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Report: Sox sign ex-Arkansas, USC QB Mustain

February 9, 2012, 10:49 pm

 

This is Mitch Mustain being sacked by current Bears defensive lineman Stephen Paea while the two played in the Pac 10. (US Presswire)

 

JJ STANKEVITZ

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The White Sox have a decade-long tradition of acquiring former college quarterbacks, for what it's worth. Joe Borchard played QB at Stanford, Josh Fields was a signal-caller for Les Miles at Oklahoma State and Clayton Richard backed up Chad Henne at Michigan.

 

And now, according to a report, the White Sox have signed former Arkansas and USC quarterback Mitch Mustain to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. Mustain told KNWA, a Fox affiliate in Northwest Arkansas, that he will report to White Sox camp on March 8, about two weeks after pitchers and catchers report.

 

Mustain was a pitcher in high school, but didn't play any collegiate baseball as he focused on his football career.

 

A native of Springdale, Ark., Mustain was rated as a five-star quarterback by Rivals in 2006 and ranked only behind current Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (who, for the record, played baseball with reigning NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw at Highland Park High School near Dallas) among prep quarterbacks.

 

In his first season at Arkansas, Mustain put up fairly normal numbers for a true freshman, completing 52.3 percent of his passes for 894 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. But toward the end of the season, his playing time dwindled and he decided to transfer following the Razobracks' Nov. 28 win over LSU.

 

His pedigree led him to USC, where he found himself stuck behind Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley on the Trojans' depth chart. He only started one game for USC, that being a 20-16 loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 27, 2010 in Los Angeles.

 

After failing to be selected in last year's NFL Draft, Mustain had an unsuccessful 10-day trial with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.

 

According to USA Today, Mustain signed a contract with the Georgia Force of the AFL on Sept. 30 of 2011 with plans to report to the team in March. That article was published on Dec. 26 of last year, though, so something must have changed for Mustain to have signed this deal with the White Sox.

 

Or maybe Mustain will give baseball a shot and then go back to football if he struggles in spring training. Either way, this should be an interesting story to follow this March.

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um... the guy hasn't played organized ball since high school, and he gets a Spring Training invite? I'm not against signing someone like this, but giving him an NRI seems sort of ridiculous. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league pitching.

 

um... the guy hasn't played organized ball since high school, and he gets a Spring Training invite? I'm not against signing someone like this, but giving him an NRI seems sort of ridiculous. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league pitching.

Wait, so they're signing him as a position player and not as a pitcher?

um... the guy hasn't played organized ball since high school, and he gets a Spring Training invite? I'm not against signing someone like this, but giving him an NRI seems sort of ridiculous. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league pitching.

 

I'd love to see some scouting on what he had. This is such a bizarre move. Maybe it was the only way to get him to sign? I'm reaching here.

Wait, so they're signing him as a position player and not as a pitcher?

I have no idea, but if he is a pitcher, then fine - take it the other way. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league hitters.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not against the signing, I just think the NRI to ST is pointless.

 

If he hasn't picked up a baseball in six years, and still hit 90, maybe there is something there.

 

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2409569.story

 

Mitch Mustain's college career as a quarterback didn't pan out, but the Chicago White Sox apparently like his right arm.

 

The Sox have signed Mustain, who came out of Springdale, Ark., as one of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation, to a minor league contract. Mustain will report to spring training on March 8, according to a story published Thursday at nwahomepage.com.

 

Mustain, 23, hasn't pitched since high school, but he told a reporter he threw 90 mph during a tryout last month in front of a Sox scout. Mustain told the Los Angeles Daily News in October of 2009 that he was considering pursuing baseball but never pitched for the Trojans' once-successful baseball program.

Another signing you'd expect from Kansas City. No wonder interest is at lows I have never experienced.

I have no idea, but if he is a pitcher, then fine - take it the other way. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league hitters.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not against the signing, I just think the NRI to ST is pointless.

If he's stealing playing time that should go to someone else I'd complain. I don't think he will be...but hey, this team has come out of ST poorly prepared for the season 2 years in a row, so maybe they will give him a lot of time.

Another signing you'd expect from Kansas City. No wonder interest is at lows I have never experienced.

 

You missed the memo. Kansas City is the new awesome when it comes to the minors, and we are supposed to be emulating them.

If he's stealing playing time that should go to someone else I'd complain. I don't think he will be...but hey, this team has come out of ST poorly prepared for the season 2 years in a row, so maybe they will give him a lot of time.

 

That pretty much isn't possible in spring training. Between all of the practice fields and A and B games, there is always a need for warm bodies. Ask Jarred Mitchell.

Another signing you'd expect from Kansas City. No wonder interest is at lows I have never experienced.

 

Yeah because guys like Sergio Santos and Nestor Molina never happen

Just general banter here-- I'm not going to just default to putting this down. Get talented people, get creative. That line of thinking worked with Sergio Santos and increased his value dramatically over a short period of time. This is more of a reach than that, but I'm not opposed to low risk-anything

Edited February 10, 201214 yr by Princess Dye

Another signing you'd expect from Kansas City. No wonder interest is at lows I have never experienced.

 

Really? You know you have an agenda when you criticize a minor league deal.

I have no idea, but if he is a pitcher, then fine - take it the other way. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league hitters.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not against the signing, I just think the NRI to ST is pointless.

He is a pitcher. However, this is a guy that would have a been a very high draft pick had it not been for him pursuing football. The fact that he could throw a fastball at 90MPH without much practice/conditioning (I realize he still throws footballs) is pretty impressive. This seems to be like a pretty smart low risk move. He clearly is older than your usual prospect, but that is perfectly okay. It isn't like the Sox are throwing him a bunch of money and physically he has some tools. The odds are low and it will clearly be a multi-year process for him to make the change (since he doesn't have as naturally as gifted of an arm as Santos) but it seems to me like a decent move.

