SE: Three Wildcat Seniors Picked in MLB Draft
Jun 16, 2017 | Baseball, Sports Extra
Compared to his first experience with the MLB Draft in 2013, this year's draft was nowhere near the same for K-State closer Jordan Floyd.
In 2013, Floyd was pitching in a summer league game when the New York Yankees called his name in the 25th round (764th overall).
On Tuesday, Floyd started out the day at Tointon Family Stadium, excited about where he might land in the draft's second day. As the picks and rounds began to fly by, uncertainty and anxiousness took over. Floyd decided he needed a change of venue, so he went to his Manhattan home to watch "The Flash" on Netflix to get his mind off of baseball.
"I wasn't getting any calls and then I got five, six calls in the matter of a couple of minutes and I thought, 'Well, I better turn it back on,'" said Floyd, who was soon announced as the Kansas City Royals' 10th-round pick. "I waited, listened for it and heard my name. I was pretty excited."
The Royals, Floyd's favorite team growing up, selected the left-handed pitcher with the No. 300 pick of the draft, the "icing on the cake," as the former Wildcat put it.
"It was everything I could've asked for," Floyd, a Topeka native, said of being picked by the Royals. "Their scouting director called and asked if I wanted to play for my favorite team. I was more than happy to say yes. I don't have to get rid of all of my Royals stuff now. I can keep adding to it and hopefully live out the dream of when I was little of always wanting to play at Kauffman Stadium."
Like the two draft experiences, the Jordan Floyd of 2013 and the Jordan Floyd of 2017 are much different pitchers.
"Out of high school, I just knew I wasn't ready for pro ball," he said. "After four years, I'm ready for it. My maturity definitely grew throughout the four years and I'm ready to be out there, fighting to get in the big leagues."
Floyd credits a major mentality change on the mound, where his 91 relief appearances rank first all-time at K-State.
"Coming out of high school, I was more of just a thrower," Floyd said, crediting former pitching coach Josh Reynolds and current K-State pitching coach Tyler Kincaid with his development on the mound. "I've become a complete pitcher, knowing how to read the hitters' swings, read how their bodies move with their swings and where I need to attack with my pitches, and being able to do that pitch to pitch instead of having to wait half an inning to get back into the dugout for someone to tell me."
This type of growth takes time, Floyd said. For some, it's a year. For others, it's longer. Without four years at K-State, Floyd's not sure if he would have made it very far.
"After my freshman year, I kind of wondered what would've happened if I went pro. I've had a couple of injuries here and I could be sitting at home, or working a 9-to-5 job," he said. "I'm lucky and happy Coach (Brad) Hill and everyone here stuck with me and helped get me to this point right now. I have all of those guys to thank, from strength and conditioning coaches (Tyler) Looney, (Evan) Coachman and (Josh) Cyr in the weight room, and (athletic trainer) Blaine (Burris) for keeping me healthy and getting me back healthy after a couple of injuries. All of those guys helped me get to where I am now."
Simply put, Floyd said coming to K-State was undoubtedly the best decision for him.
"I'm more than happy that I turned it down and came here, met these awesome people in Manhattan, these awesome coaches, everyone academically. I couldn't thank K-State enough for it," he said. "I'm a Wildcat for life. This place has been my second home for the last four years and I couldn't have been happier here. I couldn't have picked a better place to spend my college years."
Scudder Lands with Washington Nationals
On Tuesday, Jake Scudder sat around his house in Illinois to watch the second day of the MLB Draft, waiting for his name to be called, only to hear others' announced.
He wasn't about to endure that again on Day 3. Instead, Scudder said he was "out and about" on Wednesday. So, when the Washington Nationals picked him in the 16th round (No. 493 overall), he was hitting golf balls at a driving range.
Scudder received a text from his mother to inform him the wait was over, instantly lifting a weight off of his shoulders.
"Relief… I'm glad it's over. It was a fun time but it's always good when it's done," said Scudder, a Second Team All-Big 12 first baseman as a senior at K-State. "I'm glad I got picked by Washington. It's going to be a good place and I think it will be a good fit, so I'm really happy."
In two seasons at K-State, Scudder piled up some impressive numbers at the plate. As a senior, he was second in the Big 12 in home runs (13) and RBI (62), while also pacing his team in slugging percentage (.536).
"I had two great years of playing in the Big 12. That definitely helped and let me grow as a player," he said. "I'm two years older and I think I learned a lot of things playing at Kansas State and playing in that conference. I'm definitely a better player now than I was before."
Scudder praised K-State's coaching staff for not trying to change too much with him at the plate and for taking his fielding abilities to another level at first base.
"I made a lot of strides defensively. I had two great infield coaches in the two years I was there in Jake Brown and Shane (Conlon). They definitely helped me out a lot," he said. "I still have a lot of room to work on that part of my game but I'm definitely a lot better player on that side of the ball. With hitting, I faced a lot of good pitching and had two good coaches that helped me work through it, and I'm here now."
Rigler's Career Continues, Picked by White Sox
Parker Rigler sat in his living room in Oklahoma on Wednesday afternoon, feeling down on his chances of being picked in the MLB Draft. Rigler's uncle, also his professional advisor/agent, said free agency might be their only option.
"I was sitting in the living room with my girlfriend and my mom, and we were just kind of down, thinking that there's a chance it wasn't going to happen," Rigler said, "and maybe that my baseball career was over."
Rigler's outlook changed quickly, as the Chicago White Sox picked him in the 31st round (No. 927 overall).
"It kind of caught me off guard a little bit, but it was very, very exciting when it did happen," he said. "I've been dreaming about playing professional baseball my whole life, so the fact that I'm getting to make it a reality now and am able to pursue that dream to the highest level, that means the world to me. It's something I don't take lightly, by any means."
K-State's former left-handed starter accomplished quite a bit in two years with the Wildcats. He tossed five quality starts as a senior, one of which was the program's first no-hitter since 1991.
"The coaches helped me out there on the mental side of baseball as well as the physical side, mechanically," Rigler, who played two seasons at Cowley College, said of his time at K-State. "I will forever be grateful to K-State for giving me the opportunity to continue my baseball career past junior college. I definitely owe that to them."
Sophomore Catcher Josh Rolette Picked in 39th Round by Indians
K-State sophomore catcher Josh Rolette was the lone K-State underclassmen selected in this week's MLB Draft, being picked in the 39th round (No. 1,182 overall) by the Cleveland Indians.
In 2016, Rolette was named Freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball following his freshman season in which he hit .290 with six home runs and 34 RBI. Primarily playing catcher in his sophomore season, Rolette hit a career-best seven home runs while driving in 26 runs and posting a .372 on-base percentage.
The Shawnee, Oklahoma, native was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 18th round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft but elected not to sign and attend K-State.
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