Mercer’s Kyle Lewis not looking ahead to major league draft

Kyle Lewis hasn’t had any trouble focusing on this season, even with all the talk about his major league draft prospects coming this summer.

So with the draft less than a month away, this week won’t be any different. After all, the Mercer junior and his teammates have a huge series to play. Lewis and the Bears face UNC Greensboro starting Thursday with the Southern Conference regular-season title on the line.

“I think it’s just the nature of what you’re dealing with in life,” Lewis said of his focus. “You’re looking at a season where you’re playing for a team, and you try to win for that team. Any team you’re on, you try to win. That’s how I was raised, and I try to keep that mindset every day, coming to the ballpark and just play for the team, and whoever the jersey is I’m putting on, I’m going to play as hard for them as I can and try to get wins.”

Lewis certainly has done his part to help the Bears get their wins. He has started every game, batting .419 with 17 home runs, 64 RBI and 61 runs scored. Those kinds of numbers have caught the attention of the baseball world, and Lewis has been mentioned in several mock drafts as a high pick in the major league draft June 9. Several mock drafts have the Philadelphia Phillies selecting Lewis with the No. 1 overall pick.

“Yeah, but not really anything that’s overwhelming or anything like that,” Lewis said when asked if he has thought about the draft. “I think that it’s natural to think about those things. You always think about what’s coming ahead for you and the next step for you, but as far as each day goes, I’m still trying to stay in the moment. And we have more games to win, more games to play, so I try to focus on those more so. Maybe after the season, you can start talking about those other things.”

Mercer baseball head coach Craig Gibson isn’t surprised by the focus on mentality of his star player.

“He’s a trooper. He’s been really good,” Gibson said. “There’s 25 or 30 people wanting an autograph everywhere we go. I’ve never been around a guy like this. We’ll go to a park, and there’s a mob of people, and I’m like ‘Are they waiting to get into the game?’ And they are waiting to get his autograph. He has been really good with it. He’s handling it like a champ.”

Gibson is enjoying being around such a talented player, savoring every minute of Lewis’ standout career.

“He has handled this like a trooper being a teammate with the guys,” Gibson said. “He’s been great. I hope we realize what we have here. We may have the best pick in the world right here. Even if he’s not No. 1, he’s going to be in the first few picks, and that doesn’t come around often. I’ve been here a long time and never been around anything like this. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of guy. It gives you goose bumps, to be honest with you.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Mercer’s Kyle Lewis not looking ahead to major league draft."