OPINION |
One of the beautiful things about Missouri State baseball, even when the program has a losing season, is there’s a pretty good chance you’ll witness a future pro or two. Maybe even a major leaguer in the making.
From an American League batting champ like Bill Mueller, to National League MVP and World Series winner Ryan Howard, to first-round draft choice Jake Burger, Missouri State alums haven’t just made the show — they at times have been the show at the highest level of baseball.
Apologies to other programs at Missouri State, but in terms of producing professional athletes the baseball program stands above all. There is a legacy of team and individual success that’s impressive: six first-round draft choices over the years, 23 big-league Bears and 156 players who have signed pro contracts.
Now it’s Zack Stewart’s turn.
Trying to enjoy the process
The Bears’ sophomore right fielder from Lebanon is likely a high-round choice in the 2024 MLB Draft, which begins on July 14. Various services have projected the 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-handed slugger as going anywhere from late in round one to somewhere in round five.
Stewart doesn’t know. He’s trying to enjoy the process, but at the same time, he's ready to get it over with and know his future. If the signing bonus isn’t to his liking — and that info is private — Stewart has the option of returning to Missouri State and going back into the draft a year from now.
That seems unlikely. Stewart has been making daily swings by the Bill Rowe Indoor Training Center at Hammons Field, working out and doing hitting drills to be game-ready.
“I’m just trying to enjoy the process and control what I can control, which is pretty much nothing in this process,” Stewart said earlier this week. “I just have to keep working hard. Where you’re going to be picked is up to the teams or where you go in the draft.
“I’m trying to enjoy it and have fun with it because it’s something I probably won’t be able to enjoy again. But I do want to see where I’m gonna go and if I go. That will be neat to see.”
Coach says Stewart has ‘elite power'
Stewart hit 34 home runs over his two seasons at Missouri State and didn’t sacrifice his batting average much to do so. He hit .302 as a freshman and .303 as a sophomore. If you watched him play, those modern-day metrics such as launch angle and exit velocity aren’t needed to tell this story: Stewart hit the ball hard, and often far.
He also struck out a bunch (132 times in two seasons), but modern-day baseball accepts that.
“Elite, elite power,” said new Bears head coach Joey Hawkins, who worked as hitting coach the last two years. “You can see it in the statistical column with home runs and doubles, but his ability to impact a baseball is major league level. It is Jake Burger-esqe, as far as how hard he hits it.
“If you see where baseball is right now, offense is hard to come by. He’s left-handed, he’s young and being a draft-eligible sophomore there’s a lot to like.”
MO State's legacy a big part of his decision to be a Bear
Stewart said he is honored to have a chance to become the next in line to carry on Missouri State’s proud history of professional baseball players. That legacy was a big reason he came down I-44 from Lebanon to play at Missouri State instead of “bigger” DI programs.
“It had a big part in it. They’ve had great players and those players have ultimately gone on to great things,” Stewart said. “That played a role in me committing here, plus other things such as being under Coach G (Keith Guttin), Joey and (assistant) Geoff (Jiminez).
“I couldn’t have better coaches along the way. I’m very happy with my decision.”
The improvement since he stepped on campus and the nearby ballpark has been notable. Hawkins said the overlooked part by some is Stewart’s work on defense, which has raised his draft stock.
“Coach Jiminez did a really good job with him in the outfield,” Hawkins said. “That’s a little bit of a separator for him. If he doesn’t have the ability to be a pretty solid right fielder, you’re looking at a guy who’s just a DH or has to play first base and it’s tough to get picked as high as some people are saying he could go.”
He cherishes his experience at the MLB Draft Combine
Stewart was able to showcase some of those skills when he was invited to the MLB Draft Combine last month, held at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“It was a really neat experience and one that I’ll cherish for a long time,” Stewart said. “I got to be around all the guys that have the same ambition and goals. I was able to pick their brain and see how they are dealing with the process.”
Along with the physical tools on display, each MLB team had a suite at the stadium where they had a chance to interview the players for up to 30 minutes. It was a bit like the NFL Draft combine, minus the Wonderlic test.
Stewart said he didn’t get any questions that were too weird during those sessions, but he did fill out a questionnaire for one club that asked if he stored opened peanut butter in the fridge or at room temp in the cabinet.
For the record — as any good American would — Stewart does not refrigerate his peanut butter.
There’s a pretty good chance that Stewart will be able to purchase as much peanut butter as he’d like in the near future. The “slot value” for the 30th and final pick of the first round is $2.9 million. Pick No. 65, which wraps up Round 2, has a $1.2 million value.
Teams can offer more or less than the assigned values, but the “slot” money should be in the ballpark.
After seeing past Missouri State players achieve their dreams, he’s ready for his turn.
“It’s something that I’ve dreamed of and wanted to achieve my whole life, especially after I committed here,” Stewart said. “I wanted to be the next Jake Burger or Jeremy Eierman or whoever it may be who got drafted from here. I wanted to carry on that legacy and implement myself into something that’s way bigger than me, which is Missouri State baseball.”
‘Bogey' could be the next man up
Just as Stewart is the next man up in that legacy, another Bear is lining up for his shot in a couple of years. Caden Bogenpohl, a 6-6, 230-pound freshman, was named to multiple freshman all-America teams after hitting 20 home runs this season.
“Bogey has probably the most potential out of anyone, maybe the last 10 years, since Burger,” Stewart said. “Bogey has the broad tools that anybody would want … anything that anyone would look for.”
It’s part of the transition from Guttin, who retired after 42 seasons, to Hawkins that should keep flowing.
“I tell every recruit this when they come on campus. You can do everything at Missouri State as a baseball player that you want,” Hawkins said. “It’s not just me selling a pipe dream. We have the proof that we can do it.
“We’re talking six first-round picks, 23 major-league players and 46 All-Americans. Also Omaha, Super Regionals, we hosted a regional. We have everything here. And to have scouts come in and take our guys high in the draft, it means everything to me to see guys achieve their dreams.”
Missouri State MLB 1st-round draft choices
- 2001 — Pitcher John Rheinecker, Oakland (37th pick)
- 2006 — Pitcher Brett Sinkbeil, Miami (19th)
- 2007 — Pitcher Ross Detwiler, Washington (6th)
- 2012 — Pitcher Pierce Johnson, Chicago Cubs (43rd)
- 2015 — Pitcher Jonathan Harris, Toronto (29th)
- 2017 — Third baseman Jake Burger, Chicago White Sox (11th)
2024 MLB draft schedule
Follow on MLB Network or MLB.com
- Sunday, July 14 — 6 p.m. (Round 1, Competitive Balance Round A, Round 2, Competitive Balance Round B)
- Monday, July 15 — 1 p.m. (Rounds 3-10)
- Tuesday, July 16 — 1 p.m. (Rounds 11-20)
