College baseball: Honeycutt hits 2 more homers, has 47 in college career

Published 10:41 pm Saturday, April 6, 2024

 

 

Staff report

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury) socked two home runs in UNC’s 7-2 loss to ACC rival Virginia on Friday.

Honeycutt also had a good day Saturday, getting two hits and scoring three runs as the 10th-ranked Tar Heels (26-6, 12-4) took a 12-7 win over the 15th-ranked Cavaliers (25-7, 9-7), who had won the first two games of the series.

Honeycutt has hit 10 homers this season. He’s batting .290 with 31 RBIs. He has 18 steals in 20 attempts.

He is tied for third all-time for homers at UNC with 47. The program record is 57.

Honeycutt’s stock for the MLB draft that is coming during the July All-Star break appears to have slipped a bit this season, mostly because of 43 strikeouts, the most of any of the Tar Heels.  Some scouts are concerned with the swings and misses.

While no one seems to have Honeycutt at the very top of the draft board now, he still projects to be an early first-rounder and likely will go in the first 10 picks. He is one of the swiftest runners in the college game and also is rated as one of the better power hitters and defensive center fielders.

It is expected to be a college-heavy first-round draft, with very few early picks from the high school ranks, and it is expected to be a hitter-heavy draft, with fewer top pitching prospects than usual.

Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana and Georgia’s 6-foot-6 slugger Charlie Condon are 1 and 2 on most draft boards now. Condon is batting over .500 with 19 homers. Bazzana is batting .465 with 16 homers.