Top 100 Countdown: 7. Sonny Gray (Vanderbilt)

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College Baseball Daily continues our countdown for the 2010 College Baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be providing one player per day until we reach number 1.

We continue the list today with number 7 in our countdown with junior RHP Sonny Gray. He is from Smyrna, Tennessee where he attended Smyrna High School. He went 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 35 innings while hitting .518 including three home runs during senior campaign. Heading into the 2008 MLB Draft, he was ranked as the No. 52 draft prospect by Baseball America and the 67th best draft prospect by Perfect Game. He was selected in the 27th round by the Chicago Cubs but decided to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt.

Gray appeared in 22 games as a freshman including making four starts as he went 5-1 including five saves with a 4.30 ERA. He ended up pitching a total of 58.2 innings while striking out 72 batters. His biggest issue last season was his wild side as he walked 20 batters, tossed five wild pitches, and hit five batters. He spent the summer of 2009 with the USA Collegiate National Team where he appeared in eight games including two starts. He went 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA in his 24 innings of work. He ended up striking out 27 batters while walking eight and hitting two batters. Baseball America rated him the third best prospect on the 2009 USA Collegiate National Team.

As a sophomore, Gray made 19 appearances (16 starts) as he went 10-5 with a 3.48 ERA while striking out 113 batters in 108.2 innings pitched and holding opponents to a .246 batting average against him. He spent the summer of 2010 back with the USA Collegiate National Team. He ended up making five appearances (four starts) as he went a perfect 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA. He ended up striking out 37 batters while walking only four in 24 innings of work.

Gray is one of the hardest throwers in the country with his fastball that can top out at 97 MPH and having a curve that drops off the table at 80-84 MPH. If Gray can find his control during his college career, then he will be one of the best pitchers for the 2011 MLB Draft.

2011 Top 100 College Baseball Players