Kendall Rogers at Rivals.com ranked Kansas #19 in his top-25 this week. I was surprised to see the Jayhawks left off the Baseball America list. There are a few other polls for college baseball, but I only pay attention to Rivals and BA. 

KU swept the weekly conference awards. Casey Lytle was named player of the week and Brett Bochy was named pitcher of the week. Check the comments section below for the full press release. Big congratulations go out to Casey and Brett.

While it is ridiculously early to take RPI numbers seriously, I’ll list the Big-12 ranked by RPI below. It will be a couple more weeks before we should start putting much weight into RPI numbers, but it is fun to see how the season is shaping up so far. 

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Kansas overcame injuries and playing on the road against the #2 team in the nation to win its weekend series over LSU two games to one. The losses were the first for LSU this season and dropped the Tigers to 13-2, the Jayhawks improved to 11-4 on the season and are all but guaranteed a spot in next week’s national rankings.

On Friday KU’s struggling offense exploded to beat LSU 11-9. The Jayhawks built an early 8-1 lead and then withstood the home team’s rally. T.J. Walz (3-1) went 6.2 innings for the win, but the pitching star of the game was Brett Bochy. Bochy extinguished the LSU rally and closed out the game with 2.1 innings of hitless relief for his second save. LSU tied up the series on Saturday with a 4-2 win. Cameron Selik was scheduled to start the Saturday game but a sore shoulder prevented him from taking the mound. Brett Bollman responded to being pushed forward in the rotation by delivering  6.2 effective innings, but the Hawk offense could not support his gutty effort. Selik took the mound on Sunday and, after overcoming early control problems, hit a groove that took him into the seventh inning. Travis Blankenship and Brett Bochy combined to pitch the final three innings to preserve an 8-4 win.

KU had to play the series without several key players. Jake Marasco was unable to travel with the team due to a family emergency, and clean-up hitter Jimmy Waters was unable to play the second two games after sustaining an injury in Friday’s contest. Marasco, Waters and All-American Third baseman Tony Thompson are all expected back in the KU lineup for next weekend’s series at St. Louis.

KU Baseball’s spring break road trip next takes the Jayhawks to Tulane were they will play games on Tuesday (6PM) and Wednesday (1PM). Obviously the LSU series was a huge win for the Hawks. LSU is certainly one of the better teams Kansas will face this year. Winning on the road will give the young Jayhawk rooster a ton of confidence as they move into Big-12 play in a couple of weeks.

After the break, some analysis of the first month of the 2010 baseball season. Why not give it a click and get excited about what is shaping up to be a special season for the Hardball Hawks.

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A few updates about Kansas’ weekend series at LSU. First, the probable starting pitchers have been named:

Friday 7PM – T. J. Walz (2-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. Joey Bourgeois (2-0, 2.08)

Saturday 2PM – Cameron Selik (3-0, 1.40) vs. Jordan Rittiner (2-0, 1.29)

Sunday 1PM – Brett Bollman (1-1, 3.86) vs. Austin Ross (2-0, 5.28)

UPDATE: KU won game one 11-9. Huge win for the Hawks.

UPDATE: Brett Bollman to start Saturday. Sunday's starter TBD.

UPDATE: LSU won game two 4-2. Series tied.

UPDATE: KU won game three 8-4. KU takes the series at LSU.

After the jump, scouting LSU and KU Baseball notes.

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The Jayhawks (9-3) travel to LSU (12-0) for a three game series this weekend. The Tigers are the defending national champions and ranked #2 by Baseball America and Rivals (the only college baseball polls that operate on a rational basis). So, it is a big weekend for the Hardball Hawks.

The last time KU visited LSU in 2003 the Jayhawks stunned pretty much everyone by sweeping the series. Over the last few years I have not kept my dislike of SEC baseball a secret, so, not surprisingly, I will be more invested in the outcome of this series than most. SEC baseball teams have rubbed college baseball fans across the nation the wrong way for decades by their refusal to play non-conference road games and the favoritism they receive most years from the NCAA tournament committee. Many college baseball fans think that SEC teams should either prove themselves by scheduling quality non-conference road games or drop their sense of entitlement.

