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Nolan Schubart (Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma State Athletics)
With the help of 64Analytics.com, Baseball America is back to highlight 10 college baseball players who produced standout data, this time focusing in on individual performances from Week 6.
Here are five hitters and pitchers who caught our attention this past week:
Hitters
Eli Putnam, OF, Davidson
Eli Putnam has enjoyed an excellent senior season to date, as he’s already more than halfway to his career-best mark in home runs (16) with nine. Putnam put together the loudest week of his campaign in Week 6 when he posted 13 hits in 17 at-bats (.765), including five home runs and two doubles. The righthanded hitter also tallied 10 runs, a 1.765 slugging percentage, 14 RBIs and a top-30 wRCE among all Division I hitters in Week 6.
Kyle Lodise, SS, Georgia Tech
Kyle Lodise kept his foot on the gas in Week 6, piling up seven hits across 18 at-bats with a 1.167 slugging percentage, four home runs, a triple and seven RBIs. Lodise’s success helped him rise to No. 12 nationally on the year in wRCE, according to 64Analytics.
Lodise has consistently made loud contact this season, his first at the Division I level after two years at Division II Augusta University. The 5-foot-11 middle infielder has already logged 13 doubles, a triple and nine home runs the year, marking a new career high in extra-base hits. More than half of Lodise’s 38 total hits (23) have gone for extra bases this year, which has led to a 146.33 wRC+ and .410 batting average on balls in play. He’s also drawn walks and strikeouts at a one-to-one ratio. All said, Lodise is one of the nation’s elite-level produces roughly a third of the way through the regular season.
Sam Tackett, OF, Virginia Tech
It took just 10 at-bats for Virginia Tech outfielder Sam Tackett to make this week’s Freak Sheet. Tackett in Week 6 recorded six hits, three of which left the yard, and walked six times, including three intentional free passes.
Tackett is enjoying the breakout campaign many forecasted for him, as he’s finally tapping into thunderous raw power. The senior from Lexington, Kentucky has hit 10 home runs and ranks 23rd nationally in slugging percentage (.800) among players with at least 65 at-bats.
Johnny Sweeney, DH, USC Upstate
Johnny Sweeney was a cheat code at the plate in Week 6, with nine hits in 10 at-bats, including three home runs, two doubles, nine RBIs, two walks, two hit by pitches, six runs scored and not a single strikeout. His OPS over three games was an astounding 2.929, and he produced the seventh-most valuable week as measured by 64Analytics’ wRCE.
Having already set new career highs in just about ever category, Sweeney ranks among the top 150 players nationally in value at the plate.
Nolan Schubart, OF, Oklahoma State
While the Freak Sheet tends to recognize players for their entire body of work throughout a week, there are some individual moments that are simply too good to omit. Oklahoma State masher Nolan Schubart certainly recorded one of those last week.
On Tuesday against North Dakota State, Schubart got hold of a ball and sent it a projected 517 feet to left-center, marking the longest home run of the season. The blast, of course, produced questions about whether or not the Cowboys’ ball-tracking technology needed a recalibration. But the mammoth homer still points to the double-plus power that make Schubart such an intriguing early-round draft prospect this year.
Pitchers
Micah Bucknam, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Micah Bucknam continued to impress in Week 6 when he posted the most electrifying outing of his collegiate career against Middle Tennessee State with 14 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit.
Bucknam might not have overwhelming velocity or jaw-dropping offspeed offerings, but his stuff has produced gaudy results this year nonetheless. His slider and curveball have drawn whiff rates around 50% this season, and he’s allowed just five earned runs while striking out 25 over his last 20 innings, lowering his ERA to 3.82.
Bucknam climbed into the Baseball America draft rankings at No. 273. Some sources have projected that the righty could rise more if he continues to perform.
Blake Gillespie, RHP, Charlotte
Charlotte righty Blake Gillespie continued his emergent season on Friday against a potent UTSA lineup when he struck out a career-high 13 batters and allowed just two runs over eight innings.
Gillespie, who utilizes a unique slider-first approach, has impressed in his first year as a starter, which has also included a no-hitter.
Gillespie’s improved command, plus what he described to Baseball America as a more free approach on the mound, have turned him into a formidable starter in the AAC and someone who could garner some middle-round draft consideration this summer.
Ricky Ojeda, LHP, UC Irvine
Starters who perform well and relievers with outlier stuff (think 100 mph fastball or high-spin breaking balls) typically get priority on the Freak Sheet. But sometimes a reliever comes along with such unique offerings and great results that they can’t be left off. Insert UC Irvine’s Ricky Ojeda.
An undersized lefty who sits in the low 90s and backs up his fastball with a high-60s curveball, Ojeda might not jump off the page if you gave his arsenal a cursory look. But the results speak for themselves, as this season he’s compiled a 2.31 ERA with 34 strikeouts to 11 walks across 23.1 innings (all in relief), including 5.2 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts against UC Santa Barbara in Week 6.
Ojeda has quietly proven to be one of college baseball’s most reliable relievers, as he owns a 3.11 career ERA with 108 strikeouts to 36 walks in 75.1 innings.
Aidan Haugh, RHP, North Carolina
Aidan Haugh came tantalizingly close to history on Sunday against Boston College when he narrowly missed out on becoming the first North Carolina pitcher since 1999 to throw a no-hitter (Boston College recorded a hit on the last play of the game).
Still, Haugh’s performance was more than Freak Sheet worthy, as he punched out 11 while allowing just two base runners on a single and a walk. It led to the third-most valuable week according to 64Analytics, which also has Haugh ranked 15th nationally in wRAE on the season.
Dominic Fritton, LHP, NC State
Dominic Fritton has been featured regularly on the BA Ace Report as he continues to be a revelation at the front of the NC State rotation. Now the lefty is a member of the Freak Sheet, as his numbers are too good not to explore further.
Fritton has been elite with a 1.50 ERA, 52 strikeouts to 15 walks and just two home runs allowed in 36 innings. That’s after posting a 7.64 ERA, 72 strikeouts to 47 walks and 22 home runs allowed in 73 innings last year.
His success is at least in part a byproduct of a repertoire overhaul, which has seen him effectively scrap his changeup (13% usage in 2024 and just 1% in 2025) while tripling his slider usage (6% in 2024 to 18% in 2025). Fritton has also produced 43% and 38% whiff rates on his curveball and slider, respectively, this season after posting 29% and 19% rates on those pitches last year. Fritton goes to his fastball roughly 72% of the time and generates just 25% whiffs on it, which is an area he’ll need to continue to refine to maximize his professional profile.
While his offspeed pitches have produced strong results this year, Fritton is still very reliant on his fastball, which he’s thrown 72% of the time. More balance could help maximize his professional profile.
Fritton was ranked No. 198 in BA’s latest draft rankings update.
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