Mizzou Recruit: Brett Thomas

■ Southeast Missourian baseball player of the year: Oak Ridge senior Brett Thomas dominated the opposition on the mound (semissourian.com)

His competitiveness is his trademark. Most people like to win, but he's one of those people who is disgusted by the thought of losing.

"I know kids that it drives me crazy that they're not more competitive than they are," Thomas said. "They just go with the flow. If they lose, yeah, they're mad, but they'll live to see another day. I think I was just born like that. I always wanted to win, even playing Monopoly against my sister. I still want to win."
. . .
In about a month's time Thomas will leave for Missouri and enter an environment unlike any he's ever been in.

"It's a lot different because as a baseball player, as a pitcher especially, I've been reasonably successful most of my years I've pitched," Thomas said. "I've never really had to struggle, and I'm going into a situation where they all know I'm not good enough to pitch at that level yet, that I have to get better."

He one day may excel at Missouri. Or he may not. That is impossible to say today. But he's not going to be left wondering what could have been.

"I could've probably went smaller and been the successful pitcher at a smaller school as I am now, but at Mizzou there's so many resources there as far as lifting and coaching and trainers and diets and all that kind of stuff that when I go there, I'm going to come out of there as the best ballplayer I possibly could be," he said.

Great article - read the rest HERE

Mizzou Baseball in the Majors: Ian Kinsler

■ Ian Kinsler: Will the Texas Rangers ever rediscover his offensive potential? (bleacherreprot.com)

He is becoming a better situational player.

Now don't get me wrong, he is not playing the same ball as he was playing in 2008, but he is definitely becoming a better leadoff hitter.

An easy proof of this is his patience at the plate. You want a leadoff guy that will take pitches, make the pitcher work and put up a high on-base percentage. Through 85 games, Kinsler has done just that by drawing 56 walks, which puts him on pace for right around 100 through a full season. In 2008, he had 45 walks in 121 games, and in 2009 he had 59 in 144 games. This has led to an on-base percentage that is the second highest among all second basemen despite having a batting average in the .250s.

Sports Century

This is not a new video. But well worth watching again.

Mizzou Baseball Recruits

From GlobeGazette.com (7/8):

The Mohawks (30-8) are hoping to have his bat in the lineup starting Monday in their regular-season finale at West Des Moines Dowling.

That’s when Rood is hoping to have Brandon Platts back in the mix as well.

The Missouri commit and Pittsburgh Pirates draftee hasn’t played since a June 27 win over Fort Dodge.

He’ll have an MRI on his elbow this week.

“We need Brandon back and we need Aaron in the lineup to do what we want to do,” Rood said.

As for Platts, Rood added, “I think he is making progress, there’s no question in my mind. I expect to have him in our lineup Monday.”

■ Hi-Toms win 'strange game' (the-dispatch.com)

“It was a strange game tonight,” Thomasville coach Jeff Steele said. “We'll take the win.”

The game totaled eight runs but featured just four RBIs. Four balks were called, though one was overturned.

Martinsville (2-2) took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first off Kyle Barbeck, though neither run was earned. Leadoff hitter Anthony Nunziato walked, then took second on Barbeck's balk. John Faircloth's grounder then induced an error from shortstop Stephen Carmon, allowing Nunziato to score from second and Faircloth to reach second. Three batters later, Eli Hynes hit an RBI single.

Barbeck faced a bases-loaded jam in the third inning but escaped with a strikeout. He left after five innings having given up three hits and three walks with six strikeouts and no earned runs.

“I was extremely proud. He was a little shaky, but he came out in the second inning and kind of settled down,” Steele said. “We needed five or six innings out of him tonight and he was able to give it to us.

Mizzou Baseball in the Minors: Rookies

Latest lines for the two newest Tigers in the Northwest League:

■ Phil McCormick, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes:

0-0, 1.08 ERA, 0 Sv, 5 G, 8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1.20 WHIP

■ Matt Stites, Eugene Emeralds

1-0, 2.53 ERA, 9 G, 10.2 IP, 6 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 0.93 WHIP

Stites was named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week this past week

Summer Ball

■ Spangenberg, Stites named players of the week (milb.com)

Matthew Stites has been named the Northwest League's Pitcher of the Week. Stites has a recorded record of 1-0 on the season with a 2.53 ERA. Pitching 10.2 innings he has struck out 9 batters.

■ Broncos take two over weekend (El Dorado Times)

Ryan Gebhart continues to pile up impressive numbers for the El Dorado Broncos.

First, he's hit safely in seven straight games.

Second, he's reached base via hit, walk and/or hit-by-pitch in 13 straight games.

Third, by going 1 for 2 Sunday, he reached the magic figure of .400. Should he finish at that figure, he would be the seventh leading hitter ever for the Broncos and fourth in wood-bat records for the Broncos.

Gebhart hit a long three-run homer Friday night to highlight a nine-run sixth inning for the Broncos in their 12-2 victory over the Park City Rangers.

He also made a diving-tumbling catch in center to rob Park City's Mike Williams of extra bases.

9 Reasons to Follow College Baseball: Stars of the Future

This is part 4 of our weekly series on 9 reasons to follow College Baseball.

Stars of the Future: I Knew Them When . .

One of the side benefits of following college baseball is the opportunity to see future MLB stars before they make it to the Show.

This year's MLB All-Star Game rosters illustrate this point perfectly.

American League

• C Alex Avila, Alabama Crimson Tide / Detroit Tigers
  
  
• OF Curtis Granderson, University Illinois-Chicago Flames / New York Yankees
  
  
• LHP David Price, Venderbilt Commodores / Tampa Bay Rays
  
  
• RHP Justin Verlander, Old Dominion Seahawks / Detroit Tigers
  
  
• RHP Jered Weaver, Long Beach State Dirtbags / Los Angeles Angels
  
  
• LHP C.J. Wilson, Loyola Marymount Lions / Texas Rangers
  
  
• RHP Aaron Crow, Missouri Tigers / Kansas City Royals
  
  
• RHP Chris Perez, Miami Hurricanes / Cleveland Indians
  
  
• C Matt Weiters, Gergia Tech Yellowjackets / Baltimore Orioles
  
  
• OF Jacoby Ellsbury, Oregon State Beavers / Boston Red Sox
  
  
• OF Matt Joyce, Florida Southern Moccasins / Tampa Bay Rays
  
  
• OF Carlos Quentin, Stanford Cardinal / Chicago White Sox
  
  
• DH Michael Young, UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos / Texas Rangers

National League

• 2B Rickie Weeks, Southern University Jaguars / Milwaukee Brewers
  
  
• LF Ryan Braun, Miami Hurricanes / Milwaukee Brewers
  
  
• RF Lance Berkman, Rice Owls / St. Louis Cardinals
  
  
• LHP Cliff Lee, Arkansas Razorbacks / Philadelphia Phillies
  
  
• RHP Tim Lincecum, Washington Huskies / San Francisco Giants
  
  
• RHP Ryan Vogelson, Kutztown University Bears / San Francisco Giants
  
  
• RHP Brian Wilson, Louisiana State Tigers / San Francisco Giants
  
  
• 1B Gaby Sanchez, Miami Hurricanes / Florida Marlins
  
  
• SS Troy Tulowitzki, Long Beach State Dirtbags / Colorado Rockies
  
  
• RF Hunter Pence, UT-Arlington Mavericks / Houston Astros

I watched the Cards play the Reds this week and there's Longhorn Drew Stubbs in the outfield for Cincinnati, not to mention the Cardinals' Matt Holliday, who used to follow his dad around in the dugout when OSU came to town.

On any given day I can tune in to a Major League game and likely see a player I saw play for or against Mizzou during his college career. Not just Kinsler, Scherzer and Crow, but Joba Chamberlain, Dan Haren, Sam Lecure, Huston Street, Alex Gordon, Ryan Howard, and the list goes on and on.

Mizzou Recruits

■ Good photo of incoming recruit Patrick Quintanilla at flickr.com

Big 12 Baseball: The Rise of Kansas State

■ Kansas State Baseball Coach Brad Hill: "If We Can Do It At Kansas, We Can Do It At Kansas State" (kansascity.sbnation.com)

When Brad Hill was hired in the summer of 2003 as the head baseball coach at Kansas State there weren't a lot of people around Manhattan at the time that could tell you much about the K-State baseball program.
. . .
The game against Texas in 2005 may have been the seed, but the last three seasons at K-State have shown the steady growth of a program that is in it for the long haul. A program that had never been to a NCAA tournament in its' 114-year existence has now made a regional for the last three-consecutive years. They've had the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in AJ Morris in 2009. Nick Martini was the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2010 after a stellar sophomore year. Coach Hill was also named the Big 12 Coach of the Year and Midwest Coach of the Year in 2009 after a school-record 43 wins and the programs' first-ever NCAA appearance. They've also had 17-All Big XII selections in the past three years.