Collinsville’s Houck listed as top prospect of 2017 MLB draft

Missouri University sophomore pitcher Tanner Houck, a former Collinsville High School standout, was tabbed as the No. 1 prospect for the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft by scouting site perfectgame.com, when it released its rankings Wednesday.

Houck, a consensus Freshman All-American in 2015, was also dubbed as the top-rated collegiate prospect in the 2017 draft by “Baseball America“ earlier this season.

Houck put together one of the best freshman seasons in Mizzou baseball history. His eight wins are the most by a Tiger freshman since Kyle Gibson (a former first-round draft pick) in 2007 and his 100.2 innings are the most ever by a Tiger freshman under head coach Tim Jamieson.

At the end of the regular season, he had thrown more innings than any other freshman in the country. He compiled a 3.49 ERA on the season, striking out 91 batters over 100.2 innings while walking just 12 in 15 starts as a freshman.

Houck was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and was an All-SEC Freshman Team honoree earlier this season. He helped Mizzou defeat three top-five teams —No. 6 South Carolina, No. 4 Florida and No. 1 Texas A&M — earning wins in two of those three starts.

Houck spent his summer with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team, where he led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts and starts while boasting an 11-1 strikeout-walk ratio and a .159 opponent batting average. He threw 4.0 perfect innings in a combined no-hitter against Cuba as well.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander was drafted in the 12th round of the 2014 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays after going 6-3 with a 1.73 ERA in his senior season at Collinsville.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Collinsville’s Houck listed as top prospect of 2017 MLB draft."