2011 Draft: MU and the 1st 30 rounds

In the first 30 rounds of othe 2011 MLB Draft, Mizzou saw one current player and 3 recruits drafted by major league organizations.

The signing deadline for drafted players is August 14th. We may not know for sure on some of the drafted players whether they're going to sign or not until close to that deadline.

The remaining 20 rounds of the draft will be held today, beginning at 11:00 AM Central Time. You can follow the draft live at MLB.com. I will again be monitoring the draft all day and posting Mizzou-relevant news here on SimmonsField.com and on Twitter.

■ Matt Stites was drafted by the San Diego Padres organization as the 533rd overall pick in the 17th round of the MLB Draft.

It appears almost a certainty that Stites will sign with the Padres and move on to the next part of his career. On Twitter last night, he posted this: @MUBallaz: Off to the #Padres! Couldn't be happier! Thanks for all the good wishes!

Here's a Tip of the Cap from all Tiger fans to Matt. Thanks for being a Tiger in 2011!

Mizzou Recruits in the Draft

■ Jeff Soptic, RHP, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox organization as the 110th overall pick in the 3rd round of the MLB Draft.

This was no surprise. Soptic was expected to be drafted high, and is expected to sign.

■ Brandon Platts, RHP,was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as the 392nd overall pick in the 13th round of the MLB Draft.

Some posts on Twitter seemed to indicate people who know him expect him to still go to Mizzou

■ Brett Graves, RHP, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals organization as the 800th overall pick in the 26th round of the MLB Draft.

According to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the other day, it looks like Brett and his father are prepared to take a careful look at which option provides the best long-term "opportunity" for him. It will be harder to choose since it was his hometown Cardinals that drafted him.

An article in this morning's Post-Dispatch quotes Graves: "I don't think I could go wrong either way," Graves said. "It's going to be with good coaching, good support, good facilities, good everything to make myself better. It will come down to what they can offer. ... As of right now I'm a Missouri Tiger."

■ I like this quote from a fan with close ties to the Tigers, @GoJL16 on Twitter

Can u say "Legion of Doom" RT:“@MUTigerBaseball: Tough choices for Soptic, Platts, & @BGraves05. Will be a stout staff if they make it to MU