Former Kentucky baseball All-American and 2006 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Ryan Strieby has been honored as one of the top 10 players in the American League to not be listed among their respective organizations top 10 prospects (must be a Baseball America member).
Each offseason, Baseball America, one of the best baseball-centered publications out there, does a ranking of the top 10 prospects in each respective MLB organization. Each year, former Wildcats dot the rankings, with outfielder and Lexington native Collin Cowgill earning the distinction as a top-10 prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization this season.
This year, Strieby was left off the Detroit Tigers top-10 listing, but when Baseball America announced their top 10 players in the American League not to make their respective organizations top 10, he was tabbed as one of the 10 players.
“Strieby was part of our Detroit Top 10 list before the Tigers acquired Austin Jackson and Daniel Schlereth in the three-team Curtis Granderson/Edwin Jackson trade,” Baseball America’s Executive Editor Jim Callis said in the prospect breakdown. “Easily the best power hitter in the system, Strieby has launched 68 homers in 382 pro games despite battling hand injuries the last two years. He’s blocked by Miguel Cabera at first base but his pop could win him a job at DH.”
A fourth-round MLB Draft selection in 2006, Strieby has had an excellent minor league career for the Tigers, as Baseball America listing Strieby as the best power hitting prospect in the organization. A 6-foot-6, 235-pound first baseman, Strieby excelled in 2009 in double-A for the Erie SeaWolves, batting .303 (89-for-294) with 18 doubles, 19 homers and 58 RBI in 86 games before ending his season prematurely in late August with a hand injury. In an effort to gain playing time at the MLB level, Strieby has dabbled with playing left field in the Tigers organization.
While at Kentucky in 2006, Strieby helped pace a high-octane UK offense that helped the Wildcats capture the first SEC Championship in program annals, with the team blasting over 100 homers and scoring a school-record 500 runs. Strieby batted .343 with 20 homers and a then-school record 77 RBI in 2006, earning SEC Player of the Year honors and consensus All-America accolades.
