This claim is certainly subjective and ripe for spirited debate but those ingredients make it a fun investigation and subsequent discussion. Similar to the previous article seeking the best record in college baseball, this search was also at all levels.
For the purposes of this exercise I defined “most exciting” as the player with the highest statistical power-speed index. A power-speed index is understood as a weighted measure of a hitter’s production in speed categories (typically stolen bases, to include efficiency if one wants to split hairs, and possibly triples) and the power stats, namely home runs; slugging average, total bases, or extra base hits are all power category relatives that could enter the mix.
Power and speed are usually recognized as the two most entertaining aspects of a baseball game by fans, be it the jubilation of a long ball, the thrill of a stolen base, or the ten seconds of suspense leading up to a tag play at third base on a potential triple. For simplicity I focused on home runs and stolen bases, weighing the curve in each category based on the national leader for that level of play.
The results brought me to Kentrell Hill, a sophomore center fielder from tiny Ashdown, Arkansas. He plays for a Division I junior college, Arkansas Baptist, located in the capital city of Little Rock. Like many university baseball players, his path is a winding one. According to the 2000 census, Ashdown is home to approximately 5,000 people, roughly the undergraduate population of my college experience, but with one distinct international claim. It is home to the largest paper-producing facility in the world.
Hill’s prowess was recognized enough for him to be recruited on scholarship to Cisco Junior College in Texas, part of one of the strongest two-year baseball circuits in the country. He enjoyed a fine freshman season and, more importantly, flashed the tools that seemed to indicate he would have a strong chance to be signed in the 2010 Major League Draft. With this expectation, the Cisco coaches allegedly budgeted Hill’s 2011 scholarship money to another player. After he did not sign professionally a year ago he decided to transfer closer to home, setting the stage for this spring’s fireworks with Arkansas Baptist.
As of this writing, through 46 games and 137 at bats, Hill has 11 home runs and is 33 of 36 in stolen bases; this gives him the highest power-speed index within his own national division of any player in the country. After signing with Oral Roberts University last fall to continue his collegiate career at a four-year school, the professional scouting community is also well-tuned to Hill.
One National League Central area guy remarked to me, “(He is a) plus runner with a plus arm; two tools that are very hard to find. His power has increased over the last two years, while also improving at the plate with his discipline. He is still a very raw baseball player but his potential is very high. (If he does not sign professionally), Oral Roberts got one of the most talented junior college players in the country.”
At 6’0” and 185 pounds with 4.4 speed in the forty-yard dash, Hill’s athleticism is more akin to a National Football League defensive back than a college baseball player. Regardless of when he signs professionally, if he can translate all the talent into productivity, perhaps he will surpass the paper facility as the biggest upstart to come out of Ashdown.
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