He's a high school shortstop.
Kenny Diekroeger -- Kenny has been playing great all-around ball the entire week. Not only has he looked good on the field, but he was also the top SPARQ Rated athlete recording an 85.96 rating. Hitting balls to all fields with a nice gap stroke, Kenny has been the hottest hitter on the Gray team.
Kenny Diekroeger, Athlete of the Week (via paweekly)
It's not because the 4.0 grade point-average student lacks college aspirations. It's simply because he has already been accepted by Stanford University to play baseball for the Cardinal on a four-year scholarship.
"I've worked really hard to get to this point,and to be rewarded like this is awesome," says Diekroeger.
But uh...
The shortstop — who hit .464 in his junior year and was named the most valuable player on his team — attributes much of his baseball success to his consistency as a fielder. "Any hitter can have his ups and downs, but I try to keep my fielding at 100 percent at all times," he says. "I think I did pretty well at that."
He didn't do badly at the plate, either, hitting eight doubles, six triples and six home runs in his junior year. He was named to the all-county first team by the San Mateo County Times.
Despite his success, Diekroeger says he still needs to improve his plate discipline. "Sometimes I waste at-bats by swinging at bad pitches," he says.
Apparently he suffered a knee injury this season:
The standout senior suffered a knee injury sliding headfirst into second base and will likely be forced to miss the rest of the baseball season.
Lancaster:
tborays... "Unless I'm a top-round pick and offered a big bonus, I won't even consider it. I really want to go to Stanford."
That's polar-LeVon, but you can't really blame the kid. I mean, he's got a Stanford education one step away.
Kenny ran a blistering 6.68 60 yard dash, and added a phenomenal 34.9 inch vertical leap. As a baseball player, Diekroger is acceptable as a SS but his actions are not exceptional. With his remarkable overall athletic ability, Diekroger may be a better fit as an OF. Kenny showed flashes of interesting hitting ability, but he needs to improve at the plate and develop consistency in his approach and results.
There is little doubt that given his athleticism, Kenny will eventually be drafted in an early round. If his bat advances quickly, that will occur in June 2009. If his bat takes longer to develop, that will occur after 3 years in a college program
Sounds like a freak.