Oklahoma pitcher mocked to the Baltimore Orioles shines on SEC Opening Weekend
The Week 5 draft notebook is SEC-focused as play began this past weekend.
Written by: Nick Stevens
Last weekend was a fun warmup with ACC play getting underway, but it was time for SEC play to take center stage and the first weekend of SEC did not disappoint.
For this weekend’s draft notebook I watched three different SEC series: Texas at Mississippi State, Arkansas at Ole Miss, and Oklahoma at South Carolina.
Here’s who stood out:
Texas at Mississippi State
Friday night featured two electric left-handed arms in UT LHP Jared Spencer and Mississippi State LHP Pico Kohn.
Kohn is a 6’4”/200 pound lefty who missed all of the 2023 season and most of the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he’s fully healthy in 2025 and pitching remarkably well. He decided to bet on himself by returning to Mississippi State after garnering interest in the 2024 draft and that bet may end up paying off well.
His fastball sits 91-93 mph and touched 95 mph on Friday night. His slider generates a healthy amount of swing and miss and his changeup eats right-handed hitters alive.
More of a flyball pitcher, the wind was blowing hard as dangerous weather prepared to roll through much of the south this weekend, but Kohn remained effective for much of his outing. His final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, with two of those earned runs coming off a 7th inning bullpen meltdown after Kohn allowed the first two hitters on to begin the 7th before being lifted. It was a solid outing against a very good Texas lineup looking to make a statement in their first ever SEC series.
His season ERA of 3.03 comes with a 1.78 FIP, a 39% strikeout rate, and a 4.5% walk rate. With a very good three-pitch mix, the ability to pound the strike zone, and a healthy season in full effect, Kohn should be a fun early round pickup. (video of Kohn below from @PGCollegeBall on X)
RHP Ben Davis, a JUCO transfer who was a pitcher and a catcher at Itawamba CC, is a 6’3”/215 pound arm and his primary offering is a 93-94 mph sinker that touched 97mph on Sunday. He also mixes in an upper-80s/low-90s east/west cutter that is a nice change of pace against hitters after he’s hammering sinker after sinker. The changeup is also a very solid offering in the mid-80’s that looks like it’s being sucked through a vortex opened up beneath home plate.
Davis entered Sunday with 3.26 ERA and 22 K/4 BB through his first 16 IP this season and was coming off six innings of one-run ball against Queens that saw him throw a season-high 6 IP and a season-high 57 pitches. His first SEC start didn’t go quite as well as he struggled to find the strikezone and walked four while striking out just two through 2.2 IP. The stuff is there to remain intrigued as he settles into SEC play.
The Mississippi State arm I was very intrigued to watch was RHP Karson Ligon. He’s a senior arm but I think there’s more here that the right team could pull a decent amount out of. Ligon gave up two runs on four hits across 3.2 IP, but he didn’t walk anyone and he struck out four.
His fastball sits in the 92-94 range and works well up in the zone. Walks have been an issue in his career but after Sunday’s outing, he’s now at 27 K/6 BB in 17.2 IP. The home run he allowed was fully wind-aided and the changeup impressed Ben McDonald who was on the broadcast for Sunday’s doubleheader. The below video is Ligon using his quality changeup to strike out Texas OF and soon-to-be first round pick Max Belyeu.
On the Texas side, SS Jalin Flores entered the weekend with multiple hits in six of his last eight games, but went hitless over the weekend. Still, Flores is a tall, premium defender at shortstop with an above-average arm. There’s some chase at the plate, but solid power potential and a quality hitter that could be a very nice get for a team in the second or third round this summer. You can get a sense of his defense below.
The impact bat in this Texas lineup is last year’s Big 12 Player of the Year, OF Max Belyeu. With 60 grade raw power, a strong outfield arm, and an above-average hit tool, Belyeu is being mocked in the mid-first round so unless he takes another step forward in 2025, depending on how the board shakes out, Belyeu could be a potential option for the Orioles at pick 19. But don’t count on it.
He’s a 6’2” lefty bat who draws a good amount of walks and keeps the strikeouts in check. He has a 113 mph max EV and hit his first home run in a month on Sunday, sending this hanging curveball 413 feet at 100 mph.
Finally from this series, LHP Jared Spencer and RHP Ruger Riojas. Spencer allowed 5 R on 8 H across 5.2 IP in an offensive-heavy environment on Friday, but he walked just one and struck out seven. Spencer was drafted by the Phillies in the 14th round last season, but did not sign and transferred from Indiana State to Texas where the strikeouts have climbed from 29% to 32% and he’s currently slashed his walk rate to a career-low 9%.
Spencer is an explosive arm who normally sits 94-96 mph with his sinking fastball, gets plus whiff rates on his slider, and offers a low-80s changeup with big run. The below look at his stuff is also from PG Baseball.
I was introduced to Riojas after reading about him from Joe Doyle at Future Stars Series. Per Doyle’s report, Riojas throws 92-94 with plus IVB and above-average extension and Doyle also notes that he believes Riojas is a prime candidate to start at the next level after developing from a two-pitch pitcher to a five-pitch pitcher, he just hasn’t been given the runway at Texas. Hmmm..the Orioles like to do that with guys.
Arkansas vs Ole Miss
Friday night’s contest was a great example of what makes following this sport fun. I went into Friday’s game very excited to watch LHP Zach Root in an Arkansas uniform for the first time since he transferred from ECU, but ended up fixated on Ole Miss starter LHP Hunter Elliot.
