James Paxton, Ryan Carpenter, Matt Purke, Kyle Winkler, Roberto Suppa, Danny Keller

Prospect Insider has learned that the Mariners may have come to agreement with James Paxton, via Alex Meyer on Twitter. Meyer, a junior, is a first-round talent in this year's draft class. We would have placed Paxton No. 9 on the handbook, but that is based very much on Paxton regaining his form within a year or so, and that's a guess at this point. http://prospectinsider.com/view/paxton-signs  





Ryan Carpenter - Gonzaga traveled to College Station to take on Texas A&M for the weekend, creating arguably the best pitching matchup of the weekend between lefty Ryan Carpenter and righty John Stilson. Carpenter is a pitcher I had heard quite a bit of, but had limited exposure to. I was really impressed first and foremost with his smooth delivery and overall mechanics. He repeated his release point better than any other pitcher I have seen so far this year, and commanded his fastball fairly well. There is still some inconsistency to his control and secondary stuff, but it’s hard not to be impressed with his size, delivery and fastball velocity. http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-2-26-11.html  





Who exactly was on the mound when TCU played Cal State Fullerton in the series opener? It looked more like a right-handed Matt Purke than anyone else. TCU veteran right-handed pitcher Kyle Winkler was sensational in a 4-1 victory over the Titans, allowing just a run on six hits in seven innings. Winkler was throwing 92-94 with his fastball throughout the game. The veteran again is rising to the occasion this spring. http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5298  






Roberto Suppa, rhp - "He's going to be a draft kid. He's a big, strong, horse of a kid. He's signed with Cornell, so he'll probably be a tough sign. But he'll be 88-91 (mph) with real good, heavy sink and he's a big, strong-armed kid. So he's going to throw 90 plus consistently and he's certainly got a pro body at 6-foot-5 and over 200 pounds. He's certainly an interesting kid." - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=3119  






Danny Keller, RHP, Newbury Park (Calif.) HS - Skinny: Keller was not as sharp Saturday as he was at an area All-Star Game in November, but he still rates as a top prospect. He tosses a 90-91-mph fastball and adds a promising 74 curve. Keller's arm action was a bit awkward Saturday. Committed to: Cal State Northridge http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/highschool/02/21/top.prospects.mlb.showcase/index.html#ixzz1FAb22OhT  

Dustin Houle, Sonny Gray, Mark Appel, Francisco Lindor, Matt Grimes, Daniel Palka, Matt Crouse

Dustin Houle, 3b - "He's very interesting. He's probably going to be a catcher someday because I don't know if he'll make it as a third baseman, but he can hit and has some size and strength and a good arm. I probably like him better behind the plate in the pro world, if I had to make that choice. If he can catch for you, he profiles a whole lot better than as a third baseman."







No. 3 Vanderbilt over No. 8 Stanford, 2-1. Vandy Jr. RHP Sonny Gray (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K) won a pitcher's duel against So. RHP Mark Appel (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER), as Anthony Gomez delivered a tie-breaking RBI single in the sixth, and three Vanderbilt relievers combined to throw three innings of two-hit, shutout ball to seal the win.


http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/college/?p=4131  






Francisco Lindor, SS, Montverde Academy (Fla.) - Lindor, a switch hitter, drew dozens of scouts in his first week of play -- partially because there weren't a whole lot of other options that early in the season -- and promptly homered in his first at-bat, a shot estimated at more than 400 feet to right-center field as a left-handed batter. He's flashed the leather on several occasions, showing smooth actions at shortstop and plenty of arm. "He dazzled, certainly," said one talent evaluator of an American League club. "He's a really, really good athlete, a lot of quickness and a quick bat." Lindor, a Florida State commit, added a 3-for-3 outing earlier this week and continues to make what one scout called "ridiculous" plays with the glove. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?name=mlb_draft&id=6158757&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fblog%3fname%3dmlb_draft%26id%3d6158757







