College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2013 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.
The third player on our Top 100 countdown is Loyola-Marymount’s Colton Plaia. The Mission Viejo, California native spent his summer as a member of the Team USA Collegiate National Team.
As an elite catcher, in addition to spending the summer playing for Team USA, Plaia was also selected by the Orioles in the 2012 First Year Player Draft and named to the 2012 All West Coast Conference team, along with being named to the watch list for the 2012 Johnny Bench Award–an award that goes to the nation’s top catcher. Plaia is fantastic behind the plate, as he demonstrates a strong ability to react well to pitches, along with excellent awareness that allows him to make plays and throw out runners that many veteran catchers fail to even attempt.
In addition to his strong defensive skill set, Plaia also excels at the plate. In 2012, he lead the Lions in batting average (.326), particularly coming in strong in conference games with an average of .385, while also leading the team in RBIs (38), Slugging % (.461), Homeruns (6) and Total Bases (89).
Plaia’s ability to produce at the plate as well as his strong defensive abilities certainly make him one to watch for the upcoming 2013 baseball season, where he certainly has the tools and ability to increase his draft stock even as a senior while significantly contributing to his team.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
