Hit parade — Here are Valley's 20 toughest players to get on the outs

According to the offensive statistics compiled by Utah Valley's prep baseball teams, there are a lot of Ted Williamses around here stepping into the batter's box each game.

There are currently 15 valley players hitting above that benchmark .400 batting average, the number Williams reached in 1941. He was the last Major League player to hit that mark, and some feel it will never happen again — at least in the big leagues.

So why is hitting above .400 so common in Utah preps? Well, first, it's high school ball and not the Major Leagues. Mainly, with the exception of Timpanogos' Tyson Ford and Springville's Mark Pawelek, no other pitchers carry that "unhittable" reputation. For the most part, a whole lot of average pitchers are taking the mound each game and concerned more about throwing strikes than amassing strikeouts — which is not necessarily a bad thing.

But without that fear or intimidation in the box, good hitters become great hitters. That doesn't mean that some of those hitting above .400 are not great hitters, but they're not yet in the category of Ted Williams. But all of the .400 hitters, and those who are hitting between .300 and .400, are very good hitters.

Coaches and pitchers know the ones who give them biggest challenge with the bat. Some are .400 hitters and some are not. Most hit the ball hard and almost always put the ball in play. It's just very difficult to get a strike past them.

Here's a list of who we think are Utah Valley's 20 toughest outs and most-feared hitters. Depending on whom you ask, several others easily could have made this list.

KYLE ANDRUS, Spanish Fork: Second in the Dons' order, Andrus is the perfect guy to advance runners or knock them in or get a rally started. He's batting .420, with an on-base percentage of .533, and only six strikeouts and 13 RBIs in 16 games.

LUKE ASHWORTH, Timpview: Perhaps the top overall athlete in the valley, Ashworth not only hits for average (.444) but hits with power. He's a hard line-drive hitter, with four doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs. He might play baseball for BYU next year.

PAT BAILEY, Lone Peak: One of those rare line-drive hitters with surprising power. He's currently batting .488, has an amazing slugging percentage of .930 and on-base percentage of .532. He has eight doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs.