| PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S DAILY TOP TEN LIST |
| WEEK 12: 4/23/07 - 4/29/07 |
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| Friday, April 27, 2007 |
The NCAA has released official in-season RPI rankings for
the first time this season, with Vanderbilt, Rice and South Carolina atop the
rankings through games of last Sunday. The RPI is a tool used by the NCAA
baseball committee to aid in the selection of at-large teams to the 64-team
regional field.
As usual, teams in the Pacific time zone did not fare particularly well in the
rankings—something West Coast coaches and critics of the RPI have noted with
increasing criticism through the years. Here’s how the RPI ranks the top 10
teams in the Pacific time zone, with RPI ranking noted in parentheses:
|
| |
| Top 10 Top West Coast Colleges, RPI Rank |
|
|
College |
*Record |
| 1. |
Long Beach State (5) |
23-14 |
| 2. |
Arizona State (8) |
32-10 |
| 3. |
San Diego (20) |
32-14 |
| 4. |
Pepperdine (21) |
30-13 |
| 5. |
Cal State Fullerton (23) |
26-12 |
| 6. |
UC Irvine (24) |
28-11 |
| 7. |
Oregon State (25) |
31-8 |
| 8. |
Arizona (27) |
31-9 |
| 9. |
Southern California (43) |
21-20 |
| 10. |
UCLA (51) |
22-16 |
|
| *Through games of April 22 |
| -- Alan Simpson |
| |
|
|
| Thursday, April 26, 2007 |
Inclement weather throughout much of the country in early
to mid-April played havoc with the early portion of the 2007 minor league
season, but two teams most affected have posted the best records in the minors.
Through Wednesday’s games, the Double-A Eastern League’s Trenton Thunder and
the low Class A Dayton Dragons were 13-2, which equates to an .867 winning
percentage. Trenton has had five postponements to date, and Dayton four.
Following are the minors’ 10 winningest teams, with league and major league
affiliation noted:
|
| |
| Top 10 Winningest Teams, Minor Leagues |
| 1. |
Trenton/Eastern (Yankees) |
13-2 |
.867 |
| 2. |
Dayton/Midwest (Reds) |
13-2 |
.867 |
| 3. |
Augusta/South Atlantic (Giants) |
17-3 |
.850 |
| 4. |
West Virginia/South Atlantic (Brewers) |
14-3 |
.824 |
| 5. |
Lansing/Midwest (Blue Jays) |
12-3 |
.800 |
| 6. |
Rochester/International (Twins) |
9-3 |
.750 |
| 7. |
Mississippi/Southern (Braves) |
15-5 |
.750 |
| 8. |
Midland/Texas (Athletics) |
12-4 |
.750 |
| 9. |
San Jose/California (Giants) |
14-6 |
.700 |
| 10. |
Richmond/International (Braves) |
11-5 |
.688 |
|
| -- Allan Simpson |
| |
|
|
| Wednesday, April 25, 2007 |
| Top 10 Highest College Winning
Percentages, Entering 2007 |
| 1. |
Texas |
.740 |
| 2. |
Florida State |
.728 |
| 3. |
Miami |
.716 |
| 4. |
Grambling |
.697 |
| 5. |
Wichita State |
.689 |
| 6. |
Cal State Fullerton |
.675 |
| 7. |
Oklahoma State |
.670 |
| 8. |
Arizona State |
.669 |
| 9. |
Fordham |
.668 |
| 10. |
Oral Roberts |
.663 |
|
| -- Jeff Simpson |
| |
|
|
| Tuesday, April 24, 2007 |
Despite being just a second-round pick, Cardinals
lefthander Rick Ankiel once held the record for the largest bonus by a player
signing with the team that drafted him. He inked a $2.5 million deal with St.
Louis in August 1997. The record was broken a couple of months later when No. 1
overall pick Matt Anderson signed with the Tigers for $2.505 million, and it
has since been broken many times over.
While Ankiel set his record 10 years ago, his bonus still remains the
second-largest ever paid to a second-round pick. Only righthander Jason Young,
signed to a $2,750,000 bonus by the Rockies in 2000, has ever signed a larger
bonus. Both Ankiel and Young had relatively brief big league careers as
pitchers, but Ankiel is working his way back to the majors as an outfielder at
Triple-A Memphis.
Through the years, 17 second-rounders have signed seven-figure bonuses,
including Wes Hodges, the lone player from the 2006 draft. He was given a $1
million bonus by the Indians. The accompanying chart identifies the 10 largest
bonuses ever paid to second-round picks.
|
| |
| Top 10 Largest Signing Bonuses, 2nd-Round
Picks |
| 1. |
Jason Young, rhp, Rockies (2000) |
$2,750,000 |
| 2. |
Rick Ankiel, lhp, Cardinals (1997) |
2,500,000 |
| 3. |
Chad Hutchinson, rhp, Cardinals (1998) |
2,300,000 |
| 4. |
Vince Sinisi, 1b, Rangers (2003) |
2,070,000 |
| 5. |
Jason Stokes, 1b, Marlins (2000) |
2,027,500 |
| 6. |
Mike Gosling, lhp, Diamondbacks (2001) |
2,000,000 |
| 7. |
Roscoe Crosby, of, Royals (2001) |
1,750,000 |
| |
*Matt Belisle, rhp, Braves (1998) |
1,750,000 |
| 9. |
Grant Johnson, rhp, Cubs (2004) |
1,260,000 |
| 10. |
*Carl Crawford, of, Devil Rays (1999) |
1,245,000 |
|
| *Currently in major leagues |
| -- Allan Simpson |
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|
|
| Monday, April 23, 2007 |
| We’ll begin our extensive 2007 draft preview coverage in
earnest in early May, but here’s a sneak peek at how the top 10 prospects in
this year’s crop are shaping up.
|
| |
| TOP 10 Prospects, 2007 Draft |
| 1. |
David Price, lhp, Vanderbilt U. |
| 2. |
Matt Wieters, c, Georgia Tech |
| 3. |
Andrew Brackman, rhp, North Carolina State U. |
| 4. |
Josh Vitters, 3b, Cypress HS, Anaheim, Calif. |
| 5. |
Ross Detwiler, lhp, Missouri State U. |
| 6. |
Rick Porcello, rhp, Seton Hall Prep, Chester, N.J. |
| 7. |
Madison Bumgarner, rhp, South Caldwell HS, Lenoir, N.C. |
| 8. |
Jason Heyward, of, Henry County HS, McDonough, Ga. |
| 9. |
Daniel Moskos, lhp, Clemson U. |
| 10. |
Blake Beavan, rhp, Irving (Texas) HS |
|
| -- Allan Simpson |
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