CBB Column: Checking in on Freshmen
Posted by: Brian Foley in 2008 Top Players, ACC, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big South, Big West, CBB Column, MAC, SECBy: Willie Nicklaus
The highly regarded Class of 2007 was touted as one of the best in recent years by the scouting community, major baseball publications, and all experts alike. Those that opted for college baseball are making the impact predicted by many, including our own Brian Foley, the head man here at the College Baseball Blog. (Our Top Freshmen article from the Pre-season is available here.)
This seems like a good time to take a look at how the players who were mentioned as the best of the newcomers before the 2008 season started are doing. It is possible, maybe probable that the players listed below may include the 2008 Freshman of the Year as well as All-Americans to be.
With a disparity in games played and at bats, percentages were used to sort of level the playing field, and the one emphasized is the OPS percentage. To give you a better idea of how these stats stack up so far this season, I chose a few 2007 freshman All-Americans named by Collegiate Baseball News a season ago for comparison. Below are the stats for
2008 newcomers whose names are becoming more known each day in the world of college baseball:
|
PLAYER |
COLLEGE |
BA |
OPS |
HR |
AT BATS |
HR FREQ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DIETRICH |
GA.TECH |
0.343 |
1.122 |
11 |
134 |
12.18 |
|
KLAFCZYNSKI |
KENT STATE |
0.340 |
1.006 |
7 |
100 |
14.29 |
|
DAVIS |
TENNESSEE |
0.356 |
1.039 |
8 |
132 |
16.50 |
|
MORRIS |
AUBURN |
0.362 |
1.050 |
8 |
152 |
19.00 |
|
EIBNER |
ARKANSAS |
0.331 |
0.966 |
5 |
118 |
23.60 |
|
RUPP |
TEXAS |
0.370 |
1.093 |
4 |
100 |
25.00 |
|
LAMAHIEU |
LSU |
0.331 |
0.835 |
4 |
130 |
32.50 |
|
COLON |
CAL ST. FULL |
0.323 |
0.832 |
1 |
127 |
127.00 |
|
**** Stats as of 4/17/08 |
From the 2006 Class, a great comparison is Dustin Ackley of UNC. He concluded his freshman campaign with a .402 batting average, 10 HR’s and an OPS of 1.039. Just using the Ackley 2007 season, the players listed above are tracking nicely. Below are a few other current sophomores and the results for their freshman season.
|
PLAYER |
COLLEGE |
BA |
OPS |
HR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ACKLEY |
UNC |
0.402 |
1.039 |
10 |
|
GOMES |
TENNESSEE |
0.310 |
0.864 |
8 |
|
FIGUEROA |
FLORIDA |
0.332 |
0.887 |
11 |
|
FEDROFF |
UNC |
0.344 |
0.894 |
5 |
|
SOBOLOEWSKI |
MIAMI (FL) |
0.345 |
0.905 |
8 |
|
GALLAS |
KENT STATE |
0.332 |
0.971 |
10 |
Many of the 2008 freshmen are tracking power numbers that have eclipsed their predecessors of one season ago with several games yet to be played. In addition to that, the batting averages are pretty solid and holding along with the power production.
Other freshmen to watch who are producing big time for their programs:
Garrett Smith- Boston College, Bryce Brentz-MID TENN, Sean Lamont-GEORGETOWN, Billy Barber-Richmond, Jedd Gyorko-WVU.
EDIT: Rick Hague of Rice will be added to the next update due to his great start to his college career.
We will be looking at the top pitchers from the 2007 HS class in the near future.
Tags: 2008 Top Players, ACC, Arkansas, Atlantic 10, Auburn, Big 12, Big East, Boston College, Cal State Fullerton, CBB Column, Elon, Florida, Georgetown, GT, Kent State, LSU, MAC, Miami (FL), Middle Tennessee, Richmond, SEC, Southern Conference, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Texas, UNC, West Virginia
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Unbelievable. No mention of Rice’s Rick Hague, even in the “other Freshman to watch” category? You do realize he plays the critical SS position and is batting #5 in the middle of the Owls lineup…
.358/.422/.584, with 6 HRs and 36 RBIs
How in the world does that not qualify to be amongst the Top 5 - 10 Freshmen in the country– especially considering the defensive position he plays?
Can’t included everyone!!
Matt Hamlet is the freshman leading Boston College in hitting. Saw this kid play at Clemson….what a glove.
With all due respect, Brian, Hague’s stats are superior to half the guys on your list, and he’s played a much tougher SoS than most…and he plays a middle infield position, and plays it very, very well.
Walt, I did not write the article…..
Hamlet has become a very interesting study. He has become a platoon player over the last few weeks for the Eagles as they try to get Hamlet and Butera in the lineup every day and it has become a problem.
From what I saw, it’s a no brainer. Both of these guys need to be in the line up for BC, especially Hamlet.
I am not the coach…I think both need to be in the lineup but Butera and Hamlet play the same position and if one of them ends up in the outfield…Lets put this politely…IT IS A DISASTER!!
Walt, the piece was based on an update of players who were mentioned by multiple national sources in the pre-season.
Consider Hague added to the watch list, thanks to you. In a couple weeks, another update will be done in similar statistical style and will include all the players at the time who are making huge contributions as freshmen.
Thanks
Hague OPS 1.006
HR FREQ 22.8
Very Impressive
Thanks, Nicklaus. BTW, why so much emphasis on HRs and HR frequency, over and above such things as RBIs and OBP?
I love the banter guys….
rbi’s are dependent on teammates, and obp is a factor in ops
Ah, Nicklaus, the age old debate…but this is the first time I can recall it appearing in the college game context. Yes, RBIs are dependent on teammates getting on base, but they are also reflective of hitting in the clutch. And as for OPS, it is overly weighted in favor of the sluggers (and SLG vs. OBP). HR and HR frequency, especially in the college game where there is such a wide divergence between hitter-friendly and pitcher-friendly parks, should not be a key factor in evaluating college Freshmen. I’ll take AVG, OBP and extrabase hit totals over HRs and HR frequency any day of the week.
I admire your passion…………next report we’ll chat again
Hague is something…Just saw him on CSTV and is incredible in the field.