Class: College Junior
Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas
Height/Weight: 6-4/180
Born: July 26, 1991
photo courtesy of ncaa.com
Scouts were disappointed when Major League Baseball declared the date for the first day of the draft to be June 4th, making redshirt sophomore Ryne Stanek ineligible for the 2012 draft. He will be, therefore, one of the most highly sought after players in the 2013 draft class.
Stanek was drafted in the third-round of the 2010 draft by Seattle after a strong spring his senior season that saw him touch 96 mph. He spurned the M’s offers to attend Arkansas and he made an instant impact as a freshman, appearing in 15 games and holding opposing batters to a .213 average. He finished the season ranked fourth among SEC pitchers in that category.
He pitched for both Team USA and the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League during the summer and came into 2012 poised for a breakout campaign. Along with junior D.J. Baxendale, Stanek helped pitch the Razorbacks to a 42-19 record. He won seven games himself, posted a 2.83 ERA and struck out 76 batters in 82.2 innings.
His best performance came against LSU in late March. Stanek struck out 10 batters and allowed just one run on six hits, out-dueling fellow 2013 draft prospect Ryan Eades.
Like Whitson, Stanek will be abandoned by a bevy of talented teammates in 2013, including 3B Matt Reynolds (2nd-round, New York), RHP D.J. Baxendale (10th-round, Minnesota) and RHP Nolan Sanburn (2nd-round, Oakland).
Fastball: 91-97 mph
Curveball: 77-84 mph
Changeup: 81-85 mph
MLB Draft Countdown 