Arkansas Baseball

Payton out for UK game; Lee named OVC player of week; UofL holds steady in latest rankings

College Baseball
Matt Payton bats against UK: BluGrass Baseball photo

Matt Payton bats against UK: BluGrass Baseball photo

Links from around Kentucky college baseball for your Tuesday morning:

  • Adam Revelette of Examiner.com provides an in-depth breakdown of the road to the Southeastern Conference tournament the University of Kentucky faces.
  • If you didn’t catch it on the BluGrass Baseball Twitter over the weekend, you have to see this video of Western Kentucky University‘s rain-delay entertainment during its series at Florida Atlantic.
  • Nick Baumgardner of the Bowling Green Daily News reports WKU second baseman Matt Payton is doubtful for the mid-week showdown with UK after suffering an oblique strain during batting practice Friday. Payton missed the weekend series at Florida Atlantic.
  • Aaron Fitt of Baseball America profiles PRP alum Zack Cox in the weekly Golden Spikes award spotlight.
  • Morehead State University senior shortstop Drew Lee was named the Ohio Valley Conference player of the week.
  • We reported UK coach Gary Henderson‘s decision to not name a permanent Sunday starter while Alex Meyer is out with mono after Sunday’s game via Twitter, but Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel delves further into the situation today.
  • The University of Louisville stayed at No. 13 in the latest Baseball America top 25, and WKU fell out of the rankings. UofL stayed at No. 11 and WKU dropped out of the latest Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports top 25.

Players of Week, Top 25 rankings, WKU and UK profiles

College Baseball

Zack Cox; University of Arkansas photo

Lots of college news to get you through the morning:

  • Pleasure Ridge Park alum and Arkansas third baseman Zack Cox was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week after batting .556 and stretching his hitting streak to 23 games.
  • Morehead State University sophomore outfielder Cameron Flynn was named Ohio Valley Conference player of the week, and Eastern Kentucky University sophomore right-handed reliever Matt Harris was named OVC pitcher of the week. (Both players were also honored with the BluGrass Baseball weekly honors)
  • Northern Kentucky University ace was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference pitcher of the week for the second time this season.
  • The University of Louisville moved up to No. 11 in the latest Baseball America top 25, and Western Kentucky University moved up to No. 18.
  • UofL stayed at No. 7 in the latest Rivals.com top 25 and WKU moved into the rankings at No. 24.
  • NKU moved up to No. 19 in the latest Division II poll from The College Baseball Newspaper.
  • Mike Stunson of the College Heights Herald reports on WKU’s best start in school history.
  • Stunson also profiles WKU senior second baseman Matt Payton.
  • Herald columnist Jonathan Lintner writes WKU coach Chris Finwood is building a baseball powerhouse.
  • Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel profiles the University of Kentucky bullpen.

Kentucky players on Rival’s Week 6 power rankings

College Baseball

Zack Cox; University of Arkansas photo

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports has released his latest position-by-position power rankings for NCAA baseball, and as usual several Kentucky players have made the cut. I’ve included those below, but be sure to check out the full list here.

Head Coach

  • 3 — Dan McDonnell — UofL

Middle Infielder

  • 5 — Chris Bisson — UK
  • 8 — Ryan Wright — UofL

Third Base

  • 3 — Zack Cox — Arkansas (PRP)
  • 6 — Jayson Langfels — EKU
  • 8 — Phil Wunderlich — UofL

Ky. players in week 3 Rivals position power rankings

College Baseball

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com has his latest NCAA position-by-position power rankings up on Yahoo Sports, and several Kentucky college athletes have been included on the lists. Check out the full rankings here, and I’ve included local players below:

Catcher

  • #8) Matt Rice — Western Kentucky University

Middle Infielder

  • #5) Chris Bisson — University of Kentucky
  • #9) Adam Duvall — University of Louisville

Third Base

  • #3) Zack Cox — Pleasure Ridge Park (Arkansas)
  • #10) Jayson Langfels — Eastern Kentucky Univeristy

Outfielder

  • #10) Kes Carter — WKU

Head Coach

  • #4) Dan McDonnell — UofL
  • #10) Gary Patterson — UK

Cats, Cards move up in Rivals rankings; UofL and EKU players earn weekly conference honors

College Baseball

Several afternoon notes and honors for Kentucky collegiate players to pass along:

  • Thomas Royse; UofL photo

    The University of Louisville moved up to No. 8 and UK broke into the latest Rivals.com rankings at No. 22 this week.

