Our first year attempting in-season college draft prospect rankings | ||||||||||||||||
No. | Player | Pos | Notes | Age | YR | TM | CON | Pre. | ||||||||
1 | Pedro Alvarez | 3B | Had 2 home runs over the weekend after recovering from wrist injury | 21.1 | Jr. | VAN | SEC | 1 ↔ | ||||||||
2 | Aaron Crow | RHP | Best FB/SL combo in college, FB touched 98 over summer, low BB% | 21.4 | Jr. | MIZ | Big-12 | 5 ↑ | ||||||||
3 | Brian Matusz | LHP | Powerful lefty with the polish and arsenal to be a dominant pro pitcher | 21.1 | Jr. | SD | WCC | 2 ↓ | ||||||||
4 | Justin Smoak | 1B | Good athlete for 1B, has posted 21.2 BB% and 45.2 XBH% | 21.3 | Jr. | SC | SEC | 3 ↓ | ||||||||
5 | Yonder Alonso | 1B | Polished hitter with great zone judgment, could post .400 OBP in MLB | 21.0 | Jr. | MIA | ACC | 4 ↓ | ||||||||
6 | Tanner Scheppers | RHP | Mid 90's FB w/ good SL, 37.9 K% 8.8 BB%, only 3 HR allowed (44.2 IP) | 21.2 | Jr. | FSU | WAC | 16 ↑ | ||||||||
7 | Buster Posey | C | Former SS w/ great arm, hitting .458/.554/.833, 43.6 XBH% & 17.1 BB% | 21.0 | Jr. | FSU | ACC | 11 ↑ | ||||||||
8 | Brett Wallace | 1B | Massive slugger (6'1'' 240 lbs) with great approach and power | 21.6 | Jr. | ASU | Pac-10 | 7 ↓ | ||||||||
9 | Lance Lynn | RHP | Work-horse build, great curve, clean motion 33.3 K% and 8.2 BB% | 20.9 | Jr. | UMS | SEC | 6 ↓ | ||||||||
10 | Gordon Beckham | SS | Good athlete, hitting .427/.513/.855, leading nation in HRs, 13.6 BB% | 21.4 | Jr. | UGA | SEC | 14 ↑ | ||||||||
11 | Jordan Danks | CF | 1st round talent in HS; 70 speed; 42.8% XBH, thin college OF class | 21.6 | Jr. | UT | Big-12 | 8 ↓ | ||||||||
12 | Allan Dykstra | 1B | Built like Jim Thome, has big time pop, 26.4 BB%, underrated prospect | 20.8 | Jr. | WFU | ACC | 15 ↑ | ||||||||
13 | Christian Friedrich | LHP | Racks up lots of Ks (43%) with lights out curve; low competition level | 20.7 | Jr. | EKU | OVC | 18 ↑ | ||||||||
14 | Jemile Weeks | 2B | Better fielder than Rickie, hitting .387/.451/.736 and 10/11 in steals | 21.2 | Jr. | MIA | ACC | 9 ↓ | ||||||||
15 | Tyson Ross | RHP | Opponents hitting .161 of this big guy with front of the rotation stuff | 20.9 | Jr. | CAL | Pac-10 | 12 ↓ | ||||||||
16 | Petey Paramore | C | Rare high OBP catcher, .511 (08), great defender and game caller | 21.4 | Jr. | ASU | Pac-10 | 13 ↓ | ||||||||
17 | Scott Green | RHP | Big time stuff but has been inconsistant this year, injury history | 22.6 | Jr. | UK | SEC | 10 ↓ | ||||||||
18 | Shooter Hunt | RHP | Potential for 3 plus pitches, high upside, 44.1 IP 58 K 27 BB (08) | 21.6 | Jr. | TUL | USA | 17 ↓ | ||||||||
19 | Reese Havens | SS | Good hands with iffy range, power developing, .378/503/.607 ('08) | 21.4 | Jr. | SC | SEC | 20 ↑ | ||||||||
20 | James Darnell | 3B | Rebounding nicely after bad start, good power, .304 IsoP and 12 HRs | 21.2 | Jr. | SC | SEC | NR ↑ | ||||||||
Honorable Mentions: Joshua Fields (RHP, Georgia), David Cooper (1B, Cal), and Roger Kieschnick (OF, Texas Tech). | ||||||||||||||||
* Ages are as of 4/13/08 (only draft-eligible players were considered) | ||||||||||||||||
** TM is the player's school | ||||||||||||||||
*** CON is the player's conference | ||||||||||||||||
**** Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it and favor recent production | ||||||||||||||||
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<<< Discuss these rankings in our forums |
Welcome to the triumphant return of our in-season college baseball draft rankings. This is a very crowded time in the sports world, baseball teams still have the spring optimistic glow, the NBA postseason is about to start as teams shuffle for playoff position, the NFL draft is around the corner, the Masters are underway, and they playoffs have begun for an ice sport that – I’m told – is called hockey. I have no fear that our loyal readers can fit some amateur baseball into their sports-brains.
In my last Hot/Cold report I said that Missouri’s ace right-hander, Aaron Crow would be the new No. 1, and he is…the new No. 1 pitcher. Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt, 3B) returning to action and showing that his power hasn’t been completely zapped by his hamate injury secured himself his place atop the overall rankings.
Tanner Scheppers (Fresno State, RHP), Buster Posey (Florida State, C) and Gordon Beckham (Georgia, SS) all crack the top 10 for the first time this season, while Scott Green (Kentucky, RHP) continues his roller coaster season – this time in the negative direction. South Carolina 3B, James Darnell climbs back onto the big board, taking Rice 2B/LF Aaron Luna’s spot – who’s strikeout rate has risen and power has dropped.
I’ll be back with an extended Hot/Cold report after this weekend’s action, until then feel free to lambaste me in the forums.
Lincoln Hamilton can be reached at lhamilton@dentonoutlaws.com.