In keeping with their flightless tradition, LSU’s first twelve games were played at home against less than impressive opponents. This season all but 2 of LSU’s 26 non-conference games will be played in Baton Rouge, and the two road games will still be in Louisiana. Last year the first non-conference game the Tigers played outside Louisiana was at the College World Series! If KU can take two of three games in Baton Rouge I am sure they will be back in the national rankings and will have made a lot college baseball fans happy.

Media information, stat links and a recap of KU's mid-week games after the jump. 

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Hello Iowa Hawkeyes. I have been writing about Kansas baseball at the SB Nations site Rock Chalk Talk for the last four years. Iowa was in Lawrence this weekend for a four game series. KU took three of the four games but I thought the Iowa club looked better than expected given their record last year. I'll link my full recap here and copy my comments about Iowa below.

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The Iowa baseball team looked better than I expected. At the plate they worked the counts well. They were not hacking. The Hawkeye pitching staff was hesitant and unimpressive, but for the most part willing to challenge batters and throw strikes. Freshman lefty Matt Dermody, in only his second NCAA start, was the only Iowa pitcher to get rattled. After Jimmy Waters hit a towering homerun off him in the first inning, and Jake Marasco drove a high fastball off the centerfield fence in the second, Dermody became strikezone shy and did not make it out of the second inning. Iowa shortstop Kurt Lee looked good defensively. Based on how they played this weekend the Hawkeyes should see more success in 2010 than they did last year. I could well imagine them finishing around the RPI mid-point.

Kansas took three of four games vs. Iowa this weekend at Hoglund Park. On Friday they split the double-header, winning the first game handily 8-1 behind another excellent start by T.J. Walz (2-1, 1.80 ERA). Brett Bollman was off his game in the night cap and the Kansas bats never heated up in a chilly 5-3 loss. The whole ninth inning of the night cap was odd, more about that after the jump. KU came back on Saturday to win 8-4 behind a gutty start by Cameron Selik (3-0, 1.40 ERA) and buried the Hawkeyes Sunday afternoon, 15-7. 

Adding in KU’s humiliating loss at Arkansas on Tuesday the Jayhawks went 3-2 last week and now have an overall record of 7-3. A loss at Arkansas normally wouldn’t hurt the team’s national standing much, but Tuesday’s defeat was a real beat-down. KU would be expected to take at least three of four at home vs. Iowa so the Jayhawks did not make up any ground in that series. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them drop out of the top-25 this week. We’ll see soon enough.

It was nice to see the crowds coming out for the early games this year. Official attendance for the weekend was 1,008 per game, although I doubt there were more than 700 people in the stands at any given time. The great weather we had Friday afternoon and Sunday certainly helped the draw. A nice sized crowd showed up for the Saturday game even though it was played at the same time as the KU-Missouri basketball contest and under a cold gray sky.

Kansas has two mid-week games this week, both against NAIA foes - Tuesday vs. Saint Mary (KS) and Wednesday vs. Tabor. Both games start at 3PM. Games vs. NAIA teams do not factor into Kansas’ RPI rating, so while these games count in the team’s overall record and the statistics compiled count, the outcomes will not effect the Jayhawk’s resume come tournament selection time. Admission for both games is free. Tanner Poppe will get his first collegiate start on Tuesday. I expect either Thomas Taylor or Wally Marciel will start the Wednesday game.

After the break there will be some more notes on individual performances, an evaluation of Iowa’s club, and a few other items of interest. 

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Just a quick note, today is the KU baseball home opener. The Iowa Hawkeyes will be visiting Lawrence this weekend for a four game series. The teams play a doubleheader today (Friday) starting at 1PM and then single games on Saturday and Sunday with the same start time. Admission is free for anyone with a KU ID, and costs about $5 for everyone else.

