It’s been an outrageous weekend for Vanderbilt Baseball 2026... commit RJ Cope, a 6-foot-8 first baseman and lefty with top-of-scale raw juice from the left side at the plate. The big man is 10-for-16 with a homer, double, four walks to two Ks and three stolen bases. It’s a no-doubt power over hit profile but he’s done an outstanding job of waiting for his pitch and depositing it in gaps like in the video below when he put a defensive two-strike swing on a ball to cash in runs for his team in a critical spot. All of this and Cope is still new to hitting. His potential is off the charts with the bat.show more

The 10-pitch lefty-lefty at-bat from Kevin McGonigle, culminating in... his go-ahead two-out, two-run single, included six foul balls, five in a row to extend the at-bat for a pitch over the plate. An approach way beyond his age.show more

Francisco Lindor is well on his way to having... a day at the plate. In two innings, he's 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBI.show more

Very few players with power that Cope offers from... the left-side, and that comes in real two-way tools. 95+ with four pitches ✅ 110+ EVs with wood, flashes double-plus raw. ✅ Athleticism in a 6-foot-8, 245-pound frame. ✅ Prep Baseball Georgia || Shooter Hunt RJ Copeshow more

Jonny Farmelo is healthy and rehabbing back. He walked... in both of his first two at bats. Here he rips a double to the pull side on a lefty. Hit tool and power 🚀 #ProspectOneshow more

RHP/1B Trace Phillips (Middle Tennessee Baseball) is an interesting... draft-eligible sophomore on which to keep close tabs. Last spring, he hit .304/.360/.547 with 8 2B, 13 HR and 47 RBIs, but it’s his ability on the mound that's the root of his buzz. Phillips' back of the baseball card numbers last season are modest, but there is more to it than meets the eye. At 6'3" and 185-lbs, Phillips has an athletic, high-waisted frame. In the box, he has a simple setup with an ear-high handset and the bat horizontal above his back shoulder. Phillips has a slight load in which he has a noticeable barrel tip and a small stride. He moves well in the box and has some scissor action with his back leg. Phillips’ pure hit tool is fringey, but he has plus raw power and has shown the ability to drive the baseball to all fields. Max EV last spring of 109.4, if he's able to lift the ball more it will lead to a more impressive power output. Phillips’ current prospect status is largely driven by his ability on the mound. His numbers were unimpressive last season, but he took a step forward this fall. There’s some low hanging fruit to clean up in his delivery, but he has a short, whippy arm stroke and attacks from a low-three quarters slot with plenty of arm speed. Phillips’ FB has been up to 96 with ride through the zone (particular life at the top), though his best pitch is a high-70s-to-low-80s CH. He does a nice job of killing spin on it, and It averaged almost 15 MPH off his fastball this fall. It’s a plus pitch that flashes both fade to the arm side as well late tumble. Phillips completes his arsenal with a mid-80s slider that flashed above-average this fall with sharp, two-plane tilt. Both his changeup and slider profile as legitimate swing-and-miss offerings. Another positive development with Phillips this fall is that his strike-throwing took a step in the right direction. Mid-4th-6th round type this July. (📽️: Middle Tennessee Baseball)show more

One player I've really grown to like over the... last several months is OF Kane Kepley (Carolina Baseball). Started right away at Liberty where he hit .310/.457/.432 with 13 XBH, but had a breakout summer in the Coastal Plain League to the tune of a .339/.468/.546 slash line with 8 2B, 5 HR, 26 SB and 29 BB to 11 Ks. Carried that momentum over into last season and hit .330/.482/.521 with 12 2B, 9 HR, 25 SB and an impressive 53 BB to just 27 Ks. Kepley then proceeded to have a productive summer on the Cape in which he was named an All-Star. Compact build at 5'8" and 165-pounds with sneaky strength packed into his frame. Crouched stance in the box with a medium-high handset and slightly open front side. Kepley has a minimal load and utilizes a toe tap that leads into a normal stride. With two strikes, Kepley will widen his stance and sit deeper in his base, choke up a bit, and shorten his stride in order to maximize his chances of moving the baseball. Quick hands with present bat speed. Will drop his back side to help create leverage. Overall, it's a compact operation in which he takes an efficient path to contact. Kepley's bat-to-ball skills and hand-eye coordination are outstanding. Last spring at Liberty, he boasted a 90% overall contact rate and a 93% overall IZ contact rate. It was a similar story this summer, as he ran an 89% overall contact rate and a 94% overall IZ contact rate. Kepley's pitch recognition skills and approach are both highly advanced and he rarely expands the strike zone. On the Cape, his overall chase rate was a minuscule 13%. Kepley has high-level barrel skills, a trait that is on display day in and day out. His bat control and adjustability are also advanced. Kepley is capable of using the entire field, but his highest quality of contact does come to the pull side. Hit tool is comfortably a 55, but it's closer to a 60. Kepley without a doubt is a hit-over-power profile, but there is a little bit of thump to the pull side. Has shown the ability to turn on pitches on the inner-half and drive them to the PS. For a player with this kind of profile, he posted respectable Max EVs of 106.1 and 101 during the spring and summer, respectively. Below-average power, but he'll run into a ball on occasion and hit 10+ HRs this spring. Not only is Kepley a plus runner, he most importantly knows HOW to run and get the most out of his legs. Quick first step and really advanced baseball sense both translate to the base paths where he's a chaos causer and speeds up the game for opposing teams. Kepley's speed also allows him to take an extra base on a ball in the gap or down the line. Across 179 games between college and summer ball, Kepley is 89-for-97 on stolen base attempts. Kepley this spring will rove CF for North Carolina. His speed and instincts plays at the position and he has gap-to-gap range with solid closing speed. Gets good reads off the bat. Kepley's arm is fringy, but his overall defensive skillset will give him the opportunity to prove he can stick at the position professionally. Versatile enough to play all 3 OF spots. Kepley is an old-fashioned baseball rat who plays at one speed. Selfless, high-energy player who can affect the game in a myriad of ways. A little reminiscent of Tommy Hawke. Top-5 round type this July.show more

