Notebook: Cardinals Receive High Marks in Pre-Draft Rankings
December 03, 2015 | Baseball
Six Louisville players named to MLB Draft prospect lists; Ray, Funkhouser and Burdi ranked in the top 50 by MLBPipeline.com and Perfect Game
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With a little more than 11 weeks until opening day for the 2016 collegiate baseball season, Louisville players received high rankings in MLB Draft prospect lists released this week by MLBPipeline.com and Perfect Game.
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TRIO OF CARDINALS IN MLBPIPELINE.COM'S 2016 MLB DRAFT TOP 50
MLBPipeline.com released its 2016 MLB Draft early Top 50 prospects and three Cardinals are included with junior outfielder Corey Ray pacing the way at No. 5 overall. He is followed by senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser at No. 23 and junior pitcher Zack Burdi at No. 45. In an additional story on MLB.com, columnists Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo provide early predictions on how the top 10 selections in the 2016 MLB Draft could unfold. Callis tabs Ray at the No. 3 pick to the Atlanta Braves, while Mayo slots the Chicago native at No. 6 overall to the Oakland A's.
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SIX LOUISVILLE PLAYERS NAMED TO PERFECT GAME PRE-DRAFT LISTS
The week began with the release of Perfect Game's 2016 MLB Draft Top 150 College prospects on Monday featuring five Cardinals, including junior outfielder Corey Ray ranked No. 4 nationally and senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser at No. 6 overall. They were followed by junior pitcher Zack Burdi at No. 22, junior infielder Nick Solak at No. 99 and junior pitcher Drew Harrington at No. 130.
On Tuesday, those same five Louisville players were ranked among the Perfect Game 2016 MLB Draft Top 250 prospects, a list encompassing all draft eligible players. Ray was No. 6 on that list and was followed by Funkhouser at No. 10, Burdi at No. 34, Solak at No. 165 and Harrington at No. 219.
The final Louisville player to receive recognition from Perfect Game was sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay, who was ranked at No. 8 in the 2017 MLB Draft Top 100 prospects list. McKay was listed as a lefty pitcher for the ranking but is regarded by many MLB scouts and executives as a high-level professional prospect as both a pitcher and position player.
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D1BASEBALL.COM FALL REPORT ON THE CARDINALS
Last week, on the eve of Thanksgiving, D1Baseball published its fall report on the Cardinals. Reporter Shotgun Spratling, who visited Louisville during its Pizza Bowl series, recapped what he saw at Jim Patterson Stadium and what he learned from his interview session with Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell. Here is a brief look at what McDonnell and Spratling shared regarding Louisville's NCAA Super Regional loss in 2015.
"As a coach, you don't want to live in the past, but you hope to learn from it. I felt like from the dejection that we had, we went out and had a productive summer and to this point, we've had a productive fall," McDonnell said. "My hope is that we look back on that super regional, like Vanderbilt is looking back on the 2013 super regional, saying man it was a blessing that happened."
Instead of the Cardinals making a third-straight trip to the College World Series, the slate has been wiped clean, which McDonnell thinks is a positive because it has reignited the fire to get to Omaha. And Louisville definitely has the talent to make the return trip.
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ENGEL LEADS STRONG ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE OUTINGS BY LOUISVILLE ALUMS
A trio of Louisville baseball alumni made headlines in October and November as outfielder Adam Engel and pitchers Nick Burdi and Dean Kiekhefer registered strong performances in the MLB Arizona Fall League. Engel, who played for the Cardinals in 2011-13 and is currently in the Chicago White Sox organization, was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the AFL and led the league in hitting with a .403 average in 19 games. He also finished with a .523 on-base percentage with nine doubles, nine RBI and 10 stolen bases for the Glendale Desert Dogs. More on Engel's AFL performance is available at MLB.com.
Burdi, a righthanded reliever for the Cardinals from 2012-14 who currently pitches in the Minnesota Twins farm system, closed a successful fall by earning the save for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the AFL championship game against the Surprise Saguaros. It was the second title of the calendar year for Burdi, who played a key role in leading Double-A Chattanooga to the Southern League title in September. In eight regular season relief appearances in the AFL, Burdi did not allow a run while finishing with 11 strikeouts (to just one walk) and surrendering just two hits in 8.0 innings.
