Southeastern Louisiana JR C Jameson Fisher
Incarnate Word SR 1B Ethan McGill
Lamar SR 2B Reed Seeley
Central Arkansas SR SS Nate Ferrell
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi JR 3B Cody Clarke
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rSR OF Tyler Ware
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR OF Kyle Danford
McNeese State SR OF Andrew Guillotte

New Orleans JR RHP Kevin Kelleher
McNeese State rJR RHP Kaleb Jon Fontenot
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR RHP Jacob Dorris
Nicholls State JR LHP Grant Borne
Incarnate Word JR RHP Geno Encina

It doesn’t often reflect well on a conference when their best professional position player prospect is in the middle of a season lost entirely to labrum surgery. The Southland Conference is currently dealing with this stigma, but thankfully a handful of bats are doing what they can to make up for the loss of the nominal top prospect. In fairness, Southeastern Louisiana JR C Jameson Fisher is a really, really good prospect. The injury is an undeniable bummer not only because it’s a year of lost development in a critical time for a player’s long-term future but also because it brings further into question his long-term defensive home (even more than his raw glove originally did). If Fisher can’t catch, I don’t know what to think about him as a pro prospect. Like many college backstops, so much is dependent on how long and how well they can hold up defensively behind the dish. I believe in Fisher’s bat as being potentially league average or better both in terms of contact rates and power upside, but the doubt about his defense is an issue not to be taken lightly. I know nothing about Fisher’s mindset heading into June, but if I had to guess I’d assume that it’s very unlikely that a team will draft him high enough (and offer enough cold hard cash) to get him to leave college after a year away from the field. If that’s the case, we’re in for another year’s worth of “can he or can’t he” defensive debate. Can’t wait.

Southeastern Louisiana’s depth behind the plate is really impressive. Fisher is out in 2015, as is SR C Sam Roberson, a solid prospect in his own right. They keep chugging along with JR C Chris Eades there to fill the void. At 6-3, 240 pounds, filling voids is something he is well built to do. Unsurprisingly, the big backstop has a strong arm and intriguing power upside. I’d like to think that naming a Southland team’s third catcher as an honest to goodness pro prospect means I’m dedicated to finding the deepest possible sleepers imaginable, but it’s probably more of a sign that I’ve lost my mind and I need a long vacation away from amateur baseball. At least I didn’t compare next year’s potential logjam behind the plate here to Ohio State’s pending quarterback controversy.

I enjoy the notes I have on Incarnate Word SR 1B Ethan McGill. I’ll publish them here in their entirety: “he’s strong.” He’s listed at 6-4, 250 pounds and, the notes don’t lie, he’s quite strong. He’s also got enough power to be a viable late round prospect, though the non-power areas of his game hold him back. I think either he or Lamar SR 2B/3B Reed Seeley give the conference the best shot at seeing somebody drafted out of the infield (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) this year.

I really like the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outfield duo of rSR OF/LHP Tyler Ware and SR OF Kyle Danford. Ware’s game is a little more balanced with plenty of athleticism, enough range for center field, and a power/speed/patience mix that makes him a dangerous offensive player. He’s also the owner of a very strong arm, which shouldn’t be a stunner since he can hit 92 off the mound but gets counted as a pleasant surprise as he’s recovered nicely from arm troubles. Danford is a long, lean senior sign with similar power/speed upside to Ware.

McNeese State SR OF Andrew Guillotte is a really fun player. If you long for the days of high contact, little power, and infrequent swings and misses, then Guillotte is your kind of guy. He’d be overshadowed by toolsier players with more upside in most conferences, but in the Southland his brand of hit tool, defense, and speed make him one of the more appealing draft prospects around. Southeastern JR OF Julian Service has a lot more fans among people who cover that part of the country than I ever would have imagined. He’s held his own so far this season, but a lot of smart people have told me he’s the best outfield in the prospect so you might want to listen to them (or not, seeing as I’m not yet doing so).

There are a lot of really intriguing pitchers in the Southland ready to go higher than expected in 2015. The difference between the draft-eligible position players and pitchers is striking. Significantly more depth can be found on the mound here than in the batter’s box. Turns out that for whatever reason I just wrote three consecutive opening sentences here without fully realizing it. I think I’ve done too many of these. I’m pressing on without deleting because picking one of those corny intros out of the rest is too much work. Let’s just get on with the players.