Tyler Bell is an expected day one pick in... the 2026 draft 👀 In five games on the Cape, he went 6-for-19 with three doubles and two steals. He's an optimized profile at the plate with a chance to tap into more pullside power 💪show more

Myles Bailey pulverized a two-strike heater for an absolute... no-doubt homer. Easily cleared the row of trees in front of the parking lot beyond the RF fence. Just laughable power with a metal bat in his hand. Draft-eligible sophomore.show more

If order to hit a big league fastball your... brain needs to decide to pull the trigger roughly 25 feet from the ball reaching the plate…. In order to do that, your eyes must be oriented at a spot 25 feet to your left for a righty or 25 feet to your right if you are a lefty…. This begs the question what is the point of hitting off of a tee?…The body will never work the same vs a live ball…. Look how different Mike Trout looks when hitting off of a tee vs hitting a live ball…Watch his left arm and left shoulder do completely different things. The right forearm supinates vs an overhand pitch but it pronates vs the tee…. It’s a function of where the biceps inserts onto the radius. There isn’t a hitter on earth that will use the same swing mechanics off of a tee as they will vs an overhand pitch.show more

#24 Lander Baseball (31-11, 16-5) impressed with a road... sweep of GCSU to take sole possession of 1st in the Peach Belt and continue their win streak to 11 games. Gary Garrett set the school record for single season stolen bases with his 26th. He had 4 on the week and has a stolen base in 5 of his last 6 games. Anson Merrick threw a complete game to complete the sweep, allowing just 2 earned runs with 3 strikeouts. Ethan Wilder went 8-for-18 with 5 RBI on the week, extending his hit streak to 16 games. Connor Droze has a 7-game hit streak, as he homered to put his HR total to 18, tied for the most in D2. #D2Baseballshow more

C Easton Carmichael (Oklahoma Baseball) is one of the... top college catchers in this year's Draft. Started from the get-go as a Freshman and hit .306/.346/.482 with 18 XBH and 48 RBIs. Proceeded to enjoy an outstanding Sophomore campaign to the tune of a .366/.406/.563 slash line with 31 XBH, 64 RBIs and 12 SB. Carmichael was then an All-Star and All-League selection in the Cape League after hitting .299/.372/.496 with 10 2B, 5 HR and 23 RBIs across 36 games. Prototypical catcher's frame at 6'1" and 200-lbs with strength throughout. Slightly crouched stance in the box with a high handset and the bat held horizontally above his back shoulder. Hands drift a little bit in his load, leg lift leads into a normal stride. Does a nice job of getting into his back hip. Average bat speed. Carmichael has an aggressive approach and digs into the box ready to hit. He uses the entire field and has a tick above-average bat-to-ball skills. Has shown the ability to drive the baseball into either gap. Could stand to tighten up his swing decisions a bit; chased at a 35% clip and was particularly susceptible to secondaries down and away. Present barrel skills. Would say his hit tool is a 50 right now, though it's probably closer to a 55. It's more extra-base hit and gap-to-gap power than it is HR power for Carmichael right now, but he has shown he can generate quality contact. Posted a Max EV of 109.5 during the spring and 104.2 on the Cape. If he can pull the ball in the air more (had an Air Pull% of just 20.8 in '24), it could lead to an increase in power production. 50 raw, it plays more like 45 in-game. It's been encouraging to see the progress Carmichael has made defensively. Has gotten better at corralling balls in the dirt and his transfers have gotten quicker. Best part of Carmichael's defensive skillset is his receiving. Soft and quiet, consistently works down to up and has a knack for stealing strikes. Doesn't stab at the baseball. Average arm strength, continuing to shore up his footwork will only help as it pertains to controlling the running game and delivering accurate throws down to bases. A nice cherry on top to Carmichael's profile is that he's far from a clogger on the bases. By no means a burner, but he'll pick his spots to steal a bag. Carmichael has an intriguing toolset and profiles as a 2nd-4th round pick this July. (📽️: Oklahoma Baseball)show more

