SEATTLE -- A rainy and blustery fall day in Seattle couldn't stop the Husky Baseball team from showing off all their hard work Wednesday as the Diamond Dawgs ran through drills in front of nearly 40 professional scouts as part of their annual Pro Day.
With a handful of Huskies eligible for the MLB Draft in June, the day provided a forum for many Huskies to run through the gauntlet for professional evaluators. The first stop were the batting cages where draft-eligible Huskies took swings for the crowd gathered. The group then flocked to the Dempsey Indoor where they ran 60's and flashed their defensive skills for scouts.Â
All the players participating on the field Wednesday have played in front of scouts plenty of times. But the day gives players, like high-level prospects like
AJ Graffanino and
Willie MacIver, a chance to reinforce their skills in a controlled environment. The junior duo did their best to treat the day like any other day, and hopefully left a strong impression on the crowd gathered.Â
"Today's just another day for me to get better," Graffanino said. "I'm not playing for anyone. I'm not playing for them. I'm just trying to get better and be the best player I can be. So, it's just another day at the ballpark."
MacIver echoed Graffanino's thoughts.
"I try to relax and act like it's just another day of practice," he said. "I don't worry about who's watching. I just let my skills do what they do and hopefully it lets the people watching be able to do their jobs easier. I'm just trying to have fun out there and show them what I've got."
The draft-eligible players were not the only ones participating on Wednesday. The sophomores and freshmen also took part in the drills and certainly caused some buzz for this year and the years to come. Freshman Braiden Ward showed off a scintillating 60-yard dash time ranging from 6.2 to 6.3, drawing oohs and ahs from some of the scouts. He was just the tip of the iceberg of what's in store for future Pro Days on Montlake.
The Huskies continue fall ball through next week. The annual Purple and Gold World Series will be played next week with games scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 24, Wednesday, Oct. 25 and Friday, Oct. 27. All games are tentatively scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. at Husky Ballpark.
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