Kane Kepley (South Rowan)

Staff report

PHOENIX — UNC rising senior Kane Kepley and recent A.L. Brown graduate CJ Gray are taking part in this week’s Major League Baseball draft Combine at Chase Field in Arizona.

The four-day event started on Tuesday.

The Combine includes scrimmage games for the high school players, including the six who were invited from North Carolina. Davie shortstop Coy James was another of the high school invitees.

The college players won’t be playing in live games, but hitters will have batting practice sessions and defensive workouts for scouts and evaluators, while pitchers will throw in bullpens.

The best in technology will be available. Exit velocities will be measured for hitters, along with fastball velocities and spin rates for pitchers.

Players also will be able to get some of the necessary medical stuff taken care of, and they’ll be interviewed by interested teams.

Gray, 18, is committed to N.C. State, but if he’s a high enough draft pick he could pass up college baseball. He is a top-notch hitter who batted over .500 and slugged 11 homers as a high school senior, but he throws 97, so most scouts see his future on the mound.

Kepley, a 2022 South Rowan graduate who played his first two college seasons at Liberty, was a dynamic lead-off man for UNC and is considered a certain draft pick in the early rounds despite being 5-foot-8. The 21-year-old is an on-base machine, with great quickness on the bases and is an exceptional defender in center field.

The MLB Draft is set for July 13-14 as part of All-Star Game festivities in Atlanta.