College baseball varies from basketball and football in one very important way: Major League Baseball teams can draft players straight out of high school, sign them to a contract and send them through the team’s minor league system.
The Missouri baseball team has two freshmen, pitchers Brett Graves and Brandon Platts, who had that opportunity. They could have taken a contract and mounted the ladder of professional baseball.
Instead, they decided to forgo that opportunity and head for the green grass of Simmons Field.
“I felt like I could develop better as a baseball player and as a man, too, going to college first and getting exposure and everything,” Platts said. “I’m here now, and I’m going to make some noise.”
The 6-foot-3-inch right-hander from Mason City, Iowa, is a classic power pitcher who was a 13th round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2011 MLB Draft. In his junior season, he was named to the Class 4A second team Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association All-State team while racking up a perfect 10-0 record with 54 strikeouts in 51 innings.
Platts’ negotiations with the Pirates were muddled by an elbow injury he sustained his senior season after he was drafted.
“(The Pirates) couldn’t come and see me after (the injury), so it probably hurt me a little bit,” Platts said. “But at the same time, I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise, because it made my decision.”
The Aug. 15 deadline to sign with the Pirates passed and he became a Tiger.
“It was going to take a lot for me to not go to Missouri,” Platts told reporters from the Globe Gazette, a northern Iowa newspaper.
The St. Louis Cardinals picked Graves, a native of St. Charles, Mo., in the 26th round. He was named Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season after going 9-1 with a 1.95 ERA. Graves also played shortstop for Francis Howell High School and hit .441 with six homers that season.
Although Graves acknowledges it was a “huge honor” to get drafted, he said he was always ready to join Missouri.
“I can always fall back on (being drafted) if I’m having some confidence issues and tell myself that, but when it comes down to it, if you didn’t sign, you’re in the same place as everyone else who didn’t get drafted,” he said.
Graves’ decision was also made easier by the fact two of his high school teammates, freshmen Jake Ivory and Case Munson, also committed to MU. The three are now suitemates.
“It made the adjustment (to college) a lot more comfortable… it’s not just home field comfort, even if I’ve got whatever going on off the field, they’re there for that, too,” Graves said.
According to coach Tim Jamieson, the credit for Graves and Platts coming to Columbia lies less with his recruiting strategies and more with the inner motivation of the pair.
“I think both of them recognize the fact that they want to go to college, and they weren’t offered enough money to take that away,” he said. “So it was not so much what we talked to them about, I think the situation pushed them to college.”
Now that the talented duo is here, Jamieson is excited at their future prospects.
“The reason they’re drafted is because of their talent level, and also how good they can become,” he said. “I think you’ll see it as the year goes along. Our pitching depth will be much better.”
