Sept. 1, 2009

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee baseball program was well represented on the listing of top summer league prospects released by Baseball America on Tuesday afternoon, as juniors Bryan Morgado and Blake Forsythe were tabbed as the fifth and 18th-best prospects in the Cape Cod League and on Team USA, respectively.

After redshirting the 2007 season, Morgado has played a prominent role on the Tennessee pitching staff for the last two years. The third-round selection of the Chicago White Sox in the 2009 MLB Draft held this past June, Morgado proved himself as a strikeout artist in 2008, finishing the season ranked third in the SEC with 104 punchouts. He also posted an impressive 11.66 strikeouts per nine innings to rank among the national leaders in that category.

In 2009, the Miami, Fla., native started five games and made 15 appearances out of the bullpen for the Volunteers. He finished the year with a 4-2 record, a 6.36 ERA and two saves, while striking out a team high 75 batters in 52 1/3 innings.

This summer, Morgado's talent was on full display in the prestigious Cape Cod League, where he helped lead the Bourne Braves to their first league championship. During the regular-season portion of the schedule, he saw action in eight contests, starting six games. In 32.1 innings, the hard-throwing left-hander allowed just 17 hits, while striking out 47 and walking just 15. He finished with a 3.06 ERA and a 2-1 record. In his lone playoff appearance, Morgado twirled 5.2 shutout innings against the Orleans Firebirds on Aug. 8, striking out four as the Braves picked up a 3-2 victory.

A Memphis, Tenn., native, Forsythe earned first-team All-SEC laurels from the coaches in 2009. The 6-2 catcher recently finished a summer-long stint with USA Collegiate Baseball National Team, where he hit at a .293 clip with a pair of home runs and nine RBIs. He also walked 21 times in as many games, en route to an impressive .500 on-base percentage.

After only seeing action in 22 games as a freshman, Forsythe started 53 of 55 games behind the plate for Tennessee this past spring, turning in career numbers. He hit .347 with 68 hits, 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. He also led the team with 40 walks and a .486 on-base percentage. Forsythe collected 19 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games. He also finished the season on an 11-game hitting streak during which he went 19-for-40 (.475) with 10 RBIs, four doubles, three home runs and nine walks.

BA ranked the top 30 prospects for the talent-rich Cape Cod League, and the top 10 prospects in 17 other summer college leagues. In addition, the top 20 Team USA prospects were ranked. The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with 29 players ranked, followed by the Atlantic Coast (19 players), Big 12 (17), and the Pacific-10 (15). Full scouting reports for all 220 players who appeared in the rankings are available to subscribers at www.baseballamerica.com.