JUNIOR COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
March 19, 2008

Fuller, Chisenhall On The Rebound

A year ago, Nick Fuller and Lonnie Chisenhall made headlines for all the wrong reasons. This season, the pair has gained attention for restoring their reputations as top baseball prospects.

Fuller, a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2006 draft, and Chisenhall, an 11^th-rounder of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the same draft, were centerpieces ofSouth Carolina ’s banner 2007 recruiting class. They were two of the nation’s top freshmen. But 20 games into the 2007 season, the prized recruits were kicked off the team by South Carolina coach Ray Tanner and dismissed from school after being arrested on grand larceny and burglary charges.

Fuller was accused of stealing $3,100 from an assistant coach’s locker and three laptop computers from an academic center, while Chisenhall was charged with theft from a dorm room. As punishment, Fuller was sentenced in December to 18 months probation while also being required to perform 200 hours of community service and pay $870 in court costs and restitution. Chisenhall was charged with a misdemeanor, a lesser charge, and was sentenced in February to six months probation for his role in the campus theft.

While the incidents cost the two highly-regarded prospects a chance to play baseball again at South Carolina , the ordeal hasn’t prevented either from continuing their baseball careers at the junior college level. Fuller surfaced as a sophomore pitcher at Walters State (Tenn. ) CC, while Chisenhall joined the baseball team at Pitt (N.C.) CC. Both are enjoying big comeback seasons. They’ve also been model citizens in the process.

Fuller is part of a prospect-laden rotation for Walters State , the nation’s No. 1-ranked junior college team, and has gone 4-1, 3.29 with 42 strikeouts in 38 innings this spring. Chisenhall has been even more impressive playing shortstop and third base at Pitt. Through 21 games, he was hitting a loud .493-4-43 with 21 extra-base hits. Chisenhall has even taken a turn as the closer for the Bulldogs and was 4-for-4 in save opportunities with seven strikeouts in three innings for the No. 23 Bulldogs.

“Lonnie is playing exceptionally well right now,” said Pitt coach Tommy Eason, a former East Carolina catcher who caught in the Philadelphia Phillies system. “He is the best college hitter I have ever seen.”

Chisenhall, who has been attracting scouts in huge numbers this spring, is viewed as the top position player in the junior college ranks and one of the top hitters overall in the draft. He has displayed an excellent approach to hitting, uses the whole field and has hit for both average and power.

Where Chisenhall plays in the field down the road is open to debate. He has been playing mostly shortstop this season, which has given scouts a greater opportunity to see how his feet and hands play. But it’s expected he’ll end up at third base at the pro level—though second base and right field, where he played in his brief time at South Carolina , are viable options. While his legal troubles may be largely behind him, Chisenhall will be on probation until August and it’s an issue that could be hanging over his head during this year’s draft.

Fuller, meanwhile, hasn’t been as impressive this spring as he was two years ago out of a Georgia high school. His best pitch continues to be a hammer curve, but his fastball has been routinely at 91-92 mph, touching 93—down 2-3 mph from his peak as a high school senior. His control has also wavered from time to time. In his most recent outing, Fuller hit three batters, walked two and served up two wild pitches—all in the first inning—before settling down and striking out eight of the next 11 hitters.

“He flashes a loss of command from time to time, but he pitches with a lot of nervous energy,” Walters State assistant David Shelton said. “We need to keep him focused as he has a lot of adrenaline on the mound. But if his fastball can make the jump to 94-95, that will help him in the draft. The rough weather we’ve had this spring hasn’t helped him.”

According to Shelton, the biggest job the Walters State coaching staff has faced this spring related to Fuller, who faced the more serious legal charges, has been keeping him focused on and off the field and dealing with scouts inquiring about his indiscretions while at South Carolina .

“He’s been fine on the field and fine off the field—for the most part,” Shelton said. “He’s had a couple of parking tickets that he didn’t deal with properly, like all students tend to do. He didn’t think they were a big deal but we told him he’s under a microscope here and he can’t ignore things like that.