KU enters 2010 nationally ranked, which is not at all a common event. The Hawks pitching staff is full of great arms. Many of the pitchers are young (Poppe and Taylor) or recovering from surgery (Marciel and Jakubov) but if it all comes together this might be one of the best pitching staffs in the nation come tournament time.

KU's best player, Tony Thompson, will miss at least a few more weeks due to injury. Thompson won the triple crown in the Big-12 last year so he is certainly missed in the heart of the order.

Iowa does not put out a bad team. If their team is similar to those of recent years they will hit well, have a few decent pitchers but a shallow staff, and not dazzle in the field. Iowa enters the weekend with a 3-2 record, KU is 4-2.

Anyway, if you are in the Lawrence area, come on down to Hoglund this weekend and feel the sun for a while. Cheer on the Hawks. Baseball is a good thing. I will be at the park most of the weekend. If you come and want to say hello just look for the pasty/unhealthy/surprisingly-old guy in the front rows who looks like he is pretending to be getting some paper work done between innings.

I will not be able to cover the team in nearly the same depth at Rock Chalk Talk as I have the last three seasons. I am just too busy right now with "real world" stuff. I will try to post a story or two a week at RCT, so you can continue to follow the Hawks there, if in a more sketchy fashion.

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KU Baseball completed a season opening road trip with a 4-2 record. The Hawks lost the first and the last games. On opening day they were handcuffed by Eastern Michigan’s ace Cory Chaffins, who limited the team to three hits in a 3-1 loss. Yesterday the Kansas pitching staff imploded by issuing 14 walks to a very strong Arkansas team. The Hogs buried the Hawks by a score of 15-3. In between these losses the Hawks rolled off four impressive wins against EMU, Sacramento State and Gonzaga. KU opened the season ranked #25. If they take care of business this weekend they should keep that ranking.

KU’s home opener will be Friday at 3PM. Iowa will be in Lawrence for a four game weekend series. Friday is dollar day, so come on down to the Hog, feel a bit of sun, eat a few dogs, and cheer on Hawks. The two teams play a double header on Saturday starting at noon, and wrap up the weekend with a 1PM Sunday game. 

The weekend schedule was altered due to the threat of rain late Saturday. The teams will play the double header now on Friday, first pitch at 1PM, and single games on Saturday and Sunday. See comment below for more information.

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As I am sure many (or at least a few) readers have noticed, I have not published season previews for the 2010 baseball season. I have had a very busy year and simply will not have the time to cover the team this season as I have in the past. I hate being forced to give up this labor of love, but I simply had to make the sacrifice in order to have enough time to finish my dissertation and look for a faculty job. I will still be going to most of the home games and will look forward to seeing many of you at Hoglund Park over the coming months.

I am glad to see Aman Reaka will be able to carry the torch here at RCT. Aman knows about ten times more about baseball than do I, so one positive about my stepping aside this season might be seeing more of his work featured. I am hopeful that I will be able to post an occasional story or diary this season. We’ll see how the spring plays out and how much work I get done. Writing about the team has been one of the real joys in my life over the last three years and I am going to miss it quite a bit this spring.

Pretty much everyone agrees the team looks damn solid coming into this season. Another season like 2009 and the Hawks will have established themselves as a major player in the best collegiate baseball conference in the nation. Injuries will force the team to play the bench quite a bit early in the season but, as long as there are no unexpected setbacks, the team looks to be back to full strength in time for the tournament run. See you at the Hog.

Royals owner David Glass has apparently decided to extend Dayton Moore’s contract as general manager of the Royals for four additional years until 2014.  Like most fans who follow the team closely for me this is not welcome news.  Personally I thought Dayton Moore’s job security should be leaning towards dismissal, not extension, after his willfully misguided performance these last twelve months.  But I guess that point of view was not shared by the ownership.  It would seem the Glass family is well pleased with Dayton Moore and have no intention of replacing him.

