Last season I added a bunch of University of New Mexico players to my collection. I saw them play in Hawaii the season before, but there were a couple guys that I missed. This is what I wrote about these guys a year ago:
#30 Carl Stajduhar, if – Last season Stajduhar hit .331/.411/.623 with 18 HR, and was the Mountain West player of the Year. This season he is hitting .330/.430/.589 with a team-leading 11 HR. I want to say that he started the season off a little cold, but that is long past. Baseball America rated him the #4 prospect in the conference, and should not last long in the draft.
#15 Jared Mang, of – Mang is the Lobos best hitter…or, at least, he leads the team in AVG (.383) and fourth in OBP (.446). He also has 6 HR and a great BB:K ratio of 15:19.
#28 Jack Zoellner, 1b – Hitting .359/.469/.635 with 9 HR.
#30 Luis Gonzalez, of – Gonzalez is the leading position prospect in the Moutain West. He was a third-team All-American coming into the season and is having a very nice season, leading the team in OBP (.478). His home run totals are not as eye-popping as some of his teammates (only has 4), but his hitting skills are elite.
So how are these guys panning out so far?
Carl Stajduhar – Drafted in the 18th round of the 2017 draft by the Mets. Struggled in low-A in 2017, hitting .137/.225/.226 with 3 HR. He did not play at all in 2018 due to injuries and was released in September 2018.
Jared Mang – Hit .284/.438/.549 with 8 HR this season with New Mexico. 19 walks to 20 K’s. Was not drafted. I am not sure what the problem is. He is on the shorter side (5-10), but still. You think someone would have taken a flier.
Jack Zoellner – Drafted in the 9th round of the 2017 draft by the Phillies. He has spent the last two seasons playing in the Gulf Coast League. This season he hit .236/.364/.422 with 7 HR. A 23-year-old repeating in the GCL is not a great sign.
Luis Gonzalez – Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 draft by the White Sox. Had a nice 2018 campaign between A and high-A ball, hitting .307/.370/.498 with 14 HR. He was a mid-season All-Star with Kannapolis.