INDIANA

2007 FOLLOW LIST  

OVERVIEW:Indiana has an excellent group of high school pitching prospects, headed by righthander Jarrod Parker, one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the draft and a potential top 10 pick in the first round.

 

Actually, it seems as if every high school pitcher in Indiana of note has come on strong this spring, not just Parker. Six-foot-7 righthander Sean Green could be a surprisingly high pick and fellow righthanders Brock Huntzinger and Drew Storen are also potential top 5 round picks, although Storen’s Stanford commitment makes that problematical.

 

The same cannot be said for Indiana’s college group, which saw disappointing years from Evansville and Notre Dame matched by inconsistent performances by the top college pitching prospects, notably Indiana State ’s Chad Dawson and Ryan Tatusko. Many of the state’s top 2008 pitching prospects like Notre Dame lefthander Sam Elam and Kyle Weiland, and Purdue’s Josh Lindblom also faltered.

 

Overall, the situation at the Indiana college level looks strong. Notre Dame and Evansville have solid talent bases and had new coaches this year, while Indiana and Indiana State similarly had fresh coaching staffs who are pumping energy into those programs.

 

Don’t look for any hitters to be picked from Indiana in the first 10 rounds. That type of prospect doesn’t appear to exist in the state unless some team has taken a particular liking to a high school position prospect such as shortstop T.J. Baumet, giant first baseman Ty Adams or shortstop Ethan Wilson and thinks it can get the signability done.

 

STRENGTH: High school pitchers.

WEAKNESS: College hitters.

OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 3.

 

Best Out-of-State Prospect, Indiana Connection: Tommy Hunter, rhp, U. of Alabama (Attended high school in Indianapolis ).

Top 2008 Prospect: David Phelps, rhp, U. of Notre Dame.

 

Highest Pick, Draft History: Andy Benes, rhp, U. of Evansville (1988, Padres/1^st round, 1^st pick); Brian Bullington, rhp, Ball State U. (2002, Pirates/1^st round, 1^st pick).

Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: Preston Mattingly, ss, Evansville Central HS (Dodgers/1^st round; 31^st pick).

 

Best College Team: Evansville .
Best High School Team: Brownsburg HS.

 

TOP 20 PROSPECTS / By David Rawnsley

 

GROUPS (College, Junior College, High School)

      1   High-round draft (Rounds 1-3)

      2   Mid-round draft (Rounds 4-10)

      3   Late-round draft (Rounds 11-25)

      4   Chance draft / Player to follow

 

GROUP ONE

Rank  Player                                  Pos.       Yr     B-T      HT     WT     School                              Hometown                 Drafted/(Commit)       B’date

     1.   Jarrod Parker                     RHP      Sr.     R-R     6-1     175      Norwell HS                       Bluffton                       (Georgia Tech)            11-24-88

SCOUTING REPORT: Parker garnered plenty of attention last summer and was one of the final pitchers given Aflac All-American consideration before the final roster was set, but no one expected him to come on like he has this spring. He has taken his low 90s fastball into the mid 90s with consistency and touched 97-98 in most outings before increasingly large gatherings of scouts. Part of the surprise over Parker’s improvement is that he is a slender-framed, six-foot righthander and looks more like a shortstop prospect. But Parker throws with minimal effort and a quick-and-easy arm action and doesn’t stress his frame. His breaking ball is a low 80s slider that has sharp, tight spin most times and he shows a feel for a changeup. Parker is very aggressive pounding the strike zone early in counts and doesn’t have any command issues. Unlike another slender righthander in this draft with plus-plus velocity, Florida ’s Michael Main, Parker does everything easily and with some feel. He’s been talked about by teams in the top couple of draft slots and seems certain to be among the top high school pitchers drafted.