LJ McDonough
LJ McDonough is purely a relief pitcher. In his first season at Wichita State, McDonough threw 25 1/3 innings in 16 games, striking out 36 and walking eight with a 2.49 ERA. In his second year at State, he threw 24 1/3 innings, striking out 32, but control issues pushed his walk total to 16.
He transferred to Florida Gulf Coast for the 2023 season and became the team’s closer. In 47 1/3 IP, McDonough struck out 61, walked 26, and recorded six saves.
In a Wink News interview, FGCU coach Dave Tollett gave his evaluation of McDonough.
"“The mentality that he has is different than a lot of kids. He doesn’t get real nervous in situations like that. He just wants the ball.”"Dave Tollett
So he has a slow heartbeat and apparently a violent delivery because his hat tends to come off…a lot.
"When McDonough has the ball, his team is confident in two things: they’ll get the win and his hat will fall off.
“I have a lot of whiplash, so when I come forward my neck snaps a little bit. My hat just falls off,” McDonough said."
Jacob Godman
Can't be afraid to get a little dirt on the pants in Omaha!#MCWS x 🎥ESPN / @ORUBaseball pic.twitter.com/lfekpojMGH
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 20, 2023
Jacob Godman started his college career at Nevada-Las Vegas in 2019, skipped the 2021 season, transferred to NC State in 2022, and finally to Oral Roberts in 2023.
In their 2022 NCAA preview of NC State, Baseball America (subscription required noted that Godman “brought a plus throwing arm behind the plate with him” when he transferred to NC State.
NC State had highly touted freshman catching candidate Jacob Cozart but added veteran Matt Oldham and Godman as backups. Godman became Cozart’s primary backup appearing in 23 games.
Godman’s best offensive year came in 2023, batting .291/.384/.454/.838 with five homers, 13 doubles, two triples, and driving in 29 runs in 196 AB in 59 of the team’s 66 games.
Unless Godman’s bat improves, he looks like a glove-first catcher whose strong arm gives him a chance for a role as a backup,
That’s a Wrap
The Atlanta Braves have all 11 prospects from rounds one through ten signed. There’s little information on the UDFA signings, and I’ve seen nothing on rounds 11-20 other than the two I wrote about in my last post.
As soon as we get news of more signings, I’ll post it here on The House That Hank Built.