Hugh Smith

Smith's driver license reads 5-foot-11, 145 pounds, which was an accurate description of his height and weight when he was 16. Five years later, however, he's 6-foot-10, 215 pounds and has a chance to become one of the highest drafted Division III players in recent years. As a high school senior, Smith had grown to be a 6-foot-3 righthander who sat 81-84 mph but had good control and a solid feel for spotting his slider and changeup. His steady growth spurt continued after he arrived at Whitworth (Wash.) College and his fastball kept growing with it. Smith now sits 92-95 mph, touching 96, and he carries that velocity deep into games. His plus fastball has downward plane and plenty of late life, and he loves to run it in on the hands of righthanded hitters. He also has good feel for a slider that has above-average potential and an average changeup. He locates the changeup well and when he does miss, he almost always misses low and out of the zone, where it can't come back to hurt him. He's toyed with a cutter as well. Smith dominated his competition with a 6-1, 1.58 record and could hear his name called as early as the third or fourth round. His athleticism, rare body control for his size and present stuff makes him one of the highest upside pitchers in the Northwest.