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DRAFT 2008 - STATE-BY-STATE PREVIEW
OKLAHOMA

2008 FOLLOW LIST

OVERVIEW: The primary college programs in the state, Oklahoma State (42 wins), Oklahoma (34), Oral Roberts (45) and Oklahoma City (57), all enjoyed their accustomed success this spring. The three Division I teams advanced to the NCAA tournament, while Oklahoma City made another spirited run to an NAIA World Series title, falling just short. All the schools provided a solid, if not particularly high-ceiling lineup of prospects for scouts this spring.

The relationship between those programs and the high schools and junior colleges in the state is a curious one, however, as a very significant portion of their four rosters came from out-of-state, much of it through transfers. Only two of the 21 college prospects listed on the attached state follow list are originally from Oklahoma (Oklahoma State’s Jordy Mercer and Rebel Ridling) and one of those, Ridling, left the state for junior college before returning. The state’s top two junior prospects this year, Western Oklahoma slugger Juan Carlos Perez and righthander Jeremy Penn, came from the Dominican Republic by way of New York City and the British Virgin Islands.

This year’s high school class supports the case as the two top prep prospects, righthander Bobby Bundy and lefthander Brian Flynn, have signed with Arkansas and Wichita State, respectively.

But it is hard to argue with success, and there is no question that the four college elite programs have all been very successful and should continue to be so in the future.

Next year should also be a very good year for Oklahoma as Oklahoma State lefthander Andrew Oliver will be on the short list of top college pitchers in the country, and Oklahoma righthander Andrew Doyle and Oral Roberts righthander Jerry Sullivan are also highly regarded. Enid High righthander Tobin Mateychick should rank among the nation’s top high school pitching prospects, according to early reports.

STRENGTH: College depth, especially catching.
WEAKNESS: Draftable high-school talent.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 3.

Best Out-of-State Prospect, Oklahoma Connection: Sawyer Carroll, of, U. of Kentucky (Attended high school in Tulsa).
Top 2009 Prospect: Andrew Oliver, lhp, Oklahoma State U.
Top 2010 Prospect: Davis Duran, if, Oklahoma State U.

Highest Pick, Draft History: Mike Moore, rhp, Oral Roberts U. (1981, Mariners/1st round, 1st pick).
Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: Brett Anderson, lhp, Stillwater HS (Diamondbacks, 2nd round).
Highest Pick, 2007 Draft: Pete Kozma, ss, Owasso HS (Cardinals/1st round, 18th pick).

Best College Team: Oklahoma State.
Best Junior College Team: Western Oklahoma.
Best High School Team: Owasso.

TOP PROSPECTS / By David Rawnsley

GROUPS (College, Junior College, High School)
 1 Premium-round draft (Rounds 1-3)
2 High-round draft (Rounds 4-10)
3 Mid-round draft (Rounds 11-25)
GROUP ONE
Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
1 Jordy Mercer SS/RHP Jr. R-R 6-3 190 Oklahoma State Taloga Dodgers ’05 (26) 8/27/1986
SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): Mercer has professional ability as both a pitcher and shortstop—and has been used extensively in both roles in college and summer competition. He hit .250-1-6 as a part-time shortstop for Team USA during the summer, while also going 0-0, 1.12 in 10 relief appearances with a walk and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings. As a sophomore at Oklahoma State, he hit .299-5-24 while going 3-1, 3.81 with three saves. Mercer is more advanced as an everyday player as he has athletic actions in a tall, lanky frame. He has a contact-oriented approach at the plate with a slight uppercut swing, but lacks bat speed and will chase pitches out of the zone. He needs to fill out his fragile build to improve his power potential. He has quick feet with soft hands and average arm strength, but has a somewhat unconventional approach to fielding ground balls as he remains too upright. On the mound, Mercer pitches like an infielder—appropriate since he often enters a game directly from shortstop and almost never takes a bullpen, even in practice. He has good arm strength with command of a fastball in the 91-93 mph range, touching 95. His slider is erratic; on some days, it’s a solid second pitch; on others, it’s flat and hittable. He will continue to be used as OSU’s closer in 2008.—ALLAN SIMPSON
UPDATE (5/15): Mercer is a glass half-full/half-empty type of prospect, especially as a shortstop. He does everything well enough, especially throw the ball, but doesn’t do anything so well that you get excited about him. Most of scouts’ concerns are about his swing, which can be long and undisciplined, and results in a lot of empty at-bats though he had a better two-strike approach this spring. He hit .328-10-52 (entering the NCAA tournament), but was not one of the Cowboys main offensive threats. He also went 0-2, 4.86 with a team-high nine saves but made only 15 appearances. Still, he’s a tall, lanky 5-tool shortstop—even if all his tools grade out around average—and that will guarantee Mercer a high draft position. The mound will remain a fall-back option as Mercer is pretty much a raw thrower with plus fastball velocity and competitiveness.—DAVID RAWNSLEY
 


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