Luke Shliger

2023 Bowman Draft Preview

2023 Bowman Draft Preview

Previewing the 2023 Bowman Draft baseball trading card product with a focus on every player that has a 1st Bowman card. Here you will find the most desirable 1st Bowman prospect cards of players including Wyatt Langford, Paul Skenes, Max Clark and over 100 more prospects.

2023 MLB Draft: Top 500 Prospects - Final Update

2023 MLB Draft: Top 500 Prospects - Final Update

We're happy to introduce our final Top 500 Prospect update for the 2023 MLB Draft, featuring blurbs for the top 250 prospects on this list.

2023 MLB Draft: Top 400 Prospects - May Update

2023 MLB Draft: Top 400 Prospects - May Update

We’re back with a May update! The top 50 was a task to rank given the amount of talent in this range. It’s a deep class, especially on the college side. Dylan Crews still leads the way, and while Paul Skenes remains at #2, Wyatt Langford is putting together a solid case to move into that spot. 

2023 MLB Draft: Week 2 Stock Watch

This article is brought to you by Nick Johnson, one of the newest contributors at Prospects LIve

LHP Sean Sullivan, Wake Forest 


Performance: 6 IP, O R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 11 K

Talk about starting out with a bang! I’m not sure even Sean Sullivan could have scripted a better beginning to his Wake career. Through his first two appearances the 6’4 lefty has thrown 10 innings allowing only 2 hits, 1 walk, while striking out 21 batters!

As I wrote in January I thought Sullivan was one of the most under-the-radar transfers in all of D1. A Northwestern transfer, Sullivan had an impressive freshman season as the Wildcat’s Friday night starter throwing 64.2 innings, striking out 78 while sporting a 4.45 era. After the collegiate season he pitched an additional 28 innings in the Cape League where he struck out 29 in 28 innings while only giving up 22 hits and walking 9.


If you’ve never seen Sullivan pitch he throws from a funky low 3⁄4 slot that is super deceptive. He works quickly and pounds the zone. He has a 3 pitch mix (FB,SL,CH) but is super FB heavy. In his start Friday against Mount St. Mary’s he threw 77 pitches and a staggering 66 of them were fastballs (85%). He had a crazy 25 swing and misses on the day. The fastball had 55% miss and 41% chase. Sullivan’s FB sat 88 and topped out at 90. If he can tap into his big frame and gain velocity you could watch his stock soar. With the news that Teddy McGraw may be out for an extended amount of time it will be interesting to see if Sullivan sticks in the starting rotation. My bet would be yes. 



RHP Ryan Hawks, Louisville   

Performance: 7.1 IP, 1R, 4H, 0BB, 8K

After missing all of 2021 due to injury Ryan Hawks became Louisville’s go to arm out of the pen in 2022. In 27 appearances (1 start) Hawks threw 49 innings allowing 54 hits, walking 16 and striking out 65. 

This year Hawks becomes arguably the most important piece of a Louisville staff that is coming off an underwhelming 2022. The former Kentucky Gatorade player of the year has certainly looked the part of a Friday night starter through his first two games. In 13.2 innings he has only given up 7 hits, 1 walk, 1 ER, while striking out 17. 

This Friday against Bowling Green he looked really good. He tossed 7.1 innings of 4 hit ball without allowing an earned run and striking out 8. He threw 88 pitches and was primarily FB/SL while mixing in 6 CH. Despite it being a brisk 45 degrees the fastball sat 92 and topped 93. I expect the velocity to tick up as it gets warmer and he builds back up. The slider looked really impressive with 56% whiff/31% chase. I hope he mixes the change in more because it had good fading movement and induced some funky swings.

Through two starts Louisville has to be extremely happy with what they’ve seen from Hawks as he will be a pivotal piece in their push to Omaha. 



