AU BASEBALL: Tigers try to stay focused as MLB Draft approaches
John Pawlowski has been in this position before, but it doesn’t make the task any easier.
As the pitching coach at Clemson, Pawlowski had the unenviable task of trying to maintain the focus of both ace starter Kris Benson and closer
Billy Koch mere hours after they were selected first and fourth, respectively, in the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. It worked out just fine that day, as Clemson eliminated Alabama, 14-13, in an elimination game at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
That positive experience, Pawlowski said, won’t make things any easier at this weekend’s NCAA Regional. As many as seven of his players will be just days away from hearing their name called at the 2010 MLB Draft, which kicks off with the first round Monday.
“That’s the hardest thing to do,” Pawlowski said. “Ever since you were a little kid and you put a bat and a glove on and swing a bat, you think about playing at the Major League level, you think about the draft and all those things and it’s tough to do.
“The draft never comes at a good time.”
For first baseman Hunter Morris, the draft could affect him personally on a very important day.
Morris, the SEC’s Player of the Year, is considered a lock to be selected in the draft’s first three rounds. One projection on MLB.com has Morris going as high as the supplemental portion of the first round, which is slated to take place sometime in the mid- to late afternoon Monday.
If Auburn advances to the championship game, but picks up a loss in the process, Morris, if selected in the first round, would be taking the field, like Benson and Koch, hours after finding out he’s due for a million-dollar payday.
“Hopefully, I can put that off until we’re done playing,” Morris said.
“I don’t want to be on edge and all that stuff about it. It’s all going to take care of itself. I’ve done everything I can to put myself in the right position.”
Morris had to play catch-up in the eyes of scouts after a sophomore year that he describes as the “worst baseball season I’ve ever had in my life.”
After playing out of shape en route to hitting .282 with 12 home runs, 33 RBI and 50 strikeouts, Morris arrived for camp this season 30 pounds lighter and was simply a monster at the plate from start to finish.
His 21-home run, 70-RBI season should be more than enough to at least get him back to where he was drafted out of high school, when the Boston Red Sox selected him 84th overall in the second round.
“I knew that last year was a fluke,” Morris said. “I haven’t from Day 1 ever regretted the decision to not go out of high school. I knew the experience I would get here would put me that much closer and that much more prepared for professional baseball.”
Outfielder Brian Fletcher went through a similar makeover process this season.
In 2009, Fletcher had the dubious distinction of leading the strikeout-happy Tigers with 76 — more than once per every three of his at-bats. This year, he brought a “more mature” approach to the plate, one that resulted in a .359 batting average — 0.58 points higher than 2009 — 20 home
runs, 70 RBI and 63 strikeouts.
Fletcher is projected by most services as a second-day selection, anywhere from the sixth through 10th round.
“It’s tough to avoid because it’s one thing you look forward to, especially in college, playing at the pro level,” Fletcher said. “I’m anxious and
excited at the same time, but I’m also excited for this regional coming up and being able to have an opportunity to go to the College World Series.”
Centerfielder Trent Mummey hated it at the time, but now calls the sprained ankle he suffered one week before the season a “blessing in disguise.”
Sure, it cost the 2008 Gold Glove winner 28 games to start the season, but it made what Mummey did through the second half of the season all the more impressive and noteworthy. In just 29 starts, Mummey hit 15 home runs, which ranks sixth in the SEC, while batting .371 with 47 RBI, a total that ranks third on the team.
“I had a lot of expectations for the year, so I was definitely worried when it happened,” Mummey said. “I came back really hot and it worked out.”
Mummey, like designated hitter Kevin Patterson, has vastly different draft projections depending on where you look. Mummey, though, doesn’t want to put his professional career in peril for a second time.
“It’s hard to turn down money,” Mummey said. “It’s definitely something I’ve been working for my whole life.”
agribble@oanow.com | 737-2561
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