The CBB continues our countdown to the 2009 College Baseball season with our Top 50 players to watch. We will be providing one player each day (Monday-Saturday) until we reach number 1.
We continue the list today with Junior Tommy Mendonca from Fresno State checking in at the 44th spot in our countdown. He is a 6’1 200 pound third baseman out of Turlock High School in Turlock California.
Mendonca led the Bulldogs to the 2008 NCAA Championship playing in 77 games as a sophomore. He finished the season with a .285 average with 19 homers and 70 RBI. This follows up a solid freshman campaign which saw him hit .281 with 10 homers and 37 RBI.
Mendonca was a late addition to the College National Team this summer, which went 24-0. Even though the team had much success over this run, Mendonca struggled heavily, registering a .231 clip, striking out 26 times in 52 at bats. Mendonca would be ranked much higher on this list if he didn’t follow up his strong CWS personal campaign with such a poor showing in international play.
We believe that Mendonca will continue to develop this season into one of the best players in the country. We saw during the College World Series how dangerous he can be and will only get better in the upcoming season.
You can check out the top 50 by clicking here.
Thanks to Assistant Editor Mark Rafferty for helping out with the report.
6 comments
Mendonca also offers some serious defense in addition to his bat.
He can always move to the outfield.
NO. I mean his defense at 3B is really nice. I have seen one amazing play after another from this guy.
He was the worst defender on Team USA this summer with a .917 fielding percentage.
Aman, you are correct he is an outstanding defensive third baseman. On a pitching strong Team USA this past summer only TWO players hit over .300! Had Mendonca been able to fatten up his stats against Lithuania (30-1 Team USA victory) would that have been enough to land him higher on this list? He was not supposed to play at all in that game because of a slight concussion he suffered when he ran into the wall chasing a foul ball the night before. A late inning injury to Blake Smith forced Mendonca to play outfield, where he made an error, hurting his fielding %. Had he been able to hit in that game, and like some of his teammates, went 4-4 (like he did in the championship game) he would have finished the summer batting .286…third highest on the team. I find it hard to believe that he would be dropped in rankings on this list because of a percieved “poor showing” for Team USA. Congratulations Tommy for the great year you had and for being included in this top 50 list.
To be honest, I cannot believe Mendonca is so far down on this listing (and with the Hofstra guy ahead of him)? His second half of last season, through post-season play and TeamUSA action, was off the maps outstanding (and he was playing with a badly injured swinging hand). IMO, he goes into this season as the 2nd or 3rd best returning third basemen in college ball (behind Dominguez of Louisville), with almost as much power as Dominguez. Expect a really big breakout year for him. I can’t imagine how 43 players are ranked ahead of him in Brian’s mind.
Comments are closed.