If you’re a fan of Kansas City Sports, I’m sure you saw Sam Mellinger’s article on Friday detailing Patrick Mahomes’ baseball career. Mahomes was thought of as an extremely gifted athlete that probably would’ve been one of the top pitching prospects in the country. In the video featured in Mellinger’s article, you can see the live arm and competitiveness that had scouts drooling for Mahomes on the mound.

So, in honor of Patrick’s first start as an NFL quarterback today, we’re going to scout his high school self as an MLB draft prospect for you. Just as if Patrick Mahomes was going to enter the 2018 MLB Draft with the Royals on the clock at 18 and two or three more times between 32 and 40.

• Arm: 65
• Hit: 40
• Power: 45
• Field: 45
• Run: 55

Mahomes was known to have an exceptional fastball. Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox (who has a pretty good fastball himself) raved about Mahomes’ arm in Mellinger’s article. Mahomes was almost definitely going to be a pitcher had he decided to play baseball.

He was actually drafted as a pitcher in the 37th round by the Detroit Tigers back in 2014. Detroit thought so highly of Mahomes that they took a chance on him late in the draft despite Mahomes being clear on his intentions to play college football at TTU.

Mahomes actually made an appearance on the mound for the Texas Tech Red Raiders back in 2015, but never recorded an out. You can forgive him for maybe being a little busy between preparing for both football and baseball.

The fastball was there for the young gun-slinger. He pitched in the range of 91-93 with the ability to reach back for a little extra if he needed it. The breaking ball wasn’t fantastic but they were developing and his live arm suggested that it may have one day develop into a plus pitch. He had some moving parts in his delivery but the fast arm action and compound frame suggest that he could have room for improvement if he simplified things. Mahomes definitely would’ve been a bit of a project, but his ceiling would’ve made him worth it on the mound.

Mahomes probably would have gone some time after the fifth round out of high school. Some reports had him as a third or fourth rounder but he was really raw since he played multiple sports. Had he focused on baseball a little earlier, Mahomes easily could’ve worked his fastball into the first two rounds. Given his raw athleticism and natural ability to throw a baseball hard, Mahomes definitely had the arm talent to reach the big leagues one day.

Oh, by the way, there was a guy with the name Patrick Mahomes who played for the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers already……

Photo Credits: Jamie Squire-Getty Images