5 Collegiate Hitters to Know for the 2016 MLB Draft

Kyle Lewis, OF, Mercer

MLB.com Rank: 3rd | Keith Law Rank: 8th

We just spilled a whole lotta metaphorical ink slobbering over Corey Ray, but he wasn't even the best player in college this year, according to Baseball America. That honor went to Mercer's Kyle Lewis, and it's not hard to understand this decision.

Looking through the NCAA's Division-I statistical leaderboards is going to turn up Lewis' name with regularity. He's currently tied for sixth in homers with 20, fourth in on-base percentage (.535), and second in slugging percentage (.731). Over the course of 301 plate appearances, he posted a 15.9% strikeout rate while walking a whopping 21.9% of the time. He didn't flash the same steal totals as Ray, but Lewis' power seemed to be a bit more robust.

While Ray was off with Team USA, Lewis was finding success in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Lewis finished his 150 at bats with a .300/.344/.500 slash with that .500 slugging percentage representing the third-best mark in the league. He launched seven dingers, good for fourth in the league, and this was all before he had his breakout as a junior at Mercer.

The final advantage that Lewis may hold over Ray is age. Ray was born in September of 1994 with Lewis following in July of 1995, making Lewis 10 months Ray's junior. If there's any further development in Lewis physically, that could help settle a near deadlock between the two, but both figure to be solid hitters at the next level.