So, that is going to happen.  We don’t like it, but we can’t stop it.  Where do we, as fans, go from here?

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Do you know what would be an awesome bullpen?

J.P. Howell – 59 games, 2.52 ERA, 15 saves.

Ramon Ramirez – 57 games, 2.67 ERA.

Leo Nunez – 60 games, 3.90 ERA, 16 Saves.

Mike MacDougal – 42 games, 3.10 ERA, 14 saves.

Jeremy Affeldt – 58 games, 1.85 ERA.

Joe Nelson – 42 games, 4.02 ERA.

Wow, too bad the Royals can never find guys like this!  Wait a minute….

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I was very excited when Dayton Moore was hired as general manager of the Royals back in 2006.  I remained very happy with him for over a year.  The first major decision he made which I strongly disagreed with was his decision to pursue and sign Jose Guillen to a 3 year/$36 million contract.  Even though I disagreed strongly with his choice, I understood the logic behind the move and accepted that in the end Dayton Moore's judgement might prove better than my own in this matter.  I approved of his replacing Buddy Bell with Trey Hillman that offseason.  I strongly disliked his choice of Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer in the first round of the 2007 and 2008 drafts, but again I accepted that his judgement might prove better than my own in this matter as well.

My trust in Moore took big hits this off-season with the Crisp and Jacobs trades.  I knew these were mistakes and just wasn't willing to give Moore the benifit of the doubt any longer.  The free agent signings of Bloomquist and Farnsworth were also clear mistakes.  I thought Dayton Moore was trying to build a "win now" roster that off-season but had made so many poor decisions that the 2009 opening day roster was actually weaker than the 2008 roster had been.  By March, 2009 the bad of Dayton Moore's tenure was starting to come into balance with the good.  Still, I remained supportive of him and, had I been asked, I would have given him my fan's vote of confidence as late as July 9th, 2009.

My final personal tipping point was the Yuniesky Betancourt trade and his "circle the wagon's" response to the flood of criticism he received for this move.

Today, Dayton Moore has to win back my confidence.  It took me three years to reach this point.  I still want Dayton Moore to learn from his mistakes and improve.  I would prefer improvement to dismissal.  But today, I am at the point were I would be at most mildly opposed to replacing Dayton Moore as Royal's GM this off-season.

What is your story?  

Update time.  Well, it looks like my story is pretty similar to that of most readers of Royals Review.  After about 300 responses roughly two out of every three Royals fans say they still had some level of confidence in Dayton Moore all the way through July of this year.  It was the Yuniesky Bentancourt trade that was the breaking point for most.  Confidence in Moore fell from about 65% before the trade down to about 15% after the trade.  If Yuni reads RR, he must be feeling pretty bad right about now. 

Even though 2009 has long been a wasteland for the Royals as a team, there are a few players who are chasing personal records.  There has been a lot of talk about Billy Butler’s chase of the Royals single season doubles record.  Hal McRae hit 54 doubles in 1977.  Butler has 41 as of today which puts him on pace to hit 55.  Butler is also on pace to collect more than 180 hits this season.  If he steps it up a little bit and collects 184 or more hits he will have one of the 20 highest hit totals in Royals history.  George Brett’s 184 hits during the 1985 World Series campaign currently holds the #20 slot in team history. 

Stat Quiz (no peeking at the record books): Brett holds two of the top five slots in the Royals single season hits record list (#2, 215 in 1976 and #4, 212 in 1979).  What three players hold the other slots in the top-five list?

There are several other Royals who look like they might pass personal statistical milestones or set new personal single season records this year.  As we pull for the Royal’s to reach 63 wins we can also can also cheer on these individual players in the closing weeks:

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Kansas had four current players and two signees selected in this week's MLB draft:

David Narodowski - 15th round by Arizona

Shawn Blackwell - 24th round by Texas

Shaeffer Hall - 25th round by the Yankees

Paul Smyth - 35th round by Oakland

Tanner Poppe - 37th round by Kansas City

Brian Heere - 48th round by Boston

Blackwell and Poppe are both incoming freshman pitchers.  Both are highly regarded.  I have no idea what Blackwell's chances of signing with Texas are versus his coming to Kansas in the Fall.  I understand that Poppe was leaning towards coming to Kansas but his selection by Kansas City might complicate that situation.  Poppe is from Girard High School in Kansas, and the Royals have a recent history of paying over slot signing bonuses to late picks, so my confidence in him coming to KU is a bit diminished from where it was prior to the draft.

Two draft eligable players I was surprised not to see selected are Preston Land and Buck Afenir.  Both might sign as undrafted free agents this week.  Preston was drafted by the Twins out of high school and always attracted a fair amount of scouting interest during his time at KU.  After a very impressive freshman season Land's struggled to rediscover his power stroke.  He hit for low average and struck out often during his final three years at KU.  Despite his unimpressive plate numbers I still expected to see him go in the draft due to his size, his good plate judgement and his plus defensive skills at first base. 

Buck Afenir has always hit well for a catcher.  Hell, Buck has always hit well for any position on this field.  His defensive skills improved noticeably during the last year and a half.  Afenir threw out 11 of 34 base stealers this season and was a favorite among the pitching staff due to his game calling, leadership and ability to block balls in the dirt.  I came to believe Buck could stick at catcher in the pros.  Given his offensive skills - he hit .333/.382/.534 his senior year - I fully expected him to be drafted and am rather surprised he was not taken.

A few other players drafted of interest to Jayhawk nation:  Beau Stoker (SS of Bishop Ward HS); Connor Crumbliss(2B Sr. at Emporia State), Stephen Cilladi (C Sr. at Kansas Wesleyan), Chad Duling (SS at Bishop Carroll High School), Michael Morin (RHP at Shawnee Mission South High), Jeffrey Soptic (RHP at Shawnee Mission East High) and Vidal Nuno (LHP at Baker College).  Morin and Soptic were both taken by the Royals.  I love seeing some of the NAIA players like Cilladi and Nuno called.  There are quite a few NAIA teams in the mid-west and often they have more than a few decent players on their rosters.

Major League organizations have until August 15th to come to terms with drafted players.  Should they fail to sign the players before the deadline they go back into the draft pool the following year.

Brian Heere, Kansas starting right fielder, was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 48th round of the MLB draft.  Heere is a red-shirt sophomore with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining.  He certainly would be welcomed back by the Hawks should he not sign a professional contract before the August deadline.  Brian is a product of Lawrence High school.

After playing very sporadically in 2008 Brian broke out in 2009.  In 209 at bats Heere hit .364/.459/.531 with 12 doubles, 4 triples and 5 home runs.  He drove in 40 runs and scored 55.  Brian showed remarkable patience at the plate in his first full year of NCAA action.  He walked 39 times while striking out only 29.  Brian stole seven bases in nine attempts.  Brian also distinguished himself in the outfield only making two errors all year while providing consistently steady, and at times outstanding defense.

Brian's production was recognised by his being named second team all Big-12.

Should Brian sign a professional contract Kansas would have to replace two outfielder slots.  Starting centerfielder Nick Faunce graduated in May.  Casey Larson, Jason Brunansky, Jimmy Waters, Zac Elgie and Jake Marasco all started games in the outfield last season and will return in 2010.

Like Aman, I do not expect Heere to take the dive into professional baseball yet, but he will have an offer on the table and anything can happen.  Hearing your name called on draft day is something to which every college baseball player looks forward.  Below are Aman Reaka's thoughts on Heere prior to the draft:

Brian Heere and Robby Pricewould shock me if selected this year but if either of them can work out a deal to go in the top 10 rounds then I could see a slight chance that one of them might sign. Both seem to be prototypical college ballplayers that would want to play as much college ball as possible and to continue their education. Robby has his Senior season and playing his last year for his father to look forward to and Heere I'm quite sure will strive to get his degree before testing any professional baseball opportunities.

