Alex White got knocked around when I saw him pitch for the first time just over 4 years ago. After being named North Carolina's 2006 High School Player of the Year, the 6-foot-3, 193-pounder was making the fourth start of his collegiate career. Matched up against Virginia lefty Sean Doolittle, White was around the zone a lot and Virginia hitters tagged him for nine hits in 5.1 innings.
Poised for a freshman and looking to fill a void left in the Tar Heels' rotation with the departures of Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard, White worked off a 88-92 MPH fastball that touched 93. He flashed a low-80s changeup and a promising 76-79 MPH slider.
I was very impressed with how he fearlessly attacked the strike zone. He did a good job locating his low-90s fastball and getting ahead of hitters. Working quickly, he got a lot of strikes at the knees on the outside corner.
"You see White throw five pitches in the bullpen and you know he's the real deal," - UNC senior Robert Woodard told a local reporter later that season.
Though first baseman Dustin Ackley grabbed the spotlight more than any of UNC's 2007 freshman, White was initially thought of as the gem of that recruiting class, and he will be the first player from it to reach the big leagues.
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