Chicago Cubs: Top 10 Rookie-Eligible Prospects for 2018
10. Bryan Hudson, LHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 5/8/1997 (20)
2017 teams/levels played for: low-A South Bend Cubs
2017 Stats: 24 GS, 124 1/3 IP, 3.91 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 9.6% BB, 15% K
Info: When the Chicago Cubs drafted the 6’8″ Hudson in 2015 in the 3rd round out of high school in Illinois, they knew he would be a long-term development project due to his height, and he’s handled his development one step at a time.
Hudson filled in over the 2016-2017 offseason to a solid 220 pounds and appears much more comfortable in his frame on the mound
Working with a fastball that sat 86-89 in his first pro season, Hudson filled in over the 2016-2017 offseason to a solid 220 pounds and appears much more comfortable in his frame on the mound. That has led to an uptick in velocity as well, as he still sits in the upper 80s, but he frequently touched mid-90s with his fastball with tremendous plane and sink that appears faster due to the extension he gets on the pitch in his release.
More impressive than his raw velocity spike, however, was the uptick in quality of Hudson’s offspeed stuff. He saw his curve really snap off well as he got more comfortable in his frame. His change is still a project and likely his focus in 2018.
Hudson did not generate a ton of swing and miss in 2017, but his control drastically improved, and he saw a huge groundball rate on his primarily two-pitch stuff. Continued improvement on his command, development of his change up, and a possible fastball variant (split finger, cutter, even just different sinker grips) could allow for much better swing rates as the next step in his development.
Hudson is not a sexy stat prospect, but when you watch him, you see the projection of a lefty mid-rotation starter that could eat up a ton of innings with low pitch counts due to his extreme ground ball rates allowing him to pitch deep into games frequently.
The Chicago Cubs will see Hudson in the next step of his slow-but-steady development in 2018 at high-A.
9. Thomas Hatch, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 9/29/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: high-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
2017 Stats: 26 GS, 124 2/3 IP, 4.04 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 9.2% BB, 23.2% K
Info: After a year away from baseball to rest a strain in his UCL, Hatch was able to pitch for Oklahoma State and lead them to the 2016 College World Series, but the injury to his UCL and not having surgery done on it left many teams assuming that Tommy John surgery was a certainty in his future and allowed him to drop to the third round, where the Chicago Cubs nabbed him.
Hatch rested his arm the rest of his draft season, but he came out in 2017 and showed no ill effects from the rest or his aggressive initial assignment to high-A in his pro debut. His control was solid, keeping the ball around the zone, but his command at times was shaky and showed the rust from his time off from June of 2016 to opening day of 2017 in game situations.
His sinker in college was renowned for its effectiveness, and Hatch has added a four-seam fastball to his repertoire to adjust batters’ eyes and give him another tick of velocity. The sinker works in the low-90s, touching 94-95 while his four-seamer ran up to 96.
Hatch’s best secondary pitch is his fringe-plus slider that has excellent break and generates weak swings from both sides of the plate. His change has made big strides, but still is an average pitch with work to do.
With improvement in locating the ball where he wants rather than just within the zone, Hatch will see his effectiveness tick up even further, with a projection of a Derek Lowe type mid-rotation starter that could move quickly to the Chicago Cubs if he can see his changeup tick up and his command step forward. He’ll likely open 2018 at AA.
Next: #7 and #8