BATON ROUGE, La. — The fruits of Brent Rooker’s labors are expected to come tonight.
The Mississippi State baseball team’s first baseman is expected to hear his name called in the first two rounds of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft, which will begin tonight. More MSU players are expected to be selected in rounds 3-10 Tuesday and 11-40 Wednesday, but Rooker, a redshirt junior, is the most likely to get offered enough money to leave school early.
Frankie Piliere, D1baseball.com’s National Prospect Writer, expects Rooker to get selected late in the first round or early in the second round.
Most draft prognosticators, including ESPN’s Keith Law, don’t have Rooker as a first-round selection. Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects ranks Rooker 45th. Its most recent mock draft has Rooker as a supplemental first-round draft pick, going No. 35 to the Minnesota Twins.
Rooker went 0-for-3 with a run scored and a walk Sunday night in a 14-4 loss to No. 4 national seed LSU in Game 2 of the NCAA tournament’s Baton Rouge Super Regional. He finished the season with a .387 batting average and 23 home runs and 82 RBIs. He led the Bulldogs in 10 offensive categories, including doubles (30), total bases (201), slugging percentage (.810), on-base percentage (.495), and stolen bases (18).
Piliere still thinks an outright first-round selection is possible.
“Just by teams that are going out looking for a polished college bat,” he told The Dispatch. “When you have a guy that’s put up those numbers in the SEC, it’s hard to argue what he’s done.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of scouts who are out there looking for college bats that really like him. Rooker’s going to get a lot more value than I think a lot of people realize.”
Center fielder Jake Mangum is a rare draft-eligible true sophomore, having already turned 21 years old. He followed winning a Southeastern Conference batting title as a freshman by hitting .325 this season while playing with a broken hand for the second half of the league schedule. His 15 doubles are tied for second on the team. His 14 stolen bases are second on the team.
Piliere said Mangum’s draft position is “a tricky case.” Given Mangum’s two years of eligibility remaining, he has the leverage to ask for more money than what’s typical for his eventual draft position.
“On talent alone, if he was in his junior year and was a more typical-aged college prospect, I think he’d have to go somewhere in the first two rounds,” Piliere said. “If he doesn’t go in those first couple of rounds, he could slide down a ways because nobody wants to waste a pick on a guy they’re not going to be able to get to sign.”
Mangum and Ryan Gridley, MSU’s junior shortstop, share the position of being likely draftees with eligibility remaining. While the decisions will come in the next few days, there have been no secrets among them and MSU coach Andy Cannizaro for weeks now.
“It’s something we talk about all the time. It’s a subject I never shy away from,” Cannizaro said. “Gridley and Mangum will have a decision to make. We’ve had meetings back and forth with both guys. On a selfish note, I hope to God both of those guys are back next year.”
Gridley strikes Piliere as an under-the-radar prospect.
“The tools don’t jump off the page at you, but as consistent a player as he’s been, the numbers he’s putting up in the SEC and what he’s able to do defensively (attract attention),” he said, “I’ve got to think there’s a team in the first six or seven rounds that would love to get him on board. Whether that’s enough for him, we’ll see. I think he might be a little bit of a sleeper product. I don’t think anyone’s quite noticed his value yet.”
In the case of both Mangum and Gridley, Piliere pointed to the case of Rooker. Rooker was drafted in the 38th round by the Twins in last year’s draft, returned for MSU and is now due a drastic increase after a nationally recognized season.
Piliere said senior catcher Josh Lovelady and utility player Cody Brown are candidates to get drafted in the later rounds. Brown hit .323 and had 26 extra-base hits in 64 games. He also showcased his versatility by playing multiple positions in the infield and outfield.
Piliere also said MSU has a surprise draftee on its roster.
“I got a lot of questions from scouts when I was down there asking what I thought of Harrison Bragg,” Piliere said. “Physically, he’s a very good-looking player, but he’s proven to be very raw, especially in the early part of the season. Whenever you see a guy with those physical tools, you know he’s going to attract scouting attention.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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