Cade Horton already possesses some background information on the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs chosen Horton, a right-hander out of Oklahoma, with the No. 7 decide within the MLB draft. One of Horton’s first calls Sunday night time as a member of the group went to Cubs prospect Ed Howard.
Horton stored in contact with Howard after enjoying collectively in MLB’s Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League in the course of the summer time earlier than their junior yr of highschool. They virtually reunited in faculty. Howard dedicated to Oklahoma earlier than signing with the Cubs because the sixteenth decide in 2020.
Going into the draft, Horton stated the Cubs have been “definitely on the radar.” He watched the draft together with his household and highschool and faculty teammates at his house in Norman, Okla.
“It’s crazy. It doesn’t feel real,” Horton stated Sunday night time on a video convention name. “I’m just so blessed to be in this position and ready to get to work.”
When the second arrived for the Cubs to make their first-round decide, they might have opted for one of many prime accessible hitters. They as an alternative went with Horton.
“Throughout the year we noticed that there were some pitchers that ended up standing out and maybe changing that narrative a little bit in terms of it being a high school hitter-heavy draft,” Cubs vice chairman of scouting Dan Kantrovitz stated on a video name Sunday night time. “The industry might have thought a little bit differently in terms of, at the end of the spring, what the strength ended up being.”
When Horton was deciding whether or not to go professional out of highschool in 2020, Kantrovitz and the Cubs have been one of many groups to make a house go to earlier than the pandemic. When Kantrovitz referred to as to congratulate Horton on Sunday night time, he requested if Horton remembered that go to greater than two years in the past. Horton replied, “Of course.”
“It was nice to hear that and to have that connection remain intact,” Kantrovitz stated. “Building the history of a player like that also gave us confidence that we had a pretty good handle on his makeup as well.”
Horton is the Cubs’ highest draft decide since they took Kyle Schwarber with the fourth decide in 2014. The Cubs beforehand picked at No. 7 twice: In 1974 they drafted outfielder Scot Thompson (626 major-league video games, minus-5.7 WAR, third in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1979) and in 1976 they took right-hander Herman Segelke (three video games, minus-0.1 WAR).
Baseball America ranked Horton the Twenty third-best participant within the draft, whereas MLB.com ranked him twenty fourth. Horton seems to be an underslot decide — No. 7 is valued at $5,708,000 — during which the Cubs get monetary savings to make use of on different gamers.
Kantrovitz indicated the Cubs focused Horton and second-round decide (No. 47) Jackson Ferris, a left-hander from IMG Academy in Florida, so that they doubtlessly may unfold round bonus pool cash.
“It ended up coming to fruition,” Kantrovitz stated.
Before the draft, Kantrovitz referred to as the Cubs’ bonus pool determine “exciting” and anticipated it to offer the group “ammunition” to land among the higher gamers within the prime 10 rounds.
The Cubs have the Tenth-highest bonus pool ($10,092,700).
“Now we have to try to figure out how we’re going to optimize our entire draft,” Kantrovitz stated final week. “That plays into the calculus of each pick. Who we’re going to pick, how much we’re going to pay them. And at the end of the day, we want to have the best draft we can based on, hopefully, having signed 20 players. But that has to be in the context of the overall pool.”
Ferris, 18, transferred to IMG Academy earlier than his junior yr and is coming off a senior season during which he had a 1.33 ERA (eight earned runs in 54⅓ innings) in 10 outings. The 6-foot-4 lefty struck out 103 hitters for 17.1 strikeouts per 9 innings whereas holding opponents to a .142 batting common and a .203 on-base proportion.
Baseball America rated Ferris, an Ole Miss signee, because the No. 34 prospect within the draft, and MLB.com had him at No. 19. Kantrovitz doesn’t anticipate any signability points with Ferris.
“Jackson is unique in the sense that he’s got a four-pitch mix right now, and he throws them all in a game,” Kantrovitz stated.
The emergence of a slider towards the tip of the 2022 season grew to become a recreation changer for Horton. He first showcased it in the course of the Big 12 Tournament and noticed his utilization generate extra whiffs and strikeouts.
Horton, who turns 21 subsequent month, had Tommy John surgical procedure in 2021 earlier than his freshman season at Oklahoma. As a redshirt freshman this yr, he posted a 4.86 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 64 strikeouts and 15 walks in 53⅔ innings over 14 video games (11 begins).
“Adversity makes us who we are, and I think the biggest thing I learned is how to be a good teammate,” Horton stated of going by the surgical procedure. “I’ve always been the guy that has never really sat on the bench. I’ve always been out there playing, and that injury forced me to sit on the bench and so I had to learn how to keep the other guys going when things weren’t going so well.”
The Sooners made the finals of this yr’s College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Horton impressed in Game 2 in opposition to eventual champion Ole Miss, permitting two runs and 4 hits in 7⅓ innings with no walks and 13 strikeouts in a 4-2 loss.
“It’s awesome to be able to be on that stage,” Horton stated. “You talk about adrenaline and I wanted to calm myself down more than anything just so I could focus on taking it one pitch at a time and just hitting a target and focusing on what I wanted to do on that certain pitch.”
Horton additionally appeared in 50 video games for Oklahoma as a hitter, together with 25 begins at third base, 4 at shortstop and 11 because the designated hitter. He believes his expertise enjoying the infield helps him maintain runners on base and perceive how exhausting it’s to hit.
The Cubs continued so as to add pitching Monday on Day 2 of the draft (Rounds 3-10). They chosen seven pitchers and one hitter, together with 5 faculty gamers. The draft concludes Tuesday with Rounds 11-20.
Cubs draft picks
- Round 1 (No. 7): RHP Cade Horton, Oklahoma
- Round 2 (No. 47): LHP Jackson Ferris, IMG Academy (Fla.)
- Round 3 (No. 86): SS Christopher Paciolla, Temecula Valley HS (Calif.)
- Round 4 (No. 113): RHP Nazier Mule, Passaic County Technical Institute (N.J.)
- Round 5 (No. 143): RHP Brandon Birdsell, Texas Tech
- Round 6 (No. 173): RHP Will Frisch, Oregon State
- Round 7 (No. 203): RHP Nick Hull, Grand Canyon
- Round 8 (No. 233): RHP Mason McGwire, Capistrano Valley HS (Calif.)
- Round 9 (No. 263): RHP Connor Noland, Arkansas
- Round 10 (No. 293): RHP Brody McCullough, Wingate
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Source: www.bostonherald.com