Scrimmage observations (10/9): Freshman right-hander impresses once again

Editor's note: Bat Cats Central contributor Adam Revelette was on hand for six full innings of Kentucky's intrasquad Friday morning. There were around seven hitters on each team and players rotated defensively throughout the day, as usual.

It was a picturesque Friday morning for baseball at Kentucky Proud Park, where the Wildcats took the field for their latest intrasquad game amid the bustling pre-tailgate scene on the eve of the LSU football game. It was a good chance to see a couple of arms that will have an opportunity to be on the front lines of the pitching staff for UK in 2027.

Freshman Logan Sorrel and senior transfer PJ Craig were both effective in their outings, which amounted to a combined 6 2/3 innings to start the day. Sorrel nearly finished four full frames and reached 94 with his heater, pairing it nicely with a breaking ball that showed both sweep and/or depth at times. I don't want to give him too much credit just yet, but it does seem like he has the ability to shape his breaking ball a few different ways, which is an advanced trait for any pitcher.

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The Baton Rouge native notched a pair of punchouts across three perfect innings to start the day, and only ran into trouble after a Riley Jackson leadoff double in the fourth. A miscommunication on a sac bunt (and a pretty clear out at first base called safe) followed by Sorrel's own throwing error on another bunt resulted in a mess that was further complicated by the freshman's only walk of the day. He was able to make a nice flip homeward on a Jayce Tharnish squeeze attempt, starting a 1-2-3 double play, which finished the day for Sorrel.

What I liked most about Sorrel's day is that he was forced to pitch out of trouble and 'clean up his own mess,' which is typically a rare occurrence in the spring. Another big growth moment was after his throwing error when he slumped his shoulders, which Nick Mingione caught and corrected immediately. I love that; body language is huge as a pitcher, especially one with Sorrel's upside.

Craig gave up a solo shot to Cameron Owens to lead off the bottom of the third but yielded no other damage in his three frames, aside from a pair of two-out walks and a two-out HBP, which made this former pitching coach cringe (all three were missed 1-2-3 inning opportunities). Craig was locked in aside from that, however, and didn't allow any other baserunners on a day when he punched out six. Craig worked mostly at 90-92 with the fastball and paired it with a low-80s slider featuring advanced spin traits.

Kale Hammer followed Sorrel for the Blue squad and had a frustrating day, to be frank. After a hard-hit, hooking line drive off the bat of Ethan Hindle was dropped in left field, Hammer got Hudson Brown to fly out to left and allowed an infield single to Alex Kelsey on a swinging bunt down the third-base line that Hammer picked up just before it bounded foul. A squeeze bunt followed, resulting in a fielder's choice and another baserunner at first after the throw went home. Hammer worked up to 91 with his fastball and showed an improved changeup from my first look. He also spun a slider around 80 mph, but he struggled in his second inning, sandwiching a leadoff walk and a hit batsman around a Brown bunt base hit down the third-base line against the shift. That was followed by a fielding error before Hammer's inning was rolled. Certainly, some things could have gone his way, but the southpaw appeared to nibble around the zone rather than continue to attack, which he had actually done pretty well in his first frame.

Burkley Bounds followed Craig on the Black squad and sailed through two perfect innings. The Lexington native ran it up to 93 and looks like he's added some much-needed depth to his breaking ball, which he spun up to 85 today. Bounds induced early, weak contact and got his team right back into the dugout in both frames, keeping all the momentum on that side of the field. Nicely done by him today.

I was also able to see Leighton Harris before heading out. Another Lexington native, Harris hadn't pitched in an intrasquad yet this fall as he had been rehabbing from an injury at the end of last season.

Harris was sat at 88-90 and got three fly balls in his first inning, utilizing a delivery with an abbreviated leg kick and flashing a really nice changeup in the low-to-mid 80s. His spin looked fine between innings, but it was good to see the southpaw attacking the zone early and getting quick outs, something any team would love to have out of the bullpen.

Kentucky was really working the short game today, so aside from the Jackson double and the Owens homer, there wasn't a ton to write home about from a slugging standpoint, although Hindle put the barrel on the ball in each of his first three at-bats. All three balls wound up approaching the warning track (the ball was carrying well this morning), and Hindle drew a walk in his fourth at-bat. Kelsey was also all over the basepaths, reaching safely in three consecutive plate appearances (two singles and an HBP) after hitting a sharp ground ball that nearly got through the six-hole in his first plate appearance. I really think he's going to thrive in Mingione's offense, and it's going to be interesting to see where he ends up in the batting order. In addition, he and Jayce Tharnish have a chance to cover a ton of ground manning left and center field defensively.

For some more defensive notes, Lee Ellis' glovework at short was smooth, and he's got plus range, but he did bounce the majority of his throws: one backhand during Kelsey's first at-bat, one grounder hit directly at him, and another on an unassisted double-play attempt. Owen Lee also made diving plays to his left at third base and second base in the first few innings, which was great to see. There's no replacing Tyler Bell at short (and Luke Lawrence deserves a shout-out for his defensive efforts over the past couple of years), of course, but it appears Mingione will have the athletes to keep UK at a high level up the middle.

And despite his frustrating outing, I really loved how Hammer finished his day. Hammer, a left-hander who typically falls off to the third-base side, sprinted to back up first after a ground ball to short eventually got past his first baseman. After collecting the ball, he made a perfect dart throw behind the batter-runner, who had turned toward second, to record a huge out in what was otherwise a tough outing. It should be noted that he did finish his day with a much cleaner 1-2-3 inning in seven pitches, topping at 92.