| 16th June, 2006 - 8:24 pm
 By Douglas Benton
Every year, there are always a handful of players who make good on their draft selection by performing well in Omaha at the College World Series. Whether there is another Chad Cordero or Mark Prior in this group, we will just have to wait and see, but here are the top 10 players to watch for in the coming weeks.
10. Cole Gillespie, OF, Milwaukee Brewers, Oregon State, 92nd overall:
The Oregon State Co-Captain has improved every year he has been at Oregon State, capped off with a team-best .386 average. Also this year, Gillespie hit 12 home runs, drove in 53 runs, and had 15 steals on the year. In addition to helping Oregon State make a return trip to Omaha this season; Gillespie also was named to first-team All-American by Baseball America.
9. Blake Wood, RHP, Kansas City Royals, Georgia Tech, 77th overall:
Wood was a preseason All-American heading into his junior campaign, but finished this year with an 11-4 record and a 4.71 ERA. Wood struggled a little in ACC play, with an ERA of 5.77. His season record moves his career mark to 22-7. Wood still looks to be the ace of Georgia Tech, which boasted five players taken in the first five rounds.
8. Jon Jay, OF, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami, 74th overall:
Jay has long been thought of as one of the top outfielders in college baseball and he left no doubts this season, earning him a spot on second team All-American by Baseball America. On the season, Jay hit .369 with six home runs and 42 RBI in the three spot for the Miami Hurricanes. Jay spent the 2005 summer on the USA national team.
7. Wes Hodges, 3B, Cleveland Indians, Georgia Tech, 69th overall:
Another Yellow Jacket has found his way onto this list with Wes Hodges. Always a top hitter, Hodges danced around .400 last season, but finished the 2006 season at .335. He also hit for power this year with 11 home runs and 67 RBI. Hodges was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 13th round coming out of high school, but decided to go to Georgia Tech instead.
6. Josh Rodriguez, 3B, Cleveland Indians, Rice, 57th overall:
Rodriguez has helped lead Rice back to the College World Series with a 55-11 record, and his outstanding work at the plate. Rodriguez hit .346 with 11 home runs and 64 RBI in the fourth spot for the Owls. Rodriguez has moved around the infield in his career at Rice, but he seems to have found a place at 3B this season. He also played shortstop and second base.
5. Chris Perez, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami, 42nd overall:
Perez is one of those rare college pitchers that have been a closer for most of his career at Miami. Perez was also on the 2005 USA national team with teammate Jon Jay, where he was 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA and one save. This season, Perez has been nothing less than dominant with a 4-1 record and a 1.88 ERA to go along with his 12 saves. He also has a trend of striking out batters with 62 strikeouts in 52.2 innings.
4. Brooks Brown, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks, Georgia, 34th overall:
Brown doesn’t have the flashy wins and ERA marks of some of his counterparts, but at 8-4 with a 4.10 ERA, he is still good enough to be the second starter for the Bulldogs. The former Braves draft pick out of high school, Brown decided to go to Georgia, where is has become a strikeout artist for the Bulldogs. This year as a junior, he has capped off this title by striking out 117 batters in 105.1 innings, clearly tops on the team by a wide margin.
3. Daniel Bard, RHP, Boston Red Sox, North Carolina, 28th overall:
Bard was somewhat overshadowed by his more talented and sought after teammate, Andrew Miller, but he is a fine pitcher in his own right as well. Bard finished his junior season with a record of 8-3 with a 3.59 ERA, which was one of the key components in North Carolina’s 50-13 record this season. Bard made numerous preseason All-American teams, but failed to make a final All-American team after a somewhat disappointing season. Still, most people in baseball believe Bard will turn out to be one of the steals of this draft.
2. Tyler Colvin, OF, Chicago Cubs, Clemson, 13th overall:
Colvin shocked some in the world of baseball with is outstanding play this season, earning him a spot on Baseball America’s All-American first team and a first-round pick by the Cubs. Colvin finished the year at .362 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI, including a walk-off grand slam against Oral Roberts in the Super Regionals. He is one of the fastest rising players in the country and shouldn’t be a surprise to win the Most Outstanding player award in Omaha.
1. Andrew Miller, LHP, Detroit Tigers, North Carolina 5th overall:
It almost isn’t fair that a team as good as the Tigers got a talent like Miller, but like with every draft, talent falls when it shouldn’t. Miller was almost untouchable this season at Chapel Hill as he went 13-2 with a 2.11 ERA and 119 in 110.2 innings. Miller was much hyped coming into this season as he was on numerous All-American teams and he lived up to the hype and more. He made Baseball America first-team, was Baseball America player of the year, and was rated the top junior in the country by Baseball America. He, along with Bard, are the reasons why North Carolina will walk out of Omaha champions in 2006. |
