This is a big boy today, y’all. In fact, there are more names in today’s preview than any of the four that I will put out this week. I will be the first to admit that college hitters are the easiest group of draft prospects to follow. Coming from a guy that watches his fair share of college baseball, some of these guys are household names. The same thing can’t really be said for the local high school kid putting up silly numbers against Billy from down the street. I feel most comfortable scouting these players and they, without a doubt, bring the smallest amount of risk to a front office. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites from this year’s draft!
Lucky To See at 21
I grew up playing travel baseball. My family and I went all across the Midwest playing in tournaments against kids my age. Being a Central Illinois native, I played my fair share of games on Eastern Illinois’ baseball field in Charleston, Illinois. I might be a bit of a homer for Trey Sweeney because of that reason, but that doesn’t at all take away from the fact that he is an absolute baller. He has one of the best hit tools in the draft to go along with some of the best exit velocities – a skill that could translate really well to plus power at the plate. He has a big frame and although he doesn’t have a lot of speed, he did play shortstop at EIU. He will probably move off that position as a pro but I could see him playing any of second, third, or a corner outfield spot thanks to his athleticism. The stat line confirms the eye test we saw from Sweeney this year: .382/.522/.712 with 24 strikeouts and 46 walks. The only knock on this kid is that he played against inferior competition during his time in college, but guys are pulled from places other than the SEC every round and it hasn’t stopped teams in the past.
Good Fits at 21
How about I lead off this section with a big bat? Scouts claim that Ethan Wilson has a swing that comes across stiff at times but when I watch him hit, I see a beautiful and simple swing that produces results in a very efficient manner. The South Alabama outfielder is one of the best all-around hitters in this draft, producing both power and contact skills and controlling the zone really well. It appears he is only a corner outfielder as a pro so the bat will have to really show out. That puts a ton of pressure on him from the moment he is drafted, but if you are looking for a hitter then Wilson is your man.
If I watch a guy and think, “Damn, the Dodgers are going to take this guy in the draft and turn him into an everyday player soon” then that must mean I want the Cubs to go after him. As soon as I watched Connor Norby hit, I felt that way. But hold on, because I don’t want that to sound like this second baseman out of ECU is just a gritty player. He gets some serious results. His slash line was .415/.484/.659/1.143 with 15 homers and 18 stolen bases for the Pirates. He can pretty much do it all out on the diamond and he feels much different than the guy above (Wilson) because of his pretty high floor.
Other Guys I Like
While the first two sections for this article were absent of a huge number of candidates for the Cubs’ selection at #21, there are plenty of guys that I really like for the Cubs later on in the draft between rounds two and 20. Alex Binelas is a guy that I have watched plenty of down at Louisville. He came into the year with top ten buzz, but a shaky hit tool and uncertainty about his defensive home have caused him to fall down into second round territory. I think that he is ultimately a first baseman, but I just love his swing and approach at the dish. He has big time power, maybe some of the best in the draft thanks in part to his huge frame (6-3, 225 lbs). There is something about his swing from the left side that reminds me of Freddie Freeman between his hands coming through the zone and his follow through. I need another Louisville guy in the Cubs system after a one (1) absence of the Cubs-Louisville connection.
Justice Thompson put himself squarely on my radar in what was dubbed the “best debut in ACC history” early this season. But since then, his tools have been shouting louder than that debut. He is a big, fast center fielder, standing 6-4 and 205 pounds and he plays great defense thanks to his blazing speed. At the plate, he is less refined and still has some work to do in the contact department. But the bat speed clearly shows itself with impressive exit velo numbers. He might be too fun to pass up in the third round.
Coastal Carolina’s Parker Chavers showed up in my preview a year ago but ended up returning to school so he gets a second straight feature. All five tools are really good, and a year ago the lone major complaint I had was his strikeout rate. Well he lowered it from 18% in 2019 to 13% in 2021. He is older than most draft prospects at this point at 23-years-old, but he could be a fast mover through the system just like he is a fast mover in centerfield.
I am super intrigued by JT Schwartz and his profile. He is a first baseman who stands 6-4 and 210 pounds but appears to weigh even less than that. He is stuck to first base defensively and the Cubs seem more interested in working with big power-hitting first basemen now than they were in past years (see: Matt Mervis, Shendrik Apostel). Unfortunately, for as good as Schwartz’s hit tool is (and it is really, really good) he doesn’t hit for much power. Not only that, but his swing doesn’t really look like it could ever produce a lot of pop. He will need to rework his swing as a pro while he maintains the hit tool. If he can do that, you are looking at a potential steal in the third round.
