Cubs Draft Pick Could Move To Third Base, 'Has An Electric Bat'
CHICAGO (WSCR) Of the Chicago Cubs' previous eight, first round draft picks, only two have made it to the major leagues: Andrew Cashner and Tyler Colvin. And the team's most recent first round pick, Javier Baez, most likely won't be seen in the majors anytime soon.
That is, of course, if he lives up to his potential.
"He's a high school kid," Kevin Goldstein, of Baseball Prospectus, said on the Mully and Hanley Show. "He's a teenage kid from a school in Jacksonville, Florida, you're talking about three years, maybe four [years] until he gets there. And he's going to be a very different player than he is now."
LISTEN: Kevin Goldstein On The Mully And Hanley Show
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Unlike the NFL or NBA drafts, most MLB draft picks don't have an immediate impact with the ballclub. Baseball prospects, particularly ones as young as Baez, need time to develop.
"There are people who tell you that this guy has the best bat speed in the draft," Goldstein said. "I mean, he has crazy, great bat speed. And just like you can't teach height, you can't teach bat speed, and this guy just has an electric bat. He's not going to be a shortstop by the time he gets to the big leagues, he's probably going to be a third baseman, maybe a second baseman, probably a third baseman. But he is going to hit."
