Chicago Cubs News: Checking in on the 2023 Chicago Cubs MLB Draft Picks

16th Round Pick- Daniel Brown P (Campbell University)
No game action yet

This pick made no sense to me at the time of the draft. He faced a total of 18 batters in his entire time in college and only got three outs. He allowed 10 earned runs on 13 walks and had nine wild pitches. I still don’t understand. 

17th Round Pick- Ethan Flanagan P (UCLA)
No game action yet

Keeping with the trend of pitchers that the Cubs drafted that haven’t played yet, I think Flanagan’s absence may be to try to give him an actual offseason to hit the ground running next year. He was bad in 2023 but if the Cubs get the pitcher he was in 2022, it’s a solid 17th-round pick.

18th Round Pick- Brian Kalmer 3B (Gonzaga)
21 Games Played: .342/.427/.658 6 HR, 4 2B, 1 3B, 23 RBI, 16 R

In 240 plate appearances at Gonzaga, he hit .358/.454/.682 with 15 homers, another 18 extra-base hits, and a stolen base. He continued to be red hot at Myrtle Beach and could find himself at South Bend to end the season. 

19th Round Pick- Nick Dean P (Maryland)
No game action yet

Dean doesn’t blow you away but he has been a starting pitcher in a major conference for four years and has the potential to develop into a back-of-the-rotation type piece. He seems to be similar to Flanagan in that he’s getting the rest of the season off before starting his professional career next year. 

20th Round Pick- Drew Bowser 3B (Stanford)
13 Games Played: .296/.367/.386 4 2B, 4 SB, 7 RBI, 5 R

Bowser is an interesting player if for no other reason than that he was a college hitter from a good program but the Cubs have kept him in Rookie Ball longer than any of their other college hitters. It’ll be interesting to see his next step, to say the least.

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