College Baseball Stock Talk: Standouts from Week 7

Another week of college baseball is in the books, and with conference play in full swing, the weekend delivered standout performances, intense matchups, and plenty of intrigue.

In this week’s Stock Talk, we spotlight eight draft-eligible players who stood out and continued to elevate their stock as the 2026 MLB Draft draws closer.

Let’s dive in.

Nathan Taylor | RHP

Turning in his best outing of the 2026 season, Nathan Taylor tossed seven scoreless innings against Kansas this past weekend.

Primarily a two-pitch guy, Taylor had both on full display while also mixing in a changeup. Starting off with the fastball, a firm offering sitting 91-94 (up to 95) mph, landing it for over 70% strikes and generating north of a 38% whiff rate. Furthermore, it showed nearly 16 inches of ride with slight cut traits, paired with spin rates climbing into the 2,500 RPM range.

The pitch of the outing, however, was his slider; an 83-85 mph offering he showed the ability to land in anytime against both lefties and righties. With short, late-downward action, hitters had no answer, producing over a 40% whiff rate and more than a 35% chase rate.

As mentioned before, Taylor also mixed in a mid-80s changeup, primarily against left-handed hitters. It proved to be a legitimate weapon, averaging over 15 inches of fade and creating clear separation off his four-seam.

Great to see Nathan Taylor look to this form, being amongst of the best Big-12 starters in college baseball and giving the Bearcats a shot to win every series opener.

Nathan will likely make his next start for Cincinnati on the road this coming Friday against Oklahoma State.

Taylor is #98 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Gavin Grahovac | INF

Grahovac continues to punish baseballs, producing at a high level as A&M’s leadoff man and playing an instrumental role in their 4-0 week.

The stat line doesn’t tell the full story. While he finished with just four hits, every one of them left the yard, with an average exit velocity north of 107 mph. He also drove in 12 runs and posted a 75% hard-hit rate over the week.

Across eight batted balls in four games, Grahovac averaged a 99.6 mph exit velocity while running an 87.5% fly ball rate, consistently elevating the baseball with authority.

He showed a strong approach against Missouri, working the outer half and demonstrating the ability to drive the ball to all fields. If he can continue to trim the whiff and chase rates moving forward, he profiles comfortably as a top three round selection on draft day.

Gavin will be back in action for Texas A&M back at home this coming Thursday against Vanderbilt.

Grahovac is #51 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Ruger Riojas | RHP

The Red River Rivalry in Austin couldn’t have gone much better for Ruger Riojas, who spun seven scoreless innings against Oklahoma in a run-rule shutout victory.

Riojas leaned on his full six-pitch mix throughout the outing, with every offering playing a role. He set the tone early with a four-seam fastball sitting 93-95 (up to 96) mph, flashing over 19 inches of ride and generating north of a 33% whiff rate. He’ll also occasionally drop his arm slot to mix in a slightly lower-velocity sinker, though rare, giving hitters a second angle to account for.

Against a lefty-heavy lineup, Riojas turned more frequently to his cutter and splitter. The cutter lived in the mid-80s, having roughly five inches of lift while producing around a 25% chase rate. The splitter, meanwhile, was a true weapon; a kill-spin offering averaging just under 1,200 RPM and consistently in the zone for strikes at a 70% clip.

He rounded out the arsenal with two more pitches over the weekend: a curveball around 80 mph that drew over a 40% chase rate with excellent feel for and an 81-83 mph changeup. While used much less often, the changeup showed up against lefties and well executed within the bottom of the zone.

As the season progresses, Riojas continues to trend upward, cementing himself as one of the top senior arms in the upcoming draft and raising fascinating questions about where he could ultimately land on draft boards. Ruger will likely make his next start for Texas on the road this coming Thursday against South Carolina.

Jake Long | OF

A banger weekend or Jake Long, racking up seven extra-base hits, driving in eight runs, and completing the third cycle in Utah baseball history on Sunday.

He saw the ball exceptionally well all week, posting just a 3.8% in-zone whiff rate while producing a 55.6% hard-hit rate.

Sunday marked a true career performance, as Long went 5-for-6 with the cycle and two home runs, both coming on the first pitch of his first two at-bats. Home run number one especially stood out, traveling 444 feet with a 106 mph exit speed.

Across 18 batted balls on the weekend, Long averaged a 92.5 mph exit speed while running a fly ball rate north of 60%. Notably, he also did not record a single whiff against left-handed pitching over the four-game stretch.