Kansas closer Paul Smyth was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round in today's MLB draft.  Smyth pitched at KU for four years, serving as the team's closer for the last three.  He finished his KU career with a school record 129 apperances.  Paul is second on KU's all-time saves list with 27.  Don Czyz holds the record with 31.

Smyth had an off senior year.  He missed a few weeks with an injury.  He was 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA and 9 saves.  In 30 innings he gave up 34 hits, walked 10 and struck out 19.  In his career Smyth went 14-15 with a 4.10 ERA.  In 195.1 Innings he gave up 227 hits, walked 51 and struck out 147.

Paul will always be remembered by KU fans for his closer mentality.  He always wanted the ball at the end of the game.  Perhaps the highlight of Paul's career came this March when he saved three one run games in a row during KU's sweep of Texas in Lawrence.

Coach Price spoke several times of his plans to move Colton Murray into the closer role next season.  Murray pitched as one of Smyth's set-up men throughout the 2009 season.

Here is Aman Reaka's scouting report on Paul:

RHP) SR. Paul Smyth, 6', 215 (5.40, 30 ip, 34 hits, 10 bb, 19 k, 6 HR)
My season preview for Smyth:
Smyth should be in line to get many accolades this season and be on many lists for many more. Smyth is a strike-thrower with a cutter in the 90-92 range. He also has a decent slider to go along with it. He has an odd arm angle that is difficult for most batters to hit. Smyth will have a chance to be one of the dominant pitchers in the league this year and if this young pitching staff can get the ball into his hands, I will expect great things from him.

Smyth ran into the injury bug a little bit this year and i think it really caused him to struggle throughout the middle portion of the season. He did show decent signs of progress at the end of the year however. He was in line to be one of the first Jayhawks taken this year but his lack of strikeouts and the injury will move him down quite a bit. Smyth has a cut fastball in the 88-92 range with a decent off speed pitch and a decent slider. His cutter gets a lot of movement and is very tough for right-handers to hit. With his arm angle and his potential upside, he is definitely worth a team taking a chance on. It will all depend on if his injury potential scares any teams away. I'd guess Smyth to go in rounds 30-40.

Kansas left handed starting pitcher Shaeffer Hall was drafted in the 25th round by the New York Yankees.  This is the third time Shaeffer has been drafted.  The pick comes a bit later than Aman had expected.  Hall is a junior and has one year of NCAA eligiblity remaining.  He certainly would be welcomed back by the Jayhawks.

Hall moved into the Friday night starter role this season and performed very well while facing some of the most talented line-ups in college baseball.  He went 5-6 in 15 starts with a 4.18 ERA.  In 92.2 Innings he gave up 104 hits, walked 10 and struck out 65.  Hall pitched a no-hitter in his first start of the season vs. Air Force and ended his season pitching a complete game shut out vs. Dartmouth in the NCAA tournament.

Last week Coach Price indicated that he expected Hall to accept a professional offer this off-season. 

Hall transferred into KU as a sophmore.  In 2008 he went 4-2 mostly as a mid-week starter.  That season, in 59.2 innings he gave up 73 hits, walked 21 and struck out 46.

Here is Aman Reaka's scouting report on Hall:

LHP) JR. Schaeffer Hall, 6'2, 200 (4.18, 92.2 ip, 104 hits, 10 bb, 65 k, 9HR)

This is what i wrote about Hall in my season preview:
Hall will be the Friday starter to begin the season. He is a control pitcher that throws 3 pitches for strikes. He has a good breaking pitch and a great change up. He has been drafted twice and definitely has the capability to fulfill this role as staff ace, but he will need to be very tough on Friday nights or someone else may push him for this spot.

