Worrying about JPs, picking classes and the MLB draft?

Almost every night I think about the same thing before I fall asleep. I close my eyes, and transport myself to Fenway Park. It's an October night, the lights are on, the Citgo sign is flashing, and 35,000 people are on their feet. That's right, it's Game 7 of the World Series.

The manually operated scoreboard on the "Monster" reads Boston 1, New York 0. If you can't beat the Bronx Bombers to win the Series, the Mets are the next best thing. It's the top of the ninth, two outs, and the bases are loaded. Terry Francona (Grady was replaced after last October's "incident") makes a call to the bullpen and out I trot to take the ball and try to secure Boston's first World Series win since Woodrow Wilson was President (of the country that is, not the University).

I usually don't complete the thought, falling asleep sometime between the time Mike Piazza steps into the batter's box and the time I strike him out and get carried off the field by thousands of adoring fans.

For me this is a just a dream. It's a dream because the Sox might very well not win a World Series in my lifetime. It's even more far-fetched because the closest I'm going to get to the pitcher's mound at Fenway is throwing out the first pitch at "Indian 'Prince' Editor and Chem Major's Day."

For Ross Ohlendorf and B.J. Szymanski, however, this is no pipe dream. The juniors are two of the top baseball prospects in the country. Yeah, you can go back and read that sentence again.

On baseballamerica.com, one of the country's premier scouting websites, Szymanski is ranked No. 11 in the country while Ohlendorf is No. 17. This is out of all the college baseball players in the country. Even after high-school ballplayers are added to the list these two Tigers should go in the first two rounds of the baseball draft.

Why these guys?

The answer is really simple, so let me run some numbers by you.

98: The speed, in miles per hour, of Ohlendorf's best fastball.

77: That's how tall Szymanski stands, in inches.

210: That's how much Szymanski weighs, in pounds.

4.4: That's how many seconds its take Szymanski to run the 40-yard dash.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

We throw in the fact that Ohlendorf has gained good control of his fastball and has an effective slider and we have a potential first-rounder. Add to Szymanski's resume a .421 batting average and we have the third-highest rated position player.

While it seems that everything is going just right for these two Texans, there are tough decisions that await them in the months ahead.

The baseball draft will be held on June 7-8. Before that time, both players will likely be invited to perform for two or three of the teams that are most interested in them. They will also begin working with advisors who will guide them in the draft process by feeding them information. Currently, Princeton head coach Scott Bradley serves that role.

Once drafted, presumably somewhere in the first round, the two will then go about the rather complicated process of signing a contract. This is where things get interesting.

According to NCAA rules, players are allowed to be drafted and can choose not to sign a contract. They can return to school in the fall, and the team that drafted them loses rights to them. They are still eligible to play college baseball.

Should the player sign a contract, however, he is no longer eligible to play college baseball. An additional Ivy League rule says that a player who signs any professional contract is not allowed to play any sport. For Szymanski, signing a baseball contract means not being allowed to play football in the fall.

So the question becomes: when is it worth it to sign the contract? The answer to that questions is different depending on whom you ask, but both Ohlendorf and Szymanski will tell you rather honestly that it comes down to the money.

Most draftees sign minor league contracts which pay a pittance ($800 per month). The money comes from the singing bonus, which for most first-round selections is upwards of $1 million. Last year's top pick received a hefty $3.7 million signing bonus.

For Szymanski the pros are obvious — a large contract and a future. The cons are not being able to participate in college athletics and the potential to not graduate with his class. He will overlook the cons if the money is right. When asked what that price would be, Szymanski said he didn't know. He would say that if offered $2 million, he would sign.

Not being able to graduate on time is a factor that both players considered. Many teams will tell players to complete the fall semester after the draft but skip the spring semester to attend spring training and be able to play a complete season in the minors before finishing college the following fall. Ohlendorf said that he is close to receiving permission from the University to do this in case the team that drafts him requests this.

Possible teams

Both Ohlendorf and Szymanski say that whichever team drafts them will not factor into their decision to sign. That being said, when asked what their preference is, both said the Rangers. I don't understand how someone would choose a team other than the Sox, but I'll get over it.

Ohlendorf proceeded to list the Astros, Braves, D'backs and many other warm-weather city before getting to Boston. Szymanski tried to appease me by throwing in, "I wouldn't mind playing for the Red Sox."

According to Ohlendorf, the Twins have expressed a great deal of interest in both him and his teammate. They own three picks towards the end of the first round. Szymanski said that almost every major league team has contacted him in some capacity, whether asking him to fill out a questionnaire or speaking with him on the phone.