Danny Hultzen
Rumors

Michael Huang of The Sporting News recently wrote about top flight players to watch for in 2011.  Below is a list of the players he identified.  To view a player's profile, click on his name.

In no particular order:

Jackie Bradley Jr., South Carolina, OF
Taylor Jungmann, Texas, P
Anthony Rendon, Rice, 3B
Matt Purke, TCU, P
Dylan Bundy, Owassa HS, P
Gerrit Cole, UCLA, P

Trevor Bauer, UCLA, P
Henry Owens, Edison HS, P
Travis Harrison, Tustin HS, 3B
Danny Hultzen, Virginia, P
Preston Tucker, Florida, 1B
Daniel Norris, Science Hill HS, P
Zack MacPhee, Arizona State, 2B

We've already given you a full recap of the weekend's best battle, Ole Miss's Drew Pomeranz vs. Georgia's Justin Grimm.  Pomeranz came out on top in that duel - both on the scoreboard and in the pitching line - but his wasn't the only marquee performance of the weekend or the only hot duel.  

Below is a recap of the weekend compiled from reports by Jason Churchill at espn.com, Baseball America and media reports from various athletic departments.

Although Pomeranz vs. Grimm put on the best show, Virginia's Danny Hultzen faced off against Georgia Tech's Deck McGuire in another high octane match up over the weekend.  Much like with Pomeranz, Hultzen got the best of McGuire as #4 Virginia defated #2 Georgia Tech 7-4 in the opener of their series.  Although Hultzen's line - 7IP, 6H, 2BB, 4ER does not seem too impressive, he managed to strikeout eleven batters. 

McGuire's peripherals were impressive - maintained his 92-94 velocity into the seventh and threw an above-average curve and slider - but his pitching line was a bit more pedestrian - 6.2IP, 6H, 4BB, 6ER, 6K.

Although Georgia Tech's Derek Dietrich went 0-for-4 against Hultzen on Friday, he rebounded with a 2-for-5 with a HR (10) performance on Saturday and a 2-for-3 with a HR (11) performance on Sunday, providing his team's only offense in a 9-1 loss to Virginia in the rubber game of the series.

Anthony Ranaudo was solid if not unspectacular for LSU giving up 3 runs in five innings pitched, but most importantly was able to throw pain free for 86 pitches.  Ranaudo came away with the win as LSU held off Auburn, 14-10.  

Continue Reading...

Keith Law of espn.com recently annoited Anthony Rendon the (very early) top ranked player of the 2011 draft class.  Here's a quick look at some other top players for 2011 (in no particular order).

• Gerrit Cole: Tall righty whose fastball sits around 94-95 mph and tops out at 96. Also mixes in an above aberage low 80s slider and a 80 mph changeup. Smooth, effortless delivery. Aggresive with the strike zone.
• Taylor Jungmann: His fastball sits in the low-90s and can touch 95. He also shows the foundation for a knock-out slider and a plus-changeup. His mechanics need some work, as he can get a little out of rhythm at times making his delivery look like his arms and legs are all over the place, but that’s nothing a little refining and maturation at the next level can’t cure.
• Danny Hultzen: Very athletic lefty. Throws upper 80s will touch low 90s occasionally. Real nice breaking ball and can hit his spots. He's a legit pitcher with a deceptive motion.  His curve was also an above-average second pitch. He spins a tight breaking pitch, and also mixes in a changeup and a split finger pitch as well.
• Jack Armstrong: He has many things going for him: big league lineage (his dad, Jack, was a Major League pitcher), athleticism (he's a legitimate college basketball prospect) and a tall and lean projectable frame. He's also shown two good offerings he can throw for strikes.  He's got some life to the fastball, with some sink down in the zone.

Jack Armstrong could be a Top 10 draft pick in 2011

• Sonny Gray: Gray is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous pure stuff. He displays one of the easiest arm actions around, with a whip-like delivery that allows him to touch the mid-90s with ease, sitting in the low-90s deep into ballgames. He also throws a nasty slider that has touches the mid-80s on occasion, a pitch that is virtually unhittable when it is working as it well as it often does.
• Alex Meyer: A 6-foot-9, 220-pound right-hander who possesses electric stuff, including a high-velocity fastball and an excellent curveball, with his changeup and two-seam fastball developing.

