Top Frosh In The Mountain West
I feel enough innings have been pitched and enough at bats have been posted that I can put together a list of newbies (read that as freshmen) that are delivering as hoped. One really stands out and he’s at the top of the list.
Jake Jackson, RHP, Nevada
He leads the pitching in just about all categories. He’s 3-0 and 1.37 in 26 IP with 30 strikeouts. He appears to be the premier power pitcher if he keeps up these numbers. He’s allowed only 12 hits and 4 walks in those innings so his WHIP is hovering around the 0.50 mark. Pretty darn good. He made two first team AA lists in high school, which is no surprise based on what we’re all seeing so far. Keep that arm healthy, kid.
Matt Rudick, OF, SDSU
Matt is hitting a robust .438 which leads the team by over 100 points. His 21 hits also leads the team. In his senior year of high school he made honorable mention AA so he’s continuing the pace he set there.
Jacob Flores, LHP, SDSU
Jacob is 0-0 and 2.70 with 6 appearances and 10 IP with 10 strikeouts. The gold standard for pitchers is one strikeout per inning. He has allowed only 11 runners in those innings which means a good WHIP. One is the gold standard here and he’s just a bit above.
Nikoh Mitchell, LHP, Fresno State
On a team that has a lot of pitching talent, this freshman stands out. He’s 3-0 and 2.04 in 17 IP with 17 K’s. He has two starts and seven appearances so he makes the most of his appearances.
Chris Dunn, OF, New Mexico
Chris is hitting .318 and 1 on a team that has always prided itself on its hitting. He’s second on the team with 10 RBI’s so he makes his hits count.
Brayden Merritt, OF, New Mexico
Brayden is hitting .308 and 1 in 26 AB’s.
Derek Marshall, INF/OF, New Mexico
His stats are almost identical to Merritt’s (above). He’s hitting .308 and 1 in 26 AB’s. This makes three freshman hitters with significant AB’s. Future looks bright for the Lobos.
Robert Gasser, LHP, New Mexico
He’s 1-1 and 2.50 in 18 IP and, if you consider the IP, he leads the team in ERA. Coach has a good young nucleus of players if you ask me.
Jack Wold, 1B, UNLV
You’d think a team that is 15-2 would be loaded with experience with little time for newbies. Well, here’s one. Jack is hitting right at .300 with 2 in 60 AB’s.
Air Force has no reps on this list although they had two hitters hitting at least .300 but they didn’t have enough AB’s for me to list them. We’ll revisit this list in the future so don’t think I hate the Falcons or something like that. Hey, my Dad was career AF. That’s how I grew to hate, absolutely hate, moving but loved to travel – and still do (yeah, both).
This is a pretty good list but the frontrunner, without a doubt, is Jake Jackson. If he keeps it up, he’ll make a lot of lists at the end of the season. Everything is pointing that way.