The Thundering Word: Hammer Looks Ahead for MU Baseball

JD Hammer to anchor strong Herd staff in 2016, hopes to get drafted in JuneBy JACK BOGACZYK

HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST

HUNTINGTON — For J.D. Hammer, it’s better late than never in his baseball career.

In 2012, Hammer headed from Fort Collins, Colo., to Navarro College in Texas, hoping a junior-college avenue as a shortstop would be the quickest route to pro baseball. Instead, he morphed into an NCAA Division I pitching prospect.

Then, it seemed that the workhorse of the 2015 Marshall mound staff had a good shot at hearing his name among 40 rounds in the June Major League Draft. But 1,215 names came and went, and Hammer — J.D. is short for John Dale — was disappointed.

So, he headed back to Marshall…