- Cubs take Cade Townsend-RHP-Mississippi
Posted by DanSaint
on July 11, 2026, 14:34:09, in reply to "MLB draft thread"
Townsend impressed scouts with his feel for spinning the ball and his athleticism as a California high schooler, and he performed well at the 2024 Draft Combine. He fit into the third-fifth round range based on talent but wasn't signable there and went to Mississippi, where he logged a 6.35 ERA as a freshman. He touched 98 mph with his fastball and had an unhittable slider in an electric Southeastern Conference tournament matchup against eventual national champion Louisiana State and has shown similar stuff all spring, positioning himself as one of the top sophomore-eligible pitchers in the 2026 Draft. Townsend usually operates at 94-97 mph with a fastball that features high spin rates and nice carry, though it doesn't have a lot of life and gets hit more than it should. He also ratchets up the rpms on a pair of power breaking balls, with both his low-80s downer curveball and upper-80s slider with nice depth grading as plus offerings, as does his cutter that averages 90 mph. He also flashes some aptitude for throwing a fading upper-80s changeup as well. More athletic than physical, Townsend works with some effort in his high three-quarters delivery. He has improved his control as a sophomore, doing a better job of landing his fastball and cutter while getting a lot of chases with his entire arsenal. He missed a start with mild shoulder inflammation in mid-March but his stuff remained overpowering when he returned.  Previous MessageIt seems like Cholowsky is the guy although it seems not definitive but all the plugged in guys seem to think Cholowsky is the pick. I think it's the right move as I think Roch could be in the bigs by 2028 maybe even mid 2027 and I think his floor is pretty high with all star level upside. As for the Cubs I'd like them to go college bat because that is the only thing they've really been successful at. College bats have all been pretty much hits (Bryant, Schwarber, Happ, Hoerner, Shaw, Smith). Horton is the only non-college bat they've really had any success though Wicks at least made the bigs and Little and Lange have stuck out some big league miles in pens elsewhere. So to me the names are probably Zion Rose, Logan Hughes, and Aiden Robbins. If they decide to go pitching maybe Mason Edwards or Cam Flukey if they are there but I'd much prefer a bat! |
- IlliniSax05 July 14, 2026, 20:44:48