2/5/12

Draft 2012: Mark Appel, Stryker Trahan, Michael Wacha, Ty Hensley, Byron Buxton


College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2012 College Baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be providing one player per day until we reach number 1. We conclude the countdown today at number 1 with Stanford RHP Mark Appel. The San Ramon, California native attended Monte Vista High School. He was a two year letterwinner where as a senior he appeared in nine games with an ERA of 0.90 ERA in 31.0 innings. He gave up just 21 hits, striking out 45 and walking just six over five starts while going 4-0 with three saves. He was picked in the 15th round by the Detroit Tigers but decided to head to Stanford. http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2012/01/31/top-100-countdown-1-mark-appel-stanford/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CollegeBaseballDaily+%28College+Baseball+Daily%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Stryker Trahan, Acadiana (Lafayette, La.), Catcher, 6-1, L/R, Mississippi Mock drafts from last summer find Trahan near the bottom of the first round or nowhere at all. However a strong showing at the Area Code Games, where he was the event's leading hitter with a .600 average, has boosted Trahan into the mid-teens. Although he had just five home runs last season, Trahan is noted for his power. He also has a strong arm and is an athletic presence behind the plate. http://www.maxpreps.com/news/-8V2A0MeEeGkPgAmVebEWg/maxpreps-top-10-mlb-draft-prospects.htm

SP Michael Wacha  School: Texas A&M  Cl.: Junior, Ht.: 6-6, Wt.: 200  Hometown.: Texarkana, Texas  High school: Pleasant Grove The tallish and talented right-handed pitcher has had a pair of productive campaigns to begin his collegiate career. Now, as a junior, he’s a top prospect with a great changeup and fastball in the 92-94 mph range. In 2011, Wacha tallied a 2.29 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Also struck out 123 and walked 30. http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6498

Michael Wacha — 6’-6”, RHP, Texas A&M Wacha is a 6’-6”, 200 lb future workhorse at the next level. With an easy delivery, and sound mechanics, he should be able to eat up innings as a front of the rotation starter. His fastball can touch 95 mph, but not a lot of movement on it. His change has true plus potential and his curveball is still developing. Went 9-4 with a 2.29 ERA and 123 K/30 BB over 129.2 innings in 2011, allowing only three home runs. He also pitched for Collegiate Team USA, tossing 11.1 innings, allowing one run with 12 strikeouts to only three walks. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/top-50-draft-prospects-for-2012-25-thru-1/15694/

Ty Hensley, Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.)  Hensley, an Ole Miss commit who was up to 94 mph at the Area Code Games in August, could pitch his way into the first round. Like McCullers, Hensley could end up pitching in relief, but he has a shot to start long term. http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/1051/top-10-class-of-2012-right-handed-pitchers

A relative unknown until this summer, Byron Buxton was the star attraction at the WWBA National Championships and has been on a meteoric rise ever since. Baseball America even named him their top high school prospect for the 2012 MLB Draft. A talented quarterback on the gridiron, Buxton shows plus-plus speed, showing home-to-first times as fast as 3.96 seconds. He can pump it up to 94 MPH on the mound, giving him a plus arm in the outfield as well. But what scouts are really drooling over is his plus-plus bat speed. Buxton has extremely quick wrists and a fluid swing that should lead to him hitting for a high average and good power. He gets comparisons from every scout in America to Justin Upton and rightly so. Buxton has a legitimate shot to be the #1 pick in June and with a productive spring season certainly won't make it out of the top 5 http://diamondprospects.blogspot.com/2012/01/byron-buxton-draft-profile.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DiamondProspects+%28Diamond+Prospects%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

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