While Auburn's focus is on the upcoming NCAA regional, head coach John Pawlowski is trying to keep several players from thinking too much about the Major League Baseball draft, which starts Monday.“That’s the hardest thing to do,” he said. “Ever since you were a little kid you think about playing at the major league level. The draft never comes at a good time, but I think they’re pretty focused as far as what they do here, and the draft will take care of itself.”
The first round is Monday, the last potential day of the regional. The second through 30th rounds are Tuesday, and the final 20 rounds are Wednesday.
Several draft-eligible juniors should be selected from Auburn, with first baseman Hunter Morris, left fielder Brian Fletcher, center fielder Trent Mummey and designated hitter Kevin Patterson at the top of the list.
Morris, a second-round pick by the Boston Red Sox coming out of high school in 2007, is likely the only player of the group who could go on the first day. MLB.com said the SEC Player of the Year could sneak into the first round as a supplemental pick.
“For me, it’s all out of my hands now,” Morris said. “I’ve done everything I could to put myself in the right position for the draft, and however that works out is out of my control. So I’m going to think about it as little as possible and just focus on this regional and continuing to play as long as we can.”
The draft is obviously an inexact science, especially in baseball where financial factors play a huge role, so take these projections with a grain of salt. But here's one draft board's idea of where a few Auburn players might go:
- Morris: Rounds 1-3
- Patterson: Rounds 4-5
- Fletcher: Rounds 6-7
1 comment:
I surprised by that order. I was thinking Mummey would be the first Auburn player picked. He has pro baseball speed, a good glove, an adequate arm and on a per-bat basis has more home runs than Morris.
I guess that proves I'm not much of a baseball scout!
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