By Willie Nicklaus

This is a first in a series of reports I will file leading into the 2009 college baseball season. I decided to start with some of the top power producers who had great 2008 seasons that didn’t get much press except from their local media and schools.

My selections for this report, and upcoming reports, include players who are far from one dimensional. These particular bombers all were in the top 20 of their respective conferences in batting average. So let’s get started with Home Run Frequency. For measure, here are a few HR frequencies from 2008 of players everyone who is a fan of college baseball heard of:

Chris Dominguez, Louisville hit one every 11.86 at bats
Jason Kipnis, Arizona State hit one every 16.93 at bats
Rich Poythress, Georgia hit one every 17.67 at bats
Blake Dean, LSU hit one every 13.45 at bats

To remain consistent, the four players listed above all were top 20 also in their conference with solid batting averages. Here are some lesser known’s.

Kyle Conley, Washington, hit a bomb every 9.53 at bats. The Huskies PAC10 1st teamer and 16th round draft choice of the LA Dodgers opted to stay in school.

Greg Rohan, Kent State, hit a dinger every 9.85 at bats. The Golden Flash slugger was the 2008 Mid-American Conference POY and surprisingly went undrafted as a junior after launching 20 HR’s

Ben Soignier, Louisiana Monroe has decided to return for his senior season. The .394 hitter had 16 home runs, one every 14.75 at bats and earned Louisville Slugger and PING all American honors. He was drafted in the 17th round by the Florida Marlins. He also was honored by the ABCA and all Sun Belt conference.

Scott Krieger of George Mason is consistent. He hit a home run every 10.38 at bats in 2008 while breaking his own school record. In three seasons so far, Scott has hit 49 bombs for the Patriots and received ABCA honors and pre-season Wallace watch honors.

Mike Spina of Cincinnati hit 21 long balls for the Bearcats in 2008 which equated to one every 10.62 at bats. His talents and achievements in 2008 garnered him 2nd team Big East honors and a 45th round selection in the draft. Also keep an eye on teammate Cam Satterwhite who hit a ding every 16.07 at bats.

Ty Wright, Georgia Southern produced a home run every 11.53 at bats. His efforts in 2008 resulted in ABCA honors and all Southern Conference 1st team.

Ben Carlson, Missouri State, received 1st team all-MVC honors as well as ABCA recognition in 2008 by hitting .377, and a dinger every 12.65 at bats. The powerful left handed hitter also was honored by ESPN the Magazine with academic all American honors also.

Paul Goldschmidt, Texas State hit 17 long balls that amounted to one every 13.40 at bats and earned SLC hitter of the year batting .360 for the Bobcats. He also was the student-athlete of the year and all academic in the Southland Conference.

Justin Bour, George Mason hit, and then hit some more. He batted .398 and had 15 home runs, one every 14.73 at bats, and earned mid-season Wallace and Howser list inclusion. The left handed power hitter was 35/30 in walks to K’s. A pretty bat to say the least.

Nate Lape, Marshall, hit .380 and a bomb every 12.59 at bats finishing the season with 17 home runs and ABCA honors.

Angelo Songco is a name that is becoming more known day by day. In 2008, the former 2007 Louisville Slugger and PING freshman all American hit a home run every 12.73 at bats for Loyola Marymount which led to a fireworks show at the 2008 Cape Cod HR Derby during all-star festivities, which he won. His sophomore season concluded with all WCC honors.

So which players after their freshman seasons in 2008 have started to show potential HR power with similar frequency, but still met the criteria of being a Top 20 hitter in their respective conferences. To no surprise, the names that popped up in the database were all multiple freshman all American selections. Will they stay consistent or maybe improve upon their rookie seasons? Here they are:

Leading the bunch is Ben Klafczynski from Kent State. The Flash slugger hit a bomb every 15.00 at bats and earned honors from Baseball America, Rivals, PING, and Louisville Slugger. Derek Dietrich from Georgia Tech hit a ding every 17.00 at bats and earned the same multiple all American honors including being RIVALS freshman POY. Hunter Morris of Auburn hit .351 and hit a home run every 19.18 at bats. Morris was another multiple all American and a member, along with Dietrich on the USA National Team.

Kentrail Davis was 28th in hitting in the powerful SEC and hit 13 HR’s equating to one every 15.87 at bats. The Tennessee star needs to be mentioned outside these criteria simply because he batted .330 and led his team in all the major offensive categories. The 2009 draft-eligible sophomore was a major spark for Team USA before an injury shut down his summer season. He is a sure-fire 1st round pick.

Bryce Brentz of Middle Tennessee gets a special mention with a .329 batting average and a whopping 17 home runs equating to one every 12.35 at bats. He earned several freshmen all American honors and was the Sun Belt Freshman POY.

Other names to watch in the bomber category for 2009:

Eddie Rohan, Winthrop (16.08)
David Anderson, Coastal Carolina (12.60)
Nick Santomauro, Dartmouth (14.73)
Anthony Gallas, Kent State (17.00)
Victor Gomez, Marshall (19.55)
Frank Busani, New Mexico St. (11.56)
Marc Krauss, Ohio U
Blake Smith, California
Jared Clark, CSF
Ben Paulsen, Clemson

Some say the long ball is overrated. When they are part of a hitters makeup, a high batting, and slugging percentage compliments the bombs, you basically have dangerous productive hitters.

Tags: 2009 Top Players, 2010 Top Players, ACC, Arizona State, Auburn, Big East, Big South, Big West, CAA, Cal, Cal State Fullerton, CBB Column, Cincinnati, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Conference USA, Dartmouth, George Mason, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Ivy League, Kent State, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Loyola-Marymount, LSU, MAC, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, Missouri Valley, MLB Draft, New Mexico St., Ohio, Pac 10, SEC, Southern Conference, Southland Conference, Sun Belt, Tennessee, Texas State, Washington, West Coast Conference, Winthrop

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under 2009 Top Players, 2010 Top Players, ACC, Big East, Big South, Big West, CAA, CBB Column, Conference USA, Ivy League, MAC, Missouri Valley, Pac 10, SEC, Southern Conference, Southland Conference, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast Conference. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.