Chevez Clarke and Kaleb Cowart Impress At Wood Bat World Championships

The 2009 World Wood Bat Association World Championships wrapped up its five day tournament recently in Jupiter, Florida.  With 85 teams in attendance and 13 games going on simultaneously at any one given time, there was plenty of talent that will be picked at the 2010 draft on display. 

One event of the championships that draws a lot of attenion is the Bo Jackson Five-Tool Championship.  Players show off their wares in different "tool" competitions: hitting for power, hitting for average, arm strength, fielding and running speed.  Unfortunately, the hitting competitions were held with metal bats, something professional scouts are not interested in watching.

Chevez Clarke and Kaleb Cowart were two of the standouts from the tool competition.  Specifically, Cowart was clocked with a 100-mph reading throwing from right field, clearly dominanting the "arm strength" tool competition.  Clarke did not have anything stand out quite as significantly as Cowart, but throughout all five tools submitted arguably the top performance. 

Chevez Clarke at the AFLAC All-America Game at Wrigley Field

Unfortunately, top prospect Jameson Taillon did not play at the tournament as many had expected.  For more on the 2009 Wood Bat Association World Championships, check out Baseball America's original report.