Crack of the Bat
by Patrick Ebert

Blue Grass Blue Chips

Kentucky stands to boast its strongest class of talent for the 2008 draft since it graduated Todd Wellemeyer (fourth round) and Brandon Webb (eighth round) to professional baseball and subsequent big-league success from the 2000 draft.

 

Even that class wasn’t considered particularly strong, as no one imagined that reigning National League Cy Young Brandon Webb would be as good as he has been.  Fellow former Wildcats starter Joe Blanton received more attention as a first-round pick in 2002, and those two sandwiched Jeremy Sowers’ impressive high school career that led to him being drafted in the first round for the first time in 2001.

 

While the Kentucky college talent stands to be its best in several years, it is the prep talent that could set it apart.

 

Lexington Southpaws

A pair of lefties that hail from the Capital of the Blue Grass State, Nick Maronde and Robbie Ross, highlight this prep class, both of whom are ranked within the top 25 of PGCrosschecker’s recently revised rankings of the top 1,000 high school prospects eligible for the 2008 draft.

 

Both were among the top prospects at both the Perfect Game National and East Coast Professional showcases this past summer.  Maronde has the better, more projectable pitching frame of the two, and probably has the edge more when it comes to pitching savvy.  Both throw in the low-90s with solid breaking pitches, with Ross owning one of the most dominant sliders in the nation to go along with a very good changeup.

 

Trying to separate the two at this point in time is probably a waste of time however, as you really can’t lose.  Although it may pose a difficult decision for area scouts to decide who they should go see should they be pitching at the same time on the same night even if it is in the same city.

 

The prep talent isn’t limited to the Lexington area, as Louisville star slugger Zack Cox is currently ranked higher than both Maronde and Ross in the aforementioned top 1,000 prep prospect ranking.  Cox is a power/power prospect that stars both at the mound and at the plate.

 

He too starred at the PG National and the East Coast Pro, earning the same perfect 10 rating that Maronde and Ross did.  He peppered the bleachers with his powerful left-handed stroke and was equally impressive registering a few 93’s with his fastball.

 

Poised to go first

Currently the best player from the state of Kentucky that projects to go the highest in next year’s draft is Eastern Kentucky ’s Christian Friedrich, a left-handed pitcher that has put up incredible numbers so far during his college career, and most recently he was named one of the top prospects in the Cape Cod League.

 

With a good built, a solid repertoire, good command and a natural sense of how to pitch, Friedrich’s best weapon is a big, slow curveball that he can throw in any count.  That pitch alone may be the single-best pitch available for next June’s draft, and is likely to draw a few comparisons to Barry Zito’s.

 

Wildcats ready to pounce, again

Similar to when I broke down the impressive pitching talent that the state of Indiana has boasted the past several years, the University of Kentucky usually evokes thoughts of their perennially contending basketball team.

 

Kentucky Head Coach John Cohen has quickly changed that, turning the baseball team, which finished last in the SEC standings in 2005, into the conference champs in 2006 with a program record 44 wins.  Last year the team didn’t enjoy as much success, particularly in conference play (13-16-1 versus 20-10 from the year before), but still finished with 34 wins, marking the first time Kentucky finished with 30 or more wins in consecutive seasons since the mid-90s.

 

Cohen employs a very aggressive offense that continually pressures the defense with bunts, stolen bases and hit-and-run attempts.  That approach has led to the Wildcats finishing fourth and 11^th in scoring nationally the past two seasons.

 

Collin Cowgill, the catalyst during the team’s SEC championship run in 2006 returns this year after missing 2007 due to a broken hamate bone.  He didn’t miss a beat this past summer showing what he’s capable of when healthy as he was named the starting centerfielder for the East squad as part of the Cape Cod League’s all-star game.

 

Sweet swinging left-handed hitting first baseman Sawyer Carroll also returns, whose 23 doubles led the team a year ago and were tied for second-best in the conference.  The program likely will turn to one of either Tyler Howe or Brock Wright to help lessen the blow of losing Sean Coughlin, who had a tremendous season last year.

 

Given the stability of the Wildcats ability to consistently score runs, it will be the pitching that ultimately determines the success for Kentucky this coming season.

 

And the team is poised to have its entire weekend rotation return from last season in lefties Andrew Albers and Chris Rusin along with righty Greg Dombrowski.  Reliever James Paxton, another lefty, also returns after a very successful summer pitching in the West Coast Collegiate League in which he led the circuit in innings pitched and strikeouts.  Clint Tilford, Ketucky’s Gatorade player of the year in 2006, returns for his sophomore season and also could be in the mix for a prominent pitching role.  It’s uncertain how the rotation will shake out, but as always having a slew of candidates capable of starting any given game is a good problem to have.  Whoever is left out will joining senior closer Aaron Lovett in the bullpen, who posted seven saves last spring.

 

The most promising of all Kentucky Wildcats is right-handed pitcher Scott Green, who was recently named one of the top prospects in the Cape Cod League, and has the potential to have just as big of stuff to match his 6’8”, 245-pound frame.

 

He’s a name that isn’t as well known since he hasn’t pitched much since missing the entire 2006 season due to Tommy John surgery.  Green was draft-eligible this past year as a red-shirt sophomore, and turned down a high six-figure bonus as a 14^th round pick of the Boston Red Sox looking to improve his stock next spring.  It’s uncertain what Green’s role will be given the number of arms returning to the program, but he fits the profile of a Friday ace, and no matter where he winds up, his games are certain to be well-attended by the scouting community.

 

Talent is a common theme in all of my columns, and that is something Cohen understands, once again bringing a talented recruiting class to Lexington .  Of his nine signees from last fall, he didn’t lose a single player to professional baseball.  Catchers Dan Killian and Ian Tomkins along with left-handed pitcher Michael Kaczmarek are three of the more notable recruits, and outfielder Navarro Hall has the tools to replace those of departed outfielder Antone DeJesus in the next few years.  Kevin Carby, a junior college transfer, may be poised to take over at second base for recently departed senior, and the Wildcats best hitter from a year ago, Mike Brown.

 

While Kentucky may not receive the national attention and love that more prominent SEC programs do, they could be a sleeper to not only contend for the conference crown, but for a national title if a few key pieces fall into place next spring.

 

And when you combine the talent at the University of Kentucky with the prep talent that plays in nearby high schools, scouts assigned to the area will have a hard time leaving Lexington to check out other players in their region.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA .  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.