Elliot logged just six innings in 2023 and none in 2024 because of Tommy John surgery, but was still a 20th round pick of the Dodgers last year. He returned to Ole Miss and pitched very well in non-conference action, posting a 1.86 ERA with 25 K/11 BB in four starts.
Elliot struck out 8 and walked just 1 through 5 IP on Friday night. He sat 90-92 mph, touched 94 mph and showed off his best offering, a plus changeup that can generate about 20 inches of movement. He also had a game-high four groundouts, which was very helpful as the high winds wrecked havoc throughout the contest. Elliot won’t fly up into the top three rounds or anything, but if he can continue to have a productive SEC campaign, he will hear his name called again in the 2025 draft.
On the hitting side for Ole Miss, 2B Luke Hill is an interesting, higher floor bat. He has a max EV of just 107 but reports have him in the 99th percentile in chase rates and he showcased a few quality at-bats over the weekend, including a two-strike 96 mph fastball on the outer-third of the plate sent the other way for a base hit. Overall, he picked up four hits and a walk on the weekend. There was also this home run, if you like opposite-field home runs.
It was a rough day on Friday for LHP Zach Root, giving up 7 ER on 10 H across 3 IP with 3 K. The wind caused some atrocious outfield defense and there were a couple of truly wonky infield hops that didn’t help, but at the end of the day Root’s first SEC start was one to forget. The 6’1” lefty can run it up to 97 mph and has a couple of potential plus secondary offerings, including an upper-80s slider that produces elite swing and miss.
I’ll return to Root later in the season as he should see Texas, LSU, and Tennessee in his final three regular season outings. That will certainly tell everyone much more about Root’s draft stock.
OF Charles Davalan was the Arkansas bat that stood out the most. The LHH had eight hits over the weekend, including two 100 mph home runs. A draft-eligible sophomore, Davalan plays all three outfield spots and has experience at second base. He’s running a 93% contact rate and is one of the top hitters in the country in terms of low whiff/big exit velos. I’d be all for throwing a bit of money to bring Davalan into the system.
The top shortstops in the class, Marek Houston (Wake), Dean Curley (Tennessee), and Aiva Arquette (Oregon State) get most of the attention, and deservedly so, but Arkansas SS Wehiwa Aloy could be a solid value for a team picking in the 30’s. He went hitless on Friday but ended the week with a three-hit day on Sunday, including a 111 mph home run. It’s plus bat speed with a max EV of 114 mph and strong defense at SS. There is some chase which was on display this weekend, but he’s going to be a quality pro prospect and a great get for someone late-first round/early second-round.
3B Brent Iredale is also a name to track. The Australian-born JUCO transfer has 7 HR on the season with a .390 average and .557 OBP through 20 games. He’s also walked more than he’s struck out (20 BB/15 K).
Oklahoma vs South Carolina
Hello, RHP Kyson Witherspoon. Oklahoma’s Friday night arm was recently mocked to the Baltimore Orioles at pick 30 over at Baseball America last week, and I’m all for it, if he lasts that long.
The 6’2”/200 pound righty sits 95-96 mph and touches 99 mph with around 20 inches of IVB from a lower release. On Friday night, Witherspoon struck out 7 across 5.1 IP and walked just one. He continued to hit 97/98 mph late into his outing, while also flashing his impressive slider, cutter, and curveball.
Witherspoon is an explosive arm with a big time personality that’s on display in the video below, and he’s a leader in the Oklahoma clubhouse. A big thing to note is his control. He walked 40 batters in 80 IP last season. This year, he has just six walks in 28.1 IP and had zero walks in 9 IP in the Cape Cod League over the summer, before he joined Team USA where he impressed.
His twin brother, RHP Malachi Witherspoon, pitched Saturday and really struggled, but I like him as a potential relief prospect. Malachi’s fastball is a tick slower than his brother’s, but the big issue is his control. He walked 10% last season and that’s up to over 13% this season, but the stuff is there similar to his brother.
As for the Oklahoma bats, we know the Orioles love to stock up on their catchers and seem to be moving more toward the Ethan Anderson/Ryan Stafford types, but Easton Carmichael is very interesting. He’s a 6’1” RHH with above-average hit and run grades and has put up a max EV in 110 mph range. He had a double over the weekend that was hit at 110 mph. Behind the plate, it’s solid arm strength, but reports about his receiving are positive and in watching him over the weekend, his blocking stood out.
My favorite Carmichael at-bat was a two-strike changeup low and away he guides into the outfield for a base hit. That was a positive to see after breaking stuff tended to give him some fits over the weekend.
I’m also very interested in SS/3B Dawson Willis. Willis was the D2 Defensive Player of the Year at LSU-Eunice last season and is now adjusting to the SEC. He’s a tall, lanky 6’4” RHH who is very raw, but the projection and ceiling are interesting, in my opinion. Overall it was a tough first SEC series for Willis, but he did connect on his 107 mph home run. It was a middle/middle fastball, but the strength was impressive.
Let’s end this with South Carolina CF Nathan Hall. There’s no denying Ethan Petry’s plus power and Cape Cod League MVP performance, but I just don’t love the first base prospect types. If the Orioles are big believers in the bat to not care that he’s strictly 1B/DH then awesome, but we haven’t really seen them go this route in the past.
Hall, on the other hand, is a premium defender at a premium position and is quietly having a solid season. The Clemson transfer hit .333 on the Cape last summer and is hitting .410 for South Carolina this season with seven doubles, two home runs, and more walks (14) than strikeouts (12). I love the frame and think if a pro team can get him to lift the ball more, he could be a nice get.