The Athletic's Keith Law weighs in on MSU baseball players in MLB Draft

Baseball expert gives take on current Bulldogs and signees who could be drafted next week.

Uncertainty is the theme of the MLB Draft. That uncertainty carries over to the college ranks as teams like Mississippi State wait to see which of its players and signees are picked, where they're picked, then see if they sign with MLB franchises. 

For the Bulldogs, five players seem to really be under the microscope as the MLB Draft begins next Wednesday (June 10). Second baseman Justin Foscue, shortstop Jordan Westburg, pitcher J.T. Ginn and signees Austin Hendrick and Blaze Jordan are all ranked inside MLB Pipeline's Top 50 MLB Draft prospects.

The Athletic baseball analyst Keith Law joined the Thunder & Lightning podcast for an exclusive interview on Wednesday and gave his take on those five Bulldogs and more. Here is some of what Law said regarding current MSU players and signees. Be sure to listen to the full interview (posted at the bottom of this article) or on the Thunder & Lightning podcast feed wherever you get your podcasts.

JUSTIN FOSCUE

• ranked 32nd overall MLB Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline
• projected first-round pick (27th overall) by Minnesota in latest MLB Pipeline mock draft
• not a first-round pick in Law's latest mock draft

Law's take on Foscue: "It would not shock me if he is a first-rounder. I don't personally think he goes there. I know a few teams (picking) in the 20s that might have interest in him. I think he also is someone like Westburg...who is seen as probably a bit of a reach to get him into the first round because unfortunately, even though he's got some raw power, he really hasn't shown it very much. He hit about 14 home runs as a sophomore, didn't show any power as a freshman and didn't show a lot of power so far this spring. He hasn't shown power with the wood bat. So clearly, while there's some power with the package, one thing I hear from scouts is whether he's actually going to have that power going forward once he's hitting with wood in pro ball."

JORDAN WESTBURG

• ranked 37th overall MLB Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline
• not a first-round pick in latest MLB Pipeline mock draft
• projected first-round pick (26th overall) by Oakland in latest mock draft from Law

Law's take on Westburg: "He may go in the first round. I think he's probably not really a first-rounder on pure talent. I think he probably belongs more in the second round. I think there are too many questions about ultimate position. I think there's questions about how his bat is going to ultimately profile as he gets into pro ball. He's probably the best pure prospect on this team. (But) he punched out 69 times last time for Mississippi State. Guys who strike out that often have a really hard time making contact in pro ball. Unfortunately, like all players in this draft, he didn't get a full spring to show if he was any better."

J.T. GINN

• ranked 44th overall MLB Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline
• not a first-round pick in latest MLB Pipeline mock draft
• not a first-round pick in Law's latest mock draft

Law's take on Ginn: "I'm really not hearing Ginn's name a lot in the first round anymore. It's not just the Tommy John thing, but obviously he was represented by Scott Boras out of high school, so folks don't think he's going to sign that cheaply. He is sophomore eligible, so he could potentially come back next year and come out again as a junior. And he's a six-foot right-hander who's got some delivery questions. It wasn't a huge shock he got hurt. Even in high school there were knocks against him for the effort in his delivery. So all of those things combined mean some teams that might ordinarily be willing to roll the dice on a Tommy John guy with this kind of upside...seems like they're interested than they ordinarily would've been."

AUSTIN HENDRICK

• ranked 13th overall MLB Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline
• projected first-round pick (18th overall) by Arizona in latest MLB Pipeline mock draft
• projected first-round pick (19th overall) by New York Mets in Law's latest mock draft

Law's take on Hendrick: "Because he didn't play this year, there are still some unresolved questions about swing mechanics and how much contact he can actually make. We know he has crazy power. We know he has huge exit velocities. That's not the question. But when a player like that goes to college and proves it for two years, he can make himself a lot more money. I don't think he'd be out of line to be asking for a Top-10 (signing) bonus, but I don't know he'll get it because once again, no one got to see him play this spring."

BLAZE JORDAN

• ranked 42nd overall MLB Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline
• not a first-round pick in latest MLB Pipeline mock draft
• not a first-round pick in Law's latest mock draft

Law's take on Jordan: "I don't know why he's had this kind of hype or reputation since he was in seventh grade. He's just not that good of a prospect. He's a first baseman who it's not really clear he can hit for game power. He doesn't have a lot of athleticism. I think there are way too many questions with him...He would be way better served going to college to see what kind of player he actually is."

For more from Law, including why he believes current Bulldogs Tanner Allen, Rowdey Jordan, Josh Hatcher will be back at MSU as well as Law's thoughts on other MSU signees, listen here: