PGCROSSCHECKER COLLEGE TEAM SCOUTING REPORT
64.
LOUISVILLE
(31-29, did not qualify for NCAA post-season play).
Conference/Projected Finish: Big East/3rd (17-10, 3rd in 2006).
Coach: Dan McDonnell (first year; assistant at
Mississippi
in 2006).
First Game: Feb. 13 vs.
Murray
State
.
OVERVIEW: Injuries took a heavy toll on the Cardinals in 2006, but sophomore 3B Chris Dominguez (.100-0-0), who played in only three games, and senior OF Boomer Whiting (.293-0-4), who played in 11, are back. Dominguez gives
Louisville
a major power threat, while Whiting, who has been clocked in the 60-yard dash in 6.3 seconds, has game-changing speed. They’re joined by the team’s top six hitters, led by senior 2B Logan Johnson (.319-10-49) and 5-foot-3 senior SS Chris Cates (.332-1-32). Cates led the team in hitting while committing only eight errors in 58 games at shortstop. Junior RHP Zack Pitts (1-1, 5.74) ascends to the No. 1 spot in the rotation after a breakout summer in the New England Collegiate League.
TOP PROSPECT/SOPHOMORE: Chris Dominguez, 3b. Dominguez missed almost all of his freshman season with an elbow injury and then struggled last summer in the NECBL, hitting just .201 and topping the league with 54 strikeouts. But he also hit a league-best 11 homers. His power and arm strength are legitimate major league tools. With a big season, he’ll position himself as a potential first-rounder in 2008.
TOP FRESHMAN: Justin Marks, lhp. TOP JUNIOR: Zack Pitts, rhp. TOP SENIOR: Boomer Whiting, of.