Clemson baseball: Keyshawn Askew standing out in bid to live out dream

Former Clemson baseball pitcher Keyshawn Askew was a 10th round draft pick in the 2021 draft by the New York Mets and that could turn out to be significant down the road.

There’s a not so well kept secret that MLB teams believe the top 10 rounds of the draft are where you find your major leaguers, in general.  Often times, general managers don’t even make picks past the 10th round, delegating that task to others in the organization to fill out the rosters of the minor league teams with what are typically termed “organizational players”.

That’s not say you can’t make the big leagues if drafted past the 10th round as Keith Hernandez (42nd round) and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza (62nd round) among others have shown.

The odds are low though, very low.  The odds are also very low if you’re pitching in Port St. Lucie in the Florida State League for the single A for the St. Lucie Mets.

Askew, however is making a name for himself in the Mets organization with consistent outings in the 2022 season.

On the season, the 22 year old from McEachern High in Powder Springs, Georgia has thrown 37.2 innings in 11 games (4 starts), giving up only 23 hits and 7 earned runs, while striking out 53, walking 14 and accumulating a 1.67 ERA.

Those numbers translate to 12.7 strikeouts, 5.5 hits, 3.3 walks per 9 innings pitched and a 0.982 WHIP.

Askew pitched at Clemson from 2019-2021, throwing 114.2 innings over 33 games and accumulating a 3-3 record and 5.02 ERA.

Drafted on the fringe of what is considered Major League material Keyshawn Askew is standing tall for the Class A St. Lucie Mets

Drafted on the fringe of what is considered Major League material, Askew is standing out, which is exactly what’s needed for a player in his position in order to move up through the organization and eventually get a shot at the big league club.

Class A is still a long way from Citi Field in Queens, but Askew has taken the first step in living out his dream.