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David Price


David Taylor Price (born August 26 1985 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee) is an American former left-handed starting pitcher. The Rays selected him first overall in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.

Early life[]

Price has been playing baseball since early childhood. He grew up as an Atlanta Braves fan and idolized outfielder David Justice. As a teenager, he was a stand out on the Blackman High School baseball and basketball teams. In his high school career he compiled a 0.43 ERA and 151 strikeouts. He was the recipient of many awards including the Rutherford County MVP Pitcher (2003 and 2004), the Co-District 7AAA Pitcher of the Year his senior season, and the Rutherford County Male Athlete of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He played in the 2004 High School All-America Game in Albuquerque, NM.

College career[]

Though drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of high school, Price was not signed, and instead chose to attend Vanderbilt University on an academic scholarship, and pitched for the baseball team for three seasons.

In his freshman season in 2005, Price was honored as a Freshman All-American by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. That year he went 2-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 19 games, compiling 92 strikeouts in 69.1 innings pitched. [1]

In 2006, as a sophomore, Price posted a 9-5 record with a 4.16 ERA in 110 1/3 innings pitched. He set a school single-season record in strikeouts with 155 while walking only 43 batters. Over a span of six starts early in the season he recorded 10 or more strikeouts each game, including a 17 strikeout performance in a game against Arkansas.[1]

That year he was one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award and a semifinalist for the Roger Clemens Award. He was also named to the third-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, first-team All-South Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association and second-team All-SEC by the coaches in that conference.[1]

As a junior he tallied an 11-1 record with a 2.63 ERA. He was the nation's top strikeout pitcher, striking out 194 batters over 133 1/3 innings, breaking his own school record. Price won several major national awards,including college baseball's top honor, the Dick Howser Trophy.[1]

United States National Team[]

In the summer of 2005, Price pitched for the United States National Team. He went 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA in five games, tallying 39 strikeouts and 13 walks over 28 2/3 innings. On August 2, 2005, he pitched a complete game shutout over Nicaragua, only allowing 5 hits.

In the summer of 2006, Price helped the United States take home the gold medal in the World University Championships held in Cuba. In eight starts for the U.S., Price was 5-1 with a 0.20 ERA.[1]

Scouting report[]

Price throws a fastball that maintains 90-94 mph and peaks at 97 mph [2] with good tailing action from right-handed batters. His best pitch, however, is a slider that averages 87 mph with a very late and sharp break. He also possesses a high quality change-up. He is highly athletic and powerful. However, Price is noted for having some command problems inside the strike zone, and tends to point his front leg toward home plate. He also occasionally drops his arm angle when throwing his change-up, which has led to some home runs during his career.[3][4]

College statistics[]

Year Team Record ERA G GS CG SV IP H R ER BB SO 2B 3B HR B/AVG WP HBP
2005
Vanderbilt 2-4 2.86 19 10 69.1 51 25 22 92 .207
2006 Vanderbilt 9-5 4.16 19 17 2 0 110.1 92 58 51 43 155 24 1 9 .222 8 9
2007 Vanderbilt 11-1 2.63 18 17 5 0 133.1 95 43 39 31 194 22 1 3 .199 4 12
Vanderbilt Career 22-10 3.23 56 44 313.0 238 126 112 441

Selected awards and honors[]

  • 2007 Roger Clemens Award Winner[5]
  • 2007 Golden Spikes Award Winner[6]
  • 2007 Dick Howser Trophy Winner[7]
  • 2007 Baseball America College Player of the Year[8]
  • 2007 American Baseball Coaches Association National Player of the Year[9]
  • 2007 American Baseball Coaches Association First Team All American[9]
  • 2007 Brooks Wallace Award Winner[10]
  • 2007 Baseball America College All-America First Team[11]
  • 2007 Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year[12]
  • 2007 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association First Team All-American[13]
  • 2007 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association District Player of the Year[14]
  • 2007 SEC Male Athlete of the Year[15]
  • 2007 SEC Pitcher of the Year[15]
  • 2007 First Team All-SEC[15]
  • 2006 Golden Spikes Award Finalist[16]
  • 2006 Baseball America Summer Player of the Year [8]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Player Bio: Vanderbilt University", vucommodores.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
  2. David Boclair (2008-07-06). Is this Vanderbilt? No, just Jackson for Price and fans. The Tennessean. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.
  3. Davidson, Art. "On Baseball: Paying the Price", Metrowest Daily News, 2007-07-07. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
  4. 2007 Draft Report. MinorLeagueBaseball.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  5. Price Takes Fourth Roger Clemens Award
    Watch New 2007 Highlight Video :: Junior ace completes sweep of top collegiate baseball awards
  6. Graham, Chris. "Vanderbilt's Price wins baseball's 'Heisman'", The Tennessean, 2007-06-30. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  7. Patton, Maurice. "Vanderbilt's Price wins Howser Award", The Tennessean, 2007-06-14. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Fitt, Aaron. "Price's excellence almost defies words", Baseball America, 2007-06-15. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Price named ABCA Player of the Year. Vanderbilt University (2007-06-18). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  10. "Price Receives Brooks Wallace Award", vucommodores.com, 2007-07-04. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
  11. Fitt, Aaron. "College All-America First Team", Baseball America, 2007-06-15. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  12. Patton, Maurice. "Price named national co-player of the year", The Tennessean, 2007-05-31. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  13. NCBWA Announces 2007 Pro-Line Cap All-America Team. National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (2007-06-13). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  14. NCBWA Names 2007 Division I District Players of the Year. National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (2007-06-08). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Price, Abbott Named SEC Athletes of the Year. Southeastern Conference (2007-06-20). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  16. Five finalists announced for Golden Spikes Award. ESPN.com (2006-06-01). Retrieved on 2007-06-30.

See also[]

External links[]

Preceded by:
Luke Hochevar
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft
2007
Succeeded by:
Tim Beckham
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