College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2013 college baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be counting down the players day-by-day until we reach number 1.
Number 64 on our Top 100 Countdown is D. J. Peterson of New Mexico. The 6’1 infielder from Gilbert, Arizona was a member of the Team USA Collegiate National Team over the summer.
Since arriving at New Mexico, Peterson has made a huge impact for the Lobos. In his freshman season in 2011, Peterson posted a team-high batting average of .317 and also led the team in hits (78), doubles (32), home runs (6), total bases (134) and slugging percentage (.545). His success earned him honors including being named to the 2011 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associated Freshman All-American Team and the 2011 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team.
In his sophomore season, Peterson’s success continued. He hit .419 on the season including 78 RBIs, and 16 home runs, all of which were team-highs, also posting a team high slugging percentage of .734 and an on base percentage of .490. The honors continued to roll in for Peterson as he was named a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy in addition to being named a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American, Mountain West Co-Player of the year and a member of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team.
From a scouting perspective, Peterson is a fantastic prospect for the upcoming 2013 draft. He is defensively sound and extremely productive at the plate. He is a natural hitter with excellent power numbers, a swing that is both smooth and quick, and very fast hands. His bat is clearly the highlight of his game, as it is evidently one of the best in all of college baseball which makes him one of the top 100 players to watch for in 2013.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