• Georgia Tech over Georgia Southern, 7-4. Heralded Fr. RHP Matt Grimes (5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER) earned the win in his first start, and fellow freshman Daniel Palka (3-for-4, HR, 4 RBI) powered the offense. - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/college/?p=4128







Mississippi didn’t get a high quality start from left-handed pitcher Matt Crouse against Wright State last weekend, but the talented veteran changed his luck against Houston on Friday. Crouse struck out eight and allowed just two run on six hits in seven innings as the Rebels captured a 4-2 win over red-hot Houston. Crouse bouncing back in that fashion is huge for the Rebels. http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5298  

Scott Snodgrass, Adam Conley, Walker Moore, Colin O'Connell, Xavier Macklin, Danny Hultzen

Another southpaw, Scott Snodgrass, is also one to watch. He came in relief and picked up the victory in the opening game of the series, going 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out five. - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110221&content_id=16694012&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_16694012  







Washington State JR LHP Adam Conley opened some eyes by peaking at 95-96 MPH on Friday. My earliest notes on him have him sitting 86-88 with a peak between 90-92. Amazing what some time working with a great college staff can do for a kid. Credit should also be given to Conley (by all accounts a really hard worker), as well as the natural maturation that comes with growing into a sturdy 6-3, 185 pound frame (up 15 pounds from his freshman year). http://baseballdraftreport.com/  






•Cal-State Fullerton got back to .500 on Monday by defeating nearby rival Long Beach State 4-3. Senior utility player Walker Moore led the offense by getting a key pinch hit RBI double on his way to a 2-2 night driving in two runs. The Titans pitching staff was led by Colin O’Connell who went 7.0 innings giving up five hits, and allowing just one run in the sixth inning. He struck out six while not giving up a walk. http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/22/foleys-quick-hits-for-feb-21st  






RF, Xavier Macklin, a sturdy built, 6'0 190 right fielder, Right/Right with legit alley power to LF. X runs 4.3 straight away which is solid average to 1b and he has an average arm for RF. X has carry on his throws and he tracks the ball well enough to the gap. X hit a bomb to the RF alley that carried over the way day 1 and the second day hit the ball hard 4 times with two hits, one was a one hopper to the LF alley wall off a 88 mph fb. X stays in there on the breaking ball but will get out front a bit with his front side and his hands stay back. X is a potential 20 HR guy with 20 plus SBs in the making. http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/  






By now, Danny Hultzen is a known commodity on Friday nights. For two years, the left-hander has anchored Virginia's weekend rotation, going a combined 20-1 with a 2.51 ERA as a freshman and sophomore. He's a fierce competitor with excellent command and very good stuff, so it was hardly surprising that his 2011 season got off to a sterling start Friday against Alabama-Birmingham. In 6 2/3 innings, Hultzen struck out 10 and allowed just one run, three hits and a walk. http://web.goldenspikesaward.com/index.html?page=news_archive&article_id=79  

Andrew Letourneau, Zack Powers, Chris Reed, John Stilson, Marquis Riley

•Cal-State Bakersfield continued the University of San Francisco’s early season struggles by defeating them 6-2. Junior centerfielder Andrew Letourneau led the charge at the plate going 3-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. This season, the Dons have scored a total of three runs over their first four games. They will welcome UC-Davis to campus on Friday and Sunday while playing in Davis on Saturday as they look to get their first win of the season.

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/22/foleys-quick-hits-for-feb-21st  







Zack Powers - Powers is another member of the Gators impressive freshman class that includes Whitson, Crawford, Daniel Gibson and Keenan Kish. I know I said I was focusing on the 2011 and 2012 draft eligibles, but Powers really caught my eye, and I believe he will be a much bigger part of this team in the years to come. He has a great approach at the plate in which he seems to be going up the middle and the other way, and smacked some balls hard. He has good size with sloped shoulders with good present day strength -

 http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-2-20-11.html 




Some of that may have had to do with Stanford's pitching staff, of course, which gave up seven earned runs over 26 innings for an opening-weekend 2.77 ERA. Chris Reed took the one loss for Stanford, but scouts really liked what they saw from the 6-foot-4 lefty, who sat at 94 mph all night and showed a plus changeup.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110221&content_id=16694012&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_16694012  






