Chicago Cubs: Five MLB draft day ‘dream’ scenarios

The MLB first-year player draft is just around the corner, and the Chicago Cubs have the 16th overall pick.

Happy draft month!

The arrival of June has been a tornado stacked on a tsunami in the middle of an earthquake. Protests are happening across the country, and the world is still in the middle of a national pandemic. While sports are still on hold for the foreseeable future, there is one thing baseball fans can look forward to — the MLB Draft.

Disappointingly, however, is the nature of the actual draft itself. As a result of the effects the novel coronavirus has unceremoniously dropped at our doorstep, this year’s amateur staple with consist of only five rounds, down from the usual forty rounds.

For those who go undrafted, teams will have just $20,000 as a max bonus. As a caveat for organizations, this leaves the possibility of acquiring top talent on the cheap, although it poses a disadvantage to draft prospects. While the likelihood the Cubs can land a top ten talent remains low, there are still our “dream” scenarios that we wish could play out.

Chicago Cubs: A top-three college arm

It is no surprise that youth is not on the Cubs’ side when it comes to their starting rotation. Kyle Hendricks is the youngest of the staff at age 29. Jose Quintana is 30 years old. Beyond that, Jon Lester is at the end of his career, and Yu Darvish, despite a solid season last year, is still entering his age-33 season. So what is an ultimate solution? Enter Max Meyer.

Meyer has called the University of Minnesota his home for his entire collegiate baseball career, having spent three seasons as a Golden Gopher. As a 19-year-old freshman, Meyer saw action in 26 games. The right-hander pitched to a dominant 2.06 ERA with 16 saves in 43 2/3 innings with an 11.13 K/9 rate.

Standing at 6’0, 185 pounds, Meyer has a stout, compact delivery with a lot of unseen power. He doesn’t seem like a guy who can generate electricity, but it is the opposite case. Meyer’s fastball sits in the 93-97 mph range with the ability to run it up to 100 mph. His slider has been called the best in the draft, sitting between 87-91 mph and the ability to move his depth as needed.

Meyer began starting in the Minnesota rotation as a sophomore. He saw action in 16 games to include 11 starts where Meyer posted a 2.11 ERA. The strikeout rate dropped a hair but so did the walk rate. Before the sudden end to this year’s NCAA baseball season due to COVID-19, Meyer had posted a 1.95 ERA in four starts. Meyer is almost guaranteed to be a top ten pick, which eliminates the Cubs, but a fan can sure dream.

Chicago Cubs: The best arm in the draft

When the Atlanta Braves selected left-handed starting pitcher Reid Detmers in the 32nd round of the 2017 first-year player draft, Detmers represented Illinois as one of the best high schoolers in the country. Perfect Game ranked Detmers as the third-best overall pitcher in the state, in 2017.

Detmers forewent his path to the pros and chose instead to attend the University of Louisville. Coming out of high school, Detmers did not wow scouts with his stuff. As a freshman, he pitched to an uninspiring 4.85 ERA over 18 games to include eight starts. To experience the challenge of the power, five SEC was good, however, for the 18-year-old.

The following year as a sophomore, Detmers improved significantly. It was night and day from his freshman season. Making 17 starts for the Cardinals, the stocky lefty posted 12 wins and a 2.85 ERA across 107 1/3 innings. He improved his strikeout rate from 11.16 K/9 to a 13.58 K/9, striking out 162 in that span. Amazingly, Detmers also posted a WHIP under one and led his Cardinals to a berth in the College World Series.

Detmers has been compared to former Cardinals starter and top prospect Brendan McKay. He possesses an upright, compact windup with strength and smooth delivery. His fastball is his strength with an air of deception. Regarding his other pitches, Detmers possesses an above-average curveball when it is on and a sinking changeup that plays well. Like Meyer, Detmers is a projected top ten pick. Still, he is an enjoyable prospect and lands on this list for a good reason.

Chicago Cubs: Dipping into the high school pool

Spruce Creek High School, a locale of Port Orange, Florida, is home to the Hawks. It is also where rising outfield prospect Zac Veen has called home for the past four years. A lefty at the dish, Veen is an impressive physical specimen. He is 18 years old and stands at 6’5″, 200 pounds.

Veen was named the 2018 Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championship MVP, and he began to catch consistency and fire at the plate. Veen is also the top overall prep bat in this year’s class. He carries a small leg kick in his swing, bringing the same rhythm over and over. The bat speed is elite, and the ball jumps off the bat.

As a current center fielder, scouts see Veen as more suited for a corner spot, potentially. His arm strength is a fit for a place like right field where he can profile his true talents in the outfield. Veen has skyrocketed up draft boards in the previous few months and should be a near-lock for a top ten selection. It is highly doubtful the Cubs will be in the same ballpark for a chance at Veen, and that is why he lands in this group. Then again, you never know.

Chicago Cubs: A good ole’ fashioned Georgia boy

Last but not least, on our dream list for the Cubs in the upcoming MLB draft is starting right-handed pitcher Emerson Hancock. As one of the more polished prospects, or so it seems, Hancock has enjoyed three seasons at the University of Georgia, where Hancock has worked his way as Georgia’s ace of the starting rotation.

Hancock has a lovely compact windup finished off by a smooth delivery to the plate at high speeds. Like Detmers and Kjerstad, Hancock also heard his name called on draft day, during the 38th-round of the 2017 MLB first-year player draft. He chose instead to fulfill his commitment to his education and quickly became a Bulldog shortly after that.

Similar to Detmers, Hancock struggled during his freshman season. He started immediately and posted a 5.10 ERA across 15 starts. Part of Hancock’s struggles in that first year came down to his walk-to-strike ratio. For Hancock, it was not a pretty sight as he pitched to only an 8.69 K/9 rate with a walk rate of over three per game.

From when Hancock left his teenage years behind, he improved significantly during his sophomore season with a 1.99 ERA in 14 starts. He posted a career-high in innings pitched, reaching nearly 100 innings, and the strikeouts began to increase with each passing day.

A comparison made from scouts lays way to Hancock’s connection with that of Detroit Tigers’ top overall prospect, Casey Mize. Each carries qualities of the other in some sense that they hammer the strike zone and stand similar in size. It is not a bad comparison. The Cubs, out of anybody, probably have the best chance to land Hancock as surprising as that sounds. If they do, it will be draft capital well worth the money.