The Chicago Cubs’ newest draft class is within the books.
The group has till July 25 to signal their 20 picks, led by their first-round choice 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 stated 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 cut up with 9 pitchers and eight place gamers (six infielders, one catcher and one outfielder). Kantrovitz stated the Cubs didn’t essentially go into the draft planning for a giant emphasis on school gamers, however famous their 2023 bonus pool ($8,962,000) ranked close to the underside third of all MLB groups.
Pretty proud of the way in which it unfolded and pleasantly stunned that it seems to be 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,” Kantrovitz stated.
“Whether it’s particular traits of players or whether that’s the demographic breakdown of our draft, to be totally honest, with 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 him in this case.”
2. Cubs leaned on the projectible instruments of their highschool alternatives.
The Cubs’ three highschool picks characteristic the kind of uncooked upside that may repay longterm.
They took outfielder Alfonsin Rosario (P27 Academy in South Carolina) and shortstop Yahil Melendez (B You Academy in Puerto Rico) within the sixth and 7 rounds, respectively, and drafted outfielder Zyhir Hope (Colonial Forge High School in Virginia) through 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 like a plus run tool or plus raw power, plus arm,” Kantrovitz stated. “Sometimes if it’s not a toolsy guy, it becomes tough to sort of 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 monumental 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 get a 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 of stick in the midst of the diamond, contributing to his upside.
Hope possesses athleticism and lefty energy and is able to hitting the ball onerous with the kind of exit velocities which are intriguing for a corporation that values these metrics alongside scout’s reviews.
3. Cubs faucet into massive, energy pitchers.
Three of the collegiate 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 encompasses a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and energy slider to hitch a still-developing curveball. The Cubs haven’t shied away from deciding on pitchers with that harm historical past, and as soon as wholesome, Wiggins ought to be capable of re-harness 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 stated the Cubs may have Sanders add one other weapon to his pitch combine — like 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 his frame and that throws strikes, 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,” Kantrovitz stated.
Johnson struggled with command at occasions throughout his three seasons at Ball State (4.0 walks per 9 innings) however noticed a bounce in his strikeout fee in 2023, tallying 68 strikeouts in 53⅔ innings (11.4 Ok/9) with six of his 16 appearances coming within the bullpen. Like Wiggins and Sanders, Johnson’s fastball is a robust 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 number of slugging of their bat.
Florida shortstop Josh Rivera (third spherical) noticed a giant bounce in his energy numbers between his junior and senior seasons. Kantrovitz attributed the facility enchancment to Rivera’s strategy and skill to make contact.
“He’s always had a pop in his bat, we’ve observed that since high school,” Kantrovitz stated. “Josh actually targeted on enhancing his decision-making and simply actually his management within the strike zone. Sometimes when a participant concentrate 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 have been substantial and significant.”
When wholesome, Davidson’s Michael Carico (fifth spherical) confirmed the kind of energy that’s extraordinarily invaluable at catcher. A wrist harm 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 at Davidson in opposition to Atlantic 10 pitchers, together with 36 over the past two seasons. Carico was additionally 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 far as a hitter in this conference,” Kantrovitz stated. “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 how to pitch to him and sometimes really 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 house runs and 17 doubles with a .600 slugging proportion whereas enjoying in a house ballpark traditionally often called a troublesome place to hit.
“It’s always been like that, it’s kind of a graveyard in terms of the ball just staying in the park, 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,” Kantrovitz stated. “How hard he was hitting the ball indicated by the exit velocity was something that, it didn’t remain constant, but it stood out from Day 1 when he walked on the field at Long Beach. He’s been somebody that we’ve been following for a few years.”
Late-round picks Brian Kalmer (Gonzaga third baseman, 18th spherical) and Drew Bowser (Stanford third baseman, twentieth spherical) additionally possess the kind of energy potential which are invaluable 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 isn’t an apparent option to be drafted.
“That’s a good one that should probably raise some eyebrows,” Kantrovitz stated of the Cubs’ Sixteenth-round choice.
Brown, 20, appeared in solely six video games in his two seasons at Campbell, together with just one inning pitched in 4 outings this yr. He walked 13 of the 18 batters he confronted and hit two others in 2023. In his greatest sport, Brown struck out the facet March 19 in opposition to Winthrop.
“He had a little difficulty finding the zone, but frankly, to be fair to him, probably didn’t get the chance that a guy with that kind of arm strength in our estimation deserved,” Kantrovitz stated. “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 kind of athleticism and spin generated on his pitches. It’s a mix of upside not typically 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 stated. “It’s going to be somebody that just 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