Texas A&M JR RHP John Stilson was only omitted from the previous entry because he slipped my mind, but, really, the guy belongs in the top college arm discussion with the likes of Cole, Purke, Jungmann, et al. Perhaps it is for the best that the least well known major college pitcher gets his own space, so we can fully appreciate his sustained run of dominance. Stilson’s 2010 season (14 K/9) was the stuff of legend, and his transition to starting on Friday nights (6 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 9 K) has started with a bang. My favorite part of his Friday line: 18 outs recorded, 9 via strikeout, 9 via groundball, 0 fly balls. He’s a starter all the way for me, despite the sentiment that he is too much of a two-pitch thrower to get through the lineup multiple times. I’ve heard too many positive things about both his changeup and his slider to believe differently.

http://baseballdraftreport.com/  






iF Marquis Riley from near by Hillsborough NC where he attended Orange HS. Marquis is slightly over 5'9 and weighs a solid 190 with a smooth lefty swing that is flat and drives the ball where it's pitched. He's not a burner out of the box, but he is solid average as a runner with a playable arm for either the corner or second and he has enough tracking ability to play the Outfield if needed there. Marquis lined up a few mid to upper 80's fb from the Camels pitchers to all fields. In BP he has 8-10 type HR power. He loves the game and he comes to play and while he may not go in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft, he's definitely someone who will get some strong looks by area crosscheckers and scouting directors along the way

 http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/  

Michael Rocha, John Stilson, Austin Maddox, Grayson Garvin, Gerrit Cole

Another interesting draft prospect and college senior, Oklahoma SR RHP Michael Rocha, put on a show this Friday: 7 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 7 K. Rocha doesn’t have near the velocity of Dupra at his best, but thrives on his funky breaking stuff, good command, and high pitching IQ. Rocha’s one-hit performance was matched by Alabama JR LHP Adam Morgan, who put up the following line: 5.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 6 K. Unlike the power fastball lefties mentioned above, Morgan instead follows in the footsteps of the more typical, pitchability style of crafty college lefties. The lack of a big fastball stings a little less when you have a plus curve, a pitch that I think ranks in the top ten of its type amongst 2011 college draft prospects. http://baseballdraftreport.com/  











There was some concern entering the season on whether Texas A&M right-handed pitcher John Stilson could make a smooth transition from closer to starter. Well, Stilson took at least a step forward Friday by striking out nine and allowing a run on three hits in six innings in a 3-1 victory over LeMoyne. It’ll be interesting to see how Stilson, one of the nation’s top junior prospects, progresses from here. - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5266  






(Austin) Maddox is an impressive athlete, now playing first base this year. I think he’s at first and Tucker is in right because Maddox doesn’t run the greatest. He does have a very strong arm that would profile well in right field, as it did at third base last year and behind the plate during his prep days. His power potential is incredibly obvious, with good bat speed and an effortless load and swing path in which he generates torque from the bottom up. He didn’t have a hit in this game, but he put an easy swing on an outside fastball that traveled to the warning track in right field for a sacrifice fly. Comparisons to another former prep catcher and Gator, Matt LaPorta, are going to be connected to this young man for the next year-plus. - http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-2-20-11.html  






•Vanderbilt had a solid weekend going a perfect 4-0 with three victories over San Diego and a single win over San Diego State. Grayson Garvin had the best start of the weekend for the Commodores carrying a perfect game into the seventh inning on Sunday against San Diego. He ended up giving up a hit off his glove in the seventh before losing his shutout bid in the ninth. The 2010 Cape Cod Baseball League Pitcher of the Year ended up pitching a total of 8.1 innings giving up five hits and three runs (two earned) before being lifted. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/21/foleys-quick-hits-for-feb-20th  






