Jayhawk League Top 10 Prospects
1. Sam Elam, lhp, Hays (Notre Dame)
Elam struck out 19 batters in 12 innings of relief as a freshman at Notre Dame and should find a starting role as a sophomore following the departures of Jeff Samardzija and Tom Thornton. He was erratic in relief, but throwing regularly this summer agreed with him, as he won the Jayhawk League pitching triple crown with a 5-0, 0.95 record and 42-7 strikeout-walk ratio in 28 innings. Elam pitched with the poise of a more advanced pitcher, and also the stuff with a 90-92 mph fastball that reached 95 with excellent command and clean mechanics. His curveball and changeup are workable pitches that can get better, and he already knows how to mix and vary his repertoire to attack hitters.
2. Matt Brown, of, El Dorado (Wichita State)
Brown followed a stellar sophomore season for the Shockers (.335/.392/.504) with one of the best offensive performances in the Jayhawk League. He led the league with nine home runs and 36 RBIs, ranked third with a .385 average and was seventh with 11 steals in as many tries. Brown packs all five tools into his 6-foot-1 frame, with above-average hit, run, throw and field tools and power that just slides above the average line, though at most only one of his home runs was a cheap one, according to El Dorado manager J.R. DiMecurio. Brown does fall into the trap of overswinging and gets pull conscious when he's going well power-wise, and he also must take care that his hyper-intense persona doesn't rub teammates the wrong way.
3. Brian Rike, of, Liberal (Louisiana Tech)
Rike rates just behind Brown as the league's top five-tool talent and reminded one manager of Grady Sizemore for his across-the-board skill set. Rike batted .362 with a .455 on-base percentage while adding nine doubles and three homers for Liberal. He made quick adjustments and always seemed to square the ball on his bat. He's a solid defensive player with above-average speed and arm strength. His .533 slugging percentage ranked second among Louisiana Tech hitters as a sophomore. Joplin outfielder Jacob Julius (transferring to Arkansas) also displayed a similar tool set to Rife's but wasn't as far along.
4. Cliff Springston, lhp, Hays (Baylor)
Springston reminds most coaches of a less polished and less advanced version of Elam. He threw 25 innings as a freshman and posted a 6.39 ERA. He went 3-1, 1.35 to post the second-best ERA in the Jayhawk League, with 30 hits allowed, 31 strikeouts and 18 walks in 40 innings. At 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Springston has a pro body and consistently fires his 89-90 mph fastball for strikes; he can reach back to hit 93. His breaking ball and changeup are good enough to make hitters respect them, but need refinement.
5. Kyle Day, c, Hays (Michigan state)
Day's favorite player is Javy Lopez, and his scouting report reads similarly. Day is a hit-first catcher who batted .371 and ranked among the Jayhawk's top three players in RBIs (27), runs (31), hits (46), doubles (12) and homers (seven). The lefthanded hitter didn't go the other way much, but he was able to get away with it because of his hand-eye coordination and a down year for pitching in the league. He's an average defender with good arm strength who needs to work on his receiving and release point.
6. Dusty Renfrow, rhp, Nevada (Southeast Missouri State)
A former catcher, Renfrow moved to the mound full-time during 2006 at Jefferson (Mo.) Junior College and showed flashes over the summer. He held Team USA to three runs (two earned) on five hits over seven innings in a 3-0 loss. Renfrow lives low in the strike zone with good movement on and command of a fastball that sits at 88-90 mph, but it reached the low to mid-90s more in his high school days. That past, plus his prjectable 6-foot-3 frame, leaves scouts thinking there's more velocity in there for a pitcher who also throws a 78 mph slider. The breaking pitch could stand more bite, but he rarely hangs it. He went 2-1, 3.27 with 16 strikeouts and eight walks in 33 innings.
7. Dylan Moseley, rhp, Liberal (Louisiana Tech)
Like his older brother Dustin, a 2000 supplemental first-round pick who pitched for the Angels this year, Moseley is tall and projectable (at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, he's a bit bigger than Dustin), succeeds with a heavy sinker and uses the Paul Byrd, old-school delivery where he gets his momentum going back and then toward the plate. Moseley went 4-2, 3.25 with 27 strikeouts and nine walks, but might find more success with a more traditional windup, which could help him stay more aligned over the rubber. He throws an 86-88 mph two-seamer that falls and runs through the strike zone and used it to no-hit league champ Hays during the season. He throws a loopy curveball for a strike but might be better served with a slider. His changeup is effective against lefthanders. His competitive nature helps his stuff play up a grade.