RHP Hurston Waldrep, Florida


6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3BB, 13K

When Florida went and got Hurston Waldrep out of the transfer portal I imagine this was exactly what they thought they were getting. The RHP Southern Miss transfer was absolutely electric Saturday afternoon. The 6’2 Thomasville, GA native shoved against Cincinnati going 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 13 K (tied career high). He threw 100 pitches (62% strikes) and featured a FB,CB,SP/CH mix. The fastball sat 95 and topped 98. He held 96 into the 6th inning. The Split-Change was absolutely nails at 87 mph with 71% whiff/64% chase.  

After facing Charleston Southern and Cincinnati, Waldrep will get his first real test of the season this weekend as he faces a talented and nationally ranked Miami offense highlighted by projected first rounder Yoyo Morales.    


Honorable Mentions:

RHP Jackson Baumeister, FL St. 

5.2, 1H, 0 ER, 2BB, 8K, 81 pitches (50 strikes) at #10 TCU

RHP Noah Hall, South Carolina 

8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K, 99 pitches (71 strikes) vs UPENN

RHP Jason Savacool, Maryland

7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 101 pitches (67 strikes) at #4 Ole Miss






HITTERS


C Luke Shliger, Maryland 

Performance: 6 for 12, HR, 2 2B, 7 RBI

In what was billed to be one of the best matchups of the weekend #13 Maryland traveled down south to take on the #4 Rebels of Ole Miss. It was a great early season test for the Maryland offense to go up against some great SEC arms. While the series didn’t go the way Maryland would have hoped, Jr. catcher Luke Shliger really stood out. In the 3 game series the 5’9 LHH went 6-12 with a 2B, HR, 5 RBI’s, 2BB and 3K. 

Shliger really burst onto the scene as a sophomore slashing .357/.500/.643 with a 1.143 OPS. He had 22 doubles, 2 triples, and 12 homers. He followed up his sophomore campaign with an All-Star season on Cape. 

With a hit > power approach, good swing/take decisions, strong bat-to-ball skills, and limited physical projection remaining, the Maryland backstop profiles as a high-floor, low-ceiling type player. The question he will have to answer this spring is just how much impact the bat carries. The power production will dictate how high he goes but he currently projects as a Top 100 pick.


C Devin Burkes, Kentucky 

Performance: 8-13, 7 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB, 3HBP, 2 SB

I’m not sure anyone in the country had as good of a weekend as RS SO catcher Devin Burkes. Burkes went crazy against Wright St. going 8 for 13 with 7 doubles, 1 homerun, 11 RBI, 2 walks, 3 HBP, and 2 stolen bases. Including his midweek game against Indiana St. Burkes slashed .563/.667/1.188 with a 1.855 OPS. The Bradenton, Florida native is enjoying his first year as Kentucky’s everyday catcher and has a 20 game on base streak dating back to last season. He currently leads the nation in doubles. Burkes is making his case to fly up draft boards this spring. 


3B Jack Costello, San Diego 

Performance: 5-9, 5R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1BB, 1K

Not even a historic Southern California deluge could cool off JR RHH Jack Costello. The third baseman only got two games in this weekend due to heavy rain but did wreak havoc in both.On Friday night against Hawaii he went 3-4 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. On Sunday against UNLV he went 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI. 

Costello is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where he slashed .307/.369/.487 with a .856 OPS. He had 15 2B, 2 3B, and 8 HR. He spent 18 games in the Cape Cod league where he hit .270 in limited at bats. 


The Terero’s are off to a hot 5-0-1 start and a lot of their future success will rest on the success of their star 3B. 

Prospects Live 2023 Preseason Collegiate All-Americans

Prospects Live 2023 Preseason Collegiate All-Americans

Prospects Live is back with their 2023 Preseason All-American teams leading up to their extensive 2023 college baseball coverage.

The Prospects Live Preseason All-American teams are listed below, broken down into three separate teams. We selected our Preseason All-Americans based on their production from 2022, their prospect status in terms of our MLB Draft evaluations, and 2023 expectations.