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While Washington's baseball team may have taken a small step back this year on the field with their 29-25 record and no post-season invitation, they have a couple of players that could go in the top 3 rounds of the MLB draft, and two more signed prospect that could also get picked early. Here are the current - and future - Husky players getting the most draft buzz:
Austin Rei - C, RHB, 6'0", 183 lbs, Jr
Name | Year | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG | SB | CS | |
Austin Rei | Jr | 2015 | 25 | 91 | 14 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 20 | 12 | 28 | 0.330 | 0.445 | 0.681 | 0 | 0 |
So | 2014 | 52 | 153 | 24 | 48 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 21 | 36 | 0.314 | 0.408 | 0.451 | 1 | 0 | |
Fr | 2013 | 23 | 50 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0.220 | 0.339 | 0.240 | 0 | 0 |
Rei hails from Moraga, CA and was a 38th round choice in the 2012 draft by Minnesota as a high school senior from Campolindo H.S. He battled a thumb injury this past year which limited his time behind the plate, but he's considered among the best backstop prospects in the draft with solid catch-and-throw skills combined with a pretty good bat. Here's a good article from earlier in the season detailing his comeback.
Rankings:
Baseball America: 68th overall, 1st in Washington
Major League Baseball: 87th overall
John Sickels MinorLeagueBall (SBNation): 163rd overall
Braden Bishop - OF, RHB, 6'1", 188 lbs, Jr
Name | Year | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG | SB | CS | |
Braden Bishop | Jr | 2015 | 49 | 193 | 38 | 57 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 23 | 36 | 0.295 | 0.394 | 0.440 | 15 | 5 |
So | 2014 | 58 | 217 | 43 | 66 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 12 | 31 | 0.304 | 0.394 | 0.359 | 21 | 3 | |
Fr | 2013 | 42 | 115 | 18 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 25 | 0.270 | 0.351 | 0.304 | 6 | 2 |
Bishop is from San Carlos, CA and was originally drafted in the 36th round of the 2012 draft by Atlanta out of St. Francis H.S. He's a plus defender with good speed and helped his OBP greatly by taking a lot of hit-by-pitches at Washington. He doesn't hit for power, so he'll need to get on base as a pro to provide some value on offense.
Rankings:
Baseball America: 150th overall, 3rd in Washington
Major League Baseball: 81st overall
John Sickels MinorLeagueBall (SBNation): 145th overall
Joe Demers - RHP, 6'2", 215 lbs, College Park High School (CA)
DeMers is a good-sized right-handed pitcher with a plus fastball, a pretty good curve and a developing change-up. He's hit the mid to upper 90's, though he's more commonly in the low 90's. Some feel the fiery competitor projects best in the bullpen, but he's still likely to go in the upper rounds and potentially forego his commitment to the Huskies.
Rankings:
Baseball America: 91st overall, 17th in the state of California
Major League Baseball: 90th overall
John Sickels MinorLeagueBall (SBNation): 96th overall
Karson Lindell - RHP, 6'1", West Linn High School (OR)
Lindell is considered the 2nd best prospect in Washington's 2015 Signing Class (behind DeMers). According to Head Coach Lindsay Meggs, Lindell "...may have the biggest upside of any player we have in the 2015 class".
Rankings:
Baseball America: 204th overall, 5th in the state of Oregon
Major League Baseball: not ranked in their top-200
John Sickels MinorLeagueBall (SBNation): 199th overall
If you want to follow along with the draft, here's all the info you need.