LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky baseball standouts Luke Maile, Alex Phillips and J.T. Riddle have been honored as some of the top prospects in their respective summer collegiate league by Perfect Game USA, it was announced.
Perfect Game USA ranks the top prospects in each summer collegiate league, with Maile, Phillips and Riddle each ranked in their circuits. Maile was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Perfect Game League, Phillips the No. 35 prospect in the West Coast League and Riddle as the No. 5 prospect in the Great Lakes League by Perfect Game and the No. 3 prospect by Baseball America.
Maile opened his summer in the Cape Cod League, before moving over to the Amsterdam Mohawks in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Through his 26 starts in the PG League, Maile hit .378 (34-for-90) with seven doubles, eight homers and 25 RBI, posting a 20-18 walk-strikeout ratio and a 1.231 OPS (on-base + slugging). A native of Covington, Ky., Maile played 10 games in the Cape Cod League for the Cotuit Kettlers, collecting three hits and a double. As a sophomore in 2011, Maile hit .282 (50-for-177) with 10 doubles, three triples, nine homers and 36 RBI, while stealing six bases.
A native of Frankfort, Ky., Riddle starred on the mound and at shortstop in the Great Lakes League for the Lexington Hustlers. The starting shortstop in the Great Lakes League All-Star Game at Great American Ballpark, Riddle hit .343 (37-for-108) with 10 doubles, two triples, three homers and 17 RBI during the regular-season for the Hustlers, posting a 19-13 walk-strikeout ratio. On the mound, Riddle appeared in eight games with three starts, posting a 3-1 record and a 2.79 ERA, with one save. Riddle tossed 19.1 innings, allowing only 15 hits and striking out 14. For UK in 2010, Riddle emerged as one of the top freshmen in college baseball, batting .288 (47-for-163) with nine doubles, three homers and 25 RBI, stealing seven bases. Riddle saw time at second base and rightfield as a freshman, as UK looked for ways to get the middle infielder into the lineup.
“Using a solid approach at the plate, Riddle hit .343/.454/.556 with three home runs this summer,” Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill said in the prospect breakdown. “The lefthanded-hitting Riddle had one of the better swings in the league, spraying line drives from gap to gap. On the mound, he throws an 86-87 mph sinker and a slider, and he could add velocity as he fills out his 6-foot-3, 170-pound body.”
Phillips, a native of Tenino, Wash., was dominating on the bump all summer for the Wenatchee AppleSox, posting a 7-1 record and a 1.83 ERA in 14 games and 10 starts. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound southpaw, Phillips tossed 64 innings, walking only six batters and allowing 41 hits with 63 strikeouts. During his first year in Lexington in 2011, Phillips was a workhorse in relief, appearing in a team-best 28 games and totaling a 1-2 record and a 3.16 ERA with two saves. In a UK bullpen-leading 37 innings, Phillips allowed only one walk with 28 strikeouts.
