Brett Lilley - Notre Dame, Sophomore
Infielder

5'7", 165
7/30/85

.349/.466/.406

75 AB 38 R 61 H 4 2B 0 3B 2 HR 31 RBI 71 TB 23 BB 18 K 5/10 SB (19 HBP)

The instant comparison that comes to mind when watching Brett Lilley is David Eckstein. Unfortunately for Lilley, I’d have to call him a poor man’s Eckstein after watching him play – I couldn’t believe how small he was in person and, more damning than his lack of size, I couldn’t believe some of the strange things he did on the field. For being listed at 5’7”, 165, Lilley sure has the swing of a power hitter. Lilley went up to the plate each time hacking away with one of the longest, loopiest swings you’ll ever see. He crouches way down at the plate, suddenly making his 5’7” program listing look about six inches too high. One of the things that jump out about Lilley’s stats is his astronomical HBP numbers on the year – the Fighting Irish second baseman was plunked 19 times in the 2006 regular season. There are two reasons for this: 1) he stands right on top of the plate (fairly obvious), and 2) he starts his swing with an exaggerated leg kick (a timing mechanism) that makes it very difficult to get out of the way of ball heading his direction. As if the strange batting stance wasn’t enough, Lilley also has a peculiar way of throwing the ball from third base. He continuously whipped balls to first base using a funky sidearm delivery that made my arm hurt just watching – it was reasonably effective though as each and every throw he made hit first baseman Craig Cooper in the chest. Lilley has decent on base skills (23 BB/18 K…but keep in mind his .466 OBP is boosted by those 19 HBP), but no power to speak of at all. He isn’t much of a pro prospect at all at this point, but he could prove to be just “scrappy” enough to fool a team into spending a low round pick on him someday down the line.

Kyle Weiland - Notre Dame, Freshman
Righthanded pitcher

6'4", 175
9/12/86

2.54 ERA 2-3 14 SV 39 IP 31 H 18 BB 36 K .226 BAA

Kyle Weiland is a true freshman pitching in the closer’s role at Notre Dame…I’d say that qualifies him as a guy to keep on eye on down the road. By the way, he also has some pretty impressive numbers…he’s been a bit wild, but it hasn’t exactly killed him as opponents have had a hard time getting quality swings off of him. Again, Weiland is just a true freshman, but is still worth keeping an eye on.

Wade Korpi - Notre Dame, Sophomore
Lefthanded pitcher

5'10", 195
3/10/86

2.20 ERA 5-2 65.1 IP 48 H 22 BB 81 K .207 BAA

All of the typical college lefthander descriptions apply – “knows how to pitch,” “very polished on the mound,” “able to set hitters up using craftiness and knowledge of the situation.” Korpi throws a fastball, changeup, and a curve. His numbers seem to indicate that he has a pretty good idea of how to throw all three pitches (81 K and only 48 H in 65.1 IP).