UT pitcher's fastball has scouts on notice

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Garrett Cave's fastball has him on the fast track to playing professional baseball.

"If I throw him that first pitch, it just kind of resonates off of him and I feed off of it," said University of Tampa pitcher.

His fastball tops out at 98 miles per hour.

"We don't see that a whole lot, definitely in Division II baseball," said UT head baseball coach, Joe Urso. "Really you don't see that a lot anywhere in college baseball. So, [he's] just a special kid."

"You can tell sometimes that, guys that either aren't ready for it or overpowered," said Cave. "As a pitcher, that's kind of what you feed off of, that's what you, as a pitcher, you want to overpower guys, you want put guys back in the dugout. It's a good feeling."

Garrett's first season with the Spartans will also likely be his last. After two years at FIU, Garrett transferred to UT before his junior year. He also took on a different role when he arrived in Tampa.

Garrett is at his best when he's closing games, but coaches had him start games at the beginning of the season so that he could show he could pitch for length, too.

"He has all the stuff the pro scouts are looking for," said Urso. "They're here every weekend when he's pitching and the most impressive part for me is watching how he goes about his business. A lot of kids his age would feel that pressure that some of the scouts put on you, and he hasn't done that."

Garrett has held opponents to a .216 batting average, the best from the Spartans staff who have pitched 45 or more innings.

Scouts are on notice, especially since Garrett was named one of Baseball America's top MLB draft prospects in 2017. He cracked the top 100 at 56.

"There's no doubt he has electric stuff," said UT's associate head coach, Sam Militello. "That's why he's getting the attention and he deserves the attention."

"It was encouraging," said Cave. "I don't try to read into it too much. I know it's just a game, and the draft is going to happen either way."

The MLB Draft will begin June 12.