .274 off of him.
Andruw Gazzolla- Stony Brook
We’ve written about him frequently here, including a feature that you can read by clicking here. He has struggled recently, though. His average has dipped to .229. He has scored 14 runs, but has only two extra-base hits. On a positive note, he has started every game for the Sea Wolves. Yesterday, he smacked an RBI triple, so perhaps he is turning it around.
Steven Foster- Hofstra
He is not only holding his own, but has easily been the most productive player for the Pride this season. The Sachem North grad is off to a .337/.436/..395 slash line. He has 17 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and has not committed an error in CF.
Brendan Spagnuolo- Vanderbilt
Pitching for the Commodores as a freshman is no small achievement–they are the reigning National Champs. He has only thrown two innings so far, allowing two ER, but he figures to play a much larger role next year. The hard-thrower threw a no-hitter for Chaminade last season to clinch the league title.
Frank Moscatiello- St. Thomas Aquinas
The Spartans are coming off a trip to the College World Series, but that didn’t stop the Rocky Point grad from seeing significant time on the mound. After his dominant 3.1 shutout innings of relief at LIU Post, he worked his way into the rotation against Adelphi and has a 2.08 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 13 innings. Visit the scouting reports page right here to read what we wrote about him.
Matt Buckshaw- Stony Brook
We wrote a feature on him last season which you can read here. He has thrown only two innings for the Sea Wolves, but hasn’t allowed a run and struck out one batter. He hasn’t pitched much since freshman year of high school because of his two significant injuries, but he has proven that he is healthy and can contribute at the Division-I level.
Chris Weiss- Hofstra
The Longwood native is one of the rare two-way Division-I players. He has batted .265 through 68 at bats with seven runs scored and five RBIs. He has actually had more of an impact as a closer, where he has thrown five shutout innings while allowing only one hit and one walk with three saves.
David Palmer- New Haven
The 6’5″ East Islip grad finished high school with a 22-6 record. Through 15.1 innings, Palmer has allowed nine ER on 26 hits and two walks while striking out 10 for the Chargers. He figures to play a key role in the Northeast-10 this season.
