Several Bulldogs could be draft picks
Brent Rooker could be playing professional baseball right now. Mississippi State's slugging first baseman was selected in the 38th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins last year, but elected to return to school this season. It's safe to say at this point that was the right call.
Rooker, the man who has paced the entire Southeastern Conference offensively all year long, headlines the list of Bulldogs who could be picked by MLB teams over the next three days as the MLB Draft starts tonight.
Rooker will almost assuredly be the first MSU player to hear his name called. Most mock drafts have Rooker going somewhere in the first three rounds. Some even include him as a possible first-round choice. If that happened, Rooker would become MSU's 14thever player taken in the first round.
No matter where or when Rooker goes, Mississippi State head coach Andy Cannizaro believes that team is picking an outstanding ballplayer.
“Rooker is into every pitch,” Cannizaro said of Rooker earlier this year. “He's dialed in. He's constantly figuring out pitch patterns, what's going on and who's in the bullpen. Brent Rooker is a tremendous college baseball player. He's an outstanding, off-thechart makeup guy.
“He is a pleasure to coach every single day.”
Rooker isn't the only State player that might get picked sometime before the draft wraps up on Wednesday. Junior shortstop Ryan Gridley and sophomore outfielder Jake Mangum will likely be chosen as well, though both would arguably be more likely to return to MSU than a possibly highly-picked Rooker.
Gridley has developed into a star for State. He was selected an All-SEC Freshman two years ago and has consistently gotten better. This season, along with playing an outstanding defensive shortstop, Gridley has powered MSU's offense from both the three-spot in the batting order, as well as the leadoff hole.
“There is just tremendous leadership ability,” Cannizaro said of Gridley. “He's a 4.0 student with baseball instincts off the charts. You start combining that with the ability to
play the game and it's special. He has really good bat speed. His swing is in the zone for a really long time. He is a confident defender. He comes and gets the baseball as well or better than anybody in our league at shortstop. He has instincts to run the bases and good speed and those types of things.”
Mangum is a draft-eligible sophomore as he is already 21-years-old. His
skills could very well make him highly drafted as well. After being chosen the SEC's Freshman of the Year in 2016, Mangum kept on hitting in 2017 and was once again an invaluable piece for Cannizaro's Bulldogs.
“Jake Mangum is a stud,” Cannizaro said earlier this season.. “He is a bonafide superstar in college baseball right now.”
Other Bulldogs could hear their names called in the draft as well, but it's unlikely this year's draft will hit MSU's
roster the way last year's did. In 2016, a school record 11 Bulldogs were drafted. Rooker was the only one of those players to return to Mississippi State. It was a decision that reaped dividends.
“Personally, I thought I had more to accomplish at the college level,” Rooker said earlier this year about returning to MSU. “My goal is to make it to the big leagues, it's not to get drafted, so I thought coming back to school another year and having that year of development was a big key for me.”