DURHAM, N.C.--- Three Arizona baseball players have been ranked on Baseball America’s Summer League Top Prospects list, the organization announced on Thursday. Junior pitcher/third baseman Bobby Dalbec was ranked 16th on both the Team USA and Cape Cod League prospect list, sophomore first baseman J.J. Matijevic was placed at No. 23 on the Cape Cod list, while sophomore pitcher Matt Hartman was ranked as the 10th best prospect in the Valley League.
In all the Wildcats occupy four spots on the combined lists, which ranks tied for fourth in the nation and is tops in the Pac-12. The top five most represented programs on last year’s Baseball America lists all at least reached super regionals in 2015, led by national runner-up Vanderbilt along with Texas A&M, Arkansas, Florida and Maryland.
Dalbec had a spectacular summer campaign, as he led Team USA to 10 wins. He also blasted a Cape Cod League-leading 12 home runs to go along with 30 RBI and a .315 batting average in 27 games as a member of the Orleans Firebirds. He ranked second in the league in RBI and would have ranked eighth in average if he had enough at bats to qualify.
The Parker, Colo. native recorded 10 multi-RBI games, including knocking in a season-high six RBI in a 10-1 victory over Chatham on Aug. 5th, while he boasted hitting streaks of three games or more three separate times.
Matijevic also turned in a stellar summer in the Cape, as he batted .333 with four dingers, 15 RBI, 15 runs scored, and three stolen bases in 144 at bats for the Falmouth Commodores. His batting average ranked third in the league, while he collected 12 multi-hit games and ended the summer with a seven-game hit-streak.
The North Huntington, Pa. native earned a spot in the Cape Cod League All-Star game as a member of the West squad, while he was named UA Summer Pitcher of the Year by the coaching staff a few weeks back.
Hartman put together a dominant summer campaign for the Harrisonburg Turks in the Valley League, compiling a 5-1 overall record, while recording a 3.45 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched. His five wins were tied for the most in the Valley League, while his 38 punch outs were tied for eighth most.
The Valley Center, Calif. native helped lead the Turks to the best record in the league at 29-13, while he was named to the All-Valley League Second Team and earned a spot on the South Division All-Star team. He pitched a scoreless inning, as the South Division defeated the North Division 5-4.
Hartman’s teams (All-Star game included) posted a perfect 8-0 record in games he pitched in from July 12th until the end of the season. During that span Hartman picked up victories in four straight decisions from July 5-14th.
Baseball America’s full list of ranked summer prospects is below.
Team USA
1. A.J. Puk, lhp (Jr., Florida)
2. Corey Ray, of (Jr., Louisville)
3. Buddy Reed, of (Jr., Florida)
4. Nick Banks, of (Jr., Texas A&M)
5. Tanner Houck, rhp (So., Missouri)
6. Robert Tyler, rhp (Jr., Georgia)
7. Logan Shore, rhp (Jr., Florida)
8. Mike Shawaryn, rhp (Jr., Maryland)
9. J.J. Schwarz, c, (So., Florida)
10. Zack Burdi, rhp (Jr., Louisville)
11. Brendan McKay, lhp/1b (So., Louisville)
12. Anthony Kay, lhp (Jr., Connecticut)
13. Daulton Jefferies, rhp (Jr., California)
14. Zach Jackson, rhp (Jr., Arkansas)
15. Chris Okey, c (Jr., Clemson)
16. Bobby Dalbec, 3b (Jr., Arizona)
17. Bryson Brigman, 2b/ss (So., San Diego)
18. Ryan Hendrix, rhp (Jr., Texas A&M)
19. Stephen Nogosek, rhp (Jr., Oregon)
20. Ryan Howard, ss (Jr., Missouri)
Cape Cod League
1. Nick Senzel, 3b/2b (Jr., Tennessee)
2. Ryan Boldt, of (Jr., Nebraska)
3. Kyle Lewis, of (Jr., Mercer)
4. Matt Krook, lhp (R.-So., Oregon)
5. Bryan Reynolds, of (Jr., Vanderbilt)
6. Eric Lauer, lhp (Jr., Kent State)
7. Jeren Kendall, of (So., Vanderbilt)
8. Jordan Sheffield, rhp (R.-So., Vanderbilt)
9. Errol Robinson, ss (Jr., Mississippi)
10. Dakota Hudson, rhp (Jr., Mississippi State)
11. Stephen Wrenn, of (Jr., Georgia)
12. Ben Bowden, lhp (Jr., Vanderbilt)
13. Sean Murphy, c (Jr., Wright State)
14. Bryce Montes de Oca, rhp (So., Missouri)
15. Garrett Williams, lhp (Jr., Oklahoma State)
16. Bobby Dalbec, 3b (Jr., Arizona)
17. Corbin Burnes, rhp (Jr., St. Mary’s)
18. Cody Sedlock, rhp (Jr., Illinois)
19. Ian Hamilton, rhp (Jr., Washington State)
20. Gio Brusa, of (Sr., Pacific)
21. Kyle Serrano, rhp (Jr., Tennessee)
22. Cavan Biggio, 2b (Jr., Notre Dame)
23. J.J. Matijevic, 1b (So., Arizona)
24. Nick Solak, 2b (Jr., Louisville)
25. Josh Rogers, lhp (SIGNED: Yankees)
26. Mitchell Jordan, rhp (Jr., Stetson)
27. Andrew Calica, of (R.-Jr., UC Santa Barbara)
28. Devin Smeltzer, lhp (So., San Jacinto (Texas) JC)
29. Jake Rogers, c (Jr., Tulane)
30. Garret Hampson, ss/2b (Jr., Long Beach State)
Valley League
1. Shane Billings, of, Harrisonburg (Jr., Wingate (N.C.))
2. Jim Ziemba, lhp, Harrisonburg, (R-So., Duke)
3. Bradley Jones, if, Charles Town (Jr., College of Charleston)
4. Devin Gould, rhp, Staunton (Jr., Longwood)
5. Jack Schaaf, of, Staunton, (So., Florida International)
6. Steven Ridings, rhp, Charles Town, (Sr., Messiah (Pa.))
7. Edgar Lebron, of, Front Royal (Sr., Lindsey Wilson (Ky.))
8. Tyler Staub, if, Harrisonburg (Sr., Texas-San Antonio)
9. Garrett Vrbanic, 2b/ss, Aldie (Jr., Seton Hill)
10. Matt Hartman, rhp, Harrisonburg, (So., Arizona)
Follow the Cats!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaAthletics), Twitter (@AZATHLETICS), Instagram (azathletics) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/ArizonaAthletics). In addition, the baseball team has established its own official Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaBaseball), Twitter (@ArizonaBaseball), and Instagram (ArizonaBaseball) accounts.
