MLB.com has released its updated draft prospect rankings with two Missouri State Baseball Bears ranked in the top 100.
Junior shortstop Jeremy Eierman is No. 23 in the ranking while junior pitcher Dylan Coleman is No. 90.
Eierman’s tools are graded the following on the 20-80 scale (50 is considered major league average): Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 55 | Arm: 65 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50.
Coleman is graded the following:Â Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
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FULL MLB.COM BREAKDOWN ON EIERMAN
Jake Burger became the first Missouri State position player ever drafted in the first round when the White Sox selected him 11th overall last June, and scouts considered his former partner on the left side of the Bears infield an even better prospect entering 2018. He was one of just two NCAA Division I players to total 20 homers and 15 steals in 2017, joining Mississippi State star and Twins supplemental first-rounder Brent Rooker, but Eierman’s stock has taken a hit after he changed his setup and hasn’t shown the same power this spring. Eierman comes from a baseball family, as his father John was a Red Sox 13th-round choice in 1991 and his brother Johnny was a Rays third-rounder two decades later.
Eierman’s bat speed and strength create natural power from the right side of the plate, but he has sold out for home runs this spring with negative results. He widened his setup, adopted more of a crouch and has been overly aggressive and pull-happy. Though he doesn’t always get out of the box quickly when he takes a big hack, he can show plus speed once he gets going.
Eierman may not have true shortstop quickness but he has a chance to stay at the position with his good body control, soft hands and cannon arm. He may wind up at third base, where his tools could make him a Gold Glover. His grinder makeup is another asset.
FULL MLB.COM BREAKDOWN ON COLEMAN
Missouri State has sent 11 pitchers to the big leagues since the turn of the century, and Coleman is talented enough to add to that total. An unheralded recruit out of Potosi (Mo.) High, where he broke a 45-year-old career scoring record in basketball, he earned a spot in the Bears rotation at the outset of his freshman season. He led the Missouri Valley Conference with in strikeouts (106) as a sophomore and is on course to do so again in 2018.
Coleman lacks consistency, with the quality of his pitches and even more with his command, but when he’s on he can can display stuff worth of a late first-round selection. He can pitch at 92-94 mph with a fastball that has reached 98 mph and features some run and sink, and he can back it up with a sharp mid-80s slider. But there also are times when his heater and slider lose some power and flatten out.
Coleman has yet to show much feel for a changeup and also possesses a curveball that isn’t as reliable as his slider. He starts slow with his delivery before speeding up his tempo, which leads to him getting out of sync and struggling to locate his pitches. While he has been a durable in college and will get the chance to develop as a starter in pro ball, his ultimate role may be as a high-leverage reliever.
