MSU

Bears' Harris tries to tune out draft speculation

Lyndal Scranton
News-Leader

Jon Harris sat in the Missouri State dugout and boiled.

This was supposed to be another smooth step in the process toward a seven-figure contract with a major-league team in a couple of months. Instead, with about 15 scouts watching his every move on Friday night, Harris had his worst performance of the season.

How will it affect his draft stock? Two respected trade publications (Baseball America and D1Baseball.com) recently projected Harris as a sure-fire first-round draft choice. Signing bonuses of at least $1 million await those guys.

Harris wanted no part of the speculation. Especially after a three-inning debacle in which he looked anything but a possible future major-leaguer in the No. 15 Bears' 6-2 loss to Tennessee-Martin.

"You just put it behind you and look forward," Harris said afterward. "In my bullpen Tuesday, I'm going to work on what wasn't working and prepare for next Friday."

Just like earlier this month when he was borderline brilliant with scouts analyzing each pitch, Harris said he's insulating himself from the scrutiny.

Or tying to.

"It's tough," Harris admitted earlier this week before a Bears' practice at Hammons Field. "When you have meetings with some of these guys and they're saying, 'you're where you need to be, you're a high-profile pitcher,' it's hard.

"I'm a big fan of baseball movies," he added, and mentioned "For Love of the Game" in which Kevin Costner played an aging pitching working on a perfect game. Costner repeatedly told himself in the movie to "clear the mechanism" as the tension built.

"That's what I have to do," Harris said. "It makes (scouts) invisible to me."

Despite the rough outing on Friday, it's easy to understand why Harris is a scout's delight. At 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, his frame is considered "projectable." In other words, there's room to add weight, strength and velocity, especially considering he was 6-1 and 150 his senior year at St. Louis' Hazelwood Central High.

The fastball tickles the radar consistently from 90-93 miles per hour with an occasional jump to 94 or 95. The breaking pitches — curve and slider — along with a change-up are devastatingly effective when he's on.

In four starts prior to Friday, after returning from an ankle injury, Harris had never been better. He went 3-0 with a 1.39 earned run average. In 32 1/3 innings against Indiana State, Jacksonville, Dallas Baptist and Evansville he allowed 20 hits, seven walks and struck out 36.

As D1baseball.com wrote: "Armed with a 90-94 mph fastball and, when he's right, two above-average secondary offerings, Harris is just the right combination of polish and projection to fascinate scouts as an early draft choice. He's arguably grabbed the title this spring of 'fastest rising' draft prospect."

Bears veteran pitching coach Paul Evans said Harris has attracted the sort of interest he saw with No. 6 overall pick Ross Detwiler in 2006 and No. 43 overall selection Pierce Johnson in 2012.

"He was certainly a guy on the fringe (of the first round) at the beginning of year," Evans said of Harris, "but he's taken off.

"Jon has matured a lot in his three years here. He's going about his business. This whole thing with the draft hasn't affected him one bit."

Evans mentioned the rapid return from an ankle sprain initially believed to shelve Harris 4-6 weeks. He was back in two.

"A lot of guys who are going to be in the draft and worth some money kind of hem and haw about how quickly they want to come back," Evans said. "I'm not staying we've had guys do that, it's just that Jon never hesitated. He was hell bent on getting back and helping the team."

Being a part of the team and seeing the big picture for his future is why Harris decided to sign with Missouri State instead of take a $100,000 signing bonus out of high school. He was a 35th-round draft choice by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Harris said the pitching legacy of Missouri State under Evans was intriguing. Thirteen Bears pitchers since 2001 have been selected in the first 10 rounds. Three others taken later (Brad Ziegler, Matt Palmer and Jeff Gray) made it to the big leagues.

"It allowed me to continue my education and to better myself as a baseball player and as an individual," Harris said of coming to Missouri State.

"My mentality's a lot better. I'm more locked in."

Harris, an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, maintains that he will worry about the draft when June arrives. He's hopeful the Bears will still be playing. Immediately, he's eager to get his next chance to atone for the hiccup against UT-Martin.

"He had a bad start, but I'll still take Jon Harris over any Friday-night guy in the country," teammate Joey Hawkins said.

Next up for Harris is a Friday start at Illinois State. The scouts, again, likely will be out in force.

"I'll be ready to go," Harris said. "Sometimes you have bad days and just have to move on."

Next in line?

Missouri State pitcher Jon Harris could join the list of Missouri State pitchers taken early in the Major League Draft. Since 2001, 13 have been taken in the first 10 rounds:

2001 - John Rheinecker (supplemental first round, 37th overall) by the Oakland A's.

2003 - Shaun Marcum (3rd round) by Toronto Blue Jays; Bob Zimmermann (4th round) by L.A. Angels; Chad Mulholland (8th round) by Toronto Blue Jays

2006 - Brett Sinkbeil (1st round, 19th overall) by Miami Marlins

2007 - Ross Detwiler (1st round, 6th overall) by Washington Nationals; Scott Carroll (3rd round) by Cincinnati Reds

2009 - Buddy Baumann (7th round) by Kansas City Royals

2010 - Mike Kickham (6th round) by San Francisco Giants; Aaron Meade (10th round) by L.A. Angels

2012 - Pierce Johnson (supplmental first round, 43rd overall) by Chicago Cubs

2013 - Nick Petree (9th round) by St. Louis Cardinals; Grant Gordon (10th round) by L.A. Angels