“We’ve also been asked a thousand times by scouts how he’s behaved since he’s been here. Scouts are concerned about his background, but he’s been fine. He’s been a joy to have, he’s worked his tail off and he’s been coachable.”

Kimbrel Sets Hot Pace

The improvement Wallace State-Hanceville righthander Craig Kimbrel has shown this spring may not be as dramatic as a year ago, but it is still significant and has positioned the 6-foot, 210-pound righthander as one of the top junior college pitching prospects for this year’s draft.

Through his first 35 innings, Kimbrel had struck out 54 and was 5-0, 1.29. He had allowed just 12 hits—resulting in a meager .103 opponent batting average. He was involved in one combined no-hitter and lost another when he gave up his only hit with an out remaining in the game.

“He’s really developed into a quality pitcher,” Wallace State-Hanceville coach Randy Putman said. “His fastball is by far his best pitch. It’s 93-96, touching 97 and the ball just explodes on hitters in the last 10 feet. But he’s also developed an above-average breaking ball this spring, a hard curveball. That has made him a more complete pitcher.”

Kimbrel began his career at Wallace State-Hanceville in ominous circumstances as he dropped a piece of sheet rock on his foot just prior to enrolling in school and missed the entire fall season with a broken foot. His fastball at the time was only 87-89 mph and his lost time cost him a chance to develop his breaking ball. He began the 2007 season as a closer, as a result, but soon moved to the rotation when his fastball elevated to 92-93. Though he was still mainly just a one-pitch pitcher as a freshman, he went 8-0, 1.99 with three saves and struck out 78 in 54 innings. The Atlanta Braves selected him in the 33^rd round of last year’s draft.

He could go significantly higher this year, possibly in the top three to five rounds, as every organization in the game has been in to see him pitch this spring, including a number of crosscheckers. The only real knocks on Kimbrel have nothing to do with his stuff. It’s more about his size and his control.

“He’s well put together,” Putman says. “He’s a bull. His control is OK, too, but he’s just wild enough that you can’t get comfortable against him.”

NOTEBOOK

--Sparked by Kimbrel’s impressive pitching, Wallace State-Hanceville rolled off 19 wins in a row to move to No. 16 in PG Crosschecker’s latest bi-weekly ranking of the top 25 junior college teams. A day later, the Lions had their streak stopped in the second game of a doubleheader against Itawamba (Miss. ) JC. Red-hot Pensacola (Fla. ) also ran off 19 wins in a row to move into the No. 4 spot.

--Walters State retained its No. 1 ranking in the Top 25. The Senators continue to get strong pitching from the starting trio of Fuller, sophomore righthander David Francis (5-1, 2.34) and freshman lefthander Chad Bell (5-1, 3.14). Freshman catcher Dylan Pratt leads the teams in home runs (10) and RBIs (27), despite missing five games with a pulled hamstring.

--No. 8 Howard (Texas ) JC continued to edge its way to the top of the rankings after beginning the year at No. 47. The Hawks had won 25 of their first 27 games behind explosive starts from Oklahoma-bound sophomore shortstop Tyler Ladendorf (.597-8-37); Texas Christian-bound sophomore first baseman Matt Curry (.494-13-49) the national leader in home runs; and Nebraska-bound sophomore lefthander Colt Simon (8-0, 1.60). About 60 scouts were on hand last Saturday as Ladendorf, who stole 65 bases in 65 attempts a year ago as a freshman, stole home to snap a 1-1, fifth-inning tie against McLennan (Texas) JC.

--Arkansas-Fort Smith JC continued to hold steady at No. 18 with a record of 22-4 behind sophomore righthander Aaron Davidson, who fanned 52 in his first 27 innings—a nine-inning average of 17.33. A transfer from Division II Harding (Ark. ) University, Davidson was 5-0 and had yet to give up an earned run. He had allowed eight walks and only 15 hits. Overall, the Arkansas-Fort Smith staff had a collective 1.29 ERA.