Posted by Michael Koh | Jun 14, 2024 | ACC, Baseball, Sports, UNC Sports
Chapelboro.com’s coverage of Carolina baseball in the Men’s College World Series is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill inSouthern Village and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
After missing the final 10 games of Carolina’s 2023 season with a back injury, Vance Honeycutt knew something had to change. His breakout freshman campaign had given way to a solid-but-not-spectacular sophom*ore year, one which also saw the Diamond Heels take a step back from a Super Regional berth to elimination in the Regionals.
Honeycutt would be draft-eligible by the summer of 2024, but the prospect’s projections had slipped from when he was once considered a candidate for the No. 1 overall pick.
Many scouts will look to analytics data when searching for ways to improve a prospect, and the amount of available information is at an all-time high. But there are some drawbacks.
“A lot of those analytics that everybody is looking at are analytics for Major League Baseball,” said UNC head coach Scott Forbes. “College baseball is different from Major League Baseball. We have great players, but we’re not in the top two percent in the world. It’s really hard to be a Major Leaguer.”
Enter Rapsodo, a baseball analytics company which provides valuable data for amateur as well as professional ballplayers; everything from a pitcher’s spin rate on his fastball to a batter’s spray chart on hits is available with their technology.
“The ultimate goal is to get those players to the next level,” Brian Page, a key accounts manager at the company, told Chapelboro, “and give everyone that professional-grade tool to have the best chance to develop and get scouted.”
Honeycutt was already a known commodity by the time he committed to Forbes and Carolina out of Salisbury High School. The San Francisco Giants had selected Honeycutt in the 20th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, but he opted to pursue a collegiate career instead.
And his outstanding first year in Chapel Hill certainly made it clear Honeycutt had chosen well. But the slight regression in 2023 hurt his stock, and although Honeycutt still grades as a first-round prospect, there is disagreement as to how high he will go. Optimists see his five-tool skillset as an undeniable draw, while pessimists will point to his elevated strikeout numbers – 224 in 684 career at-bats with Carolina –as reason enough to stay away.
But he’s just so darn good.
After an offseason of working with Rapsodo via a name, image and likeness partnership, Honeycutt has posted career-best numbers in batting average (.309), home runs (26) and slugging percentage (.691). In six NCAA Tournament games this season, Honeycutt has clubbed four home runs, including two in consecutive at-bats across Games 1 and 2 of the Super Regional against West Virginia — the first of which was a walk-off.
Vance Honeycutt has hit four home runs in six NCAA Tournament games this season. (Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini)
This year also saw Honeycutt collect his second straight ACC Defensive Player of the Year award, earn first team all-conference honors for the first time in his career and earn a first team All-America nod from Perfect Game.
“It’s really cool to see those guys, like a Vance Honeycutt, where they know the data, they’re really excited to have a unit for themselves and they’re excited to be part of the Rapsodo program,” Page said. “That’s been really cool to see, because it’s the guys we’ve tracked for a long time now that are really familiar with the data.”
A hitting report for Honeycutt provided to Chapelboro by Rapsodo shows numerous data points, including where in the strike zone he hits best and where in the field his hits tend to go. For Honeycutt’s part, he said he takes a less-is-more approach when combing through that data.
“Just limiting what you’re looking at,” he said. “I don’t think everything is good to look at all the time. Just realizing those things that work for you, and being able to hone in on those and use those to help you succeed on the field.”
Success on the field is nothing new to Honeycutt, and he hopes to lead the Diamond Heels to their first-ever national championship in Omaha. Though Forbes is keen to remind everyone Honeycutt is only a junior, it’s almost a sure bet the center fielder will forgo his final college season and enter the MLB Draft this summer. And though it’s his jaw-dropping talent which has gotten him there, his offseason analytics work has undoubtedly given the future first-rounder a boost.
Click to find more Carolina baseball coverage from Chapelboro.com, onsite in Omaha! Proudly presented by Town Hall Grill and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter
Chapelboro.comdoes not charge subscription fees, and you candirectly support our efforts in local journalismhere. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you bysigning up for our newsletter.
Related Stories
‹
›
