Florida Draft Insider: Long Break For Rodgers, Tucker
May 7, 2015
By Nathan Rode and Rob Sidwell
In relative terms, the high school season in Florida is early. Games are underway by mid-February and a state champion is declared before the calendar turns to June. Teams that don’t make it beyond their district tournament pack it in before it’s even May. That means it’s possible for some draft prospects to be done playing in games six weeks before the draft happens. It’s nothing new and plenty of high profile players have seen their seasons end early because of it, but the situation is in the spotlight again this year. SS Brendan Rodgers (Lake Mary HS, FL) and OF Kyle Tucker (Plant HS, FL) both played their last regular season games in April with their teams losing in the district tournament. So two players that will be high picks won’t play in a game until the state all-star weekend at the end of May, if they even decide to participate. Much has been said on this topic, but is there really an impact? Florida scouting director Rob Sidwell, who scouted the state for major league organizations for 18 years, weighs in with his opinion.