Tag: Tanner Kohlhepp

One Notre Dame player named to MLB Pipeline‘s Top-200 Draft prospects

It’s not who you think it is

The Irish have done well traditionally sending players off the the MLB, especially for a Midwest baseball team. Just last year pitcher [autotag]Tanner Kohlhepp[/autotag] and first baseman [autotag]Niko Kavadas[/autotag] were selected inside the first 11 rounds of the MLB Draft.

This coming season should see the same, as the Irish once again have a highly ranked squad and are facing off against North Carolina for a berth in the ACC Championship series. The NCAA Tournament looms large and so does the draft. Recently MLB Pipeline ranked the Top-200 draft prospects and had just one Notre Dame player on the list, and it’s not who many thought it would be.

Before looking at this list, my initial thought was where would pitcher [autotag]John Michael Bertrand[/autotag] land and if there was going to be another one of his teammates on this list. Well, the opposite happened and after looking over the list, it was why wasn’t JMB listed while [autotag]Jack Brannigan[/autotag] was.

This is no slight to Brannigan, who is a great player in his own right, but the ace of the Irish staff being left of this list is a big time omission. A left-handed power pitcher with a proven track record is what many teams should be looking for.

Back to Brannigan, who checked in as the 163rd player ranked and “has the best college arm in the Midwest” according to the scouting report. The two-way star is also projected to end up on the mound at the next level, but does want to start his professional career as a positional player. It surely will be interesting how teams handle that request.

Eithe way, the Irish have two very good draft eligible prospects but don’t be surprised to see a few other Notre Dame players get drafted as well.

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Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Former Notre Dame players in the minor leagues in 2022

Who should you keep tabs on this summer?

With Major League Baseball held up by a lockout, fans of America’s pastime might have to look elsewhere to get their fix for now. College baseball is the most obvious one at the moment since that season already has started. If fans have a little more patience, they will be able to keep up with the minor leagues in a month. Although there are much fewer teams than before, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of players to keep track of.

If you’re wondering if any former Notre Dame players are in the minors, you’re in luck. When the season begins, there will be quite a few players who once wore blue and gold working continuing their journey to baseball’s top level. If MLB gets its act together before it loses its whole season, you might see a few of these names with their parent club later this summer. Here’s who to look out for both this year and beyond:

Former Notre Dame pitcher Kohlhepp impressing during Detroit Tigers camp

The former Irish pitcher has impressed early in his MLB career

It’s always a great selling point during the recruiting process to sell players that their future is at the next level. Regardless of what sport it is, every athlete that gets an opportunity to play at the collegiate level has those dreams. For some, it’s not realistic but for others, like former Notre Dame pitcher Tanner Kohlhepp, it is.

We fondly remember Kohlhepp’s part in last years run in to the Super Regionals, then having the Detroit Tigers select him in the fifth round. Not all drafted players are fast tracked through systems, especially when drafted into an organization that is rebuilding. The Tigers were one of the worst teams in the MLB last year, but have the envy of many other teams due to a wealth of minor league talent, Kohlhepp included.

In his first outing facing live hitters since donning the Blue and Gold, Kohlhepp was more than impressive according to MLB.coms Jason Beck.

It’s great to see players like Trey Mancini and Cavan Biggio having big roles for their teams and it looks like Kohlhepp could be doing the same with the Tigers. It looks like Link Jarrett can use Kohlhepp as recruiting ammo in the near future.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame baseball adds Houston graduate transfer pitcher

Another arm in the fold for ND baseball

Matt Lazzaro is on the move once again. The Georgia native started his baseball career at Furman, where he was a teammate of current Notre Dame pitching John Michael Bertrand, pitched last year for Houston and now finds himself reuniting with Bertrand once again.

Lazzaro has announced that he will transfer out of Houston and enroll as a graduate transfer for Notre Dame, as Link Jarrett will look to find a replacement for recently drafted Tanner Kohlhepp.

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Even though Lazzaro wasn’t used much for the Cougars last year, just over 19 innings pitched, he was highly effective. He registered a 3.66 ERA with an impressive 24 strikeouts. Lazzaro kept the ball in the park as well, not allowing a homer last year.

Although we don’t know what Lazzaro’s role will be for Jarrett, his addition will be more added depth to a pitching staff that was very this past season.

Kohlhepp first off the board for Notre Dame in MLB Draft

The first Irish baseball player is off the board!

