Chicago Cubs MLB Draft Big Board
#5: Ethan Hankins
Position: RHP
School: Forsyth Central High School (Ga.)
The consensus top draft prospect heading into the season, Ethan Hankins has slid down big boards due to injury concerns.
The Georgia righty routinely hits upper-90s with his fastball, leading many to rank him among the top prep arms in the entire draft.
Hankins’ injury concerns could scare the Cubs away, but the Vanderbilt commit reportedly had a clean MRI, which counters the concerns surrounding the elite prospect.
This was Ethan Hankins back in September. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/pU4tEsFRz5
— Nolan Bratt (@BrewersFarm) May 31, 2018
The Cubs don’t urgently need a major-league ready arm, so they could certainly select Hankins as a project given his high upside despite the injury concerns.
Another hard-to-measure draft stock, Ethan Hankins could be available at the back-end of the first round, so the Cubs could jump at the fastball and pick him amidst the concerns.
#6: Logan Gilbert
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Position: RHP
School: Stetson
Coming from the same school that produced 2014 National League Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom and American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, Stetson’s Logan Gilbert is one of the most Major League-ready players in the entire draft.
Gilbert went 10-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 14 starts for the Hatters in 2018. Even more impressive, Gilbert went 10-0 with a 2.02 ERA last season and has lost just two games in three seasons at Stetson.
Unlike Kluber and deGrom, Gilbert is more polished and major league ready than the two were during their time at Stetson. Gilbert might only need a year-or-two in the minors before he’s ready to contribute at the major league level.
https://twitter.com/LanceBrozdow/status/1003146416183762944
As has been constant throughout this list, the major issue with Gilbert is the fact that he very well could be gone by the time the Cubs are on the clock.
But Gilberts polish, reputation and major league outlook give him all the makings of a future star for the Cubs if everything works out.