:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/14356209/20120603_pjc_ae9_099.0.jpg)
With a Super Regional looming for the Oklahoma Sooners, the anticipation and nervousness that accompanied the 2013 MLB Draft can finally be put behind ace Jonathan Gray. This season, Gray boasts a 10-2 mark with 138 strikeouts to rank second in the NCAA. Put that alongside a 1.59 ERA, a 100 mph fastball, and a high ceiling and it's easy to see why Gray landed himself in talks of being taken by the Houston Astros with the first overall pick.
Instead, Gray, a junior standing at 6-4 239, was taken third overall by the Colorado Rockies. This occasion marks the 18th time a Sooner has been drafted in the first round of the MLB. However, it has been since 1985 that Oklahoma has had a player drafted as high as Gray. Make no mistake, Rockies fans will not have to wait long to see what they are getting with their newly drafted pitcher Gray is slotted to take the mound against the LSU Tigers on Friday as the Road to Omaha continues.
While Gray has been the standout there is another side to the equation that makes up one of the best Friday/Saturday starters on the collegiate level. Lefty, Dillon Overton has put together an impressive career as a Sooner hurler standing 6-2 160 through his junior season. The skills he possesses landed him in the second round of this year's draft and 63rd overall with a selection by the Oakland A's.
Oklahoma fans have known just how good this tandem could be when both were healthy and the MLB Draft has backed up those thoughts and notions. Now, it is time for these pitchers to focus on the task at hand as they look to make a run to the College World Series. The draft will continue through Friday with the 3rd-15th round and will conclude on Saturday.