VYPE Hot 20 Baseball & Softball Players: No. 6 Bradie Baker, Mesquite Poteet

The Dallas/Fort Worth area is a hotbed for baseball and softball talent, so VYPE.com/DFW took on the task of ranking the top 20 baseball and softball players entering the 2009 season. Today's pick is: 6. Bradie Baker, senior pitcher, Mesquite Poteet — The all-state selection nearly won 30 games, finishing with a 29-5 record, a 1.03 ERA and 300 strikeouts. She also batted .446 with 30 RBIs. She was the District 10-4A MVP and helped Poteet reach the regional finals. Previous picks were: 7. Zach Lee, junior pitcher, McKinney — The two-sport star — Lee is also being recruited to play quarterback as one of the top players in the area — is an unbelievable pitching prospect who has pitched for Team USA summer before last. He finished last season with a 7-1 record, an 0.30 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings. Opponents also fear his stick when he plays first base. 8. Matt Lipka, junior outfielder, McKinney — Lipka played for Team USA's junior team this past summer. A two-year starter at McKinney, he batted .370 last year with four home runs and 24 RBIs. He is also a star receiver for the Lions. 9. Taylor Jones, junior pitcher, Plano East — Jones had the best season of what was a good group of hurlers in 9-5A, earning district pitcher of the year honors. She was 24-5 with an 0.68 ERA and 238 strikeouts. She's also a threat at the plate with a .435 average and 30 RBIs. 10. Drew Harrison, senior infielder, Waxahachie — Harrison had a ridiculous season last year at the plate, batting .504 with 19 doubles, nine home runs and 62 RBIs for the 4A state runner-ups. "Drew shouldn't be in the shadow of anyone," Indians coach Tracy Wood said. 11. Christina Roosmalen, senior infielder, Plano West — The Southern Miss signee has been a top player at Plano West since her freshman year. She exploded last year, earning 9-5A Offensive Player of the Year and all-state honors. Roosmalen, who plays first base and outfield, batted .408 with 140 hits, including 25 doubles, seven triples and eight home runs. She also recorded 87 runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .592. Roosmalen posted back-to-back 52 hit seasons as well as back-to-back seasons of 30-plus runs batted in. 12. Max Muncy, senior infielder, Keller — The Baylor signee was a first-team all-district pick for the area champion Indians. The left-handed hitter batted .371 with eight home runs and 39 RBIs last season. He had a .765 slugging percentage. He played for the D-Bat 17-under team coached by former Ranger Rusty Greer. Muncy batted .435 with nine homers this summer. 13. Ronnie Mitchell, senior outfielder, Southlake Carroll — Mitchell wasn't a big producer last season, but he had a big game in the 5A state final loss to Plano West and an excellent summer. Mitchell went 3-for-4 with three runs scored against Plano West and if Carroll had won may have ended up being the tournament MVP. 14. Zak Hermans, senior pitcher, Coppell — The left-hander doesn't overpower hitters, but that doesn't mean he can't dominate opponents. Herman was the 6-5A MVP last year after going 9-2. He went most of the season allowed only one earned run. He had a 1.06 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. 15. Austin Elkins, senior infielder, Coppell — Elkins signed with Dallas Baptist and is the fifth Coppell baseball player to make the top 20. He was the top hitter for the Cowboys last season, batting .459 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs. He also can run; he had 22 stolen bases. 16. Brianna Rodriguez, junior pitcher, Rowlett — Rodriguez had the typical stats you would expect from an ace softball pitcher. She was 19-3 with an 0.51 ERA and 189 strikeouts. She was the pitcher of the year in District 10-5A. She's also a threat at the plate. She batted .422 with 21 RBIs last season. 17. Kathy Shelton, senior infielder, McKinney North — Shelton is a dual-sport athlete; she's also an accomplished volleyball player. She was the 9-4A MVP and VYPE's MVP last year while leading the Lady Bulldogs to their second consecutive district title and third straight regional final. The Baylor signee hit .467 with three home runs, 21 RBIs, 40 runs and 41 stolen bases. 18. Ryan Ford, junior infielder, Plano West — Ford can flat out punish the baseball. The left-handed hitter had some of the longest home runs in recent memory during the Wolves' playoff run that ended with a 5A state championship. He had nine home runs and 62 RBIs for a powerful offense that helped produce Plano West's first baseball state title. It will be up to him and outfielder Blake Parker to keep the West offense going after so many top seniors graduated to play college baseball. 19. Vonnie Martin, junior infielder, Plano — Martin is the single-season home run record-holder at Plano and has committed to Fresno State. She hit seven home runs last year for the Lady Wildcats and batted .393 with 40 RBIs. She was all-district pick last year. 20. Andrew Blum, junior pitcher, Plano West — Blum started the state championship game as a sophomore and also had several huge performances in the playoffs. "He's going to be a big-time pitcher," Coach Kendall Clark said. Blum is being recruiting by top programs such as Florida and Miami, Fla. He was 7-0 last year with a 1.12 ERA.