College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2011 College Baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be providing one player per day until we reach number 1.
We continue the countdown today at number 50 with redshirt junior infielder John Hinson. The Asheville, North Carolina native had a standout career at A.C. Reynolds High School as he was a four-time letter winner under head coach Bryan Craig. He was named an all-conference selection in each of his four seasons while setting the school record for hits in a career. For the 2007 MLB Draft, Hinson was rated as the #170th best prospect in the nation by Baseball America and 314th prospect by Perfect Game while being the 13th best prospect in North Carolina by Perfect Game. The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 40th round (1210 overall pick) but were not able to get Hinson to sign.
Hinson in his freshman season in 2008, he made 39 appearances (25 starts) as he hit .264 with 10 runs, one triple, one homer, 11 RBIs, and five stolen bases. He was even better in ACC play where he hit at a .304 clip. He spent the summer with Hyannis as he hit .222 in only 18 at bats.
The injury bug would hit Hinson during his sophomore season in 2009 as he only appeared in two games before shutting it down for the season with a back injury. He was able to use a redshirt for the season to keep a year of eligibility.
Hinson would come back as a force during his redshirt sophomore season in 2010 as he appeared in 67 games (57 starts). He was able to finish second on the team with a .351 batting average while hitting 17 homers and driving in a team high 75 runs. He was able to also lead the team with 25 stolen bases in 30 attempts. He did struggle somewhat with his defense as he made 11 errors on the year. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 13th round. Hinson went down to the Cape Cod Baseball League to play with the Cotuit Kettleers to help improve his negotiating power. He ended up finishing the CCBL regular season with a .246 batting average a homer and eight RBI and did not sign with the Phillies again thus bringing him back for his redshirt junior season. You can check out Hinson’s scouting video from MLB.com by clicking here.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
