CPLZ,
Yes, Chris Handke is an interesting story. He’s actually a good basketball player, big tall athlete, who hasn’t pitched much. Great kid, great student who will be very successful in life. His story can be googled... Chris Handke baseball
Handke is another example of most anything being possible.
Handke stats for DIII Cornell College last year…
Games - 6
IP – 10.2
ERA – 15.19
K – 8
BB – 12
Velocity – 85-88
After Cornell’s season ended he came in and worked on his mechanics and got his velocity up to 93 a week before the predraft.
Here is another draft pick story out of the predraft showcase the previous year (2008)…
Part time Catcher for DII school, hit .200 his senior year.
One player at the same college was named team MVP and DII all-american – not drafted
A couple players earned all conference – not drafted
MVPitcher – not drafted
Coaches Appreciation Award for dedication and attitude (part time catcher who hit.200) - Drafted out of the predraft showcase.
Fast forward to 2009… The above player finished 2009 in AAA. He was drafted as an organizational guy and is being groomed to coach within the MLB organization.
These kind of stories do exist. So often we tend to talk about the high draft picks and well known successful college and high school players. Sometimes the stories behind the, not so well known, kids is just as interesting.