Editor’s note: College Baseball Nation is joined by guest writer, Owen Surett. Owen Surett is a college student who resides in North Carolina. Owen covers College Baseball for his media outlet, College Baseball USA (@ColBaseUSA on Twitter), which was founded in Fall of 2019. He is passionate about various aspects of the game, including analytics, player development, and player evaluation.
Mike Gambino’s Boston College squad is loaded with draft prospects in 2021. It remains to be seen whether or not Boston College can translate this into success in the ACC, always one of college baseball’s strongest conferences, but the Eagles started the year off strong. This past weekend Boston College headed down to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina for a series at Charleston Southern where they handily swept the Buccaneers with scores 12-4, 12-1, and 10-2. Below is a brief rundown on the three high-profile 2021 MLB Draft prospects on Boston College’s roster.
Boston College 3B Cody Morissette L/R
HS: Exeter, NH
Listed at 6’0” 175, Morissette has a lean, but muscular upper body with wiry legs. He has gifted hands and hips that aid in generating torque from the left side.
Morissette’s calling card is his bat. He’s a hitter, plain and simple, and that was apparent after the first two swings he took in BP. He generates thunderous bat speed from a swing path that can achieve power, which should also be a prominent part of his game. You can see Cody’s offensive skills stand out in a single video below.
With a plus hit tool and average to above average power, being a fringe average defender at third base, or even second base, shouldn’t make any teams complain.
Boston College RHP Mason Pelio 6’3” 230 lbs
HS: Rancho Bernardo, CA
Pelio is an above average athlete with a plus fastball that regularly gets hitters swinging under it. He sat 94-96 early on and ticked down to 92-94 later on in his start, and the pitch plays up due to late life. The secondary pitch he relied most heavily on was his changeup, which he has good feel for and consistently generates horizontal fade. What stood out was his ability to mimic his fastball’s arm speed in order to sell the pitch. He flashed a vertical breaking curveball that he knows how to spin, but didn’t need to throw it too much in this game. Pelio is more of a strike-thrower than a command guy, and this is where he has room for improvement.
If he can improve his consistency in hitting targets, and limit the amount of times he leaves balls over the middle of the plate, Pelio can reach his potential as a number three starter.
Grades (Present/Future)
FB 55/60
CH 45/55
CB 45/50
CMD 40/50
Boston College CF Sal Frelick L/R
HS: Lexington, MA
Frelick has an advanced feel for the bat head, with his plus bat speed giving him the potential to achieve average power to go along with an above average hit tool. He possesses the under-appreciated skill of being able to foul off any pitch, at any location, in any count. It is also what stands out when you watch Rays SS Wander Franco. Frelick doesn’t have the most refined plate discipline, but this hand-eye coordination can lessen the harm that a so-so approach has on a hitter’s success.
These bat-to-ball skills also make him a better candidate for a swing change because players like Frelick can more easily adjust to a steeper approach angle, if that is what his future pro organization decides to do with him.
His best tool is his 70 grade speed. Frelick is an elite athlete, posting home to first times around the 4-second mark from the left side. He didn’t get much action out in centerfield in this doubleheader but he certainly has the straight-line speed to handle centerfield. It will come down to the refinement of his jumps, reads, and paths to the ball that will ultimately decide his positional fate.
With an above average hit tool, average power, and elite speed, Frelick looks to be a future solid regular at the big league level.
Morrissette, Pelio, and Frelick all look like mid-first round profiles. It will be fascinating to see how this season plays out for the Eagles. They will face Duke this weekend in Durham, to open up ACC play.
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