lonely at the top

Seven Mississippi-connected players show up in Baseball America’s latest list of the top 200 draft prospects – but only one of them rates among the top 100. Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson checks in at No. 14, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the right-hander will be a first-round pick next month. The rankings are an assessment of talent, not a draft projection. You have to scroll all the way down to No. 113 to find George County High star Walker Robbins, a lefty-hitting first baseman. Oxford High products Thomas Dillard (catcher) and Grae Kessinger (shortstop) are listed at 141 and 144. Outfielder J.B. Woodman, who has had a huge year for Ole Miss, is No. 171, while teammate and shortstop Errol Robinson, having an off year, is rated 182. No. 199 is State outfielder/pitcher Reid Humphreys. Hudson will likely be the first Mississippian picked; an mlb.com mock draft has him going 13th to Tampa Bay. But you never know. Some team might take a shine to Kessinger’s defense — he is the grandson of ex-big leaguer Don Kessinger — or Humphreys’ power — he is the brother of erstwhile big leaguer Tyler Moore — or the athletic ability of some junior college player no one’s talking about. The surprises — that’s the coolest aspect of the MLB draft. P.S. BA’s draft prospects list runs 500 deep on its web site. Pearl River Community College’s Zach Clark (shortstop/pitcher), Itawamba CC’s Delvin Zinn (shortstop), Ole Miss’ Henri Lartigue (catcher) and State’s Daniel Brown (lefty pitcher) rank in the 200s. … The top pick from Mississippi last year was Austin Riley, taken 41st overall by Atlanta out of DeSoto Central. Riley, recently featured in BA (June 3-17 issue), is batting .229 with three homers and 19 RBIs at Class A Rome.