The Chicago Cubs’ newest draft class is within the books.
The group has till July 25 to signal its 20 picks, led by first-round choice and Maryland shortstop Matt Shaw.
“There’s always a chance that there’s some surprises that crop up between now and the signing deadline and potentially a little leakage in certain places,” vice chairman of scouting Dan Kantrovitz mentioned Tuesday. “But for the most part, I wouldn’t expect the signing process to be too eventful, in a positive way.”
1. A balanced however college-heavy class.
By the time Kantrovitz and the Cubs accomplished the 20-round draft Tuesday, 17 of their alternatives got here from the collegiate stage.
Of the faculty group, it was a virtually even break up with 9 pitchers and eight place gamers (six infielders, one catcher and one outfielder). Kantrovitz mentioned the Cubs didn’t essentially go into the draft planning for an enormous emphasis on school gamers, however he famous their 2023 bonus pool ($8,962,000) ranked close to the underside third of all MLB groups.
“Pretty happy with the way it unfolded,” Kantrovitz mentioned, “and pleasantly stunned that it appears like we’re in a position to get some younger gamers within the fold, which is uncharacteristic of getting a pool within the backside third.
“Whether it’s particular traits of players or whether that’s the demographic breakdown of our draft, to be totally honest, with a bottom-third pool, I’m pretty surprised that we were able to get as many high school players as we could. Now we still have to sign them. But if we didn’t have some idea of whether they’re going to be able to sign, we probably wouldn’t take them in this case.”
2. The Cubs leaned on the projectable instruments of their highschool alternatives.
The Cubs’ three highschool picks characteristic the kind of uncooked upside that may repay long run.
They took outfielder Alfonsin Rosario (P27 Academy in South Carolina) and shortstop Yahil Melendez (B You Academy in Puerto Rico) within the sixth and seventh rounds and outfielder Zyhir Hope (Colonial Forge High School in Virginia) throughout the eleventh spherical.
“When you talk about a young high school kid, we’ve always viewed it as a positive to fall back on those tools, whether it’s a plus run tool or plus raw power, plus arm,” Kantrovitz mentioned. “Sometimes if it’s not a toolsy guy, it becomes tough to get out of some of those funks and it can go downhill quick. So I think the toolsier a player is, the more options and more pathways they probably have to succeed.”
The 6-foot-6 Rosario, 19, boasts huge uncooked energy that excites Kantrovitz, who added, “We’re going to take it slow with him and he’s going to have to refine his approach offensively and develop a little bit more polished baseball skills.”
With Melendez, who turns 18 in September, Kantrovitz estimates the Cubs had 5 – 6 scouts take a look at the left-handed-hitting shortstop this spring, a notable quantity for a participant in Puerto Rico. The Cubs imagine Melendez ought to be capable to stick in the midst of the diamond, contributing to his upside.
Hope possesses athleticism and lefty energy and is able to hitting the ball exhausting with the kind of exit velocity that’s intriguing for a corporation that values these metrics alongside scouts’ stories.
3. The Cubs tapped into massive, energy pitchers.
Three of the faculty pitchers the Cubs drafted boast a 6-foot-6 body: Arkansas right-hander Jaxon Wiggins (compensation spherical), South Carolina right-hander Will Sanders (fourth spherical) and Ball State right-hander Ty Johnson (fifteenth spherical).
Wiggins is getting back from Tommy John surgical procedure however includes a mid- to upper-90s fastball and energy slider to affix a growing curveball. The Cubs haven’t shied away from choosing pitchers with that damage historical past, and as soon as wholesome, Wiggins ought to be capable to reharness the standard of pitches he confirmed pre-injury.
Sanders’ body helps him generate an excessive downhill angle and extension. Although he throws a mid-90s fastball, the Cubs see him as greater than only a energy pitcher due to his three secondary pitches: slider, curveball, changeup. Kantrovitz mentioned the Cubs might have Sanders add one other weapon to his pitch combine — similar to a cutter — and have extra energy throughout the board.
“When you get a guy like that that has a starter’s repertoire, that still has some projection left on his frame and that throws strikes,” Kantrovitz mentioned, “it ends up being what we believe is a pretty good recipe for potential velo gains and maybe some tweaking to his repertoire and somebody that we think we haven’t really seen the best of yet.”
Johnson struggled with command at occasions throughout his three seasons at Ball State (4 walks per 9 innings) however noticed a soar in his strikeout charge in 2023, tallying 68 in 53⅔ innings (11.4 per 9 innings) with six of his 16 appearances coming within the bullpen. Like Wiggins and Sanders, Johnson’s fastball is a powerful pitch that may hit within the higher 90s.
4. An offensive energy infusion from the faculty ranks.
A typical theme emerged from the Cubs’ number of school place gamers: a lot of slugging of their bats.
Florida shortstop Josh Rivera (third spherical) noticed an enormous soar in his energy numbers between his junior and senior seasons. Kantrovitz attributed the facility enchancment to Rivera’s method and skill to make contact.
