Jeremy Eierman comes from a unique background.
Eierman’s father, John, was a 13th-round pick in the 1991 MLB Draft and his brother, Johnny, heard his name called in the third round of the 2011 draft.
Learning from two family members with professional experience has been invaluable to Eierman’s development as a baseball player, he said.
A junior shortstop at Missouri State, Eierman is one of the top college position players in the 2018 draft. MLB.com ranks him as the 11th-best prospect in the draft class.
“My dad played pro ball before he had me, but he’s been my mentor my entire life,” Eierman said. “I can talk to him anytime about anything I need. That’s helpful.
“They both have had these professional level experiences. The game has changes since my dad played so my brother has a little more of idea on how it is now. I lean on him and talk to him quite a bit too.”
After hitting .296 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs as a freshman in 2016, Eierman’s production increased significantly as a sophomore in 2017. In his second collegiate season, Eierman batted .313 with 23 home runs and 68 RBIs.
He stole more bases and increased his walk numbers, while his strikeouts and errors on the defensive side decreased as a sophomore. His impressive improvement earned him All-American honors in 2017.
“After my freshman season, I knew my expectations were higher than how I performed,” he said. “I had to put in the work. After going to the Cape Cod League, I knew what I had to do and work on and came back last fall and worked as hard as I could. I think the results paid off for it.”
Eierman’s quick bat speed generates notable power from the right side of the plate. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, he uses the entire field and possesses above-average speed on the bases.
He’s also a well-regarded defensive player. He has an extremely strong arm and solid range at shortstop.
“I play the game hard. But tools wise, my power, my ability to drive the ball to all fields and produce runs for my team are my biggest strengths,” he said.
Although his offensive numbers have stood out in his first two seasons at Missouri State, Eierman sometimes tries to do too much at the plate, which leads to higher strikeout numbers than he’d prefer.
“The one thing that gets to me is that I get over aggressive sometimes,” Eierman said. “That leads to more strikeouts than I should have and is something I’m working on, which is not being too aggressive on certain pitches and having a plan on what I’m looking for.”
Expectations are high for Eierman this season, after being just one of two NCAA Division I players to total 20 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 2017. Although scouts will flock to see Eierman play this season, as he tries to duplicate his sophomore success, he’s not focused on being the next member of his family to make the pros.
“I just want to go out and win,” Eierman said. “I try not to think about anything else besides playing hard and helping the team win. Everything else will fall into place.”
Find more 2018 MLB Draft profiles here.
