PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST
WEEK 15: 4/14/08 - 4/20/08
 
Miller Leads Freshmen Class
Friday April 18, 2008
The 2007 draft was generous to the college baseball ranks, with 10 high school players taken in the first five rounds going unsigned. But none of the 10 has performed quite to the level this season of an unsuspecting, undrafted 5-foot-10, 185-pound pitcher from the University of California.

Freshman righthander Kevin Miller has made a huge impact for the Golden Bears, who not coincidentally are enjoying their best season in years. Miller, who went undrafted despite a storied prep career at nearby Valley Christian High, has been nearly invincible this season. With the exception of an April 12 outing against USC, when he gave up four earned runs, Miller had not allowed a run in 13 other appearances. He was 5-0 and had held opposing hitters to a mere .135 batting average while allowing just 20 hits in 42 innings of work.

Led by Miller, we’re taking a mid-season look today at the top players in this year’s college freshman class. It’s the fourth of a four-part series. We identified the top 10 juniors on Tuesday, the top 10 sophomores on Wednesday and the top 10 seniors on Thursday. We’ve also focused on a position of unusual strength in each class and we’ve broken out a list of the Top 10 shortstops in the freshmen class, a position of unusual depth.

While Miller went undrafted as a high school senior, seven of the 10 freshmen on the accompanying list were drafted—though only second-rounder Hunter Morris and third-rounder Derek Dietrich were among those picked in the top five rounds.

Mississippi lefthander Drew Pomeranz (12th round, Rangers) has performed best to date among all freshmen who were drafted last June. He almost certainly would have been selected in the top five rounds had he been more agreeable to signing, so his success is not unexpected. In fact, he has moved ahead of junior righthander Cody Satterwhite, who was considered a potential first-round pick at the start of the 2008 season, in the Ole Miss rotation.

A pair of highly-touted infielders, Dietrich and San Diego third baseman Victor Sanchez (25th round, Cubs), are having big freshmen years for their respective schools. Both had already reached double-digits in home runs. Dietrich, Houston’s top draft pick in 2007, has had a huge impact for the Yellow Jackets, playing shortstop while also hitting cleanup.

No. 1-ranked Miami has been hammering opponents all year with one of the most lethal offenses in the country. But freshman lefthander Chris Hernandez has been a key member of the Hurricanes pitching staff, leading the team in wins, ERA and innings.

The list that follows ranks players on how they’ve performed to date. It is noteworthy by the absence of a number of talented first-year players like North Carolina righthander Matt Harvey (5-2, 2.51, 32 IP/38 SO) and Tennessee outfielder Kentrail Davis (.346-4-23), who ranked as the top two freshmen in the country at the outset of the season. Both have performed admirably and still project as first-rounders when next eligible for the draft—Harvey in 2010, Davis in 2009.
Rank Player Pos. School Accomplishment
1 *Kevin Miller rhp California 5-0, 0.86, 42 IP/20 H/43 SO
2 Drew Pomeranz lhp Mississippi 3-1, 1.89, 38 IP/30 H/46 SO
3 Victor Sanchez 3b San Diego .315-11-42
4 Derek Dietrich ss Georgia Tech .338-10-34
5 Chris Hernandez lhp Miami 5-0, 2.77, 52 IP/36 H/55 SO
6 *Thain Simon rhp Santa Clara 7-1, 1.48, 2 SV, 30 IP/26 H/35 SO
7 *Jeff Gyorko 2b West Virginia .413-4-44
8 Rick Hague ss Rice .358-6-36
9 Hunter Morris 1b Auburn .372-8-37
10 Bryan Morgado lhp Tennessee 4-2, 3.04, 50 IP/39 H/67 SO
 
* Not previously drafted
Top 10 Seniors
Top 10 Sophmores
Top 10 Juniors
--JEFF SIMPSON Top Ten List Archives
Fields Returns To Sophomore Form
Thursday April 17, 2008
The top college senior in the country is often the player with the biggest numbers, which can be a product of age and maturity that doesn’t necessarily transfer into professional potential. That isn’t the case this spring, as the top prospect in terms of the 2008 draft also happens to be putting together a truly dominant spring.

Georgia closer Josh Fields wasn’t even supposed to be playing for Georgia this year. He was regarded as a sure-fire, early first-rounder before the 2007 season based on his upper 90s fastball and devastating curveball. But changes to his delivery and breaking ball during his junior season at Georgia led to struggles on the mound and Fields went 1-6, 4.46 with six blown saves and 24 walks in 39 innings. He was still picked with the 69th overall pick by the Braves but did not sign.