UCLA's Gerrit Cole, whom many consider to be the best pure college arm in the Draft, didn't waste any time in showing why. He tossed a four-hit, complete-game shutout against San Francisco, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out 11 over 104 pitches. UCLA has quite the 1-2 punch. Cole dominated on Friday. It was Trevor Bauer's turn on Saturday. He beat San Francisco, 4-1, allowing just one unearned run on two hits over 7 2/3 innings. He did yield four walks, but also struck out 10. - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110221&content_id=16694012&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_16694012  

Alex Meyer, Cory Hahn, Kevin Gausman, Pratt Maynard, Johnny Pants

•Kentucky and Georgia both ended up starting the season with identical 0-3 records. Kentucky ended up blowing a great starting pitching performance from Alex Meyer who went seven innings giving up three hits, three walks and two runs as he struck out 13 batters. Meyer topped out at 100 according to sources at the game while sitting around 97 all game - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/21/foleys-quick-hits-for-feb-20th  







Multiple sources have confirmed to College Baseball Daily that Cory Hahn suffered a C-5 fracture of his spinal cord. For comparison’s sake, former Boston University hockey player Travis Roy suffered a fracture between his C-4 and C-5 vertebrae. The doctors will not know the status of Hahn’s spinal cord until after the swelling goes down from the surgery he underwent on Sunday night. He is expected to spend the next five-ten days in the ICU. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/20/arizona-states-cory-hahn-hospitalized  










•Highly regarded freshman Kevin Gausman had his college debut on Saturday afternoon for the LSU Tigers against Wake Forest. He had a rough first two innings giving up a run in each inning but settled down as he finished giving up two runs in 5.2 innings while striking out six batters. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/20/foleys-quick-hits-for-feb-19th  






It was an impressive opening day for N.C. State and first baseman Pratt Maynard. Maynard led the Wolfpack as they stormed past in-state foe Elon 17-5. Maynard finished the contest 3-for-4 with a double, three runs and five RBIs. The Wolfpack couldn’t have asked for a better start to an important season. - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5266  






(Alex) Panteliodis doesn’t fall into the camp of those that looked as though they hit the weight room hard, as he’s a little soft through the mid-section, but is far from what you would label a ‘hefty lefty.’ He too elevates his fastball, and gets a lot of the strike zone. He gave up double-digit home runs a year ago, and gave up another in his one inning of work. He doesn’t throw particularly hard, but he commands the strike zone well. He also repeats his delivery and overall mechanics pretty well, and isn’t afraid to challenge hitters with his fastball. - http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-2-20-11.html  

Stephen Hefler, David Herbek, Jake Lowery, Matt Tenaglia , Jackie Bradley Jr, David Carroll, Anthony DeSclafani

The Colonels wasted a one-hit gem from senior right-handed pitcher Stephen Hefler on Sunday in a 3-1 loss to Pepperdine. Hefler surrendered one unearned run on one hit in six innings while striking out five and walking one. The Colonels’ offense did not score a run until the top of the eighth inning, but the EKU bullpen immediately gave back the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Hefler’s performance was the only positive for a pitching staff that surrendered nine runs in each of the first two games of the series. - http://blugrassbaseball.com/  







•What is going on at James Madison? They swept a doubleheader today from Bucknell by scores of 9-2 and 26-15 after defeating the Bison on Friday 37-7. The Dukes have now hit 20 homers as a team led by David Herbek who has five already with eight RBI. Catcher Jake Lowery has four homers and Matt Tenaglia has three. It should be interesting to see if they can continue at even half this rate. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/02/20/foleys-quick-hits-for-feb-19th  






Not that this needs to be said, but South Carolina outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is an absolute stud and a pleasure to watch. He had an incredible opening day for the Gamecocks, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, three runs and three RBIs as the ‘Cocks beat Santa Clara 12-5. Folks in Columbia, S.C., would say that’s just Jackie being Jackie. We’d have to agree. - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5266  






Maryland split a twinbill with Texas Saturday and will go for the series split Sunday. Avoiding a sweep at a program like Texas is important for second year coach Erik Bakich as he build his program. The Terps won 10-1 behind 6'8" righty David Carroll's six solid innings. Carroll may be the next feared starter for Maryland this season. - http://sebaseball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1191005  






