With Four Selections, Sooners Well Represented In Shortened 2020 MLB Draft

Levi Prater (3rd round), Brady Lindsly (4th), Dane Acker (4th) join teammate Cade Cavalli as Oklahoma draftees

It wasn't any secret that Cade Cavalli would be selected in the MLB draft, likely in the first round. And indeed, the reigning champion Washington Nationals nabbed Cavalli with the 22nd overall pick.

Given the circumstances, few could have foreseen that three of Cavalli's teammates would eventually hear their names called as well. With just five rounds in the 2020 draft instead of the conventional 40, the pool of available prospects far outnumbered the quantity of selections at hand.

Yet in the span of 34 picks, Oklahoma left-handed pitcher Levi Prater, catcher Brady Lindsly, and right-handed pitcher Dane Acker came off the board. The St. Louis Cardinals pulled the trigger on Prater in the third round (93rd overall), the Nationals grabbed Cavalli's battery mate in Lindsly with their fourth-round pick (123rd overall), and the Oakland Athletics snagged Acker just moments later (127th overall).

The unexpected run on Oklahoma arms is a boon to the naked eye, but it also leaves the Sooners in dire straits as they look ahead to 2021. Cavalli, Prater, and Acker composed the top of the rotation in the truncated 2020 season, with Cavalli traditionally drawing the Friday start, Prater taking the hill on Saturday, and Acker closing out the set on Sunday. Assuming all three sign professional contracts, the Sooners' most experienced returning starters would be 6-foot-7 power righty Ben Abram and the ever-versatile Wyatt Olds, whom the Sooners deployed as both a starter and reliever in 2020.

Lindsly is perhaps the most surprising selection among the Oklahoma draftees, as there wasn't much of an expectation among experts that he'd earn a selection. The senior catcher hit .271 with three homers and 13 RBI before COVID-19 brought an abrupt end to the 2020 season. With freshman Justin Mitchell also a viable backstop option, Lindsly often served as the Sooners' designated hitter when he wasn't behind the plate. His presumed departure leaves Mitchell as the sole proven candidate to start at catcher in 2021.

Acker provided the Sooners' most memorable moment of the brief 2020 campaign on March 1, as he spun a no-hitter at Minute Maid Park against LSU. On the strength of his vicious two-seam fastball and wipeout curve, the right-hander struck out 11 batters and issued a single walk, thoroughly powering down an explosive Tigers lineup. Opposing starter A.J. Labas carried a no-hitter of his own into the eighth, but Mitchell connected for a solo homer off the LSU righty to give the Sooners the only offense they'd need in a 1-0 victory.

Baseball America later ranked Acker's gem as the best pitching performance of the year in college baseball. It was Oklahoma's first nine-inning no-no since 1989, and the first no-hitter ever thrown at Houston's Shriners College Classic tournament.

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