As Blake McDade packed his bags earlier this week, he did so planning to stay the summer in Staunton, Va. He’s hoping, however, for a phone call next week that would start him on a professional baseball career.
That would be from a major league baseball representative during the annual draft of high school and collegiate players. It starts Tuesday.
“I haven’t really talked with anybody since the season ended,” McDade said three days ago. “I’m not 100 percent sure what is going on. I might get some phone calls between now and next week.”
The former Ooltewah High School standout has just completed his junior year at Middle Tennessee State, where he played first base and outfield. He hit .340 with six home runs, 19 doubles, a triple and 51 RBIs as the Blue Raiders won the Sun Belt championship, beat Vanderbilt in NCAA regional play and finished with a record of 44-18, best in school history.
“I’m interested in playing (professionally) as soon as I can,” McDade said. “I wouldn’t mind going to play for any team that has an interest in me. We won a championship this year, and that was one of my goals coming into college.”
If he does get drafted, his decision on whether to sign or return to Murfreesboro will hinge on the round in which he is taken and the offer that goes with it.
“It depends on the money,” he said. “School is not the most important thing because I can always come back, but my senior season is important to me.”
His senior season also is important to MTSU.
“We lost some guys, but with him coming back we have a very good class returning,” assistant coach Jim McGuire said, “and I think Blake realizes how close we are (to having a really exceptional season). Blake has become a team leader in the clubhouse, and off the field he is your model student.”
The scouts were swarming early in the season when McDade was on a tear, but a two-week slump caused their interest to wane.
“He really struggled during that two weeks, and it has been a bit of a roller coaster as far as (draft) projections. He had some individual meetings with some of the team representatives, and a lot will depend on how those interviews went,” McGuire said. “From our end of it, he can throw, hit for some power, and he runs well enough.
“He can be a first baseman, a right fielder or a left fielder. He has a line-drive approach, and his home runs come naturally. But the home runs are always the last thing to come.”
McDade helped himself last week against Vanderbilt junior left-hander Mike Minor, a likely high draft pick who had attracted more than 60 pro representatives, including national cross-checkers and even some general managers. McDade went 3-for-4 with a double in that win.
“I sometimes struggle against left-handed guys, so I think that might help a lot. He’s a first- or second-round guy,” McDade said.
“By him doing what he did that day, he at the least got some guys questioning their earlier evaluations,” McGuire said. “If somebody is going to take him and try to sign him, it probably will be between the 12th and 15th rounds.”
Both know well that the draft is unpredictable, and McDade has settled for now on playing with the Staunton Braves in their collegiate summer league.
“The draft is so weird,” McDade said. “You see guys with great numbers that never go and then guys without great numbers that are taken on potential. I’ve heard that teams that haven’t even contacted you might draft you.
“If it doesn’t happen this year, it is not too big of a letdown. I’ll go play summer ball and try to prove myself with wood (bats, as opposed to aluminum).”
