Chicago Cubs: 1 pitch is key for their first-round draft pick
The Chicago Cubs made a very good selection last night in Jordan Wicks out of Kansas State. He is a left-handed pitcher that has a plus command which is something that the Cubs need to build on. They have been lousy at developing pitching over their last 10 years and that caused their potential dynasty to turn into a one-off. Now, they will begin working on Wicks and getting him to the level we all know he can get to.
The Chicago Cubs need to make sure that Jordan Wicks has everything he needs to succeed.
Wicks is known out of college for one special feature. He so clearly has the best changeup in the entire draft class. It is a great pitch to be the best at for a lot of reasons. For one, he doesn’t have to develop it as much as he does his fastball and breaking pitch. Most pitchers have those two a little more ready and have the changeup to work on.
That doesn’t apply to Wicks. It is going to allow him to move along through the Chicago Cubs system very quickly. He could be in AA by as early as next season. Who knows, he could even be in AAA by the end of the year with the hopes of starting 2023 with the Cubs. That would be amazing for them in terms of the retool they are trying to do on the fly.
Out of every player taken in the first round last night, Wicks might be the first to actually make it not a Major League roster. He might not have as high of a ceiling on the mound as someone like Jack Leiter or Kumar Rocker but he could step into the big leagues much sooner. That changeup is a big reason why.
When you look towards the other side of town, you will see multiple studs on the Chicago White Sox using the changeup to their advantage. Lucas Giolito used it to go from one of the worst starters in the American League to one of the best in short order. That is an extreme advantage that Wicks will be working with as he continues in his development.
Related Story. Did Willson Contreras call out his teammates' effort?. light
As mentioned before, the Cubs were awful with pitcher drafting/developing over their good years. That is a big reason they are about to rebuild instead of entering the second phase of their championship window. Adbert Alzolay is looking like a promising young pitcher and they can only hope that Wicks joins him atop the rotation one day. His big changeup will be a big key for him.