re: Please unsticky

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Most Exciting Player: Blake Allemand, ss, Texas A&M. The Aggies have some real options for this category, including outfielders Nick Banks and Logan Taylor, among others, but I just love what Blake Allemand brings to the table. He’s a born leader, a hitter with a mature approach, has some pop in his bat, and he just makes things happen.

Best Hitter: Nick Banks, of, Texas A&M. Mitchell Nau and Logan Taylor are very good hitters for the Aggies, but there’s no one in this lineup as dangerous and clutch than Banks when he’s clicking on all cylinders. Banks is hitting .370 with nine stolen bases, five homers and 40 RBIs.

Best Pitcher: Grayson Long, rhp, Texas A&M. There are some talented arms in this regional, for instance, California sophomore righthander Daulton Jefferies can shutdown anyone. However, you have to go with Long, who has a physical build, a newfound mean streak on the mound, and also has a 89-92 mph fastball, along with a quality slider and changeup, both low-80s offerings.

Best Offensive Team: Texas A&M. The Aggies are the obvious choice here, and they pack a serious punch at the plate. A&M has 61 homers as a team, are hitting .312 as a team, and have five everyday hitters batting over .300, including another big-time power threat in Hunter Melton, who’s hitting .319 with eight homers and 34 RBIs. The Aggies are incredibly difficult to slow down once they get going.

Best Defensive Team: Texas A&M. None of these teams are impressive defensively, but give the slightest of edges to the Aggies. Though the Aggies can go into serious defensive funks at times, they have a very good outfield. Logan Taylor and Nick Banks on the corners have plus arm strength, while recently inserted center fielder Nick Choruby has made some terrific defensive plays. The infield, indeed, can be an adventure, but catcher Michael Barash typically does a good job behind the plate despite lacking a big-time arm.

No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 8. Though the Aggies might have some issues in the weekend rotation, anyone but them winning this regional would be a big surprise. The Aggies play very well at home and will have the elements in their favor this weekend. This is a very productive offensive lineup that can wear out even the best pitchers in college baseball. A&M should be able to pitch well enough in this tourney to move to the super regional round.

Texas A&M
The Aggies put together an impressive regular season that began with a 24-game winning streak and ended with a regional host. However, the Maroon & White feels like they were snubbed for a top-eight national seed, thus will enter the weekend with a chip on their shoulder. That potentially could be bad news for some other teams in this field with the Aggies possessing a potent offense that enters the weekend hitting .312. Mitchell Nau (.376/4/46) leads the Aggies in the batting average department, while Nick Banks (.370/5/40), Logan Taylor (.358/10/46) and Blake Allemand (.356/5/34) are the primary other hitters to watch. Banks has a silky smooth swing and can deposit the ball to all fields, Taylor has big-time power potential and is A&M’s biggest surprise this season, and Allemand has been terrific the last month of the season, recently showing off power potential with two homers off Vanderbilt ace righthander Carson Fulmer. Also keep close tabs on second baseman Ryne Birk. Birk’s .292 batting average might be deceiving considering he’s been much more consistent here the past couple of weeks, and is hitting with a bit more power. The Aggies do leave something to be desired up the middle from a defensive standpoint, and that aspect of the team must be better this weekend. A&M has one of the nation’s elite ace pitchers in righthander Grayson Long (2.62, 86 IP), who has tallied 100 strikeouts and walked just 37 and has a fastball anywhere from 89-92, along with a quality slider, while lefthander Matt Kent, who will sit mid-80s with his fastball, but who typically pounds the zone with secondary offerings, is another big key. The Aggies can be an adventure after those two games, with Andrew Vinson (1.12, 48.1 IP) now in the rotation and mid-90s velocity righthander Ryan Hendrix back in the bullpen, but there’s plenty of potential with these talented arms.

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2. Arkansas
28th appearance (14th straight), at-large, third place in SEC West

Top 200 Prospects: OF Andrew Benintendi (9)

Season In A Sentence: Arkansas played as well as any team in the SEC down the stretch and hasn’t lost a series since a trip to LSU in late March, although they did cool off in the SEC tournament, giving up 20 runs in their two losses.

Strengths: That Andrew Benintendi guy’s had a pretty good year. College baseball’s breakout star led the SEC in homers with 18 while batting .391/.492/.738, earning SEC player of the year honors. Benintendi is the center piece, but it’s not a one-man show, as the Razorbacks have gotten steady contributions from juniors Tyler Spoon (.325/.367/.491) and Rick Nomura (.312/.390/.459), while Michael Bernal (.282/.416/.396) has heated up down the stretch. There’s no shortage of postseason experience between the upper classmen and coach Dave Van Horn, with five Omaha trips to his credit.

Question Marks: Typically a pitching-first program under Van Horn, the Razorbacks have been much more reliant on their offense in 2015. They’d been better in the second half, holding opponents to two runs or less in nine of 12 games before the wheels came off in Hoover. Expected to be the staff ace, junior righty Trey Killian (2-4, 4.72) has had an underwhelming season but did pitch well in his final start.

Outlook: The Razorbacks have the firepower to slug their way to at least a couple wins, or more, but it’s also easy to envision things going South quickly if the bats go cold. If Killian can keep up the momentum, they become more formidable, though he’s expected to start the opener against Oral Roberts.

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