Continue Reading...

Baseball America announced its pre-season collegiate All-America teams last week.  Below is a look at the second team.  We did a review of the first team yesterday.

C: Yasmani Grandal, Miami - Grandal is one of the, if not the, best defensive catcher in the draft class
1B: Andy Wilkins, Arkansas - Can hit for power and average and will likely see time at either first base or designated hitter
2B: Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State - Displays excellent bat speed through the hitting zone with occasional loft and power to all fields
3B: Tony Thompson, Kansas - Has an electric bat with good leverage
SS: Rick Hague, Rice - His potential is fairly high, though some may not see him as a sure-thing first rounder
OF: Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton - Gary Brown is the fastest guy in the country, his speed shows up in defense all over the place
OF: Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington - Batted .350 (21-for-60) with 13 runs, three doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI in 2009
OF: Tyler Holt, Florida State - Holt profiles as a top-of-the-order bat with plus on-base skills and the ability to wear-out the gaps
DH: Mickey Wiswall, Boston College - Power plays for corner at ML level. Hands should allow him to be average hitter.
UT: Danny Hultzen, Virginia - Very athletic lefty. Throws upper 80s will touch low 90s occasionally.  Also UVA's DH.

Yasmani Grandal                          Gerrit Cole

SP: Gerrit Cole, UCLA - Tall righty whose fastball sits around 94-95 mph and tops out at 96
SP: Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt - Despite his smallish 6’0”, 185 pound frame, Gray is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous pure stuff
SP: Taylor Jungmann, Texas - Has a very good fastball and shows the ability to spot it extremely well
SP: Alex Wimmers, Ohio State - A hard-throwing right hander whose fastball ranges from 90-93 mph
RP: Kevin Rhoderick, Oregon State - Saved nine games, posting a 3-3 record and 4.18 ERA in 2009 for Oregon State

The 2010 MLB Draft class might not have the star power at the top that the 2009 MLB Draft class did (Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley) or be as loaded as the 2011 draft class (Sonny Gray, Alex Meyer, Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole and Danny Hultzen) but there's plenty of talent to track.

College Bats

• Bryce Brentz, OF, Middle Tennessee State
• Christian Colon, SS, Cal-State Fullerton
• Derek Dietrich, SS/3B, Georgia Tech
• Yasmani Grandal, C, Miami
• Josh Rutledge, SS, Albama
• Ross Wilson, 3B, Albama
• Blake Forsythe, C, Tennessee
• Leon Landry, OF, LSU
• Andy Wilkins, 1B, Arkansas
• Micah Gibbs, C, LSU

College Arms

• Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, LSU
• Justin Grimm, RHP, Georgia
• Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Mississippi
• Nick Tepesch, RHP, Missouri
• Matt Harvey, RHP, UNC
• Kevin Rhoderick, RHP, Oregon State
• Josh Osich, LHP, Oregon State
• Kyle Blair, RHP, San Diego
• Chris Hernandez, LHP, Miami
• Brandon Workman, RHP, Texas
• Chad Bettis, RHP, Texas
• Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State

High School Bats

• Trey Griffin, OF, Martin Luther King HS, GA
• Austin Wilson, Harvard-Westlake School, CA
• Kris Bryant, SS/3B, Bonanza HS, NV
• Krey Bratsen, OF, Bryan HS, TX
• Nick Castellanos, 3B, Archbishop McCarthy HS, FL
• Yordy Cabrera, SS/RHP, Lakeland HS, FL
• Reggie Golden, Wetumpka HS, AL
• Taylor Lindsey, OF, Desert Mountain HS, AZ
• Marcus Littlewood, SS, Pineview HS, UT

High School Arms

• AJ Cole, RHP, Oveida HS, FL
• Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands HS, TX
• Stetson Allie, RHP/SS, St. Edward HS, OH
• Zach Lee, RHP, McKinney HS, TX
• Justin O'Connor, RHP/SS, Cowan HS, IN
• Kevin Gausman, RHP, Grandview HS, CO
• Rudy Acosta, RHP, Mt. Miguel HS, CA
• Cam Bedrosian, RHP, East Coweta HS, GA