Zach Neal

Neal began his college career at Sam Houston State before transferring to Howard (Texas) JC, where he went 13-0 and was part of a 63-1 national championship team in 2009. He has had no trouble making the jump from juco ball to the Big 12 Conference. He seized Oklahoma's Friday-night starter job, and the Sooners won 12 of his 14 regular-season starts this season. Neal works at 88-93 mph with his fastball and holds his velocity into the late innings. His No. 2 pitch is a tight slider, and when he's at his best opponents have trouble telling it apart from his heater. He also has a changeup and a show-me curveball. He throws tons of strikes, and though he's just 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds, he does a good job of pitching down in the zone. Scouts love the way he competes, and he has gone 36-4 during the last four springs. Neal went undrafted in 2009 because of his commitment to Oklahoma, but he should be signable as a fifth- to seventh-rounder this June.