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2/21/2010:
Did that offseason fly or what? The first weekend of college
baseball is officially in the books for 2010. The roster of
players we’re following has swelled this year. Wondering why?
Because there were a few 2009 MLB draft holdouts plus the
addition of the USA 16U Team alumni a couple years back who are
now starting to enter the college ranks. Should make for an
interesting year... Got a little long-winded this week, but
we're covering more players, too!
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Florida
freshman, Austin Maddox, making his debut in style as he
logs a HR in his first NCAA at-bat, nay, the first SWING of his
bat; Maddox went on to notch a second jack this weekend as well;
there’s a reason Florida is starting a frosh behind the plate…
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UT-Arlington
junior Michael Choice extended his hitting streak from
last year to 15 games; over the weekend Choice went a combined
5-for-10 with a 2B and 2 HR’s while driving in 5 runs...
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At this time
last year, most people didn’t know who Matt Newman was;
by the end of the year, many took notice after Newman posted
.305-7-54; if the Arizona State junior can continue to duplicate
his 2010 first weekend output (5-for-9, 4 2B’s, 1 HR, 6 RBI),
everyone will know this kid by the end of the season...
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Bryce Harper Watch:
since JUCO teams aren’t restricted by a uniform start date,
Harper has already logged a whopping 59 at-bats; many will be
disappointed that he hasn’t belted 59 HR’s; on the contrary, his
.356-4-18 looks awfully pedestrian for the expectations that
have been heaped upon him; still, not too shabby for a
17-year-old kid that jumped from being a high school SOPHOMORE
to being a college freshman that every pitcher on every opposing
team is gunning for; and while the numbers to this point look
“pedestrian”, he’s only going to get better as the season wears
on...
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This past
weekend heralded the college debut of Texas Christian freshman
Matthew Purke; Purke snubbed a first-round draft pick by
the Texas Rangers in 2009 and ended up as the most-hyped
pitching recruit in college baseball; although Purke got the win
in his first college start, one can’t help but feel that growing
pains loom; in 5.1 innings of work, the freshman star allowed 3
runs, all earned, on 7 hits, but notched 8 K’s against 1 BB;
should be fun to follow this year…
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This may be
the last chance for Baylor junior Shawn Tolleson to get
himself back on top of the MLB draft boards; Tolleson was a
much-hyped freshman back in 2007 with a reported 100-mph
fastball, when he was redshirted after having Tommy John surgery
during his high school senior year; after posting a respectable
redshirt-freshman line of 5.06 6-4 with 2 complete-game
shutouts, his sophomore year failed to see the expected
emergence to stardom as Tolleson battled injuries for most of
the season; Tolleson appears to be healthy now and if his first
start of 2010 is any indication (fanned 11 in 6IP), he could be
dropping off the board in the first couple rounds…
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UCLA
sophomore Trevor Bauer is this week’s strikeout
specialist; Bauer notched the win after 8IP, giving up 3 runs on
4 hits (2 HR’s), fanning 13 of the 27 batters he faced while
walking 2...
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CBO (Combined
On Shutout): Arizona State freshman Jake Barrett (1IP,
0H, 0R, 2K, 0BB); Arizona State sophomore Jordan Swagerty
(1IP, 1H, 0R, 3K, 0BB); Vanderbilt sophomore Sonny Gray
(W, 8IP, 3H, 0R, 8K, 1BB)
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The very
early front-runner for the 2011 MLB #1 Draft Pick, UCLA RHP
Gerrit Cole started his sophomore campaign with a
respectable win; Cole is following up his Freshman All-American
campaign that saw him set UCLA’s freshman strikeout record at
104 (85 IP); Cole pitched for the USA National Team in 2009,
posting a 4-0 record with a 1.06 ERA leading the team in
strikeouts (46), IP (34) and combining on a no-hitter…
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That’s it for
this week! There’s so much more that we just can’t get to, but
you should be able to get a good idea of who was hot and who was
not with the cumulative season stats below (weekly stats will
start next week for obvious reasons); thanks for tuning in and
check back often as we have a ton of new content being created
for the site for the new season…
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