CF’s Pearson an early-draft favorite – Ocala

By John Patton Correspondent

The 40-round Major League Baseball draft will take place Monday through Wednesday, and the first local selection is expected to be College of Central Florida right-handed pitcher Nate Pearson.

At 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, Pearson regularly had fastball readings in the 97 mile-an-hour range and, according to MLB.com consistently hit triple digits in a bullpen session in late May.

Rated the No. 13 overall prospect by Baseball America and 35th by MLB.com, Pearson has been able to locate his fastball for strikes, and the only thing that could keep him out of the first round is his complementary pitches.

"His secondary stuff, however, has been inconsistent," written in the scouting report at MLB.com. "He throws both a slider and a curve, though the latter is his fourth pitch, and on some days he has two distinct, effective breaking balls. At other times, they run together, and it might serve him well to focus on just one at the next level. His changeup has improved, but it also comes and goes.

"There is an injury history with Pearson he had a screw put in his right elbow in high school but he's been nothing but healthy and durable in junior college. There's some debate over whether his future lies in the rotation or out of the bullpen, where his stuff would play up, but there's bound to be a team that believes he can start that will take him in the early rounds."

Pearson is the No. 2 rated player in Florida, according to both services, behind only UF ace Alex Faedo.

Fellow CF pitcher Jackson Stoeckinger, a 6-4, 205-pound lefthander, who has signed with Kentucky, is the 351st-rated prospect by Baseball America and also should be drafted. Additionally, former Forest outfielder Joshua Greene, a 5-10, 185-pound senior at High Point, also could be taken.

The recent high school graduates most likely to be selected are Forest's 6-3, 200-pound righthander Hunter McMullen, a Florida signee, and 6-3, 190-pound outfielder Andrew Eyster, a Santa Fe College signee.

Eyster said he has heard from around 20 teams with some requesting he fill out information forms and others like the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals working him out and/or making in-home visits.

"You never really know, but I have been told I could be a second-day pick between the fifth and 10th round," said Eyster, who hit .530 with 35 RBIs and six home runs to earn the Star-Banner's 2017 player of the year award.

Eyster said he and his family "came up with a signing bonus number" that would make him consider foregoing SFC, but for now, it is wait-and-see.

The Star-Banner's 2017 pitcher of the year, McMullen throws two- and four-seam fastballs, as well as a curveball and a change-up. He said his fastball hit 95 during the season, and at a Perfect Game showcase on Oct. 20 he peaked at 92, putting him in the top 98.58-percent of all pitchers in his high school graduating class.

McMullen said he is hearing he could go between the 10th and 15th rounds with the Blue Jays, Cubs, Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox "and maybe one or two others" reaching out most often in the pre-draft process.

He said he plans on attending UF but added "going in the top five rounds or getting offered first- or second-round money" could change that.

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CF's Pearson an early-draft favorite - Ocala