8. Noah Krol, rhp, El Dorado (Wichita State)
Krohl played shortstop and assumed the closer's role following Damon Sublett's injury at Wichita State. The latter role was where he stood out for El Dorado. He ranked second in the league with seven saves while recording 17 strikeouts in 12 innings. He allowed eight hits, five walks and three runs on the summer while featuring a big-breaking power slider that touched 80 mph and made a lot of good hitters flail meekly. Krol's fastball gets up to 92 mph, but he's more in the 87-88 range and mostly uses it to set up his slider. He reminded one coach of Angels setup man Scot Shields with a looser arm.
9. Drew Bowman, lhp, Liberal (Nebraska)
Bowman threw 13 innings at Arizona State as a redshirt freshman in 2006 and will transfer to Nebraska for the 2007 season. The 6-foot-4 lefthander throws an upper-80s fastball on a good downhill plane and has peaked at 92 mph this summer. He went 3-1, 3.31 with a 27-18 strikeout-walk ratio in 35 innings. Bowman has a feel for throwing his fastball, but needs to further develop his offspeed offerings. His slider comes with the same arm action as his fastball and has shown the chance to be an average pitch, but he needs to improve his changeup.
10. Derek Schermerhorn, 3b, El Dorado (Wichita State)
Schermerhorn battled nagging injuries early in his junior season and was batting near .200 before a late-season surge pulled him to .329 for the year. He was fully healthy over the summer, batting .300 with 13 steals. Schermerhorn's hand-eye coordination makes him a good contact hitter, and he adapts to any situation offensively. He's quick through the hitting zone. His speed rates just a tick above average, but he's a good basestealer. Defensively, Schermerhorn's versatility is impressive. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, he's best equipped for a corner infield position, but he never looks out of place in the middle of the diamond.
E-mail
Print1. Sam Elam, lhp, Hays (Notre Dame)
Elam struck out 19 batters in 12 innings of relief as a freshman at Notre Dame and should find a starting role as a sophomore following the departures of Jeff Samardzija and Tom Thornton. He was erratic in relief, but throwing regularly this summer agreed with him, as he won the Jayhawk League pitching triple crown with a 5-0, 0.95 record and 42-7 strikeout-walk ratio in 28 innings. Elam pitched with the poise of a more advanced pitcher, and also the stuff with a 90-92 mph fastball that reached 95 with excellent command and clean mechanics. His curveball and changeup are workable pitches that can get better, and he already knows how to mix and vary his repertoire to attack hitters.
2. Matt Brown, of, El Dorado (Wichita State)
Brown followed a stellar sophomore season for the Shockers (.335/.392/.504) with one of the best offensive performances in the Jayhawk League. He led the league with nine home runs and 36 RBIs, ranked third with a .385 average and was seventh with 11 steals in as many tries. Brown packs all five tools into his 6-foot-1 frame, with above-average hit, run, throw and field tools and power that just slides above the average line, though at most only one of his home runs was a cheap one, according to El Dorado manager J.R. DiMecurio. Brown does fall into the trap of overswinging and gets pull conscious when he's going well power-wise, and he also must take care that his hyper-intense persona doesn't rub teammates the wrong way.
3. Brian Rike, of, Liberal (Louisiana Tech)
Rike rates just behind Brown as the league's top five-tool talent and reminded one manager of Grady Sizemore for his across-the-board skill set. Rike batted .362 with a .455 on-base percentage while adding nine doubles and three homers for Liberal. He made quick adjustments and always seemed to square the ball on his bat. He's a solid defensive player with above-average speed and arm strength. His .533 slugging percentage ranked second among Louisiana Tech hitters as a sophomore. Joplin outfielder Jacob Julius (transferring to Arkansas) also displayed a similar tool set to Rife's but wasn't as far along.
4. Cliff Springston, lhp, Hays (Baylor)
Springston reminds most coaches of a less polished and less advanced version of Elam. He threw 25 innings as a freshman and posted a 6.39 ERA. He went 3-1, 1.35 to post the second-best ERA in the Jayhawk League, with 30 hits allowed, 31 strikeouts and 18 walks in 40 innings. At 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Springston has a pro body and consistently fires his 89-90 mph fastball for strikes; he can reach back to hit 93. His breaking ball and changeup are good enough to make hitters respect them, but need refinement.
