NC State Baseball

Former Wolfpacker Evan Mendoza ranked #1 future 3B for Cardinals

Published

6 years ago

December 1, 2017

The St. Louis Cardinals selected NC State 3rd baseman Evan Mendoza in the 11th round of 2017 MLB draft. Usually, a guy selected this late isn’t really going to get much attention, but the Cards saw something in him when they offered him a bonus of $150,000 (which is $25k more than the allotted slot value for players taken after the 10th round).

Mendoza started his career with the Pack as a pitcher but transitioned to 3B when it was obvious his bat was playing better than his arm at the college level. He hit a solid .362 with 4 HRs and 20 walks. He also finished up with a really nice.866 OPS*. His junior year didn’t go quite as planned. Mendoza sunk down to .262, hit 4 homers and walked 28 times.

Since joining the Cards’ Low-A affiliate (The State College Spikes) he’s done nothing but impress. His .370 average over 41 games earned him the league’s batting title and has some listing him as the #1 3B prospect in their system.

He was brought up to Single-A later in the year last year and it’s likely where he’ll start this coming season. If he continues to hit, expect him to move fairly quickly through the system since he is a 3-year college player. His ETA should likely be around 2020, which is just in time because current St Louis Cardinals 3B, Jedd Gyorko, becomes a free agent in 2021.

We’ll be keeping close tabs on Mendoza’s rise through the Cardinals organization.

Here is Mendoza flashing some leather with a dive over the railing in foul territory…

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Baseball Statistical Key (for this article)
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Many of you won’t need this, but for those of you who are used to following Wolfpack basketball and football and are just dipping your toes into the world of Pack baseball, you might find this useful.

OPS – Combining On-base percentage and slugging percentage to get one number that unites the two.
To put it simply, this is a good number to see a players productivity because it combines how much they get on base with how much power they hit for. In the .800s is good. 900s is great. 1000s is insanely great.

NC State Baseball

NC State Baseball Bracketology Report Heading Into Series Against FSU

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Matthew Bradham

#20 NC State will head down to Tallahassee tomorrow for a 3-game series against #7 FSU. Before they do, here’s a look at where NC State is projected to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as things currently stand.

Last week, both D1Baseball and Baseball America projected the Wolfpack to play as a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional (ECU), with the former projecting the Pirates to be a #6 seed, and the latter projecting them to be a #8 seed.

This week, D1Baseball has NC State as a #2 seed in the Lexington Regional, with Kentucky as a #5 seed. Baseball America still has the Wolfpack as a #2 seed in the Greenville Region, with the Pirates still sitting as a #8 seed.

D1Baseball

Baseball America

NC State Baseball

#20 NC State Loses 4-5 to UNCW, Losing 5th Straight Midweek Game

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Matthew Bradham

#20 NC State lost to UNC-Wilmington 4-5 this evening at home, losing their 5th straight midweek game. The Wolfpack were swept by the Seahawks this year, ironically losing 4-5 down in Wilmington on April 9th.

Freshman Ryan Marohn got the starting nod, and he was excellent, giving up 1 earned run in 5 innings pitched, striking out 7. It was arguably his best start since his collegiate debut against VCU in the opening series.

Sophomore Shane Van Dam was Mr. Reliable through much of the season, but he hasn’t had his best stuff as of late. This evening, he faced four batters, hitting 2, walking another, and surrendering a hit to the other. Van Dam failed to record an out, and gave up 3 earned runs. Heading into the UNC game back on April 18th, Van Dam had a 2.63 ERA. After the past 4 appearances, his ERA has shot up to 3.96.

Freshman Jacob Dudan settled things down, pitching 4 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, while striking out 5.

Unfortunately, Sophomore Derrick Smith allowed the Seahawks to score a run in the Top of the 10th, which was enough for the opposing team to leave Raleigh with a win, with NC State failing to score a run in the final 5 frames.

Junior Jacob Cozart continues an insane power surge, hitting two more Home Runs tonight. Cozart has hit 7 Home Runs in the past 6 games.

*Scheduled tweet* pic.twitter.com/eHvyuGT6so

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024

SCOREBOARD SHOT 🚀 pic.twitter.com/tMvY8imzgG

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024

Cozart now has 14 Home Runs on the year. His previous career high was 11.

Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington also hit a Solo Home Run, his 11th bomb of the year.

Goodbye Baseball ✌️#Pack9 | @Garrettpenn14 pic.twitter.com/p0tySYt3aF

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024

On Friday, the Wolfpack will head down to Tallahassee for a 3-game series against #7 Florida State.

NC State Baseball

NC State Outfielder Josh Hogue Out for Remainder of the Season

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Matthew Bradham

NC State will be without Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue for the remainder of the season. Hogue unfortunately suffered a fractured leg due to a collision with Center Fielder Eli Serrano III on Saturday, with both players diving for a ball in the outfield.

Hogue will have to undergo surgery, and he is expected to be out 4 months.

NC State outfielder Josh Hogue has a fractured leg, coach Elliott Avent said. He collided with Eli Serrano III for a hard-hit ball last night.

Hogue is waiting to get surgery, hopefully this evening, and is expected to be out for about four months.

— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) April 28, 2024

This is a huge loss for the Wolfpack. Hogue has been batting 3rd in NC State’s lineup, with the 3rd best batting average on the squad (.314) and 4th best OPS (.848).

On Sunday, Freshman 2nd Baseman Luke Nixon moved out to Right Field to fill the void, and his brother Chase Nixon was in Right. Starter Senior Noah Soles has been out since the Notre Dame Series at the end of March, but he has been taking batting practice and should be returning soon.