The MLB draft will take place June 8-10, and several Rebel players are eligible.
In most major sports, players must declare themselves for the draft and are then ineligible to return to school no matter where they are drafted. Baseball, however, is different in that no player eligible to be drafted has to declare himself, and is free to return to school if he is not drafted, if he is not satisfied with the salary or team that picked him. The Major League Baseball Draft is also different in that there are a whopping 40 rounds with over a thousand players selected.
The biggest name eligible for the draft from Ole Miss is senior first baseman Sikes Orvis. Orvis excelled as a power hitter for the Rebels the past two seasons, leading Ole Miss is home runs and RBIs each year. While he was able to increase him home run total from 14 his junior year to 16 his senior year and match his RBI total with 53, his batting average dipped from .294 to .264. While this probably hurts his stock some, Orvis’s potential at the plate should still net him at least a late round selection.
Junior pitcher Christian Trent is the biggest story to watch for Ole Miss in the 2015 MLB Draft, because, should he be drafted, he will have the choice to return to school, where the Rebels could certainly use him in the rotation next season. Trent had an outstanding sophomore season for the Rebels, starting 17 games for the Rebels and maintaining a 2.05 ERA and going 9-0 on the season. Trent struggled some in the following season, posting a 7-7 record in 15 games with a 3.74 ERA this season. Trent could still be drafted due to his impressive potential and excellent sophomore campaign, but could also slip after a tough season this year, and choose to come back to school and improve his draft stock.
Senior Scott Weathersby is also an interesting prospect from the Rebels, as he had two solid seasons on the mound with the Rebels, mostly in relief appearances. His junior year he played in 20 games and posted an ERA of 2.13, allowed his opponents to hit just .207, and had a record of four-and-one. This past season, Weatherby appeared in 17 games with four starts, with an ERA of 2.62 and held his opponents to hitting .216 against him. Weatherby’s senior year is especially impressive when you account for him moving from the bullpen to the starting rotation and still maintaining stats similar to his junior year. Overall, not being a full time starter means that Weathersby will more than likely be a late round pick as well, but could still be an excellent pickup late in the draft.
Senior catcher Austin Knight had the tough task in taking over for previous Ole Miss catcher Will Allen, who had an outstanding career with the Rebels and was drafted in the 13th round by the Detroit Tigers. Knight played in over 20 games in each of his three previous years with the team, but moved into the starting lineup full-time his senior year. Knight had a good junior year as a reserve, hitting .303, and put together a solid senior year, starting 43 games and hitting .259 on the season. If Knight is drafted, it will most likely be in the latter rounds of the draft.
