San Jacinto College has been a baseball powerhouse for years. With alumni like Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte on their outfield wall, there is an aura of greatness that surrounds the Gators field. With 5 National Championships and 26 JUCO World Series appearances, it’s pretty simple; they produce talent. Having over a dozen guys appearing on draft boards this year, San Jac was able to get a pair of LHP’s drafted in the abbreviated draft. Luke Little was taken in the 4th round as the 117th pick by the Chicago Cubs. Mitchell Parker got popped in the 5th round as the 153rd pick by the Washington Nationals.
Mitchell Parker - Washington Nationals - Rd. 5 Pick 153
Mitchell Parker’s two years at San Jac were lights out. As a freshman, Parker struck out 111, walked 45, and allowed only 11 earned runs over 64 and one-third of an inning. After sporting a 1.54 ERA his freshman campaign, he was slated as the Gators #1 guy for the 2020 season. Through 30 and one-third of an inning struck out 64, walked 18 and allowed only 4 earned runs. With a 1.19 ERA and 18.99 K/9 ratio, he was fulfilling the role of an ace.
Parker was primarily a fastball pitcher in high school. With flashes of really good breaking pitches, pitching coach Woody Williams wanted to work with Parker on his command of those pitches. Coach Kory Koehler commented on Parker’s work ethic and use of his BCTeam profile saying, “He always wants to learn. He’s always trying to be better”. When Parker stays in the zone he is near unhittable. He held batters to a Whiff% of 46% and a ZoneContact% of only 28% which is 50% less than the Division 1 average. Standing at 6’4” and possessing a deceiving motion, hitters are kept off balance and struggle to find a rhythm in the box. Parker is a four-pitch pitcher equipped with a fastball, changeup, curveball, and a wicked splitter. The Nationals landed a great pick with Mitchell Parker.
Luke Little - Chicago Cubs - Rd. 4 Pick 117
Luke Little caught some national attention when a video of him throwing 105 mph went viral.
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1271246264248795137
On his BCTeam profile we have him clocked at 97 with a spin rate of 2522 rpm’s in one inning of work against Wharton County CC. Along with an above average fastball, Little flashes a slider and a changeup. His changeup sits around 85mph and spins at 2000-2250 rpm’s. His slider sits around 82 mph and spins at 2300-2400 rpm’s. Although Luke only had a handful of pitches on his BCTeam profile, he was able to spot differences on his release point dispersions between pitches.
Standing at 6’8” and with an average extension of about 6’9”, everything he throws gets on you in a hurry leaving hitters uncomfortable in the box.
You will be seeing these names for years to come.