Anthony Servideo Talks Draft, Bianco's Advice and How Playing in the SEC Prepared Him
Anthony Servideo is officially a member of the Baltimore Orioles.
After being drafted in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Ole Miss, Servideo announced his decision to officially join the Orioles on Twitter on Monday. Later that afternoon, he sat down with reporters in Baltimore and Oxford to talk about everything that's happened in his life over past months.
As we all know, the 2020 Ole Miss baseball season, and thus Servideo's junior year, was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet at 16-1 as a team, Servideo was dominating college baseball, hitting .390 with 5 home runs in 17 games from the shortstop position.
He didn't get a third full season of SEC baseball, but playing at the SEC level at Ole Miss certainly will set him up well for the minors.
"Every night, we're facing the best of the best. Being able to compete against them and have success against them, it will translate to pro ball," Servideo said. "It'll help me feel comfortable playing in front of those large crowds. It helped me develop, 100-percent, and I'm excited to transfer my game from the SEC to pro ball."
This year's draft process was different.
The 2019 Draft, in more of a normal schedule, the draft took place starting the day after the Oxford Regional. If the Oxford Regional would have extended to Monday, the draft could have taken place during the regional clincher. As strange as that seems, it's kind of normal.
This year, as baseball ended abruptly on March 11 and never returned, Servideo had more than enough time to think and prepare for the draft. But honestly, he could've used the distraction.
"The process leading up to the draft, it was tough. It was a roller coaster," Servideo said. "Ever since the season ended, the draft has been on my mind. It's different. Playing the whole year and then the draft at the end of the year, you're focused on winning a national championship. You're not really focused on the draft. But I had a lot of time to think about it."
Regardless, Anthony Servideo is now an Oriole. His exact contract details are yet to be released or come public, but his draft slot in the third round conjures a signing value of $844,200.
For that reason, he is (and honestly should) be going pro. It's one thing Mike Bianco and the Ole Miss coaching staff has always been both honest and upfront about with players.
They're always there through the process, both for advice and honest truths. The one thing Servideo said they were super helpful this year with, is just mindset training.
"Focus on the things that you can control. That's a huge thing that we preach at Ole Miss," Servideo said. "If you focus on things you can't control, that's just wasted energy. The conversations between them were super supportive. They want what's best for me and my family and they want me to succeed. I was super thankful to have them by my side for support."
Anthony Servideo's hole at shortstop will be missed at Ole Miss.
But now, he'll get a great opportunity in a Baltimore Orioles organization that is very much in rebuilding mode.
More from The Grove Report:
Projecting the 2021 Ole Miss Baseball Lineup
How Terence Davis Became the Rare Undrafted Rookie Contributor
SEC Roundtable: The Biggest Changes on Offense Heading into 2020
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