“He’s always had a pop in his bat; we’ve observed that since high school,” Kantrovitz mentioned. “Josh actually centered on bettering his decision-making and his management within the strike zone. Sometimes when a participant focuses on that, it doesn’t at all times come to fruition. But within the case of Josh, it’s clear a few of the changes truly had been substantial and significant.”
When wholesome, Davidson’s Michael Carico (fifth spherical) confirmed the kind of energy that’s extraordinarily helpful at catcher. A wrist damage restricted Carico to 21 video games in 2023, however he proved to be an imposing determine within the batter’s field. He was hit by a pitch 41 occasions in three years towards Atlantic 10 pitchers, together with 36 over the past two seasons. Carico was drilled 16 occasions in 24 video games within the 2022 Northwoods Summer League.
“It’s indicative of somebody that is probably pretty well-respected as a hitter in this conference,” Kantrovitz mentioned. “He did not come out of the SEC or the ACC — it’s more of a mid-major — so pitchers were trying to probably figure out how to pitch to him and sometimes couldn’t figure it out as well as they wanted to.”
The Cubs don’t see many offensive holes with Long Beach State first baseman Jonathon Long (ninth spherical), who hit 15 dwelling runs and 17 doubles with a .600 slugging proportion whereas taking part in in a house ballpark traditionally generally known as a tricky place to hit.
“It’s kind of a graveyard in terms of the ball staying in the park,” Kantrovitz mentioned. “The air is really thick and dense, so when you hit for power there, typically it means you have the makings of what could be some real power.”
Late-round picks Brian Kalmer (Gonzaga third baseman, 18th spherical) and Drew Bowser (Stanford third baseman, twentieth spherical) additionally possess the facility potential to make them helpful additions that deep into the draft.
5. An intriguing arm taken within the Sixteenth spherical.
Based on left-hander Daniel Brown’s profession numbers at Campbell, he wasn’t an apparent option to be drafted.
“That’s a good one that should probably raise some eyebrows,” Kantrovitz mentioned of the Cubs’ Sixteenth-round choice.
Brown, 20, appeared in solely six video games in two seasons at Campbell, totaling one inning pitched. He walked 13 of the 18 batters he confronted and hit two others, additionally throwing 9 wild pitches.
In his finest sport, Brown struck out the aspect March 19 towards Winthrop. Other than that he by no means recorded an out in school. He additionally by no means allowed a success.
“He had a little difficulty finding the zone, but frankly (he) probably didn’t get the chance that a guy with that kind of arm strength in our estimation deserved,” Kantrovitz mentioned. “We want to give him that chance.”
That alternative facilities on the 6-foot-6 lefty possessing a fastball that hits triple digits with the athleticism and spin he can generate on his pitches. It’s a mixture of upside not usually discovered at that spot within the draft — and one that may make that participant a worthy gamble.
“When you come into the system and haven’t pitched much in a game setting — and when he did it was scattered control — there’s going to be a lot of work to do there,” Kantrovitz mentioned. “It’s going to be somebody that comes in with some pretty top-of-the-charts raw tools from a pitch metric standpoint, pitch shape standpoint and even just a scouting evaluation standpoint, and just let our player development work with him and see where we can go.”
Here’s a breakdown of the Cubs alternatives within the 2023 MLB draft.
- Round 1, No. 13 (bonus slot worth $4,848,500): SS Matt Shaw, Maryland
- Compensation spherical, No. 68: RHP Jaxon Wiggins, Arkansas
- Round 3, No. 81: SS Josh Rivera, Florida
- Round 4, No. 113: RHP Will Sanders, South Carolina
- Round 5, No. 149: C Michael Carico, Davidson
- Round 6, No. 176: OF Alfonsin Rosario, P27 Academy (S.C.)
- Round 7, No. 206: SS Yahil Melendez, B You Academy (Puerto Rico)
- Round 8, No. 236: OF Brett Bateman, Minnesota
- Round 9, No. 266: 1B Jonathon Long, Long Beach State
- Round 10, No. 296: RHP Luis Martinez-Gomez, Temple College (Texas)
- Round 11, No. 326: OF Zyhir Hope, Colonial Forge (Va.) HS
- Round 12, No. 356: 2B Carter Trice, NC State
- Round 13, No. 386: RHP Sam Armstrong, Old Dominion
- Round 14, No. 416: RHP Grayson Moore, Vanderbilt
- Round 15, No. 446: RHP Ty Johnson, Ball State
- Round 16, No. 476: LHP Daniel Brown, Campbell
- Round 17, No. 506: LHP Ethan Flanagan, UCLA
- Round 18, No. 536: 3B Brian Kalmer, Gonzaga
- Round 19, No. 566: RHP Nick Dean, Maryland
- Round 20, No. 596: 3B Drew Bowser, Stanford
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Source: www.bostonherald.com