Cops are looking for three men who viciously assaulted... a 42-year-old man as he waited for the train in a Bronx subway station. The victim was standing on the platform waiting for northbound No. 4 train at the 161st St.- Yankee Stadium subway station around 8 p.m. Wednesday when he got into an argument with three men he didn’t know. One of the suspects slashed him with a knife on his left abdomen, right eye and left side of his face. Then the other two suspects started punching and kicking the victim before hopping on a northbound train and disappearing. EMS transported the victim to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition. He is expected to recover.show more

We've seen this before. Kaelen Culpepper leads off the... game with a solo homer to left, his 11th of the season. It's the 7th time he's led off an inning with a homer and the 5th time he's led off the game with a long ball, tied for the most in Minor League Baseballshow more

🚨WALK OFF ALERT🚨David Hernandez walks it off for Erskine... College Baseball (24-20, 15-11) as they SWEEP Top 10 Barton at home and cap off a 4-0 week! Hernandez went 9-for-15 with 2 HR and 6 RBI on the week, he’s hitting an impressive .384 on the year. Josean Sánchez went 5-for-11 and is hitting .410 with a nine game hit streak. Jared Guell collected two saves across 3 innings over the weekend. With the sweep, most importantly, Erskine has catapulted to 5th in the conference, which as of now keeps them out of the single elimination play-in game. #D2Baseballshow more

Frank Thomas III (‘27, FL) showed off his sweet... swing and easy power for USA Prime 16u National…going 2 for 3 with a run and 2-RBI and just missed leaving the yard with a ball off the top of the wall…No. 1 first baseman in the class #WWBA PG_Uncommittedshow more

My brother Mohammed has become an expert at starting... fires, as if a flame inside him refuses to die out. He was supposed to be happy now, busy preparing for the start of a new school year, filled with dreams and ambitions for the future. But how could he, when there are no schools and no education in Gaza? The ongoing war, lasting for two whole years, has stolen two years of his childhood, two years of his life lost in destruction and fear. In that time, he has witnessed what no child on this planet should ever see… he has seen the very worst humanity could endure, all while being so young. And yet, what’s both astonishing and heartbreaking at the same time is that his smile still shines… It’s as if it’s a silent scream of defiance in the face of war, as if it’s saying: "You will not break us… we will keep dreaming, despite the pain." Mohammed is not alone; he is the face of an entire generation in Gaza, a generation forced to grow up before its time, a generation that has learned how to live on the edge of survival and plant joy in the desert of fear. Despite the fire, the siege, and the loss, his heart is still alive… and he still dares to dream.show more

1B Anthony Martinez (UCI Baseball) is an intriguing college... bat to keep an eye on this season. Was one of the best Freshmen in the country in '23 and posted a gaudy .394/.471/.619 slash line with 19 2B, 11 HR and 60 RBIs. Enjoyed another productive season last year and hit .316/.422/.492 with 18 2B, 9 HR, 74 RBIs and more BB (36) than Ks (29). This summer he did what very few players do nowadays, which is start on the Cape, leave for Team USA and finish out the summer on the Cape. At 6'3" and 230-lbs Martinez is plenty physical with present natural strength. Stands upright in the box with a slightly open front side and a medium-high handset. Relaxed setup. Martinez has a rhythmic load that includes a small barrel tip. Minimal drifting of his hands and is a small-strider. It's a compact operation in which he consistently takes a direct path to contact. Real hitterish look. Martinez has a bit of an interesting profile for his position in that he's a hit-over-power guy. He has a highly advanced feel for the barrel and double-plus contact skills. Martinez in '24 worked an 86% overall contact rate and an eye-popping 96% overall IZ contact rate. All-fields approach and sprays line drives from foul pole to foul pole. Advanced pitch recognition skills and swing decisions, will sometimes expand the zone against secondaries down. However, it's far from a hindrance. Not afraid to get aggressive early in counts. Comfortably 55 hit for me. While it's hit-over-power, Martinez isn't without some thump. He can drive the baseball into either gap, though the vast majority of his HR power is to the pull side. Posted a Max EV last spring of 104.3. More XBH power than HR power. Would give it a 50. Martinez is without a doubt a 1B/DH type professionally, so you're buying the bat. Finished product physically, but I believe in the hit tool. 4th-6th round type for me this July.show more