Anthony DeSclafani - DeSclafani is the best looking athlete of the pitchers I will cover here (freshman Jonathan Crawford also pitched in this game, but I was trying to focus on the 2011 and 2012 draft-eligibles). He has a tall, well proportioned athletic build, and is another of the Florida players that looks as though he spent a lot of time fine-tuning his physique. He had the tendency to elevate his fastball, which didn’t have much, if any, movement on it, but there was some deception out of his hand thanks to some herk and jerk to his delivery. He threw both a slider and a slow curve, with the slider having more potential, but both needing more bit and consistency. - http://www.5tooltalk.com/2011-notes-2-20-11.html  

Justin Amlung, Tony Zych, Ryan Wright, Andrew Murray, Taylor Jungmann , Bradley Muskogee, Anthony Rendon

University of Louisville redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Justin Amlung was nearly unhittable in leading the Cards to a 2-0 win over Ohio State in game two of the Big East/Big Ten Challenge. Amlung allowed just four hits in seven and two-third shutout innings while striking out four and walking one to earn the win. Junior right-handed pitcher Tony Zych allowed the potential tying run to reach base in the ninth but finished the game without allowing a run to record his second save in two games. Junior second baseman Ryan Wright and sophomore third baseman Cade Stallings tallied the two RBI for UofL in the game - http://blugrassbaseball.com/  







Andrew Murray , C , Westfield, Westfield, NJ - Short quick powerful swing that almost seems urgent. He swings extraordinarily powerfully. He could have plus power and hit for a high average if all goes well. Acceptable behind the plate. - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/  










Player spotlight: Taylor Jungmann - Jungmann has the physicality of a durable front-end starter to go along with good power in all three of his offerings. He has a long frame but does not maximize his extension, leaving some effort and recoil. The Texas ace displays excellent arm speed, which generates velocity and some life on his fastball, as well as excellent spin on both his breaking ball and his change. His fastball is a consistent low-90s offering, regularly climbing to 94/95 mph, and he moves it around to all quadrants. Jungmann’s low-80s power breaker has a slurvy shape but comes with tight spin and gets incredibly late bite to go along with good depth. It’s one of the better breaking balls around and he knows how to hit his spots with it. His third offering is a change-up that he turns over to get fade. In fact, he throws with such good arm speed that the fade produced by the heavy spin ends-up generating fringe-breaking ball depth to the arm side (Jungmann acknowledges this heavy action with his hand signal for the pitch during warm-ups, which features the standard palm-down glove indicating a change-up, followed by a rolling over of the glove to the arm side). He had this “screw change” on display at last year’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park, but can also throw a more traditional circle change. Jungmann has the size and stuff to project, even with some effort in his motion -- a member of the top tier of an elite crop of college arms, he is well positioned to compete for the top spot on draft boards this spring. - http://diamondscapescouting.com/rankings_2011_preseason_top300_pt3.html  










RHP Archie Bradley Muskogee HS, Oklahoma 6'3 205 - power arm righty with above ave ML CB that's a knuckle curve, with sharp downer action and control is good of it. FB velo varies, will touch 95 on occ, pitches at 88-91 consistently, should increase as he gets football out of his system. Is a top notich HS QB and early commit to OU, but also loves this game and will be highly scouted early next spring. Comps to Brad Penny, but Brad's more max effort, this kid tends to get better as the game goes along and does it easy. http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/  






Anthony Rendon's 631 is the second highest single season score of anyone in my database, trailing only Rickie Weeks' 2003 junior year at Southern when he hit. .500/.619/.987 (1606 OPS) with a 20.4% BB rate and just 7.5% Ks. Nearly half of Weeks' hits went for extra bases, he posted a .660 park-adjusted wOBA. He also was a perfect 27-for-27 stealing bases. Weeks put up a 697 score that year - which is over three standard deviations above the median. Rickie Weeks was really, really good in college. - http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/02/18/rendon-2011-ncaa-season-preview  

