Around the diamond: MSU baseball notes
MacLeod picked to SEC Community Service Team
Mississippi State pitcher Christian MacLeod dazzled on the mound in his cut-short redshirt freshman season this spring. He was apparently just as effective off the field.
MSU's talented southpaw hurler was picked to the Southeastern Conference's Community Service team, the school announced on Monday. MacLeod earned the honor as a result of his contributions to a variety of area causes. He has participated in the annual Salvation Army Red Kettle program, is active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and spent time helping the Challenger League, which assists children with disabilities play the game of baseball.
Meanwhile, from the pitcher's mound earlier this year, MacLeod led the Bulldogs in strikeouts (35), innings pitched (21.0) and wins (4), while ranking first among qualifying MSU pitchers in ERA (0.86) and opponents’ batting average (.127). The left-hander held opponents to two or fewer runs in all four starts and fanned seven-plus batters in three of four starts. He issued one or fewer walks in three of four starts and allowed just two extra base hits all season.
Would MSU have hosted a regional?
Yes, at least according to D1Baseball (CLICK HERE FOR MORE). The outlet projected what the field of 64 would have been for this year's NCAA Baseball Tournament on Monday – which would have been the day the actual field was announced if not for the coronavirus pandemic shutting things down.
According to D1Baseball, the Bulldogs would've barely gotten the chance to hold postseason baseball at Dudy Noble. They were the final host in the field and paired up against would-be No. 1 national seed Florida, meaning if the seeding held, MSU would've eventually headed to Gainesville for a Super Regional with the winner of course going to Omaha.
Oh, what could have been. Instead, there's always next year...we all hope.
Latest MLB Draft projections
In the latest MLB Draft projection by MLB Pipeline released at the end of last week (CLICK HERE FOR MORE), no current Mississippi State players were predicted to be taken in the first round, though signee Austin Hendrick was projected to be picked 16th overall.
Justin Foscue, Jordan Westburg and J.T. Ginn – all current Bulldogs that have first-round potential in this year's draft – were each left out. However, MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo notes that there is a ton of uncertainty, particularly with teams picking in the back half of the first round. Mayo says, "there’s still some expectation that players with more of a track record, particularly college ones, will sneak upwards as teams grasp for as much certainty as they can find."
The five-round MLB Draft is set for June 10-11.
Currently, there are five players with Bulldog ties that seem to be the five biggest names to watch for come the event. These five guys are all rated as Top-50 prospects for the Draft according to MLB Pipeline. There is of course Foscue, Westburg, Ginn and Hendrick. Hendrick is actually the highest rated of those four guys, coming in at No. 13. Foscue is ranked at No. 32, Westburg is No. 37 and Ginn is No. 44. Also, signee Blaze Jordan is No. 42 on the list.