Mack Ade – Dylan Covey, Colin Poche, Marco Gonzalez, MLBDC Top Prospects, Rock Rucker

by Mack | Posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2013

This is a big season coming up for all college juniors but none have more riding on it than San Diego pitcher Dylan Covey.

Covey had an outstanding high school career (Maranatha) and was drafted as the 14^th selection overall by Minnesota. He found out four days before signing that he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and his whole world changed overnight.

Covey took a step back, declined the San Diego ‘offer’ and decided on college instead, but the road there hasn’t been smooth either. A 7.60 2011 ERA has settled into a 2012 stat line of: 17-G, 16-ST, 6-3, 3.32, 81.1-IP, 50-K, 43-BB.

I asked Covey what both he and the team had in store for us this year and wanted to get his thoughts before beginning the most importing pitching year of his young life:

“Mack, obviously this season is huge for the Team and I. Coming off from a rather disappointing end to the season last year only made all of us want to work harder and be excellent during the offseason. I’m very excited for this year because of the improvements we have made and the adjustments I have made from a pitching standpoint. The last two years have not exactly gone according to plan but I know what I’m capable of and can’t wait to show how the hours and hours of work have paid off.”

From the local Fayetteville rag:

A pair of Arkansas baseball players were arrested Sunday and charged with shoplifting. Colin Poche and Adam Meyer were booked in the Washington County jail at 7:26 Sunday night after being arrested by Fayetteville police. Both were later released on a $565 bond. According to the arrest report, Meyer and Poche attempted to steal sandwiches and two cases of beer from the Walmart Supercenter located on Martin Luther King Blvd. in Fayetteville. Brandon Meredith, identified as one of the store’s loss prevention officers, told police he witnessed Poche place two cases of beer in a tote bag before both removed price labels from sandwiches they had picked up from the deli and disposed of them in a trash can.

Poche was a fifth rounder last year but decided to go to college instead. We all know how character has become the issue in schools these days, so this is going to cost him big-time. Both are freshman, so it will be interesting to see how the school handles these infractions.

For you players out there… there’s no place for the sense of entitlement that comes along with being a star for a local baseball team. Your job is to lead by example, not be the ass these two have showed they are.

Me? I’d throw them off the team and let them play for a JUCO team to be named later.

Another of the big names out there for the 2013 draft is Gonzaga’s left-hand pitcher Marco Gonzalez. He quickly became the ace of the staff and, in 2012,, gave us quite the impressive stat line of: 12-G, 12-ST, 8-2, 1.55, .201-b/ave., 92.2-IP, 92-K, 23-BB. He also hit

.325/.372/.430, in 151-Abs.

I asked him to confirm to me that he was ‘sitting at 90’ going into the season can we look for anything new this season?

His response was both honest and candid:

“Hey Mack, Yeah that’s correct, I sat 90-91 and touched 93 over the summer and this fall. I haven’t been under the gun yet this offseason, but I definitely feel stronger and firmer than ever before. My workouts have been vigorous and tuned to strengthening my shoulders, core, and legs, and I feel ready to go. And ultimately, I’m healthy, which is the more important thing! I feel confident in my ability to throw strikes with every pitch I have, and I’m looking forward to adding a little more velocity this spring. The numbers on the gun are important, however, it’s the way you build your other pitches around the fastball that really matter.”

MLB Draft Countdown (http://mlbdraftcountdown.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/top-40-college-prospects-to-watch/) listed their top 40 college players in the upcoming draft. Here’s the first seven:

■Mark Appel, RHP, Stanford

■Ryne Stanek, RHP, Arkansas

■Sean Manaea, LHP, Indiana State

■D.J. Peterson, 3B/1B, New Mexico

■Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego

■Colin Moran, 3B, North Carolina

■Austin Wilson, OF, Stanford

USABaseball‏ – @USABaseball

CarlosRodon16 with Eric Campbell of USA Baseball after winning RaleighHotStove College Player of the Year

OF Rock Rucker enters Auburn University this year as a freshman member of the Tigers. He disappointingly went undrafted last year out of Russell County, Georgia, after being ranked the 128^th high school prospect by Perfect Game. Being sophomore eligible, Rucker will only have to play two seasons to make his college mark and no one wants to get off with a bang more than The Rock”

“Mack, the thoughts of my first year of college baseball have been all over the places these past couple of months. I am hoping to contribute this year whether it be at the plate or on the mound. We focused a lot on TEAM this fall so I am looking to help where I can. Opening day is February 15 and I can’t wait! War Eagle!!”

Stanford closer AJ Vanegas had surgery Friday to repair herniated disc in back. Cardinal says no clear timetable for return