Austin Riley

[Billy Ray Valentine]

What kind of impact might it have that 2 of his teammates are coming to State? And one of them is his 1st cousin (Keegan James). I'm grasping for straws here I know. Opinions?

[messageboardsuperhero]

Riley's gone. Let it go. Best of luck to him.

[engie]

Why would it have any impact whatsoever?

No one that cares about the actual well-being of the kid is trying to make him turn down $1.5 million...

[Dawg61]

What kind of impact might it have that 2 of his teammates are coming to State? And one of them is his 1st cousin (Keegan James). I'm grasping for straws here I know. Opinions?

Selfishly I hope he comes to State but 41st pick with the Braves is going to be impossible to turn down. MS kid getting drafted by the one team that MS shows every night is a dream come true. Sucks for us but I'm happy for Riley. He's gotta be walking in the clouds right now.

[ShotgunDawg]

Fellas, it's already done.

The Braves wouldn't have taken Riley at that pick unless he had already agreed to terms

[msstate7]

Selfishly I hope he comes to State but 41st pick with the Braves is going to be impossible to turn down. MS kid getting drafted by the one team that MS shows every night is a dream come true. Sucks for us but I'm happy for Riley. He's gotta be walking in the clouds right now.

Riley would be dumb to turn down the Braves or any other mlb team getting drafted that high. He's gone and I hope he's playing in suntrust 3-4 years from now

[5 Star]

Riley would be dumb to turn down the Braves or any other mlb team getting drafted that high. He's gone and I hope he's playing in suntrust 3-4 years from now

Agreed, he's still a Mississippi and MSU guy as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully he'll be like A-Rod is to the U, once he makes it big.

[HancockCountyDog]

What kind of impact might it have that 2 of his teammates are coming to State? And one of them is his 1st cousin (Keegan James). I'm grasping for straws here I know. Opinions?

We always say that we all want what is best for these "kids". Anyone that tells him to turn down 7 figures, plus college paid for, is just looking out for themselves.

Someone ask Brady Aiken if he wants the 5 million the Astros offered him last year back. He will be lucky to get 2.3 million. So I wonder if those folks that advised him to tell the Astros to stick it in their ear last year, are right there to tell him that it was a good decision.

[maroonmania]

Riley would be dumb to turn down the Braves or any other mlb team getting drafted that high. He's gone and I hope he's playing in suntrust 3-4 years from now

Exactly, you would have to work for 30 years at a 50K/year job to earn what Riley is going to earn as a one time signing bonus with the only downside being he is going to pay a much higher percentage in taxes getting a lump sum like this.

[Dallas_Dawg]

For the sake of conversation, who was the last big name guy we lost to the draft who made an impact in MLB?
Not saying Riley will or won't...

[Political Hack]

get paid! Going to State would be the biggest mistake of his life at this point. Be happy for the kid. Pretty remarkable to get plucked that high.

[engie]

For the sake of conversation, who was the last big name guy we lost to the draft who made an impact in MLB?
Not saying Riley will or won't...

There are a couple of Cohen signees that didn't make it to MSU that have been up already. Billy Hamilton and Corey Dickerson off the top of my head...

[Billy Ray Valentine]

get paid! Going to State would be the biggest mistake of his life at this point. Be happy for the kid. Pretty remarkable to get plucked that high.

Oh I'm happy for him. I'd be happier if he was gonna be wearing one of those butt-ass Adidas uniforms next year but I'm happy for him. He's from a great bulldog family.

[shoeless joe]

For the sake of conversation, who was the last big name guy we lost to the draft who made an impact in MLB?
Not saying Riley will or won't...

Jay bell always sticks out to me...

[maroonmania]

Jay bell always sticks out to me...

Didn't we sign Roy Oswalt?

[Dog]

For the sake of conversation, who was the last big name guy we lost to the draft who made an impact in MLB?
Not saying Riley will or won't...

Billy Hamilton in 2009 and Corey Dickerson in 2010 are the first that come to mind.

Hamilton is possibly the best base runner in all of baseball. He stole 2nd, 3rd, and home in the same AB last night (I don't care what the official scorer said). He leads the league in SB's.

Dickerson has been solid too. He's on pace for another 20 HR and .300 season.

[shoeless joe]

Didn't we sign Roy Oswalt?

I don't think so but not sure. He played at Holmes before he was drafted.

I do know that Stacy Hester told him he was too smal and not good enough when he played for him at the state games.

[Homedawg]

Didn't we sign Roy Oswalt?

Yes we did out of juco. But that's when they had the old rule where teams could sign juco players that were drafted previously, prior to the next draft.

[Homedawg]

I don't think so but not sure. He played at Holmes before he was drafted.

I do know that Stacy Hester told him he was too smal and not good enough when he played for him at the state games.

He's still pissed about those state games to this day.

[Intramural All-American]

There have been players drafted in the first round that haven't signed. It does happen. Until the kid signs with the Braves, it is not a certainty. Heck, Gerritt Cole was drafted 27 overall out of high school and then #1 out of college. I understand it is a business decision, and there is no way I would try to persuade a kid from turning down 7 figures, but there is nothing like the actual college experience. Also, for the most part, a 3 year college player in the SEC will make it to the bigs about the same time as a high school kid drafted. And I would much rather live the college life over living the minor league life for 3 years.

Again, this is very unlikely to happen, but just my unimportant thoughts. I'll be hopeful until the end.