5. Kyle Day, c, Hays (Michigan state)
Day's favorite player is Javy Lopez, and his scouting report reads similarly. Day is a hit-first catcher who batted .371 and ranked among the Jayhawk's top three players in RBIs (27), runs (31), hits (46), doubles (12) and homers (seven). The lefthanded hitter didn't go the other way much, but he was able to get away with it because of his hand-eye coordination and a down year for pitching in the league. He's an average defender with good arm strength who needs to work on his receiving and release point.
6. Dusty Renfrow, rhp, Nevada (Southeast Missouri State)
A former catcher, Renfrow moved to the mound full-time during 2006 at Jefferson (Mo.) Junior College and showed flashes over the summer. He held Team USA to three runs (two earned) on five hits over seven innings in a 3-0 loss. Renfrow lives low in the strike zone with good movement on and command of a fastball that sits at 88-90 mph, but it reached the low to mid-90s more in his high school days. That past, plus his prjectable 6-foot-3 frame, leaves scouts thinking there's more velocity in there for a pitcher who also throws a 78 mph slider. The breaking pitch could stand more bite, but he rarely hangs it. He went 2-1, 3.27 with 16 strikeouts and eight walks in 33 innings.
7. Dylan Moseley, rhp, Liberal (Louisiana Tech)
Like his older brother Dustin, a 2000 supplemental first-round pick who pitched for the Angels this year, Moseley is tall and projectable (at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, he's a bit bigger than Dustin), succeeds with a heavy sinker and uses the Paul Byrd, old-school delivery where he gets his momentum going back and then toward the plate. Moseley went 4-2, 3.25 with 27 strikeouts and nine walks, but might find more success with a more traditional windup, which could help him stay more aligned over the rubber. He throws an 86-88 mph two-seamer that falls and runs through the strike zone and used it to no-hit league champ Hays during the season. He throws a loopy curveball for a strike but might be better served with a slider. His changeup is effective against lefthanders. His competitive nature helps his stuff play up a grade.
8. Noah Krol, rhp, El Dorado (Wichita State)
Krohl played shortstop and assumed the closer's role following Damon Sublett's injury at Wichita State. The latter role was where he stood out for El Dorado. He ranked second in the league with seven saves while recording 17 strikeouts in 12 innings. He allowed eight hits, five walks and three runs on the summer while featuring a big-breaking power slider that touched 80 mph and made a lot of good hitters flail meekly. Krol's fastball gets up to 92 mph, but he's more in the 87-88 range and mostly uses it to set up his slider. He reminded one coach of Angels setup man Scot Shields with a looser arm.
9. Drew Bowman, lhp, Liberal (Nebraska)
Bowman threw 13 innings at Arizona State as a redshirt freshman in 2006 and will transfer to Nebraska for the 2007 season. The 6-foot-4 lefthander throws an upper-80s fastball on a good downhill plane and has peaked at 92 mph this summer. He went 3-1, 3.31 with a 27-18 strikeout-walk ratio in 35 innings. Bowman has a feel for throwing his fastball, but needs to further develop his offspeed offerings. His slider comes with the same arm action as his fastball and has shown the chance to be an average pitch, but he needs to improve his changeup.
10. Derek Schermerhorn, 3b, El Dorado (Wichita State)
Schermerhorn battled nagging injuries early in his junior season and was batting near .200 before a late-season surge pulled him to .329 for the year. He was fully healthy over the summer, batting .300 with 13 steals. Schermerhorn's hand-eye coordination makes him a good contact hitter, and he adapts to any situation offensively. He's quick through the hitting zone. His speed rates just a tick above average, but he's a good basestealer. Defensively, Schermerhorn's versatility is impressive. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, he's best equipped for a corner infield position, but he never looks out of place in the middle of the diamond.
indicates Premium Content | Copyright © 1999-2013 Baseball America Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. All rights reserved. | Site Map | FAQs | Careers | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Return/Refund Policy.
Baseball America, 4319 South Alston Avenue, Suite 103, Durham, NC 27713. | Follow us on: 
