11/21/11

Draft 2012: - Duane Underwood, Tanner Rahier, Shaun Cooper, Justin Amlung, Cody Stiles

10-28-11: - http://orioles-nation.com/2011/10/26/wwba-2012-highlights - Duane Underwood (Marietta GA; Pope HS) – An absolute flame thrower that can maintain the speed that ran up to 93-95 mph (touched 98 mph at East Coast Showcase). Does display a bit of effort on the hill leading to thoughts of power relief pitcher.  He throws a curveball that sometimes flashes potential, but is not very consistent offering.  Other than the effort in the throw, there is not much worry about pressure mechanically.  It will depend on his ability to throw three consistent pitches. One of the better fastballs out of the high school rank.

11-15-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6369  - Tanner Rahier (2012 SS, ABD Bulldogs)- The 6-foot-2, 210 pound shortstop really stood out during his third tour of duty at the WWBA World Championship. Rahier not only stood out defensively, but as per usual, put on a show with the bat. Rahier hit .429/.467/1.000 with a pair of triples, a double and a Home Run in 15 plate appearances. The oversized SoCal shortstop invokes the obvious physical comparison to another California product, Troy Tulowitzki. With the size and arm strength that Rahier possesses it would be easy to peg him as a future third basemen. But his speed and athleticism combined with his aggressive high effort fielding actions give him plus range at short in spite of playing at over 200 pounds. Rahier showed his athleticism off by posting a 6.62 60-yard dash time at the 2011 National Showcase. It was no fluke either, as Rahier ran a 6.67 at the California Underclass Showcase in January, a 6.63 at the 2010 West Coast Top Prospect Showcase and a 6.94 at the 2010 California Underclass as a sophomore. Even though he clearly possesses the arm strength to play third (93 mph in the workout at the National Showcase), there is no reason to believe that he will need to move off of shortstop. The only imminent position change for Rahier is that he will give up pitching to become a full-time position player. Rahier's combination of size, speed and power are extremely rare and he compliments his tools with an impressive makeup, hard nosed competitive approach and an obvious passion for the game.

11-15-11: - http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/11/top-50-position-players-in-northwoods.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter  - Shaun Cooper   OF   Mankato MoonDogs---Utah  Shaun was, hands down, the best player in all of summer ball this season. He absolutely crushed the ball from day one this summer. He was named the Northwoods League Most Valuable Player and Perfect Game named him as their Summer League Player of the Year. He hit .335/.641/.444 for the MoonDogs. He scored 55 runs, knocked in an amazing 61 rbi's and most impressively, hit 20 home runs. He also managed to steal 15 bases. He was just about the most amazing home run hitter in all of summer league baseball. He won the home run derby and hit an amazing 33 home runs in three rounds. He also hit .333, with 1 home run in the playoffs for Mankato. All in all, he was first in the league in home runs, first in runs batted in and tied for first in runs scored. He also placed third in the league in hits with 81. He was ranked as the 8th best prospect in the league by PG and Baseball America ranked him as the 15th best prospect in the league.

11-16-11: - http://ht.ly/1fGaJz  - We continue the countdown today at number 66 with Louisville redshirt junior RHP Justin Amlung. The 6’0 175 pound righthander comes from Louisville, Kentucky and St. Xavier High School. He was a two year letter winner for coach John Jefferson going 7-1 with a 1.55 ERA and 50 strikeouts as a senior and was 6-3 with a 2.09 ERA and 45 strikeouts during his junior season. After taking a redshirt in 2009, he made 20 appearances (10 starts) going 5-2 with a 4.27 ERA in 65.1 innings during the 2010 season. He ended up striking out 55 batters while walking only 14 and holding opponents to a .286 batting average against.

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/11/16/uncs-cody-stiles-dismissed-from-team  - Cody Stiles was dismissed from UNC baseball team according to multiple media reports in the Chapel Hill area. Stiles was expected to be a key contributor to the UNC pitching staff in 2012. Last season, he went 4-0 in 12 appearances including eight starts while having an ERA of 2.43. As a freshman, he had seven appearances with one start while posting a 4.50 ERA without recording a decision. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 39th round out of J.P. Taravella High School but decided to head to Chapel Hill.

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