Huggins Shines At Future Stars Series Pre-Draft High School Combine

Kenya Huggins, Jr. seems to have finally put it all together.

And he did it at the perfect time.

The talented right-handed starting pitcher and Louisiana Tech certainly didn’t hurt his status in the upcoming 2021 MLB Draft thanks to a solid outing in which he flashed a fastball that sat between 93-96 miles per hour, as well as a much-improved slider.

“It was good, it felt good,” said Huggins of his performance. “The weather was nice, I felt nice and loose and just went after it.”

Huggins has always been extremely projectable, earning invites to both the National Combine and International Week last year, but struggled with command at times in both. On Friday, however, he looked much improved.

“It’s been a lot of hard work and dedication, working out,” Huggins said. “A lot of working on your mechanics. (I came here) to end the summer on a good note, a really good note.”

That’s a bit of an understatement. With the MLB Draft set to begin in a week, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Huggins go off the board sooner rather than later on the second day. Whether his name gets called a lot, the electric righty knows he has a lot to think about it in the very near future.

“I’m nervous,” he said. “It’s a life-changing decision…I could go to college for three years, develop and try again. It’s up in the air. It’s not really on my mind, but it’s going to start to be after today. During the summer, I just worried about playing and then worry about the business part after. Now, playing is towards the end and it’s towards the Draft, so it’s worrying about the business aspect.”

It’s the family aspect of the Future Stars Series that’s kept Huggins coming back to these events, however, and he expressed his gratitude at getting to come out one last time.

“(I got) the experience at Fenway, the first time I came to Lake Charles for the first time, the opportunity from Mr. Jeremy Booth to invite me to ULL when I tried out for the first time,” he said.

“Thank you.”

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Mike Ashmore

Mike Ashmore is a veteran baseball writer. Since 2003 he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for Future Stars Series, the New Jersey native currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian. Ashmore has worked six Super Bowls, ten Stanley Cup Finals, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,000 games covered in his career.

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