■ Draft Schedule:
June 6, 7 p.m. ET
Round 1, First-Year Player Draft, Secaucus, N.J.
June 7, noon ET
Rounds 2-30, First-Year Player Draft
June 8, noon ET
Rounds 31-50, First-Year Player Draft
You can follow the entire draft live on
MLB.com and by following
@MLBDraft on Twitter.
I'll be following the draft all day Tuesday and Wednesday and will provide updates here on
SimmonsField.com and on
Twitter (@trripleplay) as MU players or MU recruits are named in the draft.
■ Draft eligible current MU players (to be eligible a player at a 4-year college must have completed his Junior year OR have reached the age of 21 prior to Draft Day)
Players in
BOLD are listed on MLB.com's pre-draft
Draft Tracker (as of 6/2)
- Ryan Ampleman, C (SR)
- Brad Buehler, RHP (SR)
• Was drafted by Tampa Bay in the 43rd round in 2007
- Brian Carr, LHP (JR)
- Ryan Clubb, RHP (JR)
- Jeff Emens, RHP (JR)
- Kelly Fick, LHP (SR)
- Ryan Gebhart, OF (JR)
- Zach Hardoin, LHP (SR)
- James Hudelson, RHP (JR)
- Jeff Lusardi, OF/IF (RS SO)
- Conner Mach, IF/OF (JR)
- Phil McCormick, LHP (SR)
- Andreas Plackis, C (RS SO)
- Dusty Ross, RHP (JR)
- Jesse Santo, SS (SR)
- Jeff Scardino, LHP (SR)
- Jonah Schmidt, OF (SR)
- Matt Stites, RHP (SR)
• Was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 33rd round of the 2010 draft
• Ranked #178 in Baseball America's 2011 Draft Top 200
- Andrew Thigpen, IF (SR)
- Ben Turner, C (SO)
■ Mizzou Recruits eligible for the 2011 Draft (All graduating high school seniors and all junior college players are eligible for the draft)
- Kyle Barbeck, LHP; 6-1; 191 lb; L/L Northeast Texas Community College ('11); Ole Miss ('09,'10); Blue Springs HS (MO) - Former prep teammate of Nick Tepesch
- Jake Busiek, LHP; 6-2 180 R-L Lafayette Eureka MO
- Justin Byrd, C; 6-1;' 205 lb; R-R Arapahoe High School, Denver, CO; California-Berkeley (09-10) Green River Community College (2011)
- Jeff Cline, RHP; 6-3 195 R-R Maple Woods CC
- Brett Graves RHP; 6-1 170 R-R Francis Howell St. Charles MO
- D'Andre Heggie 3B; 6-0 195 R-R Blue Springs South Blue Springs MO
- Tyler House RHP; 6-5 205 lb L-L; Rich Central HS, Olympia Fields IL
- Jake Ivory C/OF; 6-1 160 R-R Francis Howell HS St Louis MO
- John Miles RHP; 6-3 210 R-R; Rock Bridge HS, Columbia MO
- Nick Moore IF; 6-0 170 R-R; Benet Academy HS, Lisle, IL
- Brandon Platts RHP; 6-4 210 R-R Mason City Mason City IA
- Patrick Quintanilla, C; 6-2 180 R-R Southlake Carroll HS (Dallas-FW area)
- Jeff Soptic, RHP; 6-6 220 R-R Johnson County Community College
• Was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 43rd round of the 2009 draft
• Ranked #110 in Baseball America's 2011 Draft Top 200
- Gavin Stark, 1B; 6-4 220 L/L Fort Scott Community College
- Brett Thomas, RHP/SS; 6-2 190 R-R Oak Ridge HS, Oak Ridge, MO
■
State Preview: Missouri (PerfectGame.com)
Missouri’s 5-foot-11 righthander Matt Stites and slender Missouri State second baseman Kevin Medrano head up a mediocre college draft drop, even though Stites produced no better than a 3-5, 3.69 record this season, though did strike out a team high 72 batters in 85 innings. Despite his small frame, Stites has an unusually live arm and easily the best stuff and command on the Missouri staff. He can mix four pitches, including a low-90s fastball.
. . .
PROSPECT ON THE DECLINE: The University of Missouri roster. There was a time in the recent past when Missouri was churning out first-round draft picks on an annual basis, and attracting choice recruits from all across the Midwest. Those days seem to have disappeared.
. . .
TOP 2013 PROSPECT: Rob Zastryzny, lhp, University of Missouri
. . .
Top Prospects: #6. BRETT GRAVES, rhp, Francis Howell HS, St. Charles; + athlete, dual-threat D-I QB prospect, also plays SS; fast/loose arm, 89-91 FB/T-93, CU/CH are developing.
■
High school baseball standouts decide between college and pro (American Chronicle)
At least 26 local graduating seniors have committed to play baseball at Division I schools. A handful of those players may be drafted.
One is Brett Graves, a Francis Howell pitcher and shortstop who was recently named the Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year. He's also bound for the University of Missouri, having signed a letter of intent in November. For his family, the issue of staying true to the scholarship offer or pursuing the pro route is a matter of weighing the options.
"It comes down to opportunity," Scott Graves, Brett's father, said. "Does it seem like a good opportunity? ... Obviously some of it comes down to money and balancing the opportunity against the Mizzou education."
■
No draft dodger (Columbia Tribune)
Rock Bridge pitcher John Miles might receive a call this week. The right-handed Missouri recruit was invited to the Philadelphia Phillies predraft camp along with high school teammates Ryan Phillips and Landon Clapp.
■
A month from MLB, Platts ready for all scenarios (Globe Gazette)
His fastball has been clocked at 91 mph and Perfect Game, a scouting service, gives him a 10 rating, meaning he is a potential very high draft pick and a top D-I prospect.
He signed with Missouri in November, but where the 6-foot-4, 210-pound right hander winds up isn’t set in stone.
“The draft is a funny thing,” Platts said. “There’s been guys that go in the 10th round that were supposed to go in the 20th round.
“And there’s guys that go in the 20th round that were supposed to go in the 10th round.”
. . .
“It’s exciting, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too much,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen, I have a really good thing at the University of Missouri.
■
More intriguing sleepers for the 2011 Draft (minorleagueball.com)
Jeff Soptic, RHP, Johnson County Community College: 6-6, 210. Big guy with a mid-90s fastball and good slider. He has a University of Missouri commitment and might end up there if he doesn't go high enough this year. 4.50 ERA with 58/31 K/BB in 56 innings, 41 hits; command issues are the main problem.
