For the most part, summer baseball has been kind to Christian Colon, who recently wrapped up a very successful, although bitter sweet, tour with the Team USA collegiate baseball team. It was his second consecutive summer representing the National Team (his fourth time overall playing for the Team USA program), and he did so by leading the club in almost every single offensive category over 23 games, playing and starting in every single contest until the last one.

You may remember his name from high school, as he was named the MVP of the Aflac All-American Classic three years ago, and is no stranger to Perfect Game events. Coming out of high school the biggest knock on his impressive tool-set was average speed, and yet thanks to above-average instincts for nearly every facet of the game, he swiped 24 bases in 26 attempts this summer.

Unfortunately his summer ended on a down note, as he suffered a broken leg during the second to last game of Team USA’s schedule. The injury occurred at the second base bag, when an opposing runner slid hard into Colon in an attempt to break up a double play. Those that saw the slide felt it was late and unnecessary, as the benches for both teams cleared as Colon’s teammates raced to the defense of their captain.

Colon suffered both a broken tibia and fibula, and is expected to be out for two to three months. That means he will miss fall ball, but surgery went well to repair the fractured bones and he should be ready to play by the time the 2010 season opens.

I don’t think many expect the injury to slow Colon down much moving forward. A very solid all-around baseball player, he is hailed for his intangible skills as much as he is for his tools. He was considered the leader on the Titans from the moment he arrived at Fullerton’s campus, and was named Team USA’s captain this past summer. He has the ability to hit for average and power, can swipe a few bags as noted above, and plays the shortstop position fundamentally strong with good hands, footwork and a strong arm.

From Puerto Rico to Texas to Utah to California, from Christian Rodriguez to Christian Colon, the Aflac All-American Classic to Cal State Fullerton to Team USA, this young man has already put together quite a lengthy resume, and he seems to be eager to add more bullet points every chance he gets.

Team USA bats

Overall Team USA swung the bats much better this past summer than they did a year ago, since only two hitters from the 2008 squad hit better than .300, and one of those, Kentrail Davis, only recorded 27 at-bats.

This year they hit .311 as a team, with seven of the regular contributors batting on the sunny side of .300. Rice’s Rick Hague and Florida State’s Tyler Holt finished tied for the team lead with an identical .371 (both were 33 for 89) batting average. Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz posted a .366 average, just above Colon’s .362 mark. They collectively out-scored opponents 207 to 69 and stole 93 bases in 103 attempts, an incredible 90% success rate.

Hague finished the season strong, sliding over to play third base given the presence of Colon, committing only one error this summer. Brentz continues to add to his impressive college career on his way to cementing his status as a first-round pick for next June’s draft. He didn’t hit for as much power as one might have expected since he was coming off of a spring in which he led the nation in batting average, slugging, total bases and home runs, but he did prove that he could hang with the big boys on the national circuit swinging a wood bat.

Despite the increased offense on this year’s team, it still seems as though the club was lacking of one true big bopper. It has been two years now since Team USA has had big bats like Pedro Alvarez, Brett Wallace or Justin Smoak. The years before that trio, J.P. Arencibia, Matt Wieters, Matt LaPorta, Ryan Zimmerman, Alex Gordon and Troy Tulowitzki donned the stars and stripes. Like this past year, the 2010 draft doesn’t appear to be a favorable one for college bats, but there is still plenty of time for a few of the somewhat dark-horse candidates like Brentz and the Cape’s Zach Cox to establish themselves as legitimate future stars.

Team USA arms

While the 2009 team hit the ball better, they couldn’t match the 2008 record of a perfect, 24-0 summer. 19-5 is nothing to sneeze at, and the squad, as always, did boast some impressive arms, even if the collective group wasn’t quite as effective as the one from a year ago that posted a 0.88 ERA and were led by a young man named Stephen Strasburg.

No, the 2010 draft doesn’t have another Stephen Strasburg (unless he doesn’t sign with the Nationals and re-enters next year’s draft), but there were quite a few arms that looked impressive during their summer tours of duty.

Ole Miss’ lefty Drew Pomeranz highlights the list, pitching a few dandies over the course of the summer, including a 17-strikeout performance (in six innings) over Guatemala. Overall he finished with a 48 to nine strikeout to walk ratio in over 25 innings of work. That performance came off of a strong sophomore campaign for the Rebels, which followed a fine freshman college debut season in 2008. He may follow in the footsteps of 2008 Team USA ace, former fellow SEC lefty Mike Minor, and become a premium first-round pick next June.

(Already circled on my calendar for the 2010 college baseball season is a projected matchup between a pair of potential premium 2010 first-round picks, Pomeranz and Anthony Ranaudo, as LSU travels to Oxford, Mississippi on April 23.)

Serving as the team’s co-ace, UCLA’s Gerrit Cole brings pure gas, and proved to be nearly unhittable with a .104 opponent’s batting average. After a very impressive freshman year, Cole recorded 150 strikeouts over his first 119 collegiate innings pitched between the spring and summer. He still has two more seasons to go before he becomes draft eligible again in 2011 after going unsigned as a first-round pick coming out of high school.

Similar to Bryce Brentz on the offensive side of the ball (although Brentz did show off his two-way skills by taking the mound in five games), The Citadel’s Asher Wojciechowski offered the most pleasant, relative no-name surprise by posting a much-improved 29 to four strikeout to walk ratio in his 20.2 innings of work. Looking at the other numbers of his fellow staff-mates, it’s a little surprising that his 2.18 ERA is as high as it is after giving up only those four walks and 11 hits. With a perfect pitcher’s build and a very good arm, it’s time you start practicing how to spell and pronounce Wojciechowski’s last name, as it may become one you will want to remember in the near future.

Following in a long line of talented Team USA late relievers, Texas Tech’s Chad Bettis served as the team’s primary closer notching three saves largely thanks to a mid-90s heater. Tulane’s Nick Pepitone gave up only two hits and no earned runs in eight appearances setting him up. Sonny Gray looked good in a versatile role similar to Mike Leake from the year before, as he along with Cape star Jack Armstrong (as covered last week) look to give Vanderbilt a difficult one-two punch for SEC teams to overcome on weekends for the next two years.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.