  • University of Louisville right-handed pitcher Thomas Royse was named the Big East pitcher of the week after a six-shutout inning performance  in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge.
  • UofL first baseman Andrew Clark was also named to the Big East honor roll for the week.

  • Anthony Ottrando; EKU photo

    Eastern Kentucky University first baseman Anthony Ottrando was named the Ohio Valley Conference player of the week after launching four home runs against Western Carolina.

  • Pleasure Ridge Park alum Zack Cox is now batting .409 with one home run and nine RBI for Arkansas.
  • Boyle County grad Patrick Cooper surrendered six runs in the first inning of his season debut Saturday for Bradley.
  • Lexington Catholic alum Nick Maronde has surrendered six runs in two and one-third innings for Florida this season.

Cox to play some 2nd base; UK among weekend winners

College Baseball, Major League Baseball

Zack Cox; University of Arkansas photo

UofL and Morehead face off in the first interstate matchup of the 2010 season this afternoon. We’ll have a UK Baseball update at noon from Rob Gidel, but here’s some links to tide you over until the 2:00 p.m. first pitch:

  • Kendall Rogers of Yahoo! Sports hosted a live chat about his new top 25 rankings and touched on UK, WKU and UofL.
  • Aaron Fitt of Baseball America also chatted about the new top 25 and mentioned several Kentucky connections.
  • Both reporters also mentioned PRP-alum Zack Cox will play some second base after an injury to an Arkansas teammate.
  • Rogers also lists UK among his weekend winners in NCAA.
  • Fitt also touches on UK during the weekly top 25 podcast.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports Ashland-native and UK alum Brandon Webb figured some things out in a recent throwing session.
  • Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel profiles left-handed pitcher Taylor Rogers and the UK freshman class.
  • Mike Stunson of the College Heights Herald reports a lineup change for WKU helped the Hilltoppers defeat Kent State.

UofL ranks No. 13 on BA’s preseason top 25

College Baseball

Baseball America has released its preseason college top 25 ranking and one Kentucky team made the list. The University of Louisville checks in at No. 13 on the list, and BA grades them at a 65 on a 20-80 scale in hitting and power and a 60 in bullpen, experience/intangibles and “overall future potential.” The lowest grades for UofL were a 55 in speed, defense and starting pitching.

Texas ranked No. 1 on the list. Paducah-native Zack Cox and Arkansas ranked No. 17 on the list. (Read more, subscription required)

Blanton, Pence, Rodriguez don’t reach arbitration agreements; Cox among NCAA’s best

College Baseball, High School Baseball, Major League Baseball

Joe Blanton; Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Tuesday was the MLB deadline for arbitration-eligible players and teams to exchange salary figures. If teams and players don’t agree to terms before a arbitration hearing a judge will side with one party. Check out two relevant arbitration updates and a honor for a Kentucky high school alum in some afternoon links:

  • Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports University of Kentucky alum Joe Blanton and the Philadelphia Phillies are far apart in their exchanged salary arbitration figures.
  • Most arbitration cases meet somewhere in the middle of the two exchanged figures, but Blanton and the Phillies are so far apart this probably will go to a hearing.
  • The College Baseball Blog ranked Louisville-native, PRP alum and Arkansas infielder Zack Cox the third best player in college baseball.
  • Brian McTaggert of MLB.com reports Lexington Legends Hall of Famers Hunter Pence and Wandy Rodriguez did not reach a deal with the Astros before Tuesday’s deadline to exchange salary arbitration figures.
  • Darren Heitner of the Sports Agent Blog examines what implications the James Paxton situation will have on college advisors.