Analytics Peg Hiura As Top College Performer

(Photo by Tony Farlow)

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Scouts rank UC Irvine’s Keston Hiura among the top college bats in this year’s draft class. The numbers also assert that he is the best. Hiura produced at a rate, as measured by park-adjusted weighted runs created plus (wRC+), that surpasses all Division I batters.

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Top Draft-Eligible Batters
Batters are ranked using park-adjusted weighted runs created plus (wRC+).

1. Keston Hiura, DH, UC Irvine
Batting line: .442/.567/.693 (246 wRC+)

Defensive questions aside, Hiura excels at controlling the barrel. His feel to hit ranks among the best in the draft, and he produces above-average power thanks to his natural strength and bat speed.

Hiura’s achievement gains heft when placed in the context of pitcher-friendly Cicerone Field (where 20 percent fewer runs are scored than on the road) and the pitcher-friendly Big West Conference.

2. Brent Rooker, 1B, Mississippi State
Batting line: .395/.498/.827 (236 wRC+)

Rooker has shown true plus power this season while flirting with .400. The catch is Dudy Noble Field. It’s a hitter’s park that boosts run-scoring by about 5 percent, which deflates Rooker’s production somewhat.

3. Daulton Varsho, C, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Batting line: .362/.490/.643 (205 wRC+)

At the plate, Varsho is praised for his all-fields approach and overall feel to hit. The athletic receiver also records solid run times. His home park, Henry Aaron Field, is about as neutral as can be.

4. Jake Adams, 1B, Iowa
Batting line: .335/.417/.747 (195 wRC+)

While he’s not an elite prospect, Adams has bat speed, (on display in his regional performance), great raw power and solid barrel ability. Iowa’s Duane Banks Field enhances run production by nearly 10 percent. Adams’ statistics aren’t discounted to the same degree as others because Iowa played just 43 percent of their games at home.

5. Will Robertson, OF, Davidson
Batting line: .336/.405/.644 (195 wRC+)

Davidson shockingly won the Atlantic-10 Conference tournament and then upset North Carolina to advance to super regionals. Robertson, a senior outfielder, helped lead the way. His home park, Wilson Field, plays as a neutral venue.

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The top 25 Division I batters (min. 150 plate appearances) this year as ranked by wRC+.

No.	Player	School	Conference	AVG	OBP	SLG	wRC+
1	Keston Huira	UC Irvine	Big West	.402	.546	.669	246
2	Brent Rooker	Mississippi State	Southeastern	.408	.516	.878	236
3	Daulton Varsho	Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Horizon	.366	.496	.655	205
4	D.J. Artis	Liberty	Big South	.357	.521	.538	204
5	Brock Hale	Brigham Young	West Coast	.386	.473	.703	195
6	Jake Adams	Iowa	Big Ten	.347	.427	.743	195
7	Will Robertson	Davidson	Atlantic 10	.349	.407	.675	194
8	Adam McGinnis	Western Illinois	Summit	.363	.471	.580	194
9	Jake Burger	Missouri State	Mo. Valley	.351	.462	.703	193
10	Rylan Bannon	Xavier	Big East	.337	.448	.653	192
11	Trey Ganns	Northern Kentucky	Horizon	.353	.452	.662	192
12	Mike Corin	Rhode Island	Atlantic 10	.295	.398	.636	186
13	Josh Evans	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	.401	.444	.672	185
14	James Free	Pacific	West Coast	.345	.412	.673	185
15	J.J. Matijevic	Arizona	Pacific-12	.401	.444	.671	184
16	Matt Johnson	South Dakota State	Summit	.343	.430	.612	182
17	Jeremy Eierman	Missouri State	Mo. Valley	.330	.441	.695	182
18	Evan White	Kentucky	Southeastern	.388	.464	.667	181
19	Rob Calabrese	Illinois-Chicago	Horizon	.375	.448	.619	181
20	Danny Sullivan	Gardner-Webb	Big South	.317	.407	.628	181
21	Adam Haseley	Virginia	Atlantic Coast	.402	.492	.693	181
22	Chris Sharpe	UMass-Lowell	America East	.338	.432	.677	180
23	Alex Mauricio	Norfolk State	Mid-Eastern	.374	.457	.573	180
24	Michael Donadio	St. John’s	Big East	.378	.480	.573	180
25	Drew Ellis	Louisville	Atlantic Coast	.393	.485	.749	179

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Top Five Draft-Eligible Pitchers
Pitchers are ranked using park-adjusted ERA minus (ERA-).

