3/11/10

DRAFT: Stephen Cardullo, Russell Wilson, Joe Leonard, Jared Hoying... and Christian Colon

Stephen Cardullo:


3-11 from: - http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/baseball/news?slug=kr-rogersroad031110&prov=yhoo&type=lgns  - Florida State’s Stephen Cardullo is evidence you can go from rags to riches with hard work. The senior infielder is off to a phenomenal start this season. He has improved in many facets of the game, but most impressive is his start at the plate, where he has a .425 batting average, two homers and 19 RBIs. Cardullo is the shining star for the Seminoles so far. He wasn’t always this highly thought of, though. Cardullo had a successful high school career, but Florida State wasn’t interested in offering him a scholarship. Still, Cardullo was willing to do anything to become a Seminoles baseball player and assistant coach Mike Martin Jr. eventually offered him an opportunity to walk on.

Russell Wilson:

3-11 from: - http://collegebaseball360.com/2010/03/11/two-sport-report-1  - North Carolina State - Russell Wilson-5’11-201 – Football: QB & Baseball: 2B - Wilson has played in 9 games, starting 2 on the diamond. He’s hitting 8 for 20 with 9 runs, 2 HR and 6 RBI in helping the Wolfpack to an 11-1 start. He totaled 3,027 passing yards with 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2009, while also rushing for 260 yards and 4 more scores. His 31 touchdown passes led the ACC. He passed for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns to help N.C. State (5-7) upset North Carolina (8-4) to end an otherwise disappointing season for the Wolfpack

Joe Leonard:

3-10-10 from http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=2199  - JOE LEONARD, 3b, Pittsburgh - SCOUTING REPORT/Cal Ripken Sr. League: Most times when scouts look at a 6-foot-5, 220-pound third baseman, they are going to think, “This guy has power, I hope the rest of his game is playable.” With Leonard, the opposite is true. The righthanded hitter has a smooth, crisp swing that is geared to high-contact/high-average, but doesn’t produce much lift. He hit .346-0-25 for the O’s this summer. Leonard has 12 home runs in two years as an everyday starter at Pittsburgh, so there is something there to develop. Defensively, Leonard is surprisingly quick and agile for an athlete his size. He has plus arm strength and has been clocked up to 93 mph on the mound. Some CRSL observers likened Leonard defensively to a young Cal Ripken Jr., given his size, arm strength and agile feet. The irony in that comparison is that Leonard’s father, John, was the Baltimore Orioles’ first-round pick in the secondary phase of the January 1982 draft, and pitched briefly in the organization that year – the same year that Ripken won the American League rookie-of-the-year award.

Jared Hoying:

3-10-10 from http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=2199  - JARED HOYING, ss, Toledo - SCOUTING REPORT/Great Lakes League: Hoying has intriguing tools on both sides of the ball, but he’s not overly pretty in his approach and may be the farthest away from refining them of any top position player in the Great Lakes League. He has excellent offensive potential with superior bat speed and a controlled uppercut swing that enabled him to produce a .293-11-50 sophomore campaign at Toledo and a .375-4-29 follow-up with a league-high eight triples this summer at Grand Lake. But his college coaches took out the stride in his swing in the spring, and he used predominantly his hands to generate his bat speed this summer. While his hands are unusually strong and quick, he’ll need to adjust his swing mechanics and generally do a much better job of incorporating his lower half better as he progresses. Still, he has good plate coverage and the ball jumps off his bat. Hoying also has above-average big league speed and arm strength. He’s been clocked in the 60 in 6.6 seconds, and his throws across the diamond are a steady 91-92 mph. He committed 38 errors as Toledo’s shortstop in the spring and even though he cut his error total to just eight this summer, his actions in the field can often be a little rough. His hands are acceptable, but he needs to refine his overall actions, particularly his footwork, a potentially daunting proposition as Hoying wears size 16 shoes. It’s possible Hoying will end up at third base down the road, or he could even be an offensive second baseman.

Christian Colon:

3-10-10 from http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/baseball/news?slug=kr-powerrankings031010&prov=yhoo&type=lgns  - Power Rankings – In the middle infield, Cal State Fullerton’s Christian Colon dropped from the top spot to completely out of the rankings after starting the season on an incredibly bad note at the plate. Florida State’s Stephen Cardullo, who is red-hot right now, moved to the No. 1 spot in the latest rankings.

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