Quick Saturday batting lines of note with more of my oh so very insightful commentary to come as the day rolls along…

LSU SR 1B Blake Dean 4-5, BB, 6 RBI, 2 R
LSU SO OF Mikie Mahtook 2-3, 3B, SB, 3 RBI, 2 R
LSU SR DH Matt Gaudet 3-5, 2 HR, BB, 4 RBI, 3 R

Dean may be making tremendous progressive defensively at first, but it is still his bat that will carry his pro prospects going forward. Four hit days like the kind he had on Saturday help.

Rice JR 3B Anthony Rendon 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, HBP
Rice SR C Diego Seastrunk 2-4

Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Sonny Gray, Taylor Jungmann, and Mikie Mahtook make up my very early preliminary 2011 college top five. First four are chalk, though there is plenty of room for variation in the order, but the fifth spot is wide open. Alex Meyer, Jack Armstrong, Zach Cone, Ryan Carpenter, and Brett Mooneyham should all be in the mix, but additional personal favorites such as John Stilson, Harold Martinez, Adam Smith, and Kyle Winkler all could surprise. I’ really not afraid to admit that my excitement level for the 2011 MLB Draft is sky high.

Stanford FR CF Jake Stewart 2-6, RBI, R
Stanford FR 3B Kenny Diekroeger 2-3, 2 R

I personally don’t wonder if Stewart and Diekroeger will be first rounders in 2012; instead, I’m looking forward to how high each can elevate their respective stocks while playing for a college program notorious for holding back more than a few talented hitters with the dreaded “Stanford Swing.”

Florida State 3B/1B FR Jayce Boyd 3-5, 2B, RBI, R
Florida State JR CF Tyler Holt 2-5, 2 R
Florida State SR SS Stephen Cardullo 1-1, HR, BB, 2 HBP, 3 RBI, 3 R

Pretty good days for Florida State’s best draft prospect in each of the respective draft years listed. Boyd has first round power, Holt is an easy top-three round guy at present, and Cardullo’s blend of steady defense, good enough speed, and advanced knowledge of the strike zone make him a solid late round senior sign sleeper candidate.

Arizona State SO OF Drew Maggi 3-5, 2B, 2 SB, BB, RBI, 2 R, K
Arizona State SO DH Zach Wilson 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, K
Arizona State SO 2B Zack MacPhee 4-4, HR, 2 3B, 5 RBI, 4 R
Arizona State SO 3B Riccio Torrez 4-5, 3B, 2B, HBP, 2 RBI, 4 R
Arizona State SO C Austin Barnes 4-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R

I literally didn’t even realize all five Arizona State players listed were sophomores until this very moment. Add in another talented sophomore, OF Johnny Ruettiger, and that makes two-thirds of the Sun Devil lineup second year players. Cool.

Georgia Tech SR 1B Tony Plagman 4-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R
Georgia Tech JR CF Jeff Rowland 2-4, 2 3B, 3 RBI, R, K

TCU FR OF Josh Elander 4-5, SB, 2 RBI

Elander is loaded with tools, from plus power potential to a plus arm to above-average speed underway. He’s also freakishly strong, something a 150-pound relative weakling such as myself says with the utmost respect. Seeing such a tools-laden player hit the ground running as a freshmen is pretty darn exciting.

Miami SR 2B Scott Lawson 3-3, 3B, SB, RBI, 3 R

Ball State JR 2B Kolbrin Vitek 4-5, 3B, RBI, 3 R

Virginia Tech JR 1B Austin Wates 3-5, RBI, K

Louisville JR OF Josh Richmond 3-6, SB, RBI, K

South Carolina FR 3B Christian Walker 4-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI, 3 R

San Diego JR CF Kevin Muno 4-5, 2 RBI, 2 R, K
San Diego SR OF James Meador 4-5, 4 RBI, 2 R

They may not be Maris and Mantle, but San Diego’s version of the M&M Boys make up a big, productive chunk of the Toreros veteran lineup.

Florida SO 1B Preston Tucker 2-3, 2 BB, 2 R
Florida FR SS Nolan Fontana 0-1, 3 BB, 2 R

Texas A&M SR CF Brodie Greene 3-3, 2 3B, 2 SB, HBP, RBI, 3 R

Oklahoma SO SS Caleb Bushyhead 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R
Oklahoma SO SS Caleb Bushyhead 3-3, 2B, R

Easily the best Saturday of baseball ever recorded by a man with the last name of Bushyhead.

San Diego State JR CF Cory Vaughn 0-5, 4 K

Ouch.

Georgia SO CF Zach Cone 4-5, HR, 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R

The beginning of potential turning into production right before our very eyes?

Tennessee JR CF Josh Liles 3-4, 2 RBI, R, K

Boston College JR CF Robbie Anston 4-5, 3 RBI, 3 R

Pittsburgh JR 3B Joe Leonard 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R

Leonard is a good athlete with a cannon for an arm, but not much more than occasional gap power at this point. If he continues to show progress in that area of his game, he could jump off draft boards as teams are always looking for quality college bats that aren’t restricted to first base or the corner outfield.

Auburn JR 1B Hunter Morris 3-6, SB, RBI, 2 R

At first I wanted to make a joke about the big guy stealing a bag, but turns out he’s now 7/9 stealing bases in his college career. Good for him.

Alabama JR 2B Ross Wilson 3-5, RBI, R

Middle Tennessee State OF Bryce Brentz 2-5, R, 2 K