TCU's Matt Purke hopes to win a national title this season.
As soon as TCU sophomore Matt Purke made the decision to go to college, the expectations were high. There wasn’t much of a transition period, as Purke was a first round pick out of high school and expected to take on a starting role as a freshman. Purke elected to attend TCU after failing to come to terms with the Texas Rangers, who drafted Purke 14th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft.
As a freshman, Purke led the Horned Frogs to their first ever college appearance, finishing a perfect 16-0 while recording 142 strikeouts in only 116 innings. Purke proved he wasn’t an average freshman. He possessed the poise and mental makeup of a collegiate veteran, with the talent to be a dominant lefty in the majors.
Purke has a very projectable frame, standing at 6’3″ 175 pounds. His fastball sits between 90-93 consistently, with the ability to touch 94-95. Purke likes to work down in the zone with a two-seam fastball that will run away from righties and jam lefties. Purke’s breaking ball is more of a slurve than a curve, typically clocked in the upper 70′s to low 80′s. Since his fastball and breaking ball come from the same arm slot, he has an uncanny ability of being able to backdoor righties on command.
So why didn’t the Rangers sign Purke in 2009? The Rangers knew Purke’s demands were high, as there were pre-draft rumors stating Purke wanted $7 million to sign out of high school. “We said at the beginning we wanted a deal similiar to Rick Porcello and Josh Beckett,” Matt Purke’s father, Lawrence Purke said. “We are talking around $7.2 million to $7.5 million.”
The Rangers knew what Purke’s demands were going into the draft. Rangers GM Jon Daniels even added that Purke’s bonus demands before the draft had not increased at any time during the negotiations. When the deadline was up, Purke stuck to his guns. He wanted $7 million, he didn’t get it, and therefor he did not sign. While Purke acknowledges there is no animosity between him and the Rangers, he said he was very open with Texas management from the moment the process began.
While the question of signability may haunt him come draft day, there is still a chance he could be a top 3 pick come June.
