SNAFU
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- Dec 2, 2011
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Dollander has waxed/waned between inside top 10 to inside top 15. Maui Ahuna is now at 62 on his board.
“Dollander will be one of the most fascinating names to watch on draft day, as he came into the year as the top college pitcher in the class but struggled all spring with command and never found the grade-70 slider he had as a sophomore. That slider was short and tight with what appeared to be very late downward break, and Dollander could throw it for a strike or use it as a chase pitch. This spring, however, it never had the same bite, and hitters whiffed on it less and chased far less, about two-thirds as often as they did the year before, so Dollander had to rely more on his fastball. His fastball is still 93-97mph and he throws it for strikes, albeit not quite as much as he did in 2022, so if some team can figure out what went wrong with his slider – Did Tennessee try to get him to change the pitch? Is he dealing with some injury or discomfort? – there’s a good chance they’ll get the draft’s best or second-best college pitcher. He had No. 2 starter ceiling or better last spring, and that pitcher might still be in here.“
“Ahuna transferred from Kansas to Tennessee for this spring, perhaps hoping to improve his stock by competing in the SEC, but his offensive production fell off across the board, including a jump to a nearly 30 percent strikeout rate and a 66-point drop in his OBP. He’s always had trouble with good offspeed stuff but he didn’t even hit good fastballs this spring, leaving him hoping someone pays him on the basis of his previous track record.”
“Dollander will be one of the most fascinating names to watch on draft day, as he came into the year as the top college pitcher in the class but struggled all spring with command and never found the grade-70 slider he had as a sophomore. That slider was short and tight with what appeared to be very late downward break, and Dollander could throw it for a strike or use it as a chase pitch. This spring, however, it never had the same bite, and hitters whiffed on it less and chased far less, about two-thirds as often as they did the year before, so Dollander had to rely more on his fastball. His fastball is still 93-97mph and he throws it for strikes, albeit not quite as much as he did in 2022, so if some team can figure out what went wrong with his slider – Did Tennessee try to get him to change the pitch? Is he dealing with some injury or discomfort? – there’s a good chance they’ll get the draft’s best or second-best college pitcher. He had No. 2 starter ceiling or better last spring, and that pitcher might still be in here.“
“Ahuna transferred from Kansas to Tennessee for this spring, perhaps hoping to improve his stock by competing in the SEC, but his offensive production fell off across the board, including a jump to a nearly 30 percent strikeout rate and a 66-point drop in his OBP. He’s always had trouble with good offspeed stuff but he didn’t even hit good fastballs this spring, leaving him hoping someone pays him on the basis of his previous track record.”
