Will Frisch – Photo via Oregon State University
Coming out of high school, Will Frisch was thought highly enough of to be taken in the 36th Round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Minnesota twins. Nothing ever came of that and Frisch went ahead and followed his commitment to Oregon State. He pitched two seasons there and then missed this spring because of Tommy John surgery. But he had shown enough for the Cubs to take him in the sixth round of this year’s draft.
Basic Information
Height – 6-foot
Weight – 222
Age – 22
Throws – Right
Oregon State
6th Round by the Cub in 2022
36th round by the Minnesota Twins in 2019
Fun fact – Before heading to Oregon State, Frisch was teammates with fellow ‘22 draft pick OF Drew Gilbert of Tennessee. In high school in Stillwater, Minnesota, they both pitched. Imagine facing them back-to-back!
Back to OSU (Go, Beavs!)
In 2020, Just before the pandemic started, Frisch appeared in seven games and threw 10.1 innings with a 2.61 ERA. One of those was a start. But we all know what happened to the rest of that season.
Frisch would come back in 2021 technically as a redshirt freshman. He had a good campaign and his draft stock was on the rise. Frisch was named All-Pac-12 First Team and a Freshman All-American after a 20 game season where he had a 2.38 ERA including six starts.
Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery took away his season this spring and he’s probably not going to throw this summer much, if at all. Here’s what Baseball America still had to say about Mr. Frisch.
Frisch entered the year with second-to-fourth round potential, thanks to a solid three-pitch mix including a fastball, slider and changeup. In 2021 as a split starter/reliever, Frisch averaged 94 mph and ran the pitch up to 98, while his upper-80s changeup earned plus grades and generated a 40% whiff rate and his mid-80s slider checked in at average.
And what I like most about Frisch is that he is a power thrower. Even though his slider is not as polished as his changeup or fastball, the Cubs can work with him on that.
One of the more interesting things about Frisch is that he does have an uncertain role when he comes back.
Will the Cubs put him back on the mound as a starter or as a reliever. Or do they just kind of keep them on a short leash since he’s coming off of Tommy John and then see how everything develops from there?
I would not be surprised to see him start out next year at Myrtle Beach and I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him begin the year in extended spring training where it’s a little bit warmer until the Cubs deem him fully fit to compete on the mound.
Frisch is a solid pick who was well thought of before Tommy John surgery and the Cubs are basically just taking a risky bet on him and hopefully it pays off.
| Rd | Pos | Player | School |
| 1 | RHP | Cade Horton | Oklahoma |
| 2 | LHP | Jackson Ferris | IMG Academy |
| 3 | SