Nashville, TN- After watching Florida battle Vanderbilt for just a single game of their weekend series during Week Six of the college season, I returned to Hawkins Stadium for a Thursday through Saturday series which pitted the Commodores against Auburn. The series featured a potential top ten overall pick for 2019 and likely another in 2020, as well as several sophomore draft-eligibles; Judd Ward, Jack Owen, Edouard Julien for Auburn and Pat DeMarco, Philip Clarke for Vanderbilt. The three-game series was lopsided with Vanderbilt leading at the end of every inning and resulted in a series sweep by a combined score of 26-13. As for tools and talent, here’s what I saw…

No. 3 JJ Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt- This latest look was similar to that of Week Six, particularly with Bleday’s run, throw and defend abilities. Offensively, he appeared more in sync at the plate with his stride/foot plant better timed up with his load/bat tip. He stayed connected and hit against a firm from side. But ironically, the result in this series was six strikeouts in 15 plate appearances with just one hit. It was a much different performance than the one game look against the Gators earlier this spring when he homered and walked twice versus one of the top arms for the 2020 draft (Tommy Mace). Bleday’s lone hit in this Auburn series was a home run to left field where he displayed his tremendous extension. He currently leads the SEC with nine home runs in conference games this spring, yet somewhat concerning is that he has also struck out 25 times in 101 SEC plate...