Fields has returned to his dominant self this spring, with much better command and mechanics, as evidenced by six walks in 17 innings. That walk figure is even more impressive considering that hitters generally aren’t going to make contact with Fields as they’d struck out 33 times—an average of almost two an inning. It looks like he’s regained his solid first-round status as well.

With Fields as the focal point, we’re taking a mid-season look today at the top players in this year’s college senior class. It’s the third of a four-part series. We identified the top 10 juniors on Tuesday and the top 10 sophomores on Wednesday, and we will conclude with the top 10 freshmen on Friday. We’re also breaking out a position of unusual strength in each class and appropriately we’ll look at the Top 10 closers in the senior class.

Beyond Fields, another player who has significantly helped his draft status this spring is California second baseman Josh Satin. He was a dominant player in the Cape Cod League the past two summers with wood, but had been disappointing during the spring, hitting .222 and .287 the past two seasons with a combined eight home runs. This year has been a different story. Satin has been as impressive as teammate David Cooper at the plate and he will no doubt bring comparisons to former Cal-Berkeley second baseman Jeff Kent.

Three starting pitchers of some note are not listed below, but each probably falls directly behind Fields in the draft pecking order. They are Long Beach State righthander Andrew Liebel, and southpaws Rob Musgrave of Wichita State and Pat McAnaney of Virginia. All have been solid this year and should here their names called early on June 5.

Here’s our take on the Top 10 players in the junior class at the midseason mark:
Rank Player Pos. School Accomplishment
1 Josh Fields rhp Georgia 1-1, 0.00, 10 SV, 17 IP/5 H/33 SO
2 Josh Satin 2b California .433-11-36, 24 BB
3 Dane Carter 3b Texas A&M .441-5-43, 21 BB, 10 SB
4 Sawyer Carroll of Kentucky .456-10-48, 24 BB
5 Alan DeRatt rhp UNC Asheville 6-1, 0.64, 56 IP/35 H/40 SO/0 HR
6 Pat Venditte rhp/lhp Creighton 3-2, 2.73, 5 SV, 52 IP/61 SO
7 Tyler Conn rhp Southern Miss 1-0, 0.00, 12 SV, 20 IP/14 H/31 SO
8 Tyler Kuhn ss West Virginia .439-6-39
9 Corey Kemp c East Carolina .366-12-43
10 Randy Moley of St. Bonaventure .541-6-36, only 3 SO in 111 AB
 
Top 10 Sophmores
Top 10 Juniors
--DAVID RAWNSLEY Top Ten List Archives
STRASBURG VAULTS TO NO. 1
Wednesday April 16, 2008
San Diego State righthander Stephen Strasburg pitched the single, most dominant game of the 2008 college season last Friday, when he struck out 23 batters while beating Utah 1-0. The performance lifted the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder to the No. 1 spot among the top performers in this year’s college sophomore class at the midway point of the 2008 college season.

Strasburg’s standing among the elite talent in the Draft Class of 2009 was already established prior to his dominant outing as he was ranked the No. 1 prospect last summer in the New England Collegiate League on the basis of his size, presence, command and overpowering stuff. His fastball was a steady 94-95 mph. Used as a closer in 2007, both as a freshman at San Diego State and in summer ball, Strasburg has made a seamless transition to a starting job for the Aztecs this spring. Through his first 50 innings, he has walked eight while striking out 73.

Led by Strasburg, we’re taking a mid-season look today at the top players in this year’s college sophomore class. It’s the second of a four-part series. We identified the top 10 juniors on Tuesday, and will continue with the top 10 seniors on Thursday and the top 10 freshmen on Friday. We’ll also focus on a position of unusual strength in each class and we’ve broken out a list of the Top 10 righthanded pitchers in the sophomore class, the obvious strength of the 2009 college draft class.

Strasburg became the headline performer in the sophomore pitching crop with his dominant showing against Utah, but he’ll face stiff competition from at least two other college righthanders, Missouri’s Kyle Gibson and North Carolina’s Alex White, in his bid to become the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft. Gibson entered the 2008 season ranked No. 1 by PG Crosschecker, Strasburg No. 2.

White is one of three North Carolina sophomores on the accompanying list of 10 players, but the list is noteworthy as much for the absence of a fourth Tar Heel player, first baseman-outfielder Dustin Ackley, who has enjoyed a strong 2008 season (.377-6-29, 30 BB/17 SO) but not quite the dominant campaign he had as the nation’s top freshman a year ago. Still, Ackley projects as a first-rounder a year from now.

