Middleton's Thomas can't wait

Middleton LHP/SS Corey Thomas has a hunch he will be selected relatively early in tomorrow's MLB first-year player draft.

"I'm hearing that a few teams are pretty high on me," Thomas said. "I'm anxious to see what's going to happen."

Thomas is one of the county's top draft prospects. Scouts flocked to Middleton during the season to clock his fastball, watch him play shortstop and swing his powerful bat. During the high school baseball season, Middleton coach Vernon Slater said he believed Thomas would be drafted in the first five rounds.

Thomas' fastball peaks at around 93 and his curveball can be a nice strikeout pitch. He rebounded from some early struggles on the mound to lower his ERA to 4.30. He was 2-3 for a Middleton team that hovered around .500 all year long, striking out 45 in 39 innings. At the plate, he hit .347 with five homers and 20 RBIs.

Tomorrow, a lot of waiting, and wondering, will end.

"A lot of hard work has been put into it," Thomas said. "I just wish I could live it out like a regular day and someone could just tell me because I'm so excited that I think about it too much. Sometimes I just go crazy."

--  EDUARDO A. ENCINA