I feel like I attach myself to a guy like Dru Baker every year, but it really is hard not to! He has been a college baseball star, playing wherever he is needed on the diamond for a Texas Tech team that has been one of the best squads in the nation during his time in Lubbock. He is a spark plug for any team and a killer of any team’s slumps thanks to his ability to not only put the bat on the ball, but generate a ton of hits. The power just isn’t present for Baker but his short stroke and decent frame makes me think there might be more in the tank down the line. I think he might end up being drafted higher than I would like the Cubs to take a super-utility man that profiles as a really poor man’s Ben Zobrist, but it doesn’t take away from how fun Baker is.
Casey Opitz is going to get drafted and it will happen even though he not only profiles as a bad professional hitter, but was actually a below average hitter in college. So why is such a poor hitter going to have an opportunity to run through a system quicker than almost any catcher I have seen before? He is ELITE at everything else he does. He blocks balls in the dirt extremely well. He has one of the best arms from behind the plate of any catcher we have seen enter the draft in years. And the 23-year-old leads a pitching staff in ways that I’ve never seen from a college backstop. He is every pitchers’ favorite teammate, a true hype man, and calls one hell of a baseball game. If you want a feeling of what makes watching baseball fun, check out Casey Opitz do his thing.
When I watch Donta Williams, I’m not sure how Baseball America has him ranked at 324 and MLB Pipeline doesn’t even rank him at all. He was one of the best hitters on one of the top teams in the country in Arizona where he displays tremendous patience at the plate and plays really good outfield defense. His speed isn’t outrageous but it is good enough both on offense and defense. Williams gets the job done with both his hit tool and has some underrated pop. I think he could be a real good fourth outfielder in the majors one day.
Like the previous two days here, I’ll end this section with a guy that projects to be selected deeper into the draft. Cooper Bowman out of Louisville might be as late as a sixth to tenth round pick and he reminds me a lot of a right-handed hitting Andy Weber. He was actually probably the best hitter on a typical baseball powerhouse behind some dude named Henry Davis, and that has caused his stock to rise a bit. I think Bowman is the type of guy the Cubs are really looking for: someone that makes plenty of contact and limits the strikeouts but also gets on base and shows the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark.
Going Back to the Well
This is different than last year. In my posts from last June, I used MLB Pipeline’s top draft prospects list to identify players from schools the Cubs have drafted from in recent years. It wasn’t all that deep of a process when you are talking about just a five round draft and a limited amount of draft prospects.
But this year, I have mainly utilized Baseball America’s Top 500 rankings and the draft is 20 rounds long. In fact, there are 87 total players on that list that spent the last year at a school where the Cubs have drafted from in the past three years. So instead of an extended writeup on each player, I’m gonna throw out a list of all the hitters that you should keep an eye out for if you expect the Cubs to go back to the well this year. Some guys won’t be included in this section because they are found in the above sections (ie: Binelas) or they are projected to be drafted well before pick #21 (ie: Matt McLain). Included with each player is his school, position, and BA ranking.
27. Jud Fabian – OF, Florida
57. Christian Franklin – OF, Arkansas
79. Zack Gelof – 3B, Virginia
134. Nathan Hickey – C, Florida
160. Niko Kavadas – 1B, Notre Dame
176. Ethan Murray – SS, Duke
180. Brady Allen – OF, South Carolina
197. Kevin Kendall – OF, UCLA
202. Ivan Melendez – 1B, Texas
245. Joey Loperfido – OF, Duke
249. Wes Clarke – C/1B, South Carolina
282. Levi Usher – OF, Louisville
300. Ben Ramirez – 3B, Southern Cal
316. Ryan Higgins – 3B, Fresno State
331. Tim Tawa – SS/OF, Stanford
353. Nick Brueser – 1B, Stanford
354. Michael Rothenberg – C, Duke
355. Braiden Ward – OF, Washington
356. Jacob Young – OF, Florida
361. Jalen Battles – SS, Arkansas
382. Christian Robinson – OF, Stanford
424. Jacob Campbell – C, Illinois
441. Noah Cardenas – C, UCLA
451. Jackson Glenn – INF, Dallas Baptist
452. Mason Auer – OF, San Jacinto
453. Nic Kent – SS, Virginia
462. Branden Comia – SS, Illinois
498. Zach Zubia – 1B, Texas
I’ll be back tomorrow with the final installment of this series: college pitchers.
Out of the Vines 
[…] Wilson is a solid, if unspectacular college bat offering a very high floor. Don’t let that dissuade any Yankees fans, Wilson’s lefthanded swing would fit in exceptionally well at Yankee Stadium. Greg Huss gives a great breakdown on Wilson. […]
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