Travis Lakins

Lakins had always dreamed of attending Ohio State, so when the Buckeyes made him a scholarship offer it was no surprise to see him quickly accept. Lakins has a compact (6-foot-1, 175 pounds), athletic build. He had an extremely impressive freshman year and showed premium stuff in a summer stint in the Prospect League last summer. But as a sophomore, Lakins' stuff took a slight step back. He's touched 94-96 mph at his best but he was generally 88-93 mph this spring, although he started showing improved velocity again late in the season. His slider has backed up, but he's started throwing his 12-to-6 curveball more. Both flash the potential to be an average pitch, but he may need to shelve one at least temporarily to improve the other. His changeup is a fringe-average pitch with some fade. Lakins has had trouble leaving the ball up in the zone at times this year and he was punished for that by allowing a team-worst seven home runs and seven triples.