After finishing his 2009 campaign with an ERA under 1, Kyle Bellamy is receiving his due credit. The righty closer for the Miami Hurricanes has been named first team All-America by three different organizations, Baseball America, Rivals.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

Bellamy was taken in the 5th round of the recent 2009 draft by the White Sox and is not expected to be a difficult sign. Bellamy was nearly cut from Miami’s roster as a freshman walk-on in 2007, but switched to a sidearm delivery that has made him a star. At 6′5″, his delivery makes it extremely difficult for righties to pick up the ball, but lefties haven’t faired much better against him in college.

As a freshman, Bellamy was unable to harness any sort of control with his new delivery and had an 8.68 ERA in 9.1 innings. Upon mastering the sidearm technique, Bellamy became a stud set-up man for then closer and 2008 Twins’ first round pick Carlos Gutierrez last season. That year he struck out 75 and walked just 13 in 63 innings. Bellamy had 3 saves and a 1.86 ERA.

This year the success continued, but from the role of closer. Bellamy converted all 16 save opportunities he had this year and kept opponents to a paltry .147 batting average. In 46.1 innings he struck out 63, walked 20 and posted a filthy 0.97 ERA.

Bellamy’s success is a result of good movement on his pitches and deception from his delivery. His fastball can get up to 90, but sits more in the 88-89 range, and has a lot of sink. Lefties have struggled with his frisbee slider, but it will likely need improvement if he is going to be more than a righty specialist. His drop in control this year is a concern, but if he can improve that it seems like Bellamy should be a quick riser in the minors.

Regardless of the scouting report, it’s no surprise that with stats like Bellamy’s the awards and accolades will pile up. Along with his All-America honors, he was also named a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award. Bellamy was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, both for best college player as well as the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award. Last summer Bellamy earned a spot for the collegiate version of Team USA.