The Team USA National Team recently finished up their summer schedule, posting an impressive 24-0 record and gathered two gold medals as part of their success.

This team isn’t to be confused with the one that has been assembled to take part of the Olympics set to begin in approximately two weeks in Beijing, China. This is the team that is assembled with the best college players from around the nation each summer to face similar teams from across the globe.

And the pitching that was put together for this team was particularly impressive. As a staff, they posted a Team USA best 0.88 ERA, and as a staff they limited opponents to a .154 batting average and only one home run was allowed.

Vanderbilt’s Mike Minor was the culprit giving up that home run, but he also logged the most innings (36) while going 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in six games (five starts) during his second tour of duty with the Team USA National Team.

Joining Minor in the rotation was San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg, who is the lone collegiate player that was selected to participate with the Olympic team, a roster assembled with minor league players.

Strasburg also went 3-0 and posted a 1.06 ERA. His 48 strikeouts led the team, and he only allowed 16 hits and six walks over 34 innings of work.

His success has been particularly impressive, as no amateur pitcher has been as dominant as Strasburg has for the last calendar year, dating back to his impressive performance in the New England Collegiate League and carrying over to his tremendous success this spring at San Diego State. If he continues to thrive on the intense national stage, his name is going to draw that much more excitement in relationship to the 2009 draft.

Oklahoma State’s Andrew Oliver, Pepperdine’s Brett Hunter and Miami’s Chris Hernandez also received a handful of starts, with Arizona State’s Mike Leake serving as the long man finishing third on the team in innings pitched (28) over eight appearances, of which only two were starts.

Another top arm for ’09, Kyle Gibson, joined the Team USA squad. He went 5-0 pitching primarily out of the bullpen, a role he was used in during his freshman year at Missouri, and he was joined by a pair of other pitchers that also start for their college clubs: Kendal Volz (Baylor) and Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma St.). Volz was a perfect eight for eight in save opportunities, and Lyons limited opposing hitters to a .089 batting average and neither gave up an earned run.

In fact, the highest ERA for a Team USA pitcher this summer was 1.69 by lefty Chris Hernandez who is coming off of his successful freshman season with the Miami Hurricanes.

The talent in attendance and the numbers they posted were no fluke. The 2009 draft looks as though it should be very strong at the top when it comes to pitching. The college crop always dictates the overall strength, although it looks as though the prep crop is only going to strengthen the notion that the ’09 draft will favor the arms. Regardless of where that talent came from, you’re likely going to see several of the pitchers that participated with Team USA taken in the first round when next June’s draft rolls around.

As for the hitters, you can’t find many things, outside of Kentrail Davis’ performance during the Team USA trials and competitive schedule, to glow about. Davis (Tennessee, who left the team early) and Blake Smith (California) were the only hitters to bat better than .300. Jared Clark (Cal State Fullerton) led the team in home runs with four while his Cal State Fullerton teammate, Christian Colon, had the most swipes on the basepaths with five (in nine attempts).

That’s not to say that there weren’t some big hits or some encouraging things to take from the players performances, especially since many of the hitters were freshman that likely were brought on as Team USA continues to try and have at least half of their roster represented by players that have or will return to the team. Colon, Derek Dietrich and Hunter Morris all were coming off very successful freshman seasons, and all three could return next summer to form three-fourths of the team’s infield, while their experience could allow them to flourish.

However, the overall talent level at the plate for those eligible for next year’s draft just doesn’t appear to compare to some of the teams that have been assembled in recent years, and that is relative to the overall perception that the numbers of impact bats available at the top of next year’s draft would appear to be down.

Next week I’ll take a look at some of the top performances from the Cape Cod League, another league whose overall talent level is top-heavy with pitchers.

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.