A lot of attention being paid to Reggie Crawford and the draft, which is certainly no surprise. However, UConn has several other players who will get attention in the upcoming draft. Most notable would be Austin Peterson, Pat Gallagher, Erik Stock, Matt Donlan, and perhaps others as well. As always, the draft will be interesting.
UConn connections:
-> Reggie Crawford, LHP/1B, UConn
The two-way star missed all of this past season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, making him one of the biggest mysteries in the draft. No doubt he has first-round talent, and teams haven’t shied away from Tommy John guys as high picks. Still, there’s a very limited track record on the 6-foot-4, 235-pound talent. He played just 64 games over two seasons for the Huskies, hitting .309 with 14 homers. On the mound, he threw just 7 2/3 innings two seasons ago as a sophomore, striking out 17, walking just three, and allowing five hits and two earned runs. In the Cape Cod League that summer, he dazzled with a fastball that sat in the mid-90s and touched 99 MPH, along with a plus slider in the mid-80s, before undergoing Tommy John last fall. He’s ranked the No. 59 overall prospect by Baseball America, No. 66 on ProspectsLive.com, No. 80 by MLB.com.
“If you pass on that kid in the first round, I just don’t know what you’re doing,” UConn coach Jim Penders said. “There’s so much upside there. And there’s so little mileage on the body. He’s played one college season, really. He’s going to explode when he gets into an organization.”
Still, if Crawford doesn’t get selected as high as he’d like, he has a fallback option: Earlier this week,
he announced he was transferring to Tennessee, where he could boost his stock (and get some nice NIL money) next spring.
Keep an eye on: Los Angeles Angels. And not just because they boast the ultimate two-way star in Shohei Ohtani. Virtually every MLB team has contacted Crawford, but the pitching-starved Angels have been most ardent. Don’t forget, the Angels drafted all pitchers last year and are dying to get enough arms to help Mike Trout get back to the postseason someday. The Halos own the No. 13 overall pick. <-
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Other potential Day 2 or 3 draft picks:
Austin Peterson, RHP, UConn: Righthander Set UConn single-season record with 147 strikeouts and tied for second in single-season program history with 11 wins.
Pat Gallagher, RHP, UConn: Leominster, Mass. producted was 11-3, 3.41 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 103 innings this season.
Matt Donlan, C, Guilford/UConn: Transfer from Stonehill is a defensive stopper, throwing out 22 runners and picking off five in 61 games.
Erik Stock, OF, UConn: Virginia native hit .371 in his career, third-best in program history.
David Smith, INF, UConn: LaSalle transfer hit .307 with 64 runs in 66 games. <-