Prep baseball: Players to Watch

Kellen Sweeney (Cedar Rapids Jefferson): Just a matter of how long he'll remain a J-Hawk. Senior shortstop is a certain pro draft pick, likely in the top five rounds.

Jon Keller (Cedar Rapids Xavier): See above. Senior pitcher with the low-90s fastball is a Nebraska commitment but a possible high-round MLB draft pick.

Dakota Freese (Cedar Rapids Washington): Washington lost just about everyone to graduation from its state tournament team last season. They have one of the area's top pitchers here, though. He went 11-2 with a 1.08 ERA in 2009.

Austin Christensen (Cedar Rapids Kennedy): Junior lanky left-handed hitting outfielder/pitcher is a Nebraska commitment, like Xavier's Keller.  Hit .394 last season and was 6-1/1.94 ERA on the mound.

Sean Moore (Iowa City West): How's this for a junior season? A .518 batting average, 14 home runs, 10 stolen bases ... oh, and he won three games pitching.

Ryan Rumpf (Iowa City West): The Trojans' No. 1 pitcher in 2010. Won eight games with a 2.28 ERA last season as a sophomore.

Adam Prybil (Iowa City High): Senior first baseman was an all-district pick after hitting .460 with 14 doubles and six home runs last season.

Kelly O'Rourke (Williamsburg): Junior was 6-2 with a 1.31 ERA in 10 pitching appearances last season as a sophomore. Struck out 71 in 58 2/3 innings.

Eric DeSousa (Dyersville Beckman): Senior helped Beckman to the Class 2A state championship game with a 13-2 record and 1.83 ERA on the mound. That was good enough for second-team all-state honors.

Brandon Shulista (Solon): Pitcher went 12-1 with a 1.63 ERA, striking out 83 in 68 2/3 innings as a sophomore.

Caleb Edwards (North Tama): A first-team all-stater in Class 1A by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. Third baseman hit .427 with four home runs and 12 stolen bases.

Jordan Hohensee (BGM): Here's some eye-popping stats for you. Senior pitcher went 10-2 last season with a 1.07 ERA and struck out a whopping 131 batters in 84 2/3 innings. A second-team all-stater in 1A by the IHSBCA.