The draft is back to its frantic pace on day 2. The White Sox kicked off the day by picking their second college pitcher in two picks. The Sox grabbed Jacob Petricka from Indiana State with their second round pick (63 overall).
Petricka, 22 as of Saturday, was 7-4 with the Sycamores this season. He had a 4.11 ERA with 113 strikeouts against 47 walks in 100.2 IP.
On the MLB.com broadcast, Johnathan Mayo raved about Petricka’s upper
90s fastball, but mentioned that he might need to be converted to the
bullpen.
Petricka originally went to Iowa Western CC. He sat out 2007 while recovering from Tommy John Surgery and pitched only 30 innings in six starts as a redshirt freshman in 2008. He stayed at Indiana State for two years despite being drafted by the Yankees in the 34th round in 2009. In ’09 Petricka struck out just 49 in 83.2 innings.
Baseball America’s subscription only scouting report of Petricka mentions him as a high helium type pick this year (the strikeouts support this as well). They say his fastball velocity has been inconsistent, sometimes sitting around 90, others sitting 92-94 and touching 98. His curve is a solid pitch, but needs work.
Our own Jeff Buchanan actually selected Petricka at the same pick of John Sickels’ community mock draft. Sickels said this about the pick: “Petricka has a great arm but is too raw for the first round; the Sox
would have to polish him up but the upside is considerable.”
From Jeff’s college pitchers preview:
A fast riser this spring, Jacob Petricka
could give Indiana a first round pick in back to back drafts
following Eric Arnett last year. Petricka has seen his velocity spike
this spring to sit mid 90’s, touching 97 with ease and holding his
velocity deep into games. His curve ball shows above average potential,
as does his change, but both pitches need work. Petricka’s command has
been a little inconsistent, but he offers intriguing upside and at 6’4″,
180 lbs, he still has some projection remaining. Potential draft
position: Supplemental 1st – 3rd Round.
To summarize, Petricka sounds like a somewhat raw college pitcher with some big upside due to his plus velocity. However, his secondary stuff needs to improve and that gives him the possibility of ending up in the pen.
We will continue to update you with more information on the draft throughout the day so stay with FutureSox.