Now leading Utah in at-bats, SLG, and OPS, Long is emerging as one of the top bats in the western region. Jake will be back in action for Utah on the road this coming Thursday against Kansas.

Ethan Norby | LHP

Another arm turning in their best start of 2026 was southpaw Ethan Norby, going seven scoreless on the road against a gritty UTSA offense.

Working with a four-pitch mix over the weekend, Norby had all of them operating effectively. He primarily attacked with his four-seam fastball, sitting 90–93 mph and touching 94. Released from a lower slot hovering around five feet that generates nearly 12 inches of ride, giving hitters a unique look.

His best pitch, though, was the slider; his go-to weapon living 79–82 mph. It gets roughly 12 inches of sweep with elite spin rates, averaging 3,000 RPM (peaking at 3,340 on Friday), and generated a whiff rate north of 50% to go along with a 40% chase rate, making it one of the more dominant offerings at the mid-major level.

Alongside those two, Norby mixed in both a cutter and a changeup. The cutter sat in the mid-80s, touching 87–88 early, with late action through the zone and produced nearly a 60% whiff rate. The changeup, also in the mid-80s, was used more sparingly but effectively, creating good separation off the fastball and primarily deployed against right-handed hitters.

One of the top arms in mid-major baseball, Norby returned to form in electric fashion. Ethan will likely make his next start for East Carolina back at home this coming Thursday against Charlotte.

Norby is #40 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Kollin Ritchie | OF

Ritchie is starting to heat up, obtaining a hit in eight of his recent 10 games while hitting .400 on the road this recent week.

Across 14 batted balls over the last four games, Kollin averaged a 91.3 mph exit speed, including 94 mph against left-handed arms, while posting a 50% hard-hit rate and a 64.3% fly ball rate.

Ritchie maxed out his week at 108.3 mph on a double in the midweek matchup against Missouri State. Over the weekend against BYU, Ritchie added a pair of home runs, giving him three extra-base hits on the week.

One of the more notable takeaways, even in a small sample, was his performance against left-handed pitching. His 108 mph double came off a lefty; he produced higher average exit velocities in those matchups (mentioned above) and did not record a single whiff.

Kollin will be back in action for Oklahoma State back at home this coming Friday against Cincinnati.

Ritchie is #63 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Ben Blair | RHP

Liberty rolled all weekend, and it started with their ace Ben Blair, going seven frames of one-run ball against FIU.

Blair attacked the zone with a four-pitch mix, with each offering playing effectively. He set the tone with his fastball, sitting 92-95 (up to 96) mph, having over 15 inches of run and averaging around 2,500 RPM. He demonstrated strong command of the pitch, landing it for over 70% strikes this past Friday.

His go-to weapon in this outing though was the cutter. Thrown in the mid-80s and getting up to 87 mph, it averaged nearly 2,600 RPM with about 10 inches of lift through the zone, consistently giving left-handed hitters trouble.

The low-release right-hander rounded out his arsenal with a slider and a changeup. The slider, used more frequently, features sweeping action with around 13 inches of horizontal movement and spin rates north of 2,600 RPM. The changeup is used more sparingly, primarily against left-handed batters, and shows solid shape when deployed ahead in the count.

Now halfway through the regular season, Blair has logged over 42 innings across seven starts, posting a K-to-BB ratio just under 15.0 along with a 1.49 ERA. Ben will likely make his next start for Liberty on the road this coming Thursday against Western Kentucky.

Blair is #48 on our Top 100 College Prospect Board.

Blake Cyr | UT

Rounding out this week’s edition is Blake Cyr from Florida, coming off a fantastic stretch that featured three two-hit games and five RBI.

From a batted ball standpoint, Cyr was outstanding, putting 10 balls in play with nine of them coming off the bat at 90 mph or harder. He literally found the barrel on every swing, with the lone exception being a bunt. Over the four-game stretch, he averaged a 92.3 mph exit velocity, doing most of his damage on pitches elevated in the zone.

In the four games played, Cyr maxed out at an exit speed of 109.3 mph on a double in Saturday’s road game against Arkansas. He added several other scorched outputs, including a pair of singles at 107.8 and 105.3 mph.

He continues to mash at the plate, a strong inclination following a 2025 season that fell short of expectations. Now up to a 1.007 OPS and a .352 batting average, Cyr is arguably the best right-handed bat in Florida’s lineup.

Blake will be back in action for Florida back at home this coming Thursday against Ole Miss.