When Terrapin senior pitcher Seth Overbey ran out onto the field Sunday for Senior Day, he appeared to transform Shipley Field into the O.K. Corral. With each pitch he threw, a handful of scouts sitting behind the backstop would throw up their guns and shoot.
Those were radar guns, of course, and they only signified one thing: It’s that time of year. It’s the final leg of the college baseball season, a period when major league scouts are running out of time to bag their next big catch and senior pitchers are running out of time to impress.
The Terps have two such seniors, Overbey, a reliever, and starter Ben Pfinsgraff. Each has about a week left to show his stuff, but there is no guarantee how many more innings each will see.
Pfinsgraff estimated that he’d probably see action in two more games, and as a reliever, Overbey may see more. What is certain is that this weekend’s road series against Boston College will be the seniors’ last chance to prove themselves in the ACC. From there, it will be four mid-week games against lesser opponents, and there is no telling if pro scouts will make the trip to Shipley Field to see contests with West Virginia, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Coppin State.
But both Overbey and Pfinsgraff said they are trying to keep the scouting situation out of their minds for the last week.
“I just try to go out and do what I’ve been doing,” Overbey said. “I’m not gonna try to do too much. I just gotta keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
So far, what he’s been doing has worked exceptionally well. The right-handed sidearmer has put together a 3-1 record – out of the bullpen – and leads the team with 2.40 ERA. He’s also amassed 36 strikeouts over 41.1 innings, while picking up a save along the way.
“All year I’ve just been really excited for Seth,” Pfinsgraff said. “He’d be the first to tell you that he wasn’t even thinking about playing at the next level [until this year]. By working with Coach [Jim] Farr, he’s been able to take his game to the next level.”
Pfinsgraff, on the other hand, has slid from last year rather than improved. After going 4-3 with a team-best 3.45 ERA last year, Pfinsgraff was getting heavy looks from pro scouts, including strong interest from the Cleveland Indians. But before the draft, he told scouts he planned on returning for his senior season, thus taking himself out of the running to be drafted.
Pfinsgraff based his decision on the fact that he was nursing an inflamed right shoulder that limited him in the final third of his junior season. He wanted to have a fresh senior season, injury-free, before making the jump to a major league organization.
The result was not quite what he had planned. The righty has gone just 2-6 with a 6.14 ERA, though he leads the team in innings (73.1).
“I’ve been pretty disappointed in my performance this year,” Pfinsgraff said. “The first half of the season I picked up some bad habits coming off of my injury last year. … But I watched some film with Coach Farr, and we fixed it. I feel the past seven weeks I’ve pitched well.”
Indeed, Pfinsgraff has had some solid outings as of late, including a complete game against then-No. 24 Wake Forest, in which the Terps lost 4-3, and a strong performance against then-No. 13 Virginia, in which he went five shutout innings before surrendering two unearned runs in the sixth.
It’s because of such outings against top 25 teams that Pfinsgraff thinks he still stands a good shot at getting drafted, just not as high as last year. Even so, he said he has no regrets about coming back for his senior year, and now has the chance to get selected the same year as his roommate, Overbey.
“I just thought that it was not in my best interest to try and go to the next level when I was not at 100 percent,” Pfinsgraff said. “I think it’d be awesome if we could both get picked.”
As of now, the chances look good. Both Pfinsgraff and Overbey said they have received pre-draft questionnaires from most of the 30 major league clubs. The Washington Nationals have asked Pfinsgraff to attend a pre-draft workout at the end of the month, and the Toronto Blue Jays have done the same for Overbey.
Pitching coach Jim Farr said he can see both guys being drafted, and that’s a credible statement coming from a man who has sent several players to the big leagues. Former pitchers from Farr’s previous coaching job at William & Mary include Bill Bray of the Washington Nationals farm system and Chris Ray, who currently has seven saves with the Baltimore Orioles.
“Both guys bring something completely different to the plate,” Farr said. “Seth’s velocity is 82-92 [miles per hour] consistently and is one of the better athletes on our team. [As far as his sidearm motion,] I think certain organizations like to have a guy in each [style], you know, one submarine, one sidearmer. I think we’ll be a little surprised on where he goes in the draft, a little higher than we thought.
“Ben’s an entirely different type of guy,” Farr said. “He doesn’t possess the blazing fastball like Seth; he needs to win with command. He’s a real cerebral pitcher, who loves studying scouting reports, and can pitch with his strengths to the hitters weaknesses.”
With Farr’s endorsement, Pfinsgraff and Overbey may be set. And if they are chosen, it may only bring more future aces through the Terps’ recruiting doors.
“Every kid’s dream is to get to the next level,” head coach Terry Rupp said. “If we can help get them there, it helps our program. If we can get them there consistently, it’s a great marketing tool.”
It’s also one heck of a life for the current college seniors.
“A lot of the questionnaires ask, ‘Why do you want to play professional baseball?'” Overbey said. “And I’ve been writing the same thing on all of them: ‘There’s nothing better that I can think of doing than playing a sport for a living.”
Contact reporter Jason Fraley at fraleydbk@gmail.com.
