Top 20 College Players

Doing a good season preview is painstaking and laborious; I will only do a preseason top 25 and a list of the best players in the nation. The various college baseball sites out in the interwebs do a magnificent job putting out the preview content anyway. In particular, check out Baseball America, College Baseball Today, and Rivals for the lowdown on the 2010 season. Without any regard to draft status or professional future, here's my list of the best D-1 college players for 2010. (Keep in mind that this is an inexact overview of the college landscape, and there is a preponderance of great players beyond this list.)

Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice

Sophomore is capable of hitting .400/.500/.800 with 20+ homers and solid defense.

Anthony Ranaudo, rhp, LSU

Top draft prospect with excellent size and stuff.

Christian Colon, ss, Cal State Fullerton

Gamer embodies Titan baseball, is dangerous on both sides of the ball.

Bryce Brentz, of, Middle Tennessee State

Hit an astonishing .465/.535/.930 with 28 homers last season.

Deck McGuire, rhp, Georgia Tech

Proven ACC ace with plus stuff.

Josh Spence, lhp, Arizona State

Crafty Aussie toys with batters and will be crucial for ASU this season.

Drew Pomeranz, lhp, Ole Miss

Has devastating fastball-curve combo, was great in the postseason in '09.

Chris Sale, lhp, Florida Gulf Coast

Talented lefty could help FGCU take the Atlantic Sun title.

Daniel Bibona, lhp, UC Irvine

The Anteaters are thrilled their dependable ace is back for his senior season.

Tyler Holt, of, Florida State

Leadoff man compiled .520 OBP and 34 SBs last season.

Jarrett Parker, of, Virginia

Lacks control of the strike zone, but is an all-around beast at the college level.

Daniel Renken, rhp, Cal State Fullerton

Steady righthander will be a key cog in Fullerton's weekend rotation for the third year in a row.

Danny Hultzen, lhp, Virginia

Primed to build on his phenomenal freshman season. Three solid pitches, nifty first baseman on the side.

Alex Wimmers, rhp, Ohio State

K machine with plus curveball. Watch out for the Buckeyes.

Trevor Bauer, rhp, UCLA

Long-toss freak with nasty stuff, deception.

Gerrit Cole, rhp, UCLA

Now that Stephen Strasburg has moved on to bigger and better things, Cole has the most electric arm in the nation.

Taylor Jungmann, rhp, Texas

Showed in Omaha last year why many think he's on the verge of superstardom.

Tony Thompson, 3B, Kansas

Will miss first several weeks of '10 with injury, but hit .389/.442/.753 with 21 bombs last season.

Zack Cox, 3B, Arkansas

Big-time power from the left side, strong arm suits him well at third and in the bullpen.

Sleepers

B.A. Vollmuth, ss, Southern Miss

Levi Michael, 3B, North Carolina

Preston Tucker, 1B, Florida

Sam Gaviglio, rhp, Oregon State

Todd Cunningham, of, Jacksonville State

Sonny Gray, rhp, Vanderbilt

Robert "Bullet Bob" Morey, rhp, Virginia

Mike McGee, of/rhp, Florida State

Gary Brown, of, Cal State Fullerton

Sammy Solis, lhp, San Diego

Who else do you think deserves a spot?

Team USA Concludes Season On High Note

It wasn't quite as memorable as 2008, but the U.S. college national team still had a good season this year. They finished up the campaign with a win in the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge in British Columbia. That improved Team USA's final summer record to 19-5, which is good, but not as impressive as the undefeated 2008 squad.

All of the players on Team USA's roster were underclassmen, and many have set themselves up well for next year and for the draft. Rising sophomore righthanders Trevor Bauer (UCLA) and Sonny Gray (Vanderbilt) both had fabulous summers. Tulane's Nick Pepitone was a dominating setup man for Texas Tech RHP Chad Bettis, who thrived in the closer role and flashed a mid- to high-90s fastball. RHP Gerrit Cole (UCLA) built on a standout freshman season with a sparkling summer. He went 4-0, 1.06 with a boatload of strikeouts. Cole and Bauer will form an incredible duo atop the Bruins' rotation next spring. The co-anchor of the rotation, LHP Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) was money for Team USA, throwing big game after big game, especially in the clincher of the World Baseball Challenge against Germany. Pomeranz put up a 1.75 ERA and 48 Ks in 25 IPs overall.

Offensively, Team USA had many contributors. OFs Bryce Brentz (Middle Tennessee State) and Tyler Holt (Florida State), SSs Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton) and Rick Hague (Rice), Cs Yasmani Grandal (Miami) and Blake Forsythe (Tennessee), and 1B Andy Wilkins (Arkansas) all had fine summers, putting themselves in top draft discussions for next year. Utility man Kolten Wong (Hawaii) and SS Brad Miller (Clemson) played well also, giving them a boost heading into their sophomore years of college. There will certainly be tons of names to watch for next year, with these players along with others from the Cape Cod League and other summer college circuits.