2 replies to this topic

[ORUTerry]

Former Oral Roberts University outfielder Chris Elder is having a remarkable spring and summer.

In June, Elder hit a winning grand slam to eliminate TCU in a regional at TCU. Elder's performance this season earned him a shot as an alternate for Team USA.

Elder eventually earned a spot on Team USA's roster and rewarded that decision by hitting .300 in 14 games.

That caught the attention of the Kansas City Royals, who signed him as an undrafted free agent. Elder's pro career os off to a promising start as he is batting .292 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 26 games for short-season Idaho Falls.

Elder's Idaho Falls teammate, first baseman Dean Espy, son of Tulsa Drillers manager Duane Espy, is also off to a good start with a .299 batting average, six homers and 32 RBIs in 53 games...

Link to Tulsa World Sports Extra

[ORUJason]

ORUTerry, on 26 August 2011 - 03:41 PM, said:

Former Oral Roberts University outfielder Chris Elder is having a remarkable spring and summer.

In June, Elder hit a winning grand slam to eliminate TCU in a regional at TCU. Elder's performance this season earned him a shot as an alternate for Team USA.

Elder eventually earned a spot on Team USA's roster and rewarded that decision by hitting .300 in 14 games.

That caught the attention of the Kansas City Royals, who signed him as an undrafted free agent. Elder's pro career os off to a promising start as he is batting .292 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 26 games for short-season Idaho Falls.

Elder's Idaho Falls teammate, first baseman Dean Espy, son of Tulsa Drillers manager Duane Espy, is also off to a good start with a .299 batting average, six homers and 32 RBIs in 53 games...

Link to Tulsa World Sports Extra

While I am happy for Chris Elder, he is listed as a senior for the 2011-2012 school year on the baseball roster on orugoldeneagles.com, which means that he had another year of eligibility. I was looking forward to him being a Golden Eagle for another year. He is an amazing hitter at the college level, and he will definitely be missed. I hope he got some significant $ for signing with the KC Royals because he certainly could have had a huge senior year and had the potential to be drafted in a range that would get him some $ while being able to finish his degree. I was really surprised that he wasn't drafted at the end of his junior year.

I'm sure that Rob Walton had some influence on Chris being selected to Team USA, and that opportunity ended up costing ORU a significant player for one year. Of course Rob's connections can surely be used as a great recruiting tool. Also, KC could certainly use some good hitters so he may have ended up in a good spot.

[Bogus Smith]

I believe that Chris received his redshirt (medical) for his broken arm in the 2010 season after the 2011 ORU season ended. He went through Senior Day in May and was a senior on last season's roster. I have to believe that when Chris did not get a sniff in this past MLB draft as a fourth-year senior and had such a stellar season with Team USA, which resulted in an offer from the Royals, that Chris had no choice but to take his chances in pro ball.

If I was Rob Walton, I don't think that I could have given Chris any hope of getting a better offer. Chris had to have gotten a decent contract (as undrafted player's contracts go) since Chris did have the opportunity to return for another season of college ball - something that he would not have for sure next season.