STARKVILLE – Justin Foscue did something during the 2019 season that no other Mississippi State Bulldog could.
Foscue never went without a hit in consecutive games.
Over a year later, the Texas Rangers picked Foscue No. 14 in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, and a graduate of Virgil Grissom High School, Foscue did enough at Mississippi State to put himself in position for a big payday.
Here are four things to know about Foscue.
1. Foscue is a 'pure hitter'
Foscue was a safety valve of sorts for coach Chris Lemonis last year.
When Jake Mangum, Jordan Westburg, Rowdey Jordan, Tanner Allen and basically every other Bulldog in the lineup went through fits at the plate during the 2019 season, Foscue never did.
When SEC play started on March 15, Foscue's batting average was .342. From then until the rest of the season, it never dipped below .320. He finished the season with an average of .331.
Foscue had 91 hits last year, which ranked third on the team. Only Mangum (108) and Allen (96) had more.
"He's a pure hitter," Lemonis said last year. "It doesn't matter matchup-wise. He can pretty much hit anybody."
More: 'A pure hitter': How Justin Foscue has stabilized Mississippi State's offense
2. Foscue added serious power
As a freshman, Foscue hit three home runs with a slugging percentage of .353. The next year, he led the team with 14 home runs and a slugging percentage of .564.
He credited the turnaround to changing the mechanics of his swing and adding 10 pounds of muscle while losing five pounds of fat. Foscue is 6-foot tall and 203 pounds.
Mississippi State hitting coach Jake Gautreau noticed the hitch in Foscue's mechanics. He told Foscue his hands were too close to his head in his set up. Foscue learned to create more separation there so his swing path would get a little flatter and he would be able to stay on top of balls much better than before.
"It clicked," Foscue said at the time. "It finally clicked. I felt like I found my true swing."
3. Foscue was an All-American in 2019
Foscue received a lot of recognition for his sophomore season.
College Baseball Foundation named him a first-team All-American. The American Baseball Coaches Association, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and D1Baseball named him a second-team All-American. Baseball America, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game named him a third-team All-American.
Foscue was expected to back up those awards as a junior in 2020, and he was well on his way to doing so. He led the team with a batting average of .321 through 16 games. He also worked 15 walks to just three strikeouts on his way to leading the team in on-base percentage (.464).
4. Foscue played for Team USA's Collegiate National Team
Wearing red, white and blue and competing with the letters 'USA' across your chest is a huge honor for any student-athlete. Foscue did so last summer.
As a member of Team USA's Collegiate National Team, Foscue played in 14 games with 12 starts. He tied for the team lead in doubles (three) and added a triple as he hit .255 over the course of the summer. He had a string of three-straight multi-hit games and drove in five runs.
Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!
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June 11, 2020 at 08:09AM
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