Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

Mike Ferris was a little concerned. The scouts were coming, but the home runs weren't.

The Miami junior first baseman had generated a flurry of interest among professional baseball scouts by hitting seven home runs in a four-game span in March and a total of 19 by May 8 to tie the school's single-season record. When opponents started treating him like Barry Bonds and pitching around him, the home runs dried up.

"The interest grew and guys started to call, but when all that started to happen, the walks started to happen, too," said Ferris, a Colerain High graduate. "It was frustrating, a little bit."

The way Ferris handled the frustration most likely enhanced his draft value. He hit just two home runs after May 8, but he also drew 13 walks after May 2 to set the school single-season record of 60. The combination of patience and power prompted Baseball America to rank him No. 1 in Ohio and No. 22 on its list of Top 100 Prospects going into baseball's draft, which starts Monday.

The publication projects Ferris to be picked by Kansas City with the No. 14 pick in the first round. Former RedHawks catcher Justin Knoedler's fifth-round selection by San Francisco in 2001 ranks as the highest a Miami player has been picked.

"It's obviously exciting," the 6-foot-2, 225-pound left-hander said. "I've heard stuff throughout the year, but you don't know how credible it is. When I saw they had me going 14th, I starting thinking, 'Hey, maybe this is reality here.' "

Ferris, who set Colerain's single-season and career home run records, started his college career at Kentucky and transferred to Miami after hitting only .228. He hit .360 with five home runs in his first season at Miami.

He and Miami coach Tracy Smith credited his power surge to offseason weight room work and a refined swing.

"He dedicated himself to getting his body in tip-top shape and putting himself in position to be successful," Smith said. "He also worked hard in the offseason with (assistant coach Dan Simonds) to develop more loft in his swing, so instead of tearing the second basemen down, he started hitting balls out of the park."

Smith agrees that Ferris helped himself by staying patient enough to finish with a team-high .513 on-base percentage.

"Especially with the whole craze of Moneyball and the emphasis on numbers," Smith said, referring to the controversial book that focused on the statistics-centered operations of Oakland general manager Billy Beane. "His numbers jump out at you."