Chicago Cubs: Draft target, RHP Sean Hjelle
If this season has taught fans anything, it’s that the Chicago Cubs desperately need starting pitching.
The Major League Baseball season is a little more than one-quarter of the way complete. The Chicago Cubs are hanging around the National League Central. As of today, they sit 4.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. While certainly not an insurmountable hole, fans have to wonder where they would be with consistent pitching and hitting.
Fortunately, the Cubs currently have enough hitters on the roster. They just need to get their offense going. However, the starting pitching staff is an entirely different story. When he’s been on the field, Yu Darvish has been a colossal disappointment. And now he curiously finds himself back on the disabled list. Tyler Chatwood has also been downright bad this season. Last night against the San Francisco Giants was no exception, as continued trouble led to another early exit.
With that in mind, next week the Cubs will turn their attention to the MLB Draft, set for June 4th. Considering the struggles of the starting rotation, it is reasonable to assume the Cubs will dedicate their first-round selection on a starter. However, they currently own the 24th pick and will have to wait to see how the board shakes out in front of them.
One pitcher that could be available is Kentucky right-hander Sean Hjelle. Hjelle is a giant on the mound, standing 6-foot-11, but weighing a paltry 215 pounds. He will certainly need to bulk up but appears to have the frame to do it, so that shouldn’t be a concern. Besides, you want pitchers pliable, not bulky.
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He also has fairly good stuff. One thing that often troubles tall pitchers is their mechanics. As I mentioned in a previous post about Brady Singer, tall pitchers can get sloppy with their mechanics and lose control. However, Hjelle seems to be able to repeat his delivery with some consistency.
He has a decent fastball, consistently in the low 90s, but it tops out at a somewhat disappointing 96 MPH. For a pitcher his size, you’d like it to be consistently in the mid-90s.
However, Hjelle makes up for it with an above-average curveball that he can throw consistently for a strike. So while you’d like a little more velocity on the fastball, as long as he can locate it, low 90s is enough velocity when coupled with a sharp curveball.
Hjelle faced top competition in the SEC, where he earned conference pitcher of the year honors as a Sophomore in 2017. This season, he posted a 7-5 record with a 3.44 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 22 walks. Those are very comparable numbers to his Sophomore campaign, though this past year he did have a lower ERA and opponents batting average.
Next: Cubs offense not the problem
Bottom Line
Consistency is the name of the game for pitchers, and Hjelle has been consistent. It’s too bad the Chicago Cubs starting rotation hasn’t been, but drafting Hjelle next week would be a step in the right direction.