Chicago Cubs: Alex Lange is a potential future ace

A strong junior year to finish out at LSU

In his third and final year at LSU before his signing with the Cubs, Lange posted his second-best season with the Tigers. He went 10-5 to support a 2.97 ERA over the course of 124 innings in which he sat down 150 and walked 48.

A possible red flag did come up post-draft and pre-signing. On the morning of the draft-signings deadline, Robert Murray of FanRagSports.com reported that the deal was being held up by an undisclosed “issue” about Lange’s physical, but the two sides came together before the deadline and got a deal done.

I did some digging and tried to find the nature of the “issue,” but I couldn’t find anything substantial. If it was enough to be labeled as an “issue” and prevent the two parties from agreeing, it must have been something pretty noteworthy. Though, in this case, I guess no news is the best news.

Next: Maddon could be an influence on Ohtani

Whatever the case may be, Lange is on his way through the minor league system, and we’ll see him someday. It may not be as soon as I’d like, but he’s coming. And I (along with the rest of the world) will just have to wait. Should he develop into the caliber of pitcher that he’s capable of being, it’s safe to say the Cubs probably got the steal of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft.