On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Baseball America named their Top 100 prospects entering the 2016 Major League Draft, including two of Tennessee's juniors: third baseman Nick Senzel (No. 5) and right-handed pitcher Kyle Serrano (No. 42).Â
To view the complete Top 100 Prospect List by Baseball America, click HERE.
This offseason, Senzel was named No. 14 on Major League Baseball's Top 50 Draft Prospects list, and was recently named a 2016 Preseason All-America selection by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Tabbed a 2015 Summer Collegiate All-American First Team player by Perfect Game earlier this year, Senzel hit .364 for the Cape Cod League's Brewster Whitecaps with a league-leading 33 RBI to earn a 2015 All-Star bid, Most Outstanding Pro Prospect and Cape Cod League Most Valuable Player honors. As a sophomore last season, he was also named a Preseason All-SEC player and hit .325 with a .399 on-base percentage in 50 starts for the Volunteers. He led UT in batting average, hits (65), doubles (12) and triples (5), while his 28 RBI and .399 OBP ranked second behind former All-SEC outfielder and Detroit Tigers first-round pick Christin Stewart.
Listed as the No. 42 prospect among BA's Top 100, Serrano led the Vols' pitching staff in 2015 with five wins, posting a 5-4 record with a 4.47 ERA over 22 appearances (eight starts). He recorded 47 strikeouts over his 54.1 innings pitched, the fourth-most innings worked on the squad. Serrano went 3-2 and tossed 36.2 innings in the 2015 regular summer season for the Orleans Firebirds. He recorded 38 strikeouts, walked eight batters and posted a 3.68 ERA. Serrano went on to throw 3.1 scoreless innings of work for the Firebirds in the Cape Cod League postseason, registering one save and seven strikeouts. Prior to attending Tennessee, Serrano was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 29th round (859th overall) of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
