The money is going to have to be a lot better or Red Bank pitcher Hunter Adkins is headed to Middle Tennessee State.
“I have told (scouts) that if I was going to sign it would have to be for more money than they’re willing to pay me (right now),” the right-hander said Sunday afternoon.
There have been rumors since early spring that Adkins could go in the first five rounds of major league baseball’s three-day annual player draft which starts Tuesday evening.
“I have pretty much decided that MTSU is what I want to do right now,” he said. “I just feel like college is the better choice for me. There is the whole college experience plus I want to get stronger and better.”
That doesn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy seeing scouts at most of Red Bank’s games but he also tired of the numerous phone calls.
“It was a great experience. I loved having them there. It forced me to pitch better although I never got nervous,” he said. “I did get tired of the phone calls after a while.”
His Red Bank teammate, Alan Walden, also a right-handed pitcher, fell down the draft boards for a while but the Tennessee signee’s name apparently has re-emerged since elbow surgery in mid-May that proved to be minor and should have a six-week rehab period.
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
Or login with:
New Account