Draft day has arrived for Mize

The All-American right-hander, who is projected as the No. 1 overall selection in tonight’s MLB Draft, came to the Plains in the summer of 2015 undrafted out of Springville (Ala.) High School and ranked by Perfect Game as the nation’s 351st overall prospect and 127th pitcher.

“I’ve matured a lot. I’ve learned so much more about the game,” said Mize of his experience at Auburn. “I’ve had a lot more failure, a lot more success and so many more experiences, I think it’s just made me a better player and a better person. Just going through all that, that’s changed me a ton.”

Mize has had a phenomenal career at Auburn, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t go through his share of adversity. In his first-ever SEC appearance as a true freshman in 2016, he allowed six runs in 2.0 innings against Texas A&M. He finished his first college season 2-5 with a 3.52 ERA as Auburn struggled to a 23-33 record in Butch Thompson’s first year.

Mize credits Thompson for being a big part of his development.

“He’s been such a big piece for me because he allowed me to kind of figure it out for myself and I think that was really cool,” Mize said. “He’s allowed me to call my own game … It’s not being a selfish player and not doing your own thing, what he means by that is to take on experiences and learn from those.

“Freshman year, we weren’t a very good team but I got a lot out of that because he put me in a lot of big situations where I needed to learn, and I failed and I had some success too. Him kind of forcing me out there and saying, ‘Get over it and figure it out,’ I think that’s been the biggest thing.”

Over the last two seasons, Mize has been one of the nation’s best pitchers. He was 8-2 with a 2.04 ERA, 109 strikeouts and nine walks in 83.2 innings in 2017. He followed that up by going 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA, 151 strikeouts and 12 walks in 109.2 innings so far this season.

He has an eye-popping 12.4-to-1 career strikeout-to-walk ratio and currently ranks fourth in Auburn history with 319 strikeouts, just eight behind Brent Schoening with at least one more start to remaining.

He’s led the Tigers to their first Super Regional appearance since 1999.

“He’s about as good as I’ve had,” said Thompson, who has coached 13 future major league pitchers. “He’s handled himself like a champion to keep Auburn out front. To handle all the distractions of him as a ballplayer compared to the demands of everybody else, his maturity has rang through time and time again. I think he has pitched so well that if he gives up two or three or four runs, something’s got to be wrong. That’s pitching at a high level when you get to that point.”

Mize features a fastball that ranges from 92-96 miles per hour, a slider that sits in the 81-85 range, a split-finger that he uses as his changeup and sits 85-88 and a cutter that runs up to 88-91. He can throw all four for strikes and at anytime in the count.

“I think all these pitches are staying together almost in a bouquet fashion for a period of time once it leaves his hand,” Thompson said. “Those balls are staying together before they start to split and go to their own destination. That cutter has a fastball look for a long period of time. The slider has much more depth and it’s a two-planer that’s changing planes and a lot slower.”

The cutter was a recent addition to Mize’s repertoire and came about almost by accident. Former Atlanta Braves minor leaguer Tyler Stovall, who was the holder for the Auburn football team the past four seasons, joined the baseball staff as a graduate assistant in January and introduced Mize to the pitch while they were playing catch a month before the season opener.

“All I did was show him the grip and he did the rest,” Stovall said. “He’s just well beyond his years when it comes to just being able to understand and handle the game, not only on the physical side but also on the mental side. For me, it was pretty cool to see how quickly he picked it up and how quickly he put it in his arsenal and was able to go out there and compete with it because I think from start one, he was using it.

“I played catch throughout my minor league career with it just messing around and never got to where I was comfortable enough to throw it in a game. It’s just a testament to who he is, what he’s like as a competitor and what he’s all about.”

If the Detroit Tigers select Mize, he’ll be only the seventh player in the 53-year history of the MLB Draft to be undrafted out of high school only to go No. 1 overall three years later. He’ll also be the highest-drafted player in Auburn history surpassing Greg Olson, who was taken fourth overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 1988.

Mize says it would be exceeding even his own expectations to go No. 1 overall. Thompson sees it as another program-defining moment.

“It’s just what’s possible at Auburn,” Thompson said. “Hey, I can come to Auburn and be a first rounder, a first pick. I can be a Hall of Famer. I can play in the postseason consistently. I just think having Casey and having what this ball club has done the last two years, anything is possible at Auburn if you really have a baseball dream.

"That’s my stamp. That’s what I’ll be telling recruits, and looking at them in the eye without blinking. I believe anything you can achieve anywhere else can happen at Auburn. I believe that in my heart, and we’re seeing examples of that. I think it only builds us a foundation even stronger that anything’s possible from being a student athlete at Auburn and playing baseball.”

The 2018 MLB Draft gets underway Monday night at 6 p.m. CT on MLB Network. Rounds 3-10 will be Tuesday at noon and rounds 11-40 Wednesday at 11 a.m.