Mack Draft: - Matt Purke, Anthony Rendon , More Purke, Daniel Norris, and Kolten Wong

As soon as Matt Purke made the decision to go to college, the expectations were great. There wasn’t to be much of a transition period. After all, this was a guy with first-round stuff. Purke, still a youngster, was expected to grow into one of the program’s key cogs in the few months between his first month in college and the 2010 season. Suddenly, the Horned Frogs, which reached the NCAA Super Regional round in ’09, were looking to a freshman to be the final piece to the puzzle with the return of pitchers Steven Maxwell and Kyle Winkler. - http://drafthype.com/mlbdraft/matt-purke-14th-pick-to-1st-overall


We conclude our countdown today with junior third baseman Anthony Rendon from Rice. He is from Houston TX and attended Lamar High School. His senior season saw him hit .570 with eight homers, 17 doubles, 56 RBI, 56 runs scored and 13 steals. He picked up several honors including First team 5A all-state shortstop, All-Greater Houston selection by the Houston Chronicle, and a starter in the Texas high school all-star game. He was also named all-state as a junior when he led the Houston area with 14 homers. Rendon stepped right into the Rice program starting all 61 games last season with a .388 average while hitting 20 homers and 72 RBI. He also picked up nine steals in 12 attempts. His .388 batting average, .702 slugging percentage, and 20 homers all lead Conference-USA last season. He was the first freshman in Conference USA to ever win Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year awards. He picked up several national awards including being named Second Team All-American by Baseball America and NCBWA, 2009 National Freshman of the Year by Collegiate - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/01/28/anthony-rendon-rice-top-100-countdown/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CollegeBaseballDaily+%28College+Baseball+Daily%29&utm_content=Twitter  



We continue the list today at number 2 in our countdown with TCU sophomore LHP Matt Purke. The Spring, Texas native attended Klein High School where he had solid career. As a junior in high school, he went 12-1 with a 0.37 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings pitched. He was named the high school pitcher of the year after his junior season by Baseball America. They also rated him as the third best high prospect in the 2009 MLB Draft. The Texas Rangers ended up selecting him in the first round with the 14th overall pick but were not able to come to terms with him. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/01/27/matt-purke-tcu-top-100-countdown/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CollegeBaseballDaily+%28College+Baseball+Daily%29&utm_content=Twitter



#3 - LHP Daniel Norris Science Hill HS, Johnson City Tenn 6'2 190 - quality lefty with arm strength and arm speed from upper 3/4 slot, also one of top HS QB's in state, tends to open early on occ causing elbow to get under pitches, fb velocity ranges from 88-94, most are 90-91, cb true 2/6 downward plane action and throws strikes but pitches up more than he needs to which could hurt him in pro ball. Pro instruction will be needed to help him repeat his delivery to be effective in pro ball. Stamina also a concern, but has shown 93-94 in 7th inning before on occ. His team has a matchup vs Nick Delmonico/Pfifer in May. Stay tuned http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/ 



Kolten Wong – Hawaii - Wong earned WAC Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American honors as Hawaii’s starting centerfielder in 2009, but a move to second base helped his team reach new heights in 2010. Wong batted .357 with seven home runs, 15 doubles, 40 RBIs, and team-highs of 57 runs and 19 stolen bases to help the Warriors reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. Wong was named the WAC Tournament MVP while helping his team to its first WAC Tourney title since 1992. The Hilo, HA native had more success over the summer, when he was named the Cape Cod League MVP after batting .341 for the Orleans Firebirds. - http://collegebaseball360.com/2011/01/25/top-11-college-baseball-2b-to-watch-in-2011