| Our college rankings are the newest member of a family of established prospect rankings | ||||||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos | Notes | Age | YR | TM | CON | Pre. | ||||||||
| 1 | Pedro Alvarez | 3B | Patient power hitter has 40 HR through his first two collegiate seasons | 20 | Jr. | VAN | SEC | 1 ↔ | ||||||||
| 2 | Justin Smoak | 1B | Switch-hitter with a sweet, powerful stroke and good athleticism | 20 | Jr. | SC | ACC | 2 ↔ | ||||||||
| 3 | Brian Matusz | LHP | Powerful lefty with the polish and stuff to be a dominant pro pitcher | 20 | Jr. | SD | WAC | 3 ↔ | ||||||||
| 4 | Brett Wallace | 1B | Pac-10 2007 Player of the year mashes with a sound plate approach | 20 | Jr. | ASU | Pac-10 | 4 ↔ | ||||||||
| 5 | Jemile Weeks | 2B | Good batting eye and baseball instincts; offers some speed, power | 20 | Jr. | MIA | ACC | 5 ↔ | ||||||||
| 6 | Brandon Crawford | SS | Talented defender who hit .335/.405/.504 last season w/ 7 home runs | 20 | Jr. | UCLA | Pac-10 | n/a | ||||||||
| * Ages are as of 7/10/07 | ||||||||||||||||
| ** TM is the player's school | ||||||||||||||||
| *** CON is the player's conference | ||||||||||||||||
| **** Pre. is the player's rankings from our last college rankings. | ||||||||||||||||
| ***** Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production | ||||||||||||||||
| <<< Click here to see our July 3rd College Prospect Rankings | ||||||||||||||||
| <<< Click here to discuss these rankings | ||||||||||||||||
With the 2007 MLB Draft in the past and next year’s installment a mere 11 months away, it’s never too early to get a head start on evaluating a new class of talent. To make sure that college baseball’s presence is felt year-round this offseason, Project Prospect will preview the nation’s best collegiate talent by presenting College Prospect Rankings approximately every week. Each week will offer a longer list of rankings, as we build up to our weekly updated in-season Top 25 College Prospect Rankings.
6. Brandon Crawford, SS, UCLA (1/21/87)
When you combine a great defensive makeup with a world of potential at the dish, the end product is Brandon Crawford. After posting a .335/.405/.504 vital line in 2007, Crawford has shown that his natural abilities are ready to come to the forefront. While a stellar season has opened the eyes of many, a 25:58 walk to strikeout clip suggests that the blue-chip Bruin may still be a bit rough around the edges. If Crawford continues to develop, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder can become the kind of legitimate five-tool talent at short that is ever so hard to come by.
Ready to get a start on next year’s draft boards, too? Adam Loberstein can be reached at adamloberstein@gmail.com.