 

Nothing to go crazy over but something that I think is solid. You make enough of these smart sort of signings and when one pans out it is all worth it.

Just general banter here-- I'm not going to just default to putting this down. Get talented people, get creative. That line of thinking worked with Sergio Santos and increased his value dramatically over a short period of time. This is more of a reach than that, but I'm not opposed to low risk-anything

 

Guy threw 90 after not pitching in 6 years. This has zero risk at all. He's only 23 and is obviously an athletic individual. Criticizing is just criticizing for the sake of doing it.

Guy threw 90 after not pitching in 6 years. This has zero risk at all. He's only 23 and is obviously an athletic individual. Criticizing is just criticizing for the sake of doing it.

To be clear - again - I was not criticizing the signing. At all. I like it. I just question the NRI, which seems silly.

 

But SS2K5 is probably right, it was most likely an incentive to sign at all. He'll throw in one late-spring split squad game for an inning, stay in AZ for extended ST after the team leaves, then head for one of the A-ball squads.

 

To be clear - again - I was not criticizing the signing. At all. I like it. I just question the NRI, which seems silly.

 

But SS2K5 is probably right, it was most likely an incentive to sign at all. He'll throw in one late-spring split squad game for an inning, stay in AZ for extended ST after the team leaves, then head for one of the A-ball squads.

 

That is pretty much how I see it. I would be shocked if he doesn't end up in extended spring for a lengthy period of time after the teams break camp. We'll see what the kid has. If he doesn't have it, we lose nothing. Seriously we are probably talking about $100k or less at risk here, and I am sure it isn't guaranteed.

I highly doubt this guy was invited to major league camp. I think he was just reporting to minor league camp on March 8.

Can't be worse than a Dominican with a borrowed name and a bogus birth certificate.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blo...e-arkansas.html

 

Former USC quarterback Mitch Mustain dreamed of one day playing in the Super Bowl. But now Mustain, who has not pitched since his sophomore year in high school, is thinking about the World Series after signing a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.

 

“This is my one shot and I have nothing to lose,” Mustain, 24, said in a phone interview.

 

Mustain will report to the White Sox’s spring training facility in Arizona in March. He will take part in the extended spring training program and, if he progresses, will likely be assigned to a rookie league team after the June draft.

 

It's the latest chapter in an athletic career that has featured many twists and turns.

 

Mustain was a high school football legend in Arkansas and started eight games as a freshman at the University of Arkansas in 2006. That season, however, was full of controversy surrounding Mustain, former Coach Houston Nutt and others, and Mustain was among several players who left the program.

 

Mustain transferred to USC in 2007 but never won the starting job. He started only one game — the Trojans’ 2010 loss to Notre Dame at the Coliseum.

 

Mustain had hoped to play in the NFL, but his prospects for getting drafted or signing as a free agent were not helped by a February 2011 arrest in the San Fernando Valley on suspicion of selling prescription drugs. He completed a pre-file diversion program and did not face misdemeanor charges.

 

Mustain had a brief stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League last summer. The Georgia Force of the Arena Football League announced in October that it had signed Mustain.

 

Those plans, however, were put on hold after a recent pitching session that Mustain said occurred “as ironic as it sounds” in a bullpen at the University of Arkansas.

 

Mustain had been working out last year in preparation for a possible shot at baseball, but stopped throwing in November.

 

“I didn’t think it was going to happen,” he said.

 

But last month, he said, a friend who had played in the White Sox organization contacted a scout in Tulsa, Okla.

 

“He hit me up on a Friday and said the scout could be here the next Friday,” Mustain said. “So I went out on Tuesday and played long toss to stretch out my arm.”

 

A few days later, he was on the mound in tennis shoes touching 90 mph on the radar gun.

 

“I was hitting my spots and my curve ball was on,” he said.

 

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Mustain signed a contract this week and the White Sox sent him a throwing program the next day.

 

“I’m hoping to eventually get to 94 or 95 [miles per hour],” he said. “I’m excited to see where it goes.”

 

Mustain said the baseball chapter of his life will probably be added to a documentary in the works that gained attention last month. Filmmaker Matthew Wolfe posted this clip of the project, tentatively titled “The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain” on a website. The clip includes Mustain shooting rifles and handguns in the woods.

 

“I’m not a militiaman by any means,” Mustain said. “I think a lot of that was intentionally vague to draw some attention and see where it goes. We wanted to stir up some reaction, and there was some pretty interesting feedback.

 

“He had been asking me about stuff, hobbies I have. He was intrigued and wanted to see. We spent maybe 10 or 15 minutes out there shooting a little bit. It’s amazing that from a two-minute clip that people deduced that’s my life.”

Another signing you'd expect from Kansas City. No wonder interest is at lows I have never experienced.

He is cheap signing that is for sure.

Just another interesting story with a twist that makes baseball so fun to follow.

To be clear - again - I was not criticizing the signing. At all. I like it. I just question the NRI, which seems silly.

That's mostly irrelevant. They won't be trotting him out in the Major League spring games if he has no control of a 90 MPH fastball and nothing else. It's probably just a way of having him spend more time with the best players and coaches.

 

I'm pretty surprised this got picked up in so many places, even for a USC (backup) QB.

I think it is a great move to groom him as the White Sox quarterback of the future

This is no risk, mediocre reward. I don't see the problem here.