A look at the Golden Bears MLB Draft Prospects

Cal is in the midst of a huge day for their baseball program- not only are they fighting for a spot in the super regional, but today is also the day of the MLB Draft, where many of the team’s stars will be selected.

Erik Johnson has headlined the Cal rotation for three years, and now headlines the players eligible to be selected. He won’t be drafted in the first round, but he has an outside chance of hearing his name called in the supplemental round. That’s still not very likely, but I think he’ll be taken in third or fourth round and be a steal for somebody.

Shortstop Marcus Semien is the other candidate to be drafted highly. The junior will likely be taken in the first 10 rounds of the draft; I’d say the very highest he goes is the fifth, and that’s stretching it. He’ll find his home somewhere between there, and be a fine player.

Dixon Anderson’s stock has dropped since his sixth round selection a year ago, but he’s still a MLB Draft prospect. He’s probably dropped out of the first 10 rounds with struggles, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him drafted between the tenth and twentieth rounds. He hasn’t completely lost the stuff that made him coveted by the Baltimore Orioles.

I really like Chadd Krist’s pro potential, but where he is drafted is still a question mark. He’s rated as the #17 college catching prospect in the draft by Baseball Draft Report, and they peg the guy directly above him (Matt Rice) going after Round 25. Krist might go a little bit ahead of that, but probably not in the first fifteen rounds. I still think he could turn out to be a decent starter or backup in the majors.

Others: Seniors Kevin Miller and Austin Booker could get drafted, but not in a high round…contributing juniors from this season such as Matt Flemer, Chad Bunting, Joey Donofrio, and Danny Oh will likely return to school and not be drafted.

While it’s exciting to see the players  we’ve watched don the blue and gold make it to the show, we’d also like to see them return to finish their education and play out their senior years. I’ll get more in depth on those issues after the draft.

The Bears have plenty of talented players with pro potential, but not like the plethora of talent that other Pac-10 schools have. That just makes their achievements that much more impressive. Now let’s go out and root for these Bears at 4 today against Baylor as they try to continue their season. Go Bears!