Round Overall Player Position 2 60 Eric Smith RHP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BA: Smith has made great strides in three years since arriving at Rhode Island as a raw, immature freshman with mechanical issues and an 85-87 mph fastball. He worked mostly in relief in 2007, then showed a glimmer of his potential that summer in the Atlantic Collegiate League, where he ranked as the No. 7 prospect. He broke out this spring, opening eyes with eight shutout innings in a win against Miami in early March, followed by a strong performance against Cal State Fullerton when he allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings. Smith now pitches with an 89-93 mph fastball with power sink that he commands at the knees. He adds and subtracts with his slider, sometimes throwing it in the 84-86 mph range, and the pitch can be average or even plus at times, though it remains a bit inconsistent. He also flashes a solid-average changeup and is improving his feel for the pitch. He drops in a curveball occasionally as a show pitch, particularly for a back-door strike against lefties. Smith is a fierce competitor with a physical 6-foot-3, 213-pound build, and he has the best feel for pitching in the Northeast. He's a safe bet to go in the top three rounds, with a chance to go in the top two. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- pgcrosschecker: SCOUTING PROFILE (3/1): His teammate, junior righthander Tim Boyce, may have been the more effective Rhode Island pitcher in the New England Collegiate League last summer as he topped the 12-team league in wins and strikeouts (65 in 57 innings), while posting a 7-1, 0.95 record. But scouts took a greater shine to Smith, an athletic, 6-foot-3, 215-pound righthander with a higher ceiling than Boyce. But Smith often baffled scouts as he was very inconsistent in compiling a 3-2, 4.02 record with 16 walks and only 35 strikeouts in 40 innings. While Boyce routinely had command of four pitches, including an 88-92 mph fastball, Smith's performance was up and down throughout the summer. At his best, his fastball was in the 91-92 mph range, and had significant running and sinking action. His changeup was also an effective off-speed pitch. But when he struggled, his stuff would flatten out and he was an easy target for opposing hitters. Smith was even prone to losing his composure in the process. But scouts believe that Smith has only scratched the surface of his ability, and he could take a quantum leap forward this spring and even emerge as the ace of a surprisingly strong Rhode Island pitching staff in the process after going just 1-5, 4.98 with 63 strikeouts in 72 innings as a sophomore.-ALLAN SIMPSON UPDATE (5/15): Scouts were right in their hunch that bigger and better things were in store for Smith. He elevated his game to another level this spring, particularly in mid-season when he hooked up against national college powers Cal State Fullerton and Miami. He was particularly brilliant against the Hurricanes, when he tossed eight scoreless innings, only to lose the game in the ninth when it was apparent to the many scouts in attendance in Miami that he was victimized by a sudden-shrinking strike zone. Despite that setback, Hurricanes coach Jim Morris said it was one of the finest pitching performances by an opponent in his 16 years at Miami. Smith often overmatched Miami hitters with his combination of an 89-93 mph fastball, an 83-84 mph slider and an 80-82 mph changeup. He commanded all three pitches, and routinely got ahead in the count. Though it wasn't overpowering, he got good late sinking action on his fastball, his best pitch, and held his velocity throughout. Smith didn't pitch that consistently well most of the season, and was even sub-par in his final 3-4 outings, so his final line of 5-3, 4.08 with 29 walks and 56 strikeouts in 71 innings wasn't overly impressive. But there were a lot of influential scouts on hand to see his epic outing against Miami to almost assure his spot in the first 3-4 rounds.-AS --

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