Missouri Players Hopeful To Hear Their Name Called at the MLB Draft

The 2013 MLB Amateur Draft will kick off tonight with Round 1 and 2 selections tonight, Round 3-10 tomorrow, and Round 11-40 on Saturday. 

Missouri looks to be well represented in the 2013 draft, with a handul of players expected to be selected over the course of the next few days.

Players we expect to see drafted include:
RHP Devin Williams-Hazelwood West HS- Anticipated to be selected late 1st round to early 2nd round. Williams possesses a long lanky body with a loose arm. His fastball is consistently in the low 90s and has jumped from time to time to 93-94 mph. Williams has an extremly high ceiling and we wouldn't be surprised to see one of the Missouri teams (Royals or Cardinals) scoop him up early.

LHP Jacob Brentz-Parkway South-Anticipated to be selected mid 2nd to late 3rd round. Even though he is still learning how to pitch, Brentz has incredible arm speed and genetrates a mid 90's fastball. He will be a but of a project, but it will be tough for teams to pass on a stong left handed arm with a high ceiling as he continues to develop

RHP Brian Howard-St. Louis University High-Anticipated to be selected round 6-10. 6-foot-9, 205-pounds is hard to overlook and hard to come by. Howard is a polished pitcher who continues to fill his frame and should have a consistent low 90's fastball in the next year or so. 

C Tanner Murphy-Malden HS-Anticipated to be selected round 6-10. Murphy has the makings of a catcher who has the ability to play at the professional level. Solid behind the plate, strong arm with pop times consistently sub 2.0, and a power bat have Murphy high on many a draft board.

1B/3B Drew Bridges-Carthage HS-Anticipated to be selected round 8-12. Perhaps the most powerful bat in Missouri, the left handed hitting Bridges projects as a first baseman at the professional level and his bat has opened eyes of scouts from quite a few different teams.

OF Evan Gruener-Logan-Rogersville- Anticipated to be selected round 11-15. Gruener is a five tool player right now, and still has room to improve. A team looking for a polished outfielder early in day three of the draft shouldn't overlook Gruener.

MIF Brad Jelinek-Warsaw- Anticipated to be selected round 12-16. A bit of a wildcard here, Jelinek is a polished fielder with a good bat. He still has plenty of room to fill out his frame, and projects well at the next level.

RHP Calvin Munson-Francis Howell- Anticipated to be selected round 15-20. Munson found his groove this season, sitting upper 80's to low 90's all year, and showing dominance on the mound. He has an incredibly strong lower half and generates quick arm speed on the mound. He is committed to play football at San Diego State next year, but is open to baseball if he is selected early in day three.

RHP Dan Herrmann-CBC- Anticipated to be selected round 17-22. One of the best arms in Missouri, Herrmann flashes a low 90's fastball, we have seem him as high as 93-mph. Control issues plagued him this season and dropped his stock a bit, but with the right organization, Herrmann has the frame and ability to be a power arm and successful at the next level.

LHP Dalton Moats- Park Hill- Anticipated to be selected rouund 20-25. Moats has a high ceiling and potentially the makings of a solid professional pitcher. He has an upper 80s fastball that touches low 90s, and compliments it with good control of his offspeed pitches. With a lanky frame, there is plenty of room to fill out and add a few more miles per hour on to all of his pitches.

Other Missouri players to keep your eyes out for during the draft include:
OF Lex Kaplan- Ladue
3B Nathan Winfrey-Liberty
3B Matt Brown-Vianney
1B Dre Gleason-Ft. Zumwalt North
 OF Austin Verschoore-Ft. Zumwalt West
MIF Logan Gray-Rockhurst
RHP Storm Rynard-Raymore-Peculiar