College Baseball

The 2013 College World Series is drawing to a close, with UCLA holding a 1-0 series lead over Mississippi State entering Tuesday's Game 2, but the future for some of the best and brightest players in Omaha is incredibly exciting. 

The San Francisco Giants didn't select any high-ranking prospects in the 2013 MLB draft. Nonetheless, two of their picks will be showcased this weekend in the College World Series.

Stanford ace right-hander Mark Appel is likely to be the first overall pick of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft for the Houston Astros next week.  I scouted Appel at Sunken Diamond back in March when Stanford hosted USC.

I sat behind home plate and charted each of his 113 pitches using the stadium radar gun.  Appel threw a complete game, allowing six hits, two walks, and two runs, while striking out seven.  He induced eleven grounders, eight flyballs and six line drives. 

The first two games of the 2010 College World Series will be played this Saturday.

For Cubs fans, however, the first game of importance might come Sunday night when the Clemson Tigers face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

That game, which will be aired on ESPN at 7pm Eastern Time, will feature the Cubs' 29th round draft pick Casey Harman. The left-handed ace of the Clemson pitching staff this year, he put together a 7-2 record with an ERA of 3.95, a .239 opponent batting average, 7.71 K/9, and 2.78 BB/9.

Although college sports prospects are typically young, they must be mature. Today’s society is much different than it was 30 years ago, when I was a prospect. 

Today, student athletes are forced to develop personal management skills to balance their hectic schedules.

Beyond the high school playing experience, now, there are a multitude of private club options.