Gamecock Pitcher Projected To Go In 1st Round of MLB Draft
As hard as it to scout during this time, MLB.com has made prediction of this year's draft and South Carolina fans could hear one of their own in the first round.
Right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski is predicted to go to the Atlanta Braves with the 29th pick.
Mlodzinski had a 5.59 ERA during his first two years at USC, but his profile has noted improvement.
"The redshirt sophomore has smoothed out his three-quarters delivery since high school and did a much better job of repeating his mechanics during the summer. He's athletic and his arm works well, so there's no reason he shouldn't have good control," his draft profile stated.
The draft has been condensed to just five rounds and South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said that new draft format could change the entire landscape of college baseball.
“The challenge for all college baseball coaches around the country now will be to manage your roster get within the compliance limits that we all have,” he said. “A big piece of that is the Major League Draft which has shrunk from 40 rounds to 5 at this point. So you may see more high school kids attending college. You’re probably going to see a lot more seniors and juniors returning to college that would’ve normally moved on to pro baseball. So that is a challenge for coaches around the country is how to manage the roster situation."
The MLB is reportedly entertaining moving the draft as well as the season to June.