On the other side of that AFL championship game was Kiekhefer, a lefty for Louisville from 2008-10 and currently pitching in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. In nine relief outings for AFL runner-up Surprise, Kiekhefer had 14 strikeouts and only one walk while in 15.1 innings. He registered a 1-1 record with two saves and a 2.93 ERA and was mentioned by MLB.com columnist Jim Callis as one of prospects who shined in the AFL title game.
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FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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TRIO OF CARDINALS IN MLBPIPELINE.COM'S 2016 MLB DRAFT TOP 50
MLBPipeline.com released its 2016 MLB Draft early Top 50 prospects and three Cardinals are included with junior outfielder Corey Ray pacing the way at No. 5 overall. He is followed by senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser at No. 23 and junior pitcher Zack Burdi at No. 45. In an additional story on MLB.com, columnists Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo provide early predictions on how the top 10 selections in the 2016 MLB Draft could unfold. Callis tabs Ray at the No. 3 pick to the Atlanta Braves, while Mayo slots the Chicago native at No. 6 overall to the Oakland A's.
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SIX LOUISVILLE PLAYERS NAMED TO PERFECT GAME PRE-DRAFT LISTS
The week began with the release of Perfect Game's 2016 MLB Draft Top 150 College prospects on Monday featuring five Cardinals, including junior outfielder Corey Ray ranked No. 4 nationally and senior pitcher Kyle Funkhouser at No. 6 overall. They were followed by junior pitcher Zack Burdi at No. 22, junior infielder Nick Solak at No. 99 and junior pitcher Drew Harrington at No. 130.
On Tuesday, those same five Louisville players were ranked among the Perfect Game 2016 MLB Draft Top 250 prospects, a list encompassing all draft eligible players. Ray was No. 6 on that list and was followed by Funkhouser at No. 10, Burdi at No. 34, Solak at No. 165 and Harrington at No. 219.
The final Louisville player to receive recognition from Perfect Game was sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay, who was ranked at No. 8 in the 2017 MLB Draft Top 100 prospects list. McKay was listed as a lefty pitcher for the ranking but is regarded by many MLB scouts and executives as a high-level professional prospect as both a pitcher and position player.
Â
D1BASEBALL.COM FALL REPORT ON THE CARDINALS
Last week, on the eve of Thanksgiving, D1Baseball published its fall report on the Cardinals. Reporter Shotgun Spratling, who visited Louisville during its Pizza Bowl series, recapped what he saw at Jim Patterson Stadium and what he learned from his interview session with Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell. Here is a brief look at what McDonnell and Spratling shared regarding Louisville's NCAA Super Regional loss in 2015.
"As a coach, you don't want to live in the past, but you hope to learn from it. I felt like from the dejection that we had, we went out and had a productive summer and to this point, we've had a productive fall," McDonnell said. "My hope is that we look back on that super regional, like Vanderbilt is looking back on the 2013 super regional, saying man it was a blessing that happened."
Instead of the Cardinals making a third-straight trip to the College World Series, the slate has been wiped clean, which McDonnell thinks is a positive because it has reignited the fire to get to Omaha. And Louisville definitely has the talent to make the return trip.
Â
ENGEL LEADS STRONG ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE OUTINGS BY LOUISVILLE ALUMS
A trio of Louisville baseball alumni made headlines in October and November as outfielder Adam Engel and pitchers Nick Burdi and Dean Kiekhefer registered strong performances in the MLB Arizona Fall League. Engel, who played for the Cardinals in 2011-13 and is currently in the Chicago White Sox organization, was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the AFL and led the league in hitting with a .403 average in 19 games. He also finished with a .523 on-base percentage with nine doubles, nine RBI and 10 stolen bases for the Glendale Desert Dogs. More on Engel's AFL performance is available at MLB.com.
Burdi, a righthanded reliever for the Cardinals from 2012-14 who currently pitches in the Minnesota Twins farm system, closed a successful fall by earning the save for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the AFL championship game against the Surprise Saguaros. It was the second title of the calendar year for Burdi, who played a key role in leading Double-A Chattanooga to the Southern League title in September. In eight regular season relief appearances in the AFL, Burdi did not allow a run while finishing with 11 strikeouts (to just one walk) and surrendering just two hits in 8.0 innings.
On the other side of that AFL championship game was Kiekhefer, a lefty for Louisville from 2008-10 and currently pitching in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. In nine relief outings for AFL runner-up Surprise, Kiekhefer had 14 strikeouts and only one walk while in 15.1 innings. He registered a 1-1 record with two saves and a 2.93 ERA and was mentioned by MLB.com columnist Jim Callis as one of prospects who shined in the AFL title game.
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FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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