Mike Kickham

Missouri State has produced six big league pitchers (Ross Detwiler, Jeff Gray, Shaun Marcum, Matt Palmer, John Rheinecker, Brad Ziegler) and two first-round arms (Detwiler, Brett Sinkbeil) in the last decade. The Bears have another quality pitching prospect--it's just not who scouts expected. Aaron Meade was coming off a strong sophomore season and summer in the Cape Cod League, but fellow lefthander Kickham has surpassed him. Missouri State didn't recruit him out of a local Springfield, Mo., high school, and he didn't turn any heads while going 3-3, 5.62 at Crowder (Mo.) JC in 2009. When his velocity increased to the high 80s in the MINK League last summer, the Bears offered him the opportunity to transfer. Kickham's fastball has continued to improve, sitting at 90-92 mph and touching 94 consistently throughout the spring. A strong 6-foot-4, 210-pounder, he backs up his fastball with a true slider that has good depth. He also throws a solid changeup and an overhand curveball. Scouts like his size, stuff and command, but also wonder why that hasn't translated into more success, as he went 4-9, 5.25 in 15 starts. Though he's a draft-eligible sophomore, he's expected to go high enough in the draft to sign. Kickham's twin brother Dan, a righthander who helped pitch Crowder to the Junior College World Series, also has seen his velocity spike this spring and should get drafted in the later rounds.