Mark Pawelek

Pawelek left his mark on the Utah prep ranks by the time he completed his junior year, setting the state record for career strikeouts with 341 while going 26-2 in his first three years. As a junior, he went 10-1, 1.05 with 156 strikeout in 80 innings. He moved onto the national stage as a senior with an even more impressive season, going 8-0, 0.00 in his first 51 innings, striking out 109, walking just 12 and allowing 12 hits. Of more importance for the draft, he topped out at 94-95 mph with an effortless delivery. Scouts say his feel for pitching, presence and composure are so advanced for his age that he's the equivalent of a college sophomore. He has command of four pitches and knows how and when to use his curveball and changeup. He's the most complete high school pitcher to come out of Utah since lefthander Mike Gosling--who signed for $2 million in 2001 after three years at Stanford--and Gosling's fastball was 3-4 mph slower than Pawelek's. The only high school player ever drafted in the first round out of Utah is lefthander Bruce Hurst, selected by the Red Sox with the 22nd pick in 1976. Pawelek could go higher than that on talent, but he's the only high school player in this year's draft who is being advised by Scott Boras and that could have a profound impact on where he is picked. Pawelek's older brother Dennis was drafted by the White Sox in 2002 out of Snow (Utah) Junior College, but he never played pro ball and spent last fall as a backup kicker on Utah's undefeated Fiesta Bowl football team. There is little chance Pawelek will forgo a similar opportunity to play pro ball.