Last season, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) was littered with talented shortstops, including high profile players in Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman, who were selected No. 1 and No. 2 overall respectively in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
With many talented shortstops in the SEC, Errol Robinson of Ole Miss flew under the radar during the 2015 season.
However this season, Robinson is in the spotlight and receiving draft attention, after having a strong summer in the prestigious Cape Cod League.
After leading the Rebels with 62 hits and finishing second on the team with a .297 batting average last season, Robinson went to the Cape and hit .312 and was named an all-league shortstop.
“It was great being able to play against the best,” Robinson said of the Cape. “You got to see the best arms every night. The competition is unreal. It was nice to be able to succeed. It was a blessing to play with those guys.”
Robinson spent the past offseason making slight adjustments to his game, in order to be more consistent for his junior season in 2016.
Regarded as one of the top draft eligible college shortstops, Robinson is ranked as the 21st college draft prospect by Baseball America and has a chance to be selected in the early rounds of June’s draft.
“My goals were to prepare and be a leader,” Robinson said of his season goals. “I’m not focused on anything else and what people might say about the future. It’s more about winning and being the best I can be for this team to make all of our goals come true.”
While Robinson had success at the plate last year, his biggest strength is his defense. The 6-foot-0, 180-pound shortstop has good hands, long rang and is able to make the routine plays.
Robinson also displays solid speed. Although, he totaled 11 stolen bases in his first two seasons at Ole Miss, this past summer in the Cape, he tallied 15.
A starter since his freshman season, Robinson is looking to be a productive player for Ole Miss in his junior year, while providing veteran leadership for the younger players.
Robinson is off to a slow start in the 2016 season, hitting .224, while committing four errors defensively in 12 games. Despite his recent struggles, Robinson is confident that he will turn it around and be productive for Ole Miss.
Ole Miss is coming off of a 30-28 season, including a 15-14 mark in SEC play last year. Its season ended in the NCAA Regional, with losses to Maryland and Cal State-Bakersfield.
The Rebels are is off to a scorching start, boasting a 12-1 record, with their lone loss coming against No. 2 Louisville, to begin the 2016 season. As a team, they are confident and have set a goal to win a national championship this season.
“You don’t go into a season just thinking you are going to make a regional,” Robinson said of the team goal. “It’s not like we are counting on ourselves to get to a regional. Our goal is to win 40 games first and win the SEC. Then host a regional, host a super regional, make it to Omaha and then win a national championship and hoist up the trophy.”
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