Tyson Ross

If you're looking for a big game starter, Cal's Tyson Ross is your man. The 6'6" righthander has thrived as a Friday night starter in the Pac 10 as well as on Team USA's junior and national squads. He controls his 87-93 mph fastball well, has a sharp slider in the 78-81 mph range, and a good changeup. With an upright delivery, he doesn't extend much towards the hitter, which could limit his velocity. An outstanding athlete, Ross has also won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for collegiate pitchers in 2007. As a freshman at Berkeley, Ross was 6-4 with 3.19 ERA. He had more strikeouts (85) than innings pitched (84.2). Besides earning All Pac 10 Honorable Mention, he was also named the Team's Freshman of the Year.

Returning in '07 to a team that had lost stars to the draft such as Brandon Morrow and Allen Craig, Ross excelled as Cal's Friday night starter, posting 120 strikeouts in 115.2 innings. Able to eat valuable innings, he threw past the 6th in over 88 percent of his 17 starts. His 2.49 ERA was 2nd in the Pac 10 and he limited opponents to a .241 average. In 7 innings against Oral Roberts, he struck out 16 batters, and is only 79 K's away from the Bears all time record entering 2008. A semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, he was named a first team All Pac 10 selection.

Pitching for team USA this summer, Ross was the squad's go to guy when the rest of the staff was worn down by injuries and fatigue. He finished 4-1 with a 0.82 ERA, and struck out 39 in 44 IP. He showed great command with only 7 walks. On July 15th, he struck out 7 and scattered 4 hits in 6.2 innings. In the gold medal game after USA's starter was taken out in the 5th inning, Ross tossed 2 innings of scoreless baseball with 3 strikeouts.

Baseball America has rated Ross as the #11 college prospect for the '08 draft. Look for him to improve on his breakout summer and be even more dominant this season.

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