The Cubs went and took the top high school shortstop with their first round pick yesterday when they drafted Ed Howard.

With their first pick of day two, they Burl Carraway, the top reliever in this draft class.

The closer out of Dallas Baptist University was also the closer for Team USA and has a great chance to follow in Nico Hoerner’s footsteps as the first player from his draft class to reach the Major Leagues.

Physicality

There really isn’t much chance Carraway is converted from reliever to starter like the Cubs have liked to do with guys such as Michael McAvene, Riley Thompson, and Chris Clarke. He has a smaller body at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. The lefty has a high effort delivery but has a very fast arm motion in his delivery. That is a contributing factor to very impressive spin rates on both his fastball and curveball.

Tools

Speaking of that fastball and hook, they are Carraway’s go-to options. He is a two-pitch pitcher and can thrive off those two plus offerings as a reliever. His fastball gets up in the mid-90s with some ride on it. The hook has plenty of depth on it and makes both lefties and righties look silly.

Statistics

Burl Carraway piles up the strikeouts. Last year, he was able to sit down 15.6 batters per nine innings and improved on that number this season with 16.4 K/9. His command is the area in which he needs to see the greatest improvement in the coming years, and his walk numbers have been elevated over the course of his career thus far.

Takeaway

I really like this pick at #51. There is a lot to like with Carraway and it is very clear as to what he is as a pitcher. We aren’t going to have this discussion about whether he is a starter or a reliever moving forward. I think he can move through the system quickly and realistically be in Chicago by 2022.