LEXINGTON, Ky. — Seven Kentucky baseball standouts have been tabbed among the top prospects in their respective MLB Draft classes and the Wildcats have been ranked No. 34 in the Perfect Game USA/PGcrosschecker college preview, it was announced.
Kentucky had seven players ranked among the top prospects in baseball, including senior southpaw James Paxton, who was rated as the 26th-best prospect available in the 2010 MLB Draft and the 16th-best college prospect available in the draft. UK junior left-handed pitcher Logan Darnell was ranked as the 87th-best prospect available in the upcoming draft and the 46th-best college prospect available. UK preseason All-American second baseman Chris Bisson was ranked as the 104th-best prospect available in the 2010 MLB Draft.
In UK’s talent-rich sophomore class, two players were among the top-100 prospects listed for the 2011 MLB Draft, including right-hander Alex Meyer and two-way talent Braden Kapteyn. Meyer, a 6-foot-9, 220-pounder was tabbed the ninth-best prospect available and the seventh-best college prospect. Kapteyn a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed pitcher and corner infielder, was tabbed the 41st-best player available in the 2011 MLB Draft and the 26th-best college prospect available.
UK’s freshman class in 2010, which was ranked in the fall as the sixth-best incoming class in college baseball, had two players among the top-100 prospects available for the 2012 MLB Draft, including left-hander Taylor Rogers and catcher Luke Maile. Rogers, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound native of Littleton, Colo., was tabbed as the 57th-best player available in the 2012 MLB Draft and the 32nd-best collegiate player. Maile, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound backstop out of Crestview Hills, Ky., is the 78th-best prospect in the 2012 MLB Draft and the 46th-best college prospect available.
Also included in the Perfect Game preseason preview was a ranking of the top 100 teams in the nation, with UK checking in 34th and ninth in the Southeastern Conference. All 12 SEC teams ranked in the top 63, with 19 of UK’s 28 opponents in 2010 ranking among the top 100. Also in the preseason, Kentucky was ranked No. 22 in the Ping Baseball college preview.
Kentucky opens the 2010 season at the Caravelle Resort Invitational in Myrtle Beach, S.C., hosted by Coastal Carolina. UK will face Virginia Tech Feb. 19 at noon ET, West Virginia Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. ET and the host Chanticleers Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. ET. All games will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio), with Dick Gabriel calling the action.
