Grant Sides

Samford has a potential first-rounder for 2012 in lefthander Lex Rutledge, who moved from the bullpen to a rotation spot this season. The Bulldogs' talent is concentrated in its freshman and sophomore classes, and the team won a school-record 37 games this season. A pair of righthanded relievers, Andrew Jones and Grant Sides, and are the team's top pitching prospects this year. Sides has run his fastball into the mid-90s after returning from Tommy John surgery. His 1.78 ERA this year was the best of his career by a long shot, and he still has more career walks (73) than strikeouts (70). He served as Jones' set-up man.