With a dominant FB/SL combination New Orleans JR RHP Kevin Kelleher has big league closer upside. That’s a bolder prediction that I intended to make, but the stuff seems in line with what we’ve come to expect out of late-inning relievers. Players who can get it up to 98 with a hard mid- to upper-80s slider to match aren’t easy to find. McNeese State rJR RHP Kaleb Jon Fontenot can throw three average or better pitches for strikes (88-92 FB, CB, CU), so there’s a chance he can fit in as a fifth starter/middle relief type down the road. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR RHP Jacob Dorris is just one of those players I can’t help but gravitate towards; his delivery is funky, his mid-80s fastball doesn’t stop moving until the catcher is ready to throw it back to him, and his slider is one of the very best in college baseball. Nicholls State JR LHP Grant Borne is a little bit like a bigger, lefthanded version of Fontenot; if that description alone makes you want to flip the two on the rankings, I wouldn’t argue. You can find plenty of talent further down the list if you’re willing to look. There are players way down the rankings that flirt with the mid-90s. Hard throwers like New Orleans rSR RHP Darron McKigney, Southeastern Louisiana SR RHP Kyle Keller, Sam Houston State JR RHP Ryan Brinley, and Nicholls State rJR RHP Marc Frazier could all make reasonable leaps up boards with big springs.

2015 MLB Draft Talent – Hitting 

1. Southeastern Louisiana JR C Jameson Fisher
2. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rSR OF/LHP Tyler Ware
3. Northwestern State JR C/OF Cort Brinson
4. Southeastern Louisiana JR C Chris Eades
5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR OF Kyle Danford
6. Lamar SR 2B/3B Reed Seeley
7. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi JR 3B Cody Clarke
8. Incarnate Word JR 3B Brance Kahle
9. McNeese State SR OF Andrew Guillotte
10. Southeastern Louisiana JR OF Julian Service
11. Incarnate Word SR 1B Ethan McGill
12. Incarnate Word SR OF Jesse Hoover
13. Southeastern Louisiana SR C Sam Roberson
14. McNeese State SR OF/RHP Lucas Quary
15. Northwestern State rSO OF Nick Heath
16. Central Arkansas SR SS/1B Nate Ferrell
17. Stephen F. Austin State JR 1B Kyle Thornell
18. Northwestern State SR OF Bret Underwood
19. Sam Houston State SR OF Colt Atwood
20. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR 1B Frankie Salas
21. Houston Baptist SR 3B/RHP Josh Martinez
22. Sam Houston State SR OF Hayden Simerly
23. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR OF Jordan Lee

2015 MLB Draft Talent – Pitching

1. New Orleans JR RHP Kevin Kelleher
2. McNeese State rJR RHP Kaleb Jon Fontenot
3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR RHP Jacob Dorris
4. Nicholls State JR LHP Grant Borne
5. Incarnate Word JR RHP Geno Encina
6. Nicholls State SR LHP Stuart Holmes
7. Sam Houston State SR LHP Andrew Godail
8. Southeastern Louisiana JR RHP Tate Scioneaux
9. Southeastern Louisiana JR RHP Mason Klotz
10. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR LHP Trevor Belicek
11. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi JR RHP Kaleb Keith
12. Nicholls State JR RHP Justin Sinibaldi
13. McNeese State rSR RHP Cory LaPeze
14. New Orleans rSR RHP Darron McKigney
15. Sam Houston State JR LHP Logan Boyd
16. Southeastern Louisiana SR RHP Kyle Keller
17. Southeastern Louisiana JR RHP Jake Johnson
18. Sam Houston State JR RHP Ryan Brinley
19. Nicholls State rJR RHP Marc Frazier
20. McNeese State JR RHP Bryce Kingsley
21. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR RHP Matt Danton
22. McNeese State JR RHP Ethan Stremmel
23. New Orleans rSR RHP/3B Sam Carriere
24. Sam Houston State JR RHP Juan Cortina
25. Northwestern State SR RHP Brandon Smith
26. Abilene Christian SR RHP Kevin Sheets
27. Abilene Christian SR RHP Ladgie Zotyka
28. Stephen F. Austin State SR LHP Dillon Mangham