Getting right down to the wire before the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft here, we had a few interesting games going on in college baseball Monday night.
Pittsburgh Pirates fans have heard the name Hunter Renfroe very often recently, with many mock drafts listing him as their possible pick with the 14th overall selection. His Mississippi State team is still alive in the tournament, thanks to a 6-1 win over Central Arkansas. Renfroe had a nice game, going 3-for-4, with three singles, two RBI’s and a run scored. He is now hitting .352 on the season, with 58 RBI’s.
North Carolina and Florida Atlantic had a crazy game on Monday night. Going into the ninth inning, North Carolina was up 6-2 and playing as the home team. Florida Atlantic scored six runs, taking an 8-6 lead, only to see NC come back to tie it and send it into extra innings. In the 12th inning, FA scored three runs. NC came back in the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own. Finally in the bottom of the 13th inning, North Carolina won it with a bases loaded, one out single.
Third baseman Chris Moran went 1-for-5 on the night, though he did drive in one run and draw three walks.
Former Pirates draft pick, Kent Emanuel, gave up five runs in that ninth inning to give Florida Atlantic the lead. Emanuel threw 51 pitches in 1.2 innings, which is even more impressive/disturbing, when you realize he threw 124 pitches on Saturday against Towson.
Another couple former Pirates picks also put up similar numbers on short rest, though not as bad as Emanuel. On Friday night for Rice, Austin Kubitza threw 104 pitches, while Zech Lemond followed with 48 pitches in a win over San Francisco. They reversed roles on Monday, with the reliever Lemond throwing 105 pitches in a win over Oregon. Kubitza came in for the last 2.1 innings and threw 35 pitches. Rice won 11-4. Lemond was a 50th round pick of the Pirates in 2011, while Kubitza went in the seventh round in 2010.
Draft Notes
We posted two mock drafts from Monday, one by the editors at Baseball America and the other by Keith Law.
Keith Law’s mock draft had the Pirates taking Hunter Renfroe and Reese McGuire.
Baseball America had the Pirates taking Austin Meadows and Ryne Stanek.
Two of the better draft picks in this class failed their pre-draft drug test, including one huge name. Jonathan Gray, who may go first overall, and Aaron Blair, a starting pitcher for Marshall, both tested positive for Adderall. There is no suspension involved and the consensus is that it isn’t likely to hurt their draft stock.
