Ben Tootle (Courtesy of Jacksonville State Media Relations)
The CBB continues our countdown to the 2009 College Baseball season with the Top 50 players to watch in the season. We will be providing one player each day (Monday-Saturday) until we reach number 1. We continue our list today with junior righthander pitcher Ben Tootle from Jacksonville State.
The Oxford Alabama native became a national name in 2008 after going 10-2 with a 3.87 ERA. He ended up striking out 79 batters in 86 innings. He spent the summer of 2008 in the Cape Cod Baseball League where he impressed scouts day in and day out. He finished the summer with a 3-3 record with five saves and an ERA of 1.97.
We attended the Cape Cod All-Star game where Tootle made an appearance out of the bullpen. He was clocked by some of the radar guns in my area with a 99 MPH fastball. This will make his stock skyrocket in the 2009 draft into a top 20 pick.
