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Last night, the Cubs added Kansas State left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks to their farming system, winning Wicks with the 21st pick overall. I dismissed Wicks as a potential selection in March in our first preview draft, noting Dan Kantrovitz’s past with polite college lefties. But that choice was surely not aimed at reaching a specific demographic, but rather on Wicks’ skills in particular.

I want to jump right into the player the Cubs hope to cross their minor leagues and join a rotation by 2024 at the latest.

Body and delivery: Rated at 6ft 3in and 220lb, Wicks has certainly added weight since his high school days. I forced his body to a young Jon Lester, with big thighs and a full frame. Wicks has been working out in the weight room to increase speed for the past couple of years, but I think the Cubs will still see some upper body projection.

Wicks’ delivery creates a bit of deception as he brings his arm back down, hiding it from the batter behind his body. It remains closed for a long time due to a little crossfire, which is more pronounced when exiting the section. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Cubs had a few mechanical tweaks in mind that they hope could unlock Wicks at the high end of his speed range.

Here you’ll see that Wicks isn’t really using his front leg to prop up, which then causes him to drop to the third side of the base. It is to his credit that he always commands the ball as well as he does. Considering the strength of his legs, I wonder if the Cubs are trying to add a bit of extension and create more leg blocks to keep his forward momentum more aligned towards the house.

There’s some good news regarding his shoulder mobility as well, and while I can’t really speak intelligently about it, I can say that it seems like a good thing to project Wicks as a sleeve eater.

Change

It’s the first thing you’ll read in every Wicks report project, and it deserves it. Wicks initiates a two-stitch hoop change, which means he places his third and fourth fingers on the seams and creates a tight circle with his thumb and forefinger. Wicks absolutely kills the spin on the court and achieves a late tumbling action with enough fade. It will throw it around 10-12 mph under the fastball, usually around 82 mph.

But it’s the comfort with the terrain that separates it and gives it a positive advantage. Wicks will throw the throw to left-handed as well as right-handed, and he will throw it as a double throw into the dirt but also into the outside corner for the first shot. I would actually say it seemed like the most common game plan against right-handed hitters was two back-to-back changes to the outside corner before showing the fastball and expanding the arsenal.

fast ball

Wicks throws both a sinker and a four-seam fastball. I prefer the four-sided crimper, which has a bit of cutting action and gets some wobbles and misfires that suggest it has a good ride (around 2400rpm would usually confirm this).

In all three starts I’ve watched from Wicks in 2021, you’ll see it around 92-94 (T95) at the start of games and then maybe dip to around 91-92 (T94) as it starts. . His average fastball speed has improved with each college season.

Wicks and the Kansas State Coaches seemed to prefer the four-seam lead – I might think otherwise – and he would live by throwing the pitch into the side corner of the arm (away from the right-handed) dug in the tunnel. change. It sounded anecdotally like the field that gave the most contact, and may well have been to “blame” for the .377 BABIP Wicks has cleared this season. I think his east / west mastery of the court is better than his north / south mastery, and squeezing the back end will be important against professional hitters who like lead shots.

Wrecking ball

Wicks throws both a slider and a curve ball, although I think the slider is not much more advanced. While the slider will sometimes show a horizontal sweeping action, this is usually a step with a fairly simple vertical drop thrown at around 85 mph. He threw a few when he left on March 19 that were definitely more. You’ll see a good one here against Texas, it’s the final pitch thrown in the second video here (the 0:12 mark)

I think the question the Cubs will ask is where they can take the field if they think about it more like a cutter. You should have known that if I start the scout report with a Lester lineup, I’m going to dream of Wicks cornering a right handed hitter with cutters on the road. This is almost certainly something that Wicks and Craig Breslow discussed at some point in the writing process.

I think you’ll also see the Cubs take Wicks into the Pitch Lab and attempt to rebuild his curve. He’s a passable fourth offer right now, usually he’s looking at the backdoor and getting an early scoring strike. It’s around 78-81 mph but just doesn’t have enough depth to be the multi-shot eye level change offering it needs. I think we’ll hear about a change in grip here down the line.

Mentality

The Cubs’ scouting department strongly believes in the importance of weighing makeup in their draft standings, and Wicks is coming out as a good choice for the organization. He describes himself in numerous interviews as ultra competitive, and you can see the fire with which he throws almost every start.

I highly recommend also watching this interview Prospects Live had with Jordan Wicks last November. I’d bet the Cubs see an opportunity for Wicks to take off when exposed to more of their statistical analysis, but I love the way he’s approaching the game right now.

Expectations

While Wicks is still technically only a sophomore (due to the creation of an additional season of eligibility by COVID), he will be 22 in about 6 weeks and is old for his junior class. I think it’s a fair expectation that he’ll sign and I’d bet it’s a stone’s throw from the slot machine.

Without the Northwest League short season, it will be interesting to see if the Cubs have Wicks making an appearance in minor league baseball outside of Arizona in 2021. I think after signing he will work in. Arizona for a few weeks, maybe make a few 2-3 innings appearances with Myrtle Beach in September. I think Wicks will probably start in High-A next year in hopes he’ll make it to Tennessee soon, but don’t be shocked if it’s straight to Tennessee after spring practice. From there you dictate your own ETA, but I think 2023 is a good hope.

I’m a little reluctant to rank the new hires, but since we’ve just put together the top 15, I guess I’ll suggest that I would currently place Jordan Wicks in sixth place. I think anything from four to nine is fine, honestly. But it’s nice to have a starting pitcher perspective that looks like a real starting pitcher, and it’s pretty easy to project him as a mid-spin starter at Wrigley before long.



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