Mack Draft: - Taylor Featherstone, Justin Hageman, Gerrit Cole, Jeremy Baltz, Ryan Wright

Player spotlight: Taylor Featherston - Even hitting in a pitcher-friendly park at TCU for his home games,Taylor Featherston was able to produce a slash line of .338/.418/.560 -- with the folks at collegesplits.com normalizing for park factor and strength of schedule to produce a weighted line of .380/.454/.630 and a wOBA of .465. Towards the end of the spring in 2010 and particularly during Trials week for the USA Collegiate National Team last summer, Featherston struggled to get his lead foot down in time, throwing off his trigger some and exasperating his troubles with quality breaking balls. He also can get caught expanding the strikezone when behind in the count, and could generally do a better job keeping his bat on a flatter plane to keep it in the zone a little longer. All-in-all, though, he has an interesting offensive profile with a chance to hit for some average and with power to the gaps. Defensively he can run into issues with his hands when he rushes, but his footwork is solid. With pro instruction and reps, he has a chance to develop into an average Major League shortstop, but could also provide a nice glove on the other side of the bag. The draft class is light on collegiate shortstops, so a strong spring could put him in play as early as the sandwich round. - http://diamondscapescouting.com/rankings_2011_preseason_top300_pt2.html  







Starting pitcher — Justin Hageman — Western Kentucky University - WKU head coach Chris Finwood says freshman right-handed pitcher Justin Hageman, the 2010 32nd round pick of the Royals, has as much talent as any pitcher he saw on a Friday night during his time in the Southeastern Conference, but it remains to be seen what Hageman’s role will be with the Hilltoppers. He figures to begin the season as a midweek starting pitcher, but will move to the weekend rotation if he proves himself in that role. - http://blugrassbaseball.com/







RHP Gerrit Cole UCLA 6'3 1/2 220 - power armed rhp with solid above ave fb that will reach 97-98 on occ, pitches at 92-94 consistently with run and sink on his fb, best when down in zone using the L on a hitter, hard slider 81-85 breaks properly sometimes too big, must stay within himself and not rush which can cause him to get his elbow down in position from his 3/4 arm slot. Could be in the ML quickly either as a closer or as a 2-3 man in the rotation. Still some roughness to iron out, but plenty of upside left in the tank with pro instruction. http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/





Jeremy Baltz – St. John’s - Baltz had, arguably, the best overall year by a true freshman since the original bat restrictions went into place more than a decade ago. The Red Storm slugger took his team triple crown, batting .396 with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs in 2010. He also had 16 doubles and a triple for a 1.250 OPS to earn not only Freshman All-American but also National Freshman of the Year honors. His 24 HR tied for 7th in the nation, while his 85 RBIs tied for 6th. Baltz hit safely in all but 10 of his team’s 63 games in 2010. His regular season exclamation point was a 4-for-5, four home run & seven RBI performance against Louisville on May 18. After helping fourth seeded St. John’s win the Big East Tournament, it speaks volumes that Baltz was named the Charlottesville NCAA Regional MVP despite the fact that his team lost to Virginia in the Regional final. His two HR and four RBIs against the Cavs on June 6 forced a winner take all game won by UVA the next day. - http://collegebaseball360.com/2011/02/07/top-college-baseball-outfielders-to-watch-in-20116



Player of the year: Ryan Wright — University of Louisville - The preseason player of the year award is essentially a two-way race between UofL junior infielder Ryan Wright, and WKU senior catcher Matt Rice, but the award goes to Wright in a tight race. BluGrass Baseball recently ranked Wright the No. 1 collegiate player in the state, and the second baseman has already been named a preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Baseball America. The Indiana native batted .366 with 16 home runs, 80 RBI and 61 runs scored in 2010. He recently earned the nickname, “RBI Mongrel” from his head coach Dan McDonnell for compiling 146 RBI in two seasons at UofL. - http://blugrassbaseball.com