Strasburg, Harper, and Who?

We are pleased to announce here at NextGenSports, the addition of Edgar Walker. His experience within the world of blogging  will be a welcomed addition to our staff. -Daniel and; John

With the 2010 MLB Draft having come and gone, we saw the arrival of Bryce Harper, one of baseball’s most hyped players ever not named Strasburg, get selected with the first overall pick by the Washington Nationals. Granted, several of the stars of tomorrow were drafted, some of whom may have been in the Draft’s first 10 selections, yet several All-Stars will have been drafted in the 48th round as an afterthought for almost every MLB team. With fans of every team always interested in what young guns they could acquire through the draft, here’s a first look at the top 5 college players whose names will be called by Bud Selig next June.

1. Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice
2010 Stats: .394 BA, 26 HR, 85 RBI, .530 OBP, .813 SLUG, 14 SB
Anthony Rendon (left) is one of those prospects that comes around once in a decade. Unfortunately for him, the last two drafts have had two prospects (Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg) who come around once in a lifetime, so he won’t have quite the amount of hype they did. Having established what would be an incredible three or four season college career in two seasons, Rendon has already pulled in some major hardware, including being Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman of the Year in 2009 and Baseball America Player of the Year in this recent 2010 campaign. 
Boasting incredible power and a great approach at the plate, Rendon will be the best hitter in this class without question. With above-average fielding skills, and slightly above-average speed, the two-time All-American is the complete package. Regarding Rendon, some scouts said they’d take him over Bryce Harper if they were both in this 2011 class. The Houston native will be expected to get to the Majors quickly and stay there.


2. Gerrit Cole, RH SP, UCLA
2010 Stats: 11-4, 3.37 ERA, 123 IP, 153 Ks
After turning down millions from the Yankees when they drafted him as the 30th overall pick in 2008, Cole has made the most of his time at UCLA, and his decision looks to be the right one. He skyrocketed up draft boards in the last two seasons.

With stuff that is good enough for the major leagues right now, part of Cole's appeal is his maturity on the mound. An organization will not need to spend much time refining his skills. The Newport Beach has a fastball that sits in the low to mid 90s, and when thrown in the strike-zone, his slider is as good as any in this draft class. Often overlooked, Cole's change-up will be weapon on the next level.

In my opinion, if Cole dominates for another season with the Bruins, he should be the highest-ranked starting pitcher in a class already with incredible talent and depth at the position. Just remember, his agent is Scott Boras, which might force certain small markets teams to shy away from Cole.

3. Matt Purke, LH SP, TCU
2010 Stats: 16-0, 3.02 ERA, 116.1 IP, 142 Ks
Matt Purke is another player who turned down first round money to play in college, and like Cole, the decision is looking like a very good one. Purke is draft-eligible after his sophomore season because of his age, and with the freshman season he has had, it would be shocking for Purke not to be the first left-hander off the board.Baseball America ranked him as the best high school prospect in the 2009 draft, in which he decided not to sign with the Texas Rangers after being drafted 14th overall

The Texas native wears his hat sideways, usually dons glasses on the mound, and to top it all off, he throws a fastball that is easily in the low 90s. Add a great breaking ball that is killer when it backdoors righties, and you have a great pitching prospect. There are questions about his change-up, but he showed improvement in his command of it this season.

4. Taylor Jungmann, RH SP, Texas
2010 Stats: 8-3, 2.03 ERA, 120 IP, 129 Ks
While he didn’t experience the astronomical success fellow top prospects Rendon and Purke had in their freshman seasons, Jungmann has proven himself to be one of the best prospects in this class.  He pitches for one of the most storied programs in college baseball, proving that he has the ability to succeed in high-pressure situations. As a likely top 10 pick, he’ll be feeling that type of pressure every time he takes the mound.

With a fastball that touches 95 complimented by a top-notch slider and an above-average changeup, Jungmann has the stuff to succeed. The only questions about him are his mechanics and consistency. At times he can get unbalanced during his delivery, and because of that, may lose some control and walk a few batters. He avoided a lot of that this season, as evidenced by his stellar 2.03 ERA, which should be considered even more impressive because of the talented Big 12 opposition he had to face.

5. Sonny Gray, RH SP, Vanderbilt
2010 Stats: 10-5, 3.48 ERA, 108.2 IP, 113 Ks
Sonny Gray is perhaps the draft class' most interesting prospect. Being only 5’11”, he doesn’t look like the textbook pitcher, at least in terms of size. Despite being smallish, his fastball packs some serious punch, consistently hitting 95 on the gun. With a nasty slider and an evolving changeup, Gray draws a ton of Roy Oswalt comparisons.He’s very fast to the plate, and because of that, slows down the running game a lot. Don't forget, Gray is a force at the plate, and he was a highly-rated quarterback prospect out of high school. He could be the best athlete in this group of top-ranked pitchers.

Best of the rest (in no particular order):
Levi Michael, 2B/OF, UNC
Brett Mooneyham, LH SP, Stanford 
Harold Martinez, 3B, Miami
Jordan Cooper, LH SP, Wichita State
Danny Hultzen, LH SP, Virginia
Alex Dickerson, 1B/OF, Indiana
Jackie Bradley, OF, South Carolina
John Stilson, RH RP, Texas A&M
Anthony Meo, RH SP, Coastal Carolina

-Edgar Walker