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Plummer of Brother Rice, State Champs’ top baseball player in the preseason, projected a possible first round pick
Birmingham – Nick Plummer of Birmingham Brother is a rare schoolboy talent on the baseball diamond.
Let’s start with his tremendous power. Add base-stealer speed, athleticism, a quick bat, consistency at the plate, flawless glove work and an above average arm strength from the outfield – he’s got it all. And, not surprisingly, the pro scouts have come flocking.
Plummer is a 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior who has been selected as State Champs’ No. 1 player for 2015. He’s a projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball Amateur Draft this June. Some scouting websites peg Plummer going as high as No. 7 overall. ESPN slots him at No. 8.
A four-year starter with the Warriors, Plummer hit .575 with 36 RBI and 8 home runs last season. Brother Rice won three straight Catholic League A-B Division titles and in 2013, when Plummer was a sophomore, the Warriors reached the Division 1 state finals.
Brother Rice coach Bob Riker could see what his star player was developing into back then before Plummer suited up for his first varsity game in the spring of 2012.
“We’ve started him since he was a freshman,” Riker said. “He’s always had phenomenal potential and every year, that’s a fact that’s become more and more evident. His skills run the gamut. He possesses the kind of attributes both college and pro scouts value.”
Plummer signed with Kentucky in November on the heels of a dynamite offseason where he blew away the competition at a series of showcase camps and scouting combines. He packed on 20 pounds of muscle and shot up draft charts. Plummer likely won’t play in college next season. Instead, he’ll likely sign with a major league team.
Riker has never had a first-round MLB Draft selection in his program or a player that has gone directly from high school to the pros. D.J. LeMahieu (Class of 2007, currently starting with the Colorado Rockies) and Andrew Sohn (Class of ‘11, currently in the minors with the St. Louis Cardinals organization) were taken in the second and third round out of Louisiana State and Western Michigan, respectively, coming out of college.
Plummer said he isn’t concentrating on where he’ll be chosen in June’s draft or how he stacks up to other all-time greats at Brother Rice.
“I can’t worry about that stuff, I just have to focus on and take care of the things I can control, like my work ethic, my goals and what I do out on the field when it is time to deliver,” he said. “If I do that, all that other stuff will fall into place by itself.”
He strives for versatility in his game. Scouts tag him with the favorable ‘five-tool’ label.
“I just want to be as well-rounded a player as I possibly can be,” Plummer said. “I go out and grind as hard as I can and hope that results will come from having that kind of approach.”
