Morgan Cooper

Cooper was a key part of Texas' highly regarded 2013 recruiting class. He lived up to those expectations as a freshman, going 4-2, 2.89 out of the Longhorns bullpen even though he was battling elbow pain. He missed the 2015 season recovering from fall 2014 Tommy John surgery, and didn't have the same breaking ball in his return. The Nationals drafted him in the 34th round, but as a redshirt sophomore, he opted to return to school. It proved to be a wise choice as his stuff was much more consistent in his second year back from surgery. Cooper's fastball sits 92-93 mph but touches 95-96 at his best and it has some late life. His hard curveball is still not what it was pre-surgery, but it improved throughout the season and his changeup is now average. He's always been a solid strike thrower who projects to have at least average control. Cooper's delivery has some stiffness and some effort to it, which concerns evaluators. But his combination of size (6-foot-4), solid stuff and success in the Big 10--he led the league with 96 strikeouts and was third in ERA (2.33) and average against (.200)--should propel him into the third round.