College Baseball Daily Top 100 Countdown moves along with number 90 in Michigan State’s Riley McCauley.
A talented right-handed pitcher out of Sterling Heights, Mich., McCauley received a lot of MLB Draft interest out of high school before deciding to play with the Spartans.
As a freshman in 2016 he made 13 appearances out of the bullpen and finished the season with a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings pitched. McCauley gave up just 11 hits and 9 walks with 15 strikeouts.
That following summer he played in the Texas Collegiate League. There he pitched in 17 games (2 starts) and had a 1.11 ERA in 32.2 innings with 51 strikeouts. He also picked up 5 saves.
McCauley allowed just 6 hits that summer, but walked 18 batters. Still, that’s certainly impressive only allowing 6 hits in 32.1 innings.
He also picked up the save to help his team win the championship.
Back at Michigan State as a sophomore McCauley had a 2.10 ERA in 25 games and 25.2 innings pitched. He allowed just 22 hits and 11 walks with 49 strikeouts. The righty also picked up 9 saves as the team’s closer.
The past summer he was invited to play in the notorious Cape Cod League where his success continued.
In 14 games and 15.2 innings he posted an ERA of 1.72 during the regular season. He allowed 7 hits and 6 walks, while recording an impressive 27 strikeouts and 8 saves.
He was named to the 2017 CCBL All-League Team after the season.
Pitching exclusively out of the stretch, McCauley has the look and feel of your typical closer. He has a quick and easy deliver, but they type of max effort release that you want to see in a closer.
McCauly enters the 2018 season as one of the best closers in the country, and I think we see him move up a lot of draft boards as the season progresses.
