IMG Academy pitching coach Steve Frey at all times tells individuals Jackson Ferris has that “it factor.”
The Cubs chosen the 18-year-old left-hander within the second spherical Sunday, a powerful highschool pitcher who can rack up strikeouts. MLB.com rated Ferris the No. 19 prospect within the draft and Baseball America had him at No. 34. The Cubs, who picked him at No. 47, added a high-upside arm.
Ferris struck out 189 batters in 105 innings throughout two seasons as a starter at IMG Academy. He completed his senior yr with a 1.33 ERA and 6.87 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 10 outings.
“When he’s outside of the lines he’s one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet,” Frey informed the Tribune. “And inside the lines, he’s got that fire-in-the-belly mentality where he wants the ball. He wants to win.”
Ferris at all times informed Frey he was obtainable between begins if it meant serving to his workforce win.
“He’s a really good pitcher, but he has that little extra that some guys don’t have,” Frey stated. “And coaches are going to love that.”
IMG Academy’s nationwide schedule pits them in opposition to high-quality opponents. Ferris’ potential to make use of all 4 pitches — fastball, curveball, changeup and slider — in sport conditions stood out to the Cubs. Ferris’ fastball can vary from 93-95 mph with a curveball and changeup which might be thought of above common. Quite a lot of elite highschool pitchers are so dominant they want solely two pitches to close down opposing hitters. While Ferris would typically depend on a two-pitch combine in opposition to the underside of a lineup, that will not fly in opposition to a workforce’s greatest hitters.
Ten Cubs scouts evaluated Ferris all through the spring, led by space scout Tom Clark.
“This wasn’t somebody that was just coming in pitching with two pitches for two innings,” Cubs vice chairman of scouting Dan Kantrovitz stated. “I mean, he’s throwing complete games and showing off four pitches and going multiple times through the order and showing an ability to make in-game adjustments, so it went above and beyond your typical two-pitch high school pitcher.”
Frey is aware of what it takes to make it to the large leagues. He spent eight years within the majors with 5 groups, ending his profession with a 3.76 ERA in 314 video games as a reliever. Frey sees one thing particular in Ferris. The younger pitcher would mess around with totally different offspeed grips, and as soon as he discovered that really feel, “there was no turning back.” Working on the psychological facet of pitching was a typical theme throughout his bullpens, and it carried over to video games.
Frey described Ferris as a pleasure to work with.
“He would just get after it,” Frey stated. “He’s not a man that overprocesses. He is see the signal, decide to the pitch and get after it.
“I mean, obviously we’re talking today because of the gift that he has, but over the two years, he just developed as a complete pitcher.”
Ferris might want to add energy to his lanky 6-foot-4 body. To take the following step in his growth, Frey stated preserving an open thoughts is vital, one thing the academy preaches to all gamers earlier than they transfer on. That would possibly imply making an attempt new grips or supply tweaks because the Cubs make the most of their know-how and pitching infrastructure, together with their pitch lab.
“You want to continue to be successful at each level and it’s baby steps,” Frey stated. “And that’s what he’s going to have to get used to.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com