EAST ALABAMA BIG TRAIN: My Site News

Sunday, November 18
Georgia Collegiate League listed in the Top 20 College Summer Leagues.


The Georgia Collegiate League has been listed by PGCrosschecker in the Top 20 College Summer Leagues in America.  Check out the other leagues and our Top 10 Player Listing at:

Mike Eifel, RHP, from Dominican University (IL), was listed as the leagues Top Prospect.
Posted with permission of the author:

GEORGIA COLLEGIATE LEAGUE

TOP 10 PROSPECTS, 2007

COMPILED BY ALLAN SIMPSON (In association with scouts and league managers)
The Athens Pirates were in existence 13 years before the two-year-old Georgia Collegiate League was formed, so they understandably had a running start on the 2007 season. Not only did the Pirates, who have sent four players to the big leagues in the last five years, including the likes of Chuck James (Braves) and Jeff Keppinger (Reds), win their second straight league title but they dominated the list of the league’s best prospects—with five players on the accompanying top 10 list.

No one may reach the big leagues from the Georgia Collegiate League’s Class of 2007 faster, however, than Windward Academy righthander Brett Butts, who didn’t qualify for the list because he worked in only three innings before signing with the Atlanta Braves as their 19th-round pick in this year’s draft. The former Auburn pitcher made a rapid ascent through the Braves system as he started his pro career at Rookie-level Danville and went 3-2, 2.61 at three levels in the Braves organization this summer before finishing it at Double-A Mississippi in the Texas League playoffs. Butts played for the Athens Pirates in 2005 when they were members of the Southern Collegiate League.

PLAYER                                  POS.        TEAM                                 B-T     HT      WT     YR   SCHOOL                     
     1.   Mike Eifel                    RHP         Athens Pirates                       R-R     6-4     235     Sr.   Dominican (Ill.)          
SCOUTING REPORT: The powerfully-built Eifel may be from Dominican University, a little-known Division III college in Illinois , but he dominated the Georgia Collegiate League like no one else, going 5-1, 1.05 with 15 walks and 57 strikeouts in 43 innings. A former catcher, he overmatched hitters with a fastball that was a steady 88-92 mph all summer long, and topped out at 95 in the league’s post-season tournament. He mixed in a curve and changeup, had good mechanics and wasn’t afraid to move hitters off the plate.
     2.   Ben Blanton                LHP         Windward Acad. Rangers     L-L     6-2     190     Fr.   Vanderbilt 
SCOUTING REPORT: Blanton threw just 82-84 mph entering his senior year at Georgia ’s Chattahoochee High but significantly added to his velocity through the course of the spring and summer. He was a customary 85-87 mph during the Georgia Collegiate League schedule, but occasionally touched 90. He should continue to add velocity as a freshman at Vanderbilt as he fills out his frame. Blanton pitched his best game of the summer in the opening game of the GCL playoffs against eventual champion Athens when he allowed five hits through eight innings, only to see a 6-1 lead in the ninth evaporate in a crushing 7-6 setback. Very poised for a high school talent in a college-age league, he was able to throw three pitches for strikes, including a curve and changeup.   
     3.   Clete Jessup             LHP         Athens Pirates                       R-L     6-1     180     So.  Georgia College        
SCOUTING REPORT: Jessup went just 0-1, 10.12 in eight ineffective appearances at Division II Georgia College in the spring after transferring from Georgia Southern, but had an impressive summer. He was the lefthander in an effective righty-lefty starter tandem for the Pirates. He went 5-1, 1.47 with just six walks and 52 strikeouts in 43 innings—nearly-identical numbers posted by ace righthander Mike Eifel. Jessup threw four pitches efficiently for strikes—an 86-88 mph fastball, curve, change and cutter.
     4.   Greg Hendrix             LHP         Athens Pirates                       L-L     6-4     180     So.  Shelton State (Ala. ) JC
SCOUTING REPORT: Somewhat of a late bloomer, Hendrix threw his fastball at 88-91 mph this summer but scouts say he may reach the mid-90s as he fills out his long, lean frame. He went 5-1, 4.02 for the league champion Pirates while striking out 37 in 31 innings, but needs to sharpen his command. He also has the makings of a 12-to-6 curve and a decent change.
     5.   Montoya Young         OF           Georgia Stars                          R-R     6-0     170     So.  Darton (Ga. ) JC
SCOUTING REPORT: Young’s best tools are his speed and all-around athletic ability. He stole a league-best 29 bases this summer while hitting .377. He has a little or no power with just one extra-base hit—a double. He has decent range and arm strength in the outfield.
     6.   Marquis Zachery       OF           Windward Acad. Rangers     R-R     6-2     180     So.  Lake City (Fla. ) CC   
SCOUTING REPORT: Zachery, a 50th-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006, has excellent raw talent—especially speed. He has an ability to drive a fastball and should have power potential as he fills out and matures, but needs to learn to hit and hit with power more consistently in games.
     7.   Tyler Davis                 OF           Thomasville Bombers          R-R     6-1     185     So.  Hillsborough (Fla. ) CC             
SCOUTING REPORT: Possibly the best raw talent in the Georgia Collegiate League, Davis flashes major league power, above-average speed and above-average arm strength. He just needs time and experience to draw out his talent.
     8.   Jarrod Willis               OF/RHP   Waleska Ringers                    R-R     6-0     175     Jr.   Reinhardt (Ga. )         
SCOUTING REPORT: Jarrod and his twin brother Michael both play outfield for Reinhardt College, a little NAIA school in Georgia , and spent the summer playing alongside each other for their hometown team in the GCL. Jarrod, who hit .419-3-25 on the summer, has more offensive upside than his brother along with a superior arm.
     9.   Danny Roderick         C             Athens Pirates                       R-R     6-0     200     Fr.   Middle Georgia JC   
SCOUTING REPORT: The league’s home run (6) and RBI (30) leader, Roderick has good power and a fast bat at the plate. He also has a good eye, good strike zone knowledge and is a patient hitter. His defensive skills are just average.
   10.   Trey Walker               OF           Georgia Stars                          R-R     6-3     220     So.  LaGrange (Ga. )         
SCOUTING REPORT: Walker is a good contact hitter. He topped LaGrange, a Division III school, with a .407 average in the spring and followed with a .448 average this summer—though showed only minimal power. He can play all three outfield positions, has decent range and an average arm.
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