One of Uli Fernsler’s top high school highlights was when he took the hill in the Division 1 state championship game his sophomore year in 2023 and pitched a gem for Novi — two earned runs and eight strikeouts in an 8-3 win over Woodhaven.

Then, Fernsler sat at home last summer and watched Dante Nori of rival Northville win the state championship, then get picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round — No. 27 overall — in the MLB Draft, leading to a $2.5 million contract.

Now, Fernsler will be watching to see if his name gets picked in one of the early rounds of the draft Sunday night on ESPN and the MLB Network.

Fernsler, a 6-foot-4 left-hander, felt he did everything possible to put himself in position as a first-rounder this spring. He was 4-1 with a 0.36 ERA, striking out 79 batters (four walks) in 38.2 innings.

“I felt I had a great high school season, threw a decent amount of innings with a lot of strikeouts, maxed out at 93, 94 (mph),” Fernsler told The Detroit News on Tuesday while having a meeting with his agent from ISE Baseball. “Baseball America put me on their All-American high school team, so that was a great honor.”

Baseball America had Fernsler as one of its five starting pitchers, alongside Seth Hernandez (Corona, Calif.), Kruz Schoolcraft (Sunset High/Portland), Aaron Watson (Trinity Christian, Jacksonville) and Mason Pike (Puyallup, Wash.).

Baseball American said Fernsler “is a fast-rising left-hander who pairs great control and command with a deceptive, low-slot release that amplifies his entire mix. While he currently tops out in the low 90s, the pitch jumps over barrels at the top of the zone. Fernsler also has a quality slider and changeup to create a high-probability starter kit.”

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel didn’t feel Fernsler or Birmingham Brother Rice right-hander Blake Ilitch (9-2, 1.63 ERA, 90 strikeouts, 51.2 innings) would be signing if picked in the draft, both opting to play college baseball, McDaniel predicted. Fernsler is signed with Texas Christian and Ilitch with Ole Miss.

McDaniel said Fernsler didn’t participate at the MLB combine last month due to a knee injury.

“I didn’t go to the combine,” Fernsler said. “I had a knee injury, so I didn’t participate. I’m sure teams are going to look at it in different ways.

“I’m still figuring things out with my adviser right now so I can make a solid decision. I’m sure things will be interesting. There’s going to be a lot of factors in the decision, things like how do teams feel about you, how much teams invest in you, and TCU is a great program, so that will definitely be a great option too.”

Said McDaniel: “They’re both likely to get to school, and given the shorter draft, that often means that they won’t get drafted at all, even though they are talented enough to be drafted.

“Fernsler had a knee issue recently. I think he was seen as a guy that could go as high as the second round, had the knee issue, and so now I think his price, I think is still in the second round. I think he is seen maybe as a third- or fourth-round talent, so he’s seen as likely to get to TCU.

“Ilitch I think is another guy that in a longer draft or bigger minor leagues would have some opportunities to go pro for a six-figure bonus. I think given the way the draft is and where his talent is, he feels like a guy that will probably not get a number that is attractive to him to turn pro, and will go to school and then have a chance to obviously improve his stock and go higher and get more money as a result.

“I would expect both of them to not sign. There’s a chance they get drafted later, but there’s also a chance they both don’t get drafted, which is not an indictment on their talent. It’s just sort of the way the draft works now that it’s shorter.”

McDaniel had Hernandez and Watson as potential first-round picks, comparing Hernandez to the Reds’ Hunter Greene.

MLB teams have different thoughts about the value of draft picks. In 2022, the Rangers picked former Orchard Lake St. Mary’s power pitcher Brock Porter in the fourth round — but with a $3.7 million signing bonus, the largest ever given to a pick after the second round.

Porter has struggled in the Rangers’ minor league organization, going 0-3 in 21 starts in the Class A Carolina League in 2023. He gave up six runs and 13 walks in 8.1 innings with the Hickory Crawdads to open the 2024 season, followed by being reassigned to the Arizona Complex League Rangers, where he pitched 11 innings with a 7.36 ERA. He has turned things around this season, going 4-1 with a 3.66 ERA with Hickory in A ball.

It looks like the move to play college ball has paid off for former Orchard Lake St. Mary’s catcher Ike Irish (Auburn), who is projected as a first-round pick. Nolan Schubert, a first baseman for Oklahoma State and another St. Mary’s alum, has tremendous power and should be a Day 1 selection as well. He hit .370 with 23 homers and 68 RBI in ’24, including a school-record four homers in a single game.

Michigan State left-hander Joseph Dzierwa (8-3, 2.36 ERA) and New Baltimore Anchor Bay right-hander Tyler Finkbeiner (Michigan) are potential picks this weekend. Finkbeiner was 6-0 with a 0.72 ERA, striking out 67 in 39 innings.

Prior to Nori, the last area player to be a first-round pick was Birmingham Brother Rice outfielder Nick Plummer, getting selected No. 23 overall by the Cardinals in 2015.