Here’s our take on the Top 10 players in the sophomore class at the midseason mark:
Rank Player Pos. School Accomplishment
1 Stephen Strasburg rhp San Diego State 4-1, 1.97, 50 IP/8 BB/73 SO
2 Alex White rhp North Carolina 6-2, 1.67, 43 IP/17 BB/49 SO
3 Kyle Gibson rhp Missouri 6-0, 2.63, 51 IP/14 BB/59 SO
4 Kyle Seager 2b North Carolina .397-6-48, 20 2B
5 Josh Phegley c Indiana .452-5-38, 19 BB/13 SO
6 Justin Bour 1b George Mason .443-12-47, 19 BB/14 SO
7 *Chris Dominguez 3b Louisville .393-11-37
8 Grant Green ss USC .397-4-29
9 *Tim Fedroff of North Carolina .396-7-33, 21 BB/16 SO
10 *Matt Fairel lhp Florida State 8-0, 2.38, 53 IP/18 BB/45 SO
* Draft eligible in 2008 Top 10 Juniors
-- ALLAN SIMPSON Top Ten List Archives
Davis Headlines Junior Class
Tuesday April 15, 2008
There is no shortage of college player of the year candidates in the junior class this year as many of the top prospects for the 2008 draft have lived up to their billing on the field, as well as in the eyes of scouts.

Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham, who has moved himself onto the short list at the top of the draft for many teams, has received plenty of attention in leading a resurgent Bulldogs team. But two two-way players, catcher/righthander Buster Posey of Florida State and first baseman/lefthander Ike Davis of Arizona State, have put up just as impressive numbers with the bat while also adding value, especially in Davis’ case, out of the bullpen.

Beginning with the junior class in today’s Top 10, we’ll take a mid-season look at the top players in each college class over the next four days. We’ll look at the top 10 sophomores on Wednesday, the top 10 seniors on Thursday and the top 10 freshmen on Friday. We’ll also focus on a position of unusual strength in each class. Today we’ll break out a list of the Top 10 junior first basemen, an exceptional crop by any standard.

There is no lack of candidates as the top pitcher in the junior class, either, and it is only fitting that two of the most talented pitching prospects in scouts’ eyes are also two of the top performers, righthander Aaron Crow of Missouri and lefthander Brian Matusz of San Diego.

Crow had thrown 43 consecutive scoreless innings entering last weekend’s series against Texas, only to see his ERA triple when he allowed nine runs to the Longhorns in Missouri’s surreal 31-12 victory on Friday. But his scoreless streak is one of the outstanding individual accomplishments of this college season.

In the end, Davis’ overwhelming offensive production—albeit in the middle of perhaps college baseball’s more potent lineup—plus his key role on the Sun Devils’ pitching staff gives him the midseason nod as the top player in the junior class.

Two things about Davis’ performance this spring. While he has always hit for doubles power (20 as a freshman, 23 as a sophomore and 20 thus far in 2008), Davis’ 14 home runs nearly match his combined total (17) for his first two seasons. The strong-armed southpaw also hardly pitched last year (6 2/3 innings) after being hammered (7.42 ERA in 12 starts) as a freshman. His low-90s fastball and improved command has helped make up for the eligibility-induced departure of Arizona State closer Jason Jarvis early in the season.

Here’s our take on the Top 10 players in the junior class at the midseason mark:
Rank Player Pos. School Accomplishment
1 Ike Davis 1b-lhp Arizona State 423-14-57, 20 2B, 4-0, 1.13, 3 SV
2 Buster Posey c-rhp Florida State .469-10-40, 29 BB; 0-0, 0.00, 4 SV
3 Gordon Beckham ss Georgia .432-16-39, 10 SB, 24 BB
4 Aaron Crow rhp Missouri 8-0, 2.06, 57 IP/45 H/71 SO
5 Brian Matusz lhp San Diego 7-1, 1.99, 56 IP/40 H/80 SO
6 Eric Thames of Pepperdine .408-10-47, 24 BB, 10 SB
7 David Cooper 1b California .385-14-39, 27 BB
8 Shooter Hunt rhp Tulane 5-1, 1.45, 49 IP/22 H/66 SO
9 Jemile Weeks 2b Miami .403-8-39, 11 SB
10 Johnny Giavotella 2b New Orleans .439-7-26, 31 BB
-- ALLAN SIMPSON Top Ten List Archives