Every so often, Christian Friedrich allows his thoughts to drift and for just a fleeting moment he loses a bit of the steely, determined focus that always has been the driving force behind his success.

It’s certainly not difficult to understand why he occasionally suffers from those momentary lapses.

He fully understands the truly amazing possibilities that the not-so-distant future might hold.

“It slips in and out a little bit every now and then,” the Eastern Kentucky University junior left-hander said. “Sometimes I just think about what I am going to be doing after the season and where am I going to be. I think about that sometimes, but I’m pretty focused on this season.”

One thing is for sure, this season will be his last at EKU.

The 6-foot-3, hard-throwing left-hander from Evanston, Ill., will certainly be selected in this year’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, more than likely in the first round.

Some projections even have the Colonel ace as a Top 10 selection.

Friedrich already has been contacted by almost every MLB team and he has received more awards and accolades than any other player in the history of the EKU baseball program. He recently was named a preseason All-American by three different organizations, including Baseball America, and has been selected as a finalist for three national player of the year awards.

Still, except for those few brief moments of self indulgence, the low-key, laid-back lefty has not allowed all the attention to have much of an impact on him.

“Getting all those (accolades) is nice, but like anything else, you can’t let it to your head,” Friedrich said. “Sure, it’s nice. You call home and tell your mom and dad about it. They pat you on the back, then the next day you to go out and continue to work hard.”

And it was that type of humble, hard-working attitude that impressed EKU coach Elvis Dominguez the first time he met Friedrich.

The EKU ace attended a small private school just outside of Chicago and although he received all-state honors as a senior he was not heavy recruited. Purdue, Evansville and Southern Miss showed some interest, but most scouts and coaches believed the tall, lanky lefty would play soccer in college.

But, not Dominguez.

“The thing that sold me was the way he carried himself,” the EKU coach said. “He was so mature when it came to game time and the way he prepared himself to go pitch and to compete. He was a tremendous competitor.”

Still, Friedrich was a bit of project when he arrived in Richmond.

He basically was a two-pitch pitcher — a fastball and a curve — and had control problems at times, but with the help of Colonel pitching coach John Corbin, he added a slider and a changeup prior to the start of his freshman season.

In the past two years the lefty also has added almost 10 miles per hour to his fastball (93 mph) as he put on more than 30 pounds (from 190 pounds in high school to 221 pounds now).

“The throwing program (coach Corbin) had set up for us is really great,” Friedrich said. “It helps you work on your control. In the fall (of my freshman year), I was still a little shaky, but I worked on it all during the offseason and by preseason my control was a lot better.”

His control improved dramatically, but the development of his curve ball has been nothing less than stunning. Baseball America recently rated the lefty’s curve as the best of any college player in the country.

“The breaking ball has really taken on a life of its own, in a sense,” Dominguez said. “It’s always been there, but his secondary pitch is a major league pitch right now. It actually took the fastball longer to catch up.”

Friedrich’s other two pitches continue to improve as well. His slider is rated as above average and his change-up is considered to be very solid, also.

“He’s like the poster child for what to do and what to do right,” Corbin said. “The results he is seeing are from all the work he’s put in.”

The lefty was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and a first-time all-conference selection after going 10-2 with a league-best 1.98 earned run average in 2006. But, it wasn’t until he was selected to play in the New England College Baseball League that summer and was later invited to tryout for the U.S.A. Baseball National Team that he really started to attract attention from Major League Baseball teams.

Friedrich went just 5-4 last season, but his stock continued to climb after he had an outstanding performance in the Cape Cod Baseball Summer League. He went 4-1 with a .268 ERA in seven starts for the Falmouth Commodores and helped lead his team to the league’s title series.

He recently was named the sixth-best MLB prospect in college baseball by Baseball America and almost every time he takes the mound, even for a bullpen session, a professional scout is there to watch.

Still, sometimes it all just seems surreal to the 20-year-old who enjoys golfing, watching movies and playing video games with his roommates.

“I always thought maybe I’d get drafted and get the chance to play. That was always my dream,” he said. “But, I didn’t think I’d be at the stage I am now where I can actually compete against some of the best guys in the country.”

Friedrich is 1-0 so far this season with a 2.45 ERA in two starts. The Colonels next home game is scheduled for Wednesday (March 19) against Western Kentucky.