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 adding players day-by-day until we get to number one!
Number 27 on our Top 100 Countdown is Georgia Tech’s Daniel Palka. The 6’2 outfielder from Lyman, South Carolina was selected in the 19th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 MLB Draft.
As a freshman, Palka appeared in 63 games for Georgia Tech, 60 of which he started in. He batted .297 on the season with 12 home runs, 18 doubles and 52 RBI, while also posting a slugging percentage of .556.
During his sophomore season, Palka started in all 64 games as he posted a batting average of .303. Palka also had 12 home runs, 47 RBI and 19 doubles during the 2012 season with a slugging percentage of .550. Palka was named a Second-Team All-ACC selection.
He spent the summer following the 2012 season in Cape Cod where he played for the Wareham Gatemen. Palka was named to the West Team of the Cape Cod All Star Game, where he went 3-for-4 and earned the honor of being named MVP of the 2012 Cape League All Star Game.
From a scouting perspective, Palka can hit to all fields and he has the plus power that has many scouts seeing him as a first-rounder in the 2013 MLB Draft. Although not used both ways in college, out of high school Palka was a strong two-way player and brings that dimension to his value as a prospect as well. However, power is the selling point, and Palka has a lot of it. With one of the strongest bats in college baseball, he is one of the top players to watch for in 2013.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