It has been a long wait for many of the Notre Dame baseball players as they waited for their names to be called in the MLB Draft. It definitely helped that this years draft was much longer than last years, twenty rounds instead of just five, but the wait was still on through four rounds.

The wait finally came to an end as with the 145th overall pick in the 5th round, the Detroit Tigers selected right-handed pitcher Tanner Kohlhepp. The Tigers have invested heavily in pitching over the most recent drafts and the Irish pitcher goes to a team that is in the middle of a rebuild.

It has been a very pitching-heavy draft for the Tigers, as five of their first six selections have been hurlers. It remains to be seen where Kohlhepp will start his professional career, but what we do know is it’s another feather in the baseball programs hat as they send yet another player to the big leagues.

Errors doom Notre Dame, drop game 1 in Starkville super regional

The Irish drop game 1 in Starkville

In a back and forth affair, host Mississippi State ultimately came out on top against Notre Dame in the first game of the three game super regionals. There were a lot of good omens for the Irish; 24-3 when scoring first, 33-3 when scoring more than three runs, but it wasn’t meant to be.

After leading 7-3 after the middle of the fifth, the Irish would only score one more time. The hosts hit three homers with Logan Tanner’s in the bottom of the 7th being the winning blast. John Michael Bertrand wasn’t as effective as he was last week, going four innings while allowing five run, four earned. Tanner Kohlhepp took the Irish the rest of the way but was the losing pitcher, while Preston Johnson was the winner for the Bulldogs.

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MSU closer Landon Sims went through the heart of the Irish order in the bottom of the eighth and then closed the door in the ninth after the Bulldogs took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. For a majority of the game, Notre Dame had the momentum, shutting down the MSU crowd while answering everything the Bulldogs sent to them.

What ultimately doom the Irish was their defense, which has been stellar all year. Uncharacteristic errors, four on the day, were the most the defense has made in a single game all season.

The offense did exactly what they needed to do, but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough for the Irish to scratch out an opening game win. Zach Prajzner was the star of the offense going three for four, with two doubles, a homer and four RBI.

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The series is not over by any means, as game one proved that these two teams are evenly matched. Game two of the series is scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm CST.

Baseball: Notre Dame takes game 1 in Pittsburgh behind Kavadas’ HR

Game 1 belonged to the Irish

The season Notre Dame first baseman Niko Kavadas is having is one for the ages. The Irish slugger after connecting on yet another long ball, now has 11 homers on the season, good for the ACC lead and top-4 nationally. The long fly was one of two the Irish hit en-route to a 4-1 opening series road victory against Pittsburgh.

Back to Kavadas, the lefty is inside the top-10 nationally in slugging, has been on his game all year.

It’s not just about the deep fly’s, Kavadas is second on the team in on-base percentage, and runs while leading the team in RBI’s, total bases, slugging, walks and obviously home runs. As the Irish continue to be among the top teams in the country, more and more recognition will go to Notre Dame’s star.

Kavadas wasn’t the only player to have an impact yesterday, as the pitching trio of Will Mercer, Tanner Kohlhepp and Joe Sheridan combined for 7 strike-outs, three walks, five hits and just one run.

Offensively, Carter Putz put one over the fences as well.

The Irish get back on the field today for game 2 of the series, as they look to lock up the series.

SWEEP! Notre Dame baseball sweeps hosting Virginia

Break out the brooms!

So far in Link Jarrett’s tenure at Notre Dame, his team’s have gotten off to fast starts. With today’s 8-3 road victory against Virginia, the Irish completed a road sweep, winning their fourth series away from South Bend in a row. A five-game winning streak now has elevated their record to 7-2.

After getting ranked for the first time this year, the Irish didn’t let that number next their name effect their game. Once again, it was the long ball that Notre Dame relied on, as first baseman Niko Kavadas, second baseman Jared Miller and shortstop Zack Prajzner all hit homers for the victorious Irish.

Both Kavadas and Miller hit two homers during the series, Miller added three other hits today as well.

The pitching trio of Dominic Cancellieri, Aidan Tyrell and Tanner Kohlhepp limited the Cavaliers to just three runs, two earned.

When the new rankings come out this week expect the Irish to be on the rise, as Virginia was ranked No. 21 coming into the weekend and couldn’t get a win on their home-field. Notre Dame won’t have a chance to extend their road series winning streak as they will host their first home series of the season against Duke starting Friday night.