WCCS pitcher Simmons is not nervous about MLB Draft

Published 11:35 pm Thursday, June 5, 2014

Although he doesn’t have butterflies yet, Kevin Simmons expects to feel them Friday while he waits to see if his childhood dream becomes a reality.

The Wallace Community College Selma pitcher will sit through rounds 3-10 of the MLB Draft with friends and family Friday, hoping to be picked by a major league team — his lifelong dream — but he said he isn’t nervous, yet.

“[The butterflies] haven’t really hit me yet,” Simmons said. “They probably will as soon as it comes on.”

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The 2014 MLB Draft started Thursday night with the first two rounds and Simmons did not hear his name called. The real wait for Simmons will take place Saturday, when rounds 3-10 of the draft will take place, and where he thinks he has a real shot of being selected.

“I don’t have any expectations that way I don’t get disappointed,” Simmons said. “I don’t want to expect to go higher than I go.”

He said as the draft has gotten closer, he has heard from several teams checking in on his health.

“I’ve heard a lot from a couple of teams but nothing letting me know anything,” Simmons said. “They are all checking to see if I’m healthy and making sure my arm isn’t hurt.”

The Patriots’ pitcher saw his velocity rise to the mid 90’s this year as he fired fastballs past opposing batters, which caught the eye of major league scouts.

“His work ethic is unbelievable,” WCCS head baseball coach Frank Elliott said in a previous interview with the Times-Journal. “I tell all these scouts that when he gets out of the car he’s hustling. He hustles the entire practice until he gets back in the car and starts the ignition and leaves.”

A total of 74 players were drafted Thursday night and hundreds of others will be selected over the weekend.

Simmons and family will spend Friday night at his aunt’s house, hopeful that he will be given the opportunity to join a major league franchise.

If he isn’t picked Friday, he could still be selected Saturday when rounds 11-40 take place. But if he doesn’t get drafted, Simmons isn’t worried. He signed with West Alabama in the fall and still plans to play for the Tigers if he isn’t picked.

“That’s probably why it hasn’t hit me yet, because I’m not worried about what is going to happen because I do have a backup plan,” Simmons said.