Jeff Mercer has a pretty good idea what major league scouts are thinking as they watch him this year, during his stellar senior season with the Wright State baseball team.

Sure, the guy has some skills and swings a pretty good bat, he imagines them saying. But the former Franklin High School standout is nearly 24, an exceptionally old age for someone who hasn’t yet signed a professional contract. Why not opt for a talented 17-year-old, thinking there may be more room for improvement?

Mercer responds by saying that even if he never gets a sniff of the major leagues, he will be an asset to an organization — so give him a chance and pick him during the major league draft in June.

“Room me with your first-round draft choice and make sure he doesn’t do something dumb,” he said. “That’s what I bring, a calming presence. That’s what I offer. I’ll help you nurture your first-round draft choice; you let me be a kid for another couple of years.”

Going into Tuesday, Mercer led Wright State with a .365 batting average with three home runs and team-leading 42 homers. He’s started all 43 games at first base and has committed one error.

The 6-1, 215-pound Mercer doesn’t hit for a ton of power. He admits he’s at his best when he’s spraying the ball into the gaps. He doesn’t have the tall, lean body that scouts crave in young players.

But he also believes there are intangibles — such as his leadership ability — that merit him getting a look.

“I don’t have any delusions of grandeur,” said Mercer, who eventually would like to go into coaching on the professional level. “But for a hillbilly from Bargersville, Indiana, to spend even one day in professional baseball would be an amazing experience not many people can have. It would be a very gratifying way to end my career.”

Mercer played his first two years of college at the University of Dayton but took a redshirt year to return home and be close to his family and brother Daniel, who was battling a brain tumor and died in 2006.

“I was thrust very quickly into an adult role,’’ Mercer said. “I went from a being a kid to a grown man now. There was not time to bat an eye and think twice about it. I can look back and always draw strength from the battles he faced.”

He later decided to transfer to Wright State and served primarily as the Raiders’ designated hitter. He was named to the Horizon League’s all-newcomer team, then took over at first base when incumbent Jeremy Hamilton was drafted in the fifth round of last year’s major league draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

“There’s never a guarantee when you transfer into a program, especially a successful one,‘’ he said. "The lineup was really cemented last year, and I had to fight and scratch to get into it. It’s about winning here, and guys are tough."

Wright State is 21-22, including four losses to then-No. 1 Texas A&M to start the season. But the Raiders won 9-5 at then-No. 1 Georgia on March 24. They are 9-7 in the Horizon League.

Postseason play is out of the question without winning the league’s postseason tournament. Mercer hopes his playing career doesn’t end with Wright State’s season and continues in some major league organization.

“I know I can hit and play defense at that level.”