College Baseball Daily’s top 100 countdown rolls on with TCU slugger Luken Baker.
The 6-foot-4, 265 pound first baseman was ranked as the sixth best recruit in the state of Texas coming out of high school. Baker was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 37th round of the 2015 MLB Draft.
He put the college baseball nation on notice his freshman season in 2016 when he hit .379 with 59 runs scored, 16 doubles, 11 home runs, 62 RBI, 45 walks, 39 strikeouts and a .483 on-base-percentage.
He won all kinds of awards after that season, while helping lead his team to the College World Series where fans fell in love with him.
In 2017 his average dipped to .317, but he missed the end of the season because of an arm injury that ultimately led to surgery. The big guy still scored 39 runs, had 8 doubles, 8 home runs and 41 RBI.
For such a powerful hitter, there isn’t much to his swing. He barely picks up his front foot, but he uses his upper body to come through the zone with a lot of force. He’s able to generate a lot of power with his hips.
There are hardly any holes in his swing, and he plays a fine first base; although he would make a great designated hitter on an American League team at the next level. But I wouldn’t label him a defensive liability.
Baker can also catch, and there’s a chance he could move to third base or a corner outfield position.
It really doesn’t matter where Baker plays in the field, you come to the park to see this guy swing a bat. Enjoy it in 2018 college baseball fans.