1. Luke Heimlich, LHP, Oregon State
Pitching line: 11-1, 0.76 (20 ERA-)

The Pacific-12 Conference pitcher of the year relies on a deceptive 89-91 mph fastball and superb control. Goss Stadium is a pitcher’s park, but Heimlich excelled so much that a park adjustment doesn’t affect his standing.

2. Andrew Crane, RHP, Troy
Pitching line: 6-2, 1.47 (20 ERA-)

The 6-foot-4 Crane might only top 90 mph on occasion, but he dominated the Sun Belt Conference by pounding the zone unrelentingly. While Riddle-Pace Field plays as a slight pitcher’s park, he allowed just six earned runs.

3. Danny Marsh, RHP, Wagner
Pitching line: 6-2, 1.96 (26 ERA-)

Marsh moved into the Wagner rotation this year and allowed just 11 earned runs in 66 innings while pitching off an upper-80s fastball. Wagner shares baseball facilities with the short-season Staten Island Yankees, creating a roomy environment for pitchers to work in.

4. Jake Thompson, RHP, Oregon State
Pitching line: 13-0, 1.30 (30 ERA-)

Thompson, a redshirt junior, consistently pitches with a hard fastball that sits at 93-94 mph and throws an above-average slider for strikes. His 1.11 ERA ranked fourth in the country before park adjustments.

5. Austin Bizzle, RHP, Alabama State
Pitching line: 7-1, 1.95 (30 ERA-)

Bizzle pitched to a 5.53 ERA over 42.1 innings last season in the notoriously hitter-friendly Southwestern Athletic Conference, but he morphed into a dominant reliever with a mid-80s fastball this year.

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The top 25 Division I pitchers (min. 50 innings) this year as ranked by ERA-.

No.	Player	School	Conference	IP	BB	SO	ERA-
1	Luke Heimlich	Oregon State	Pacific-12	94	20	106	20
2	Andrew Crane	Troy	Sun Belt	58	13	57	20
3	Sean Mooney	St. John’s	Big East	90	15	82	26
4	Danny Marsh	Wagner	Northeast	66	31	57	26
5	Jake Thompson	Oregon State	Pacific-12	89	27	89	29
6	Austin Bizzle	Alabama State	Southwestern	70	18	73	30
7	Nate Harris	Louisiana Tech	Conference USA	82	10	88	32
8	Brendan McKay	Louisville	Atlantic Coast	85	27	116	32
9	Cory Abbott	Loyola Marymount	West Coast	84	22	103	33
10	Devin Hemmerich	Norfolk State	Mid-Eastern	98	14	111	34
11	Will Gaddis	Furman	Southern	94	15	81	35
12	Clarke Schmidt	South Carolina	Southeastern	60	18	70	37
13	Brian Shaffer	Maryland	Big Ten	97	17	98	38
14	Robert Broom	Mercer	Southern	57	23	74	38
15	Josh McMinn	Oral Roberts	Summit	75	21	62	39
16	Chris Enns	Quinnipiac	Metro Atlantic	52	18	37	40
17	Colton Laws	Charlotte	Conference USA	87	13	80	40
18	Logan Gilbert	Stetson	Atlantic Sun	77	22	96	40
19	Kutter Crawford	Florida Gulf Coast	Atlantic Sun	72	25	81	40
20	Heath Donica	Sam Houston State	Southland	94	22	91	40
21	Jake Fromson	Missouri State	Missouri Valley	63	12	76	41
22	Miguel Ausua	Oral Roberts	Summit	72	26	72	41
23	Ryan Weiss	Wright State	Horizon	76	13	69	41
24	Thomas Ponticelli	San Francisco	West Coast	64	10	60	41
25	Joey Murray	Kent State	Mid-American	64	27	93	43