Almora, Bryant, Schwarber, and Happ. The four 1st round draft picks of the Theo Epstein era have all been hitters, a philosophy that has been well documented, and proven successful on more than one occasion. However, with the Cubs bursting at the seams with bonafide batsmen, the team is in desperate need of impact arms – and Epstein just drafted two of the best pitchers in this year’s draft.
The first was LHP Brendon Little, who was taken with the 27th overall pick.
1 (27): @Cubs select State College of Florida Manatee – Sarasota LHP Brendon Little. https://t.co/XPNFaE8tDF #MLBDraft
— MLB Draft Tracker (@MLBDraftTracker) June 13, 2017
And with the 30th pick, the Cubs took RHP Alex Lange.
1 (30): @Cubs select LSU RHP Alex Lange. https://t.co/q5T3FdJZYt #MLBDraft
— MLB Draft Tracker (@MLBDraftTracker) June 13, 2017
Brendon Little, out of State College of Florida, and Alex Lange from LSU are two of the more polished arms in the 2017 draft and both own some truly filthy breaking balls. Lange, in particular, has been seen as one of the best arms in country when he can command his dive-bombing curveball.
When Alex Lange is dealing, and his curveball is working, he can be unhittable. #Cubs #MLBdraft https://t.co/NqpJlP85ys
— Michael Lananna (@mlananna) June 13, 2017
Little has the stuff to be considered a top of the rotation type of arm, with a fastball that consistently hits in the high 90’s paired with his plus curveball and solid changeup. Little’s only knock is whether he has shown enough to be considered a top pick, only playing 15 total games at State College Of Florida. During his time with the Manatees, the six foot two inch Sophomore finished with a 2.53 ERA and compiled 133 strikeouts in 85.1 innings. Those numbers are excellent, but the sample size is small, making Little somewhat of a project arm. However, if the gamble turns in favor of the Cubs, Little could be the next ace of the future on the North Side.
Alex Lange has been widely considered an absolute steal for the cubs at pick 30, featuring possible the best breaking ball in the draft.
#Cubs land Alex Lange out of @LSUbaseball – this is a guy the Cubbies can move up the ladder very very quickly. Hammer curveball
— Frankie Piliere (@FPiliereD1) June 13, 2017
In three season at LSU, the 21-year-old amassed a career 2.88 ERA, 390 strikeouts with a 1.22 WHIP in 337 innings. Talking to scouts, Lange’s future with the Cubs might be the bullpen after losing some velocity on his fastball this season, dropping from 94-97 mph to 92-96 mph. If Lange wants to stick as a starter he will need to develop his changeup further, but his excellent combination of plus fastball and a plus curveball makes him a deadly late-innings option as well.
Time will tell how these two are pan out for Chicago, but if there’s one guy Chicago should put their faith in, it’s Theo Epstein. The man keeps proving to all of baseball he’s eye for talent in unparalleled, and it seems as though he has netted himself two more gems in the 1st round for the Cubs.