I think Schaeffer will be the first Jayhawk taken on Wednesday afternoon. He was drafted out of HS in the 28th round by the Texas Rangers and after his freshman year of Junior College in the 23rd round by the Cleveland Indians.  Hall has been on the radar of MLB scouts for several years. He is the rare and perfect example of a pitcher with very little velocity but with 3 solid pitches (a plus changeup), great command and great control. Coach Price likes to compare him to the ageless wonder for the Phillies, Jamie Moyer. Hall gives up slightly more than 1 hit/inning, doesnt get many strikeouts but he walks almost no one and keeps the ball down inducing a ton of ground ball outs and weak hits. Hitters rarely get a good look at a bad pitch and rarely make good contact with his pitches. Hall also has decent size and is a lefty. After throwing his no-hitter in the first game of the season, and flirting with a couple others, along with beating some of the top teams in the nation and going up against some of the top pitchers in this draft, Shaeffer should get picked somewhere between rounds 10-18. I would expect Shaeffer to sign a contract and begin his professional career as I'm not sure his stock can get much higher than it is right now.

Kansas shortstop David Narodowski was the first Jayhawk taken in the 2009 MLB draft.  Narodowski was selected in the 15th round by the Arizona Diamonbacks.

David had an impressive year at the plate, hitting .354/.434/.542 in 240 at bats.  He hit for good power for a middle infielder with 19 doubles and 8 home runs.  Narodowski scored 64 runs and drove in 43.  He stole six bases in 10 attempts.

Narodowski was both very impressive and inconsistant in the field.  He made at least a dozen show stopping plays at shortstop but also committed 20 errors.  Most of his errors were on rushed throws to first base.

Narodowski is a junior so he has one year left of NCAA eligiblity.  He would certainly be welcomed back by KU.  Narodowski was honored by the Big-12 by being named Newcomer of the Year in 2009.  This was Narodowski's first year at KU after transfering in from a Juco. 

There is no clear back-up at shortstop should he choose to leave.  James Stanfield played short for a few games when Narodowski was injured in mid-season.  Stanfield hit for good average but did not show power. Stanfield's defensive range is also a question mark.  He seemed better suited to second base in the limited action I saw.  Of course defense is one area in which a player can improve dramatically while in college.  Just look at how far Buck Afenir has come as a catcher for evidence.  Another possiblity is Brandon Macias, (South Mountain College, Phoenix, Arizona), who signed on to join KU next year.  Coach Price said Macias was "Rated by many as one of the top defensive infielders in the country.  Plays in a wood bat conference and hit 350 with 7 homeruns as a freshman.  Was at Arizona State on scholarhship in the fall of his freshman year." 

Here is Aman Reaka's scouting report on Narodowski:

SS) JR. David Narodowski, 5'10, 193 (.354, 19 doubles, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 33 bb, 46 K, 6 SB)
This was my preseason preview of Nardo:
David is flat-out "show time" on defense. He has amazing lateral speed with a good arm and he runs through the ball when he fields it. I have seen this kid get to some balls that just aren't reachable by very many players. So he's all defense right? Wrong. This kid can hit the ball. He hits to all fields and has a shocking amount of power for a guy his size. He was a great find for this coaching staff to get this kid to transfer to Kansas. I would expect him to really surprise the Big 12 this year.

Narodowski "Nardo" has really helped himself in this year's post season. He showed a lot more power and tore through the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA regional in North Carolina. He showed an amazing skill set on defense this year (a few too many silly errors here and there). I could see him moved to 2b at the next level because he doesnt really posses a cannon of an arm. Offensively, he shows plenty of power with his 19 doubles and 8 homeruns. He strikes out a little bit much but he also walks quite a bit. He has decent speed as well and already works, looks and acts like a professional athlete. With Nardo's post-season success and power showing, I think he really moved himself up the draft charts. I would expect Nardo to be selected in rounds 20-30 and I have this feeling that he will sign and unfortunately be done with his Jayhawk career.

Fun fact -  Every shortstop who has played at Kansas under Ritch Price has been drafted.  David is the fourth consecutive Jayhawk shortstop to hear his named called in June.  The man Narodowski replaced this year, Erik Morrison, was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star team a few days ago.