MLB Draft winners and losers from super regionals: Justin Lebron went full King James

While 16 teams entered super regionals hoping to earn a chance to play in Omaha for the College World Series, only eight teams win that right, making this weekend of games must-see television, especially with two early favorites, UCLA and Georgia Tech, having already been eliminated.

While some of the series are still ongoing, enough games have been played for us to declare some winners and losers to come from this weekend. The winners are sure to see their upcoming MLB Draft stocks increase, while the losers will have the opposite effect. Let’s dive in.

MLB Draft winner: Justin Lebron, Alabama

While Alabama’s Justin Lebron had seemingly played himself out of being the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, he’s continuing to show people why he was so highly touted entering the year. The shortstop singled in his first at-bat of super regionals, and that was only the starting point in Alabama’s 8-0 win over St. John’s on Saturday.

Lebron hit another single his next time up, and then after flying out to right field, came up one more time in the bottom of the eighth and put the finishing touches on the contest by drilling a two-run double to right. Lebron, a player some question whether he has the hit tool to thrive in professional baseball, didn’t hit a home run in this game, but sprayed the ball hard all over the diamond and played a huge role in Alabama’s victory.

MLB Draft loser: Mason Edwards, USC

The USC Trojans turned to their ace, Mason Edwards, to try and give them a 1-0 series lead over the UNC Tar Heels, but that plan backfired. Edwards, the Big Ten pitcher of the year who struck out 32 more batters than anybody else, looked like a mere mortal against the Tar Heels, allowing four runs (three earned) in three innings of work. He allowed four hits and four walks in the contest.

Now, the Trojans were able to win this game, so it’s possible Edwards will get another start down the line, but this one was not good. While he was able to strike out five batters, his command was not sharp, and the Trojans needed a big game from their offense and bullpen to pull out an unlikely victory.

MLB Draft winner: Dawson Montesa, West Virginia

While Edwards is considered a possible first-round pick in this year’s draft, West Virginia’s Dawson Montesa is considered the 167th-ranked prospect in the class by MLB Pipeline, making him likely to go in the fifth or sixth-round. There’s reason to believe that his stock has increased a ton following his regionals start, as West Virginia likely wouldn’t even have gotten this far without him.

Montesa threw a whopping 122 pitches over 7.1 innings and struck out seven batters in a crucial 10-5 victory over Wake Forest. He wasn’t exactly dominant, allowing five runs (four earned) in the contest, but throwing that many pitches and getting that deep into a game against a formidable foe deserves immense credit. Going out there with one day of rest and getting the final two outs of regionals against Kentucky only helped boost his stock.

MLB Draft loser: Chris Rembert, Auburn

Chris Rembert doesn’t have any eye-popping tools, and that’ll likely prevent him from going in the first round of this year’s draft, but boy, can he hit. Rembert is a line-drive machine who did nothing but hit all year for Auburn, but when the team needed him most, he didn’t do enough.

Rembert went just 2-for-7 in two games against Ole Miss, in contests that turned out to be close Auburn losses. While the losses were not only his fault, and he did come through with an RBI single, Rembert came up small twice in big moments on Friday, grounding into a crushing third-inning double play, and then flying out as the tying run in the ninth inning. While his stock might not tank too much as a result of this weekend, he certainly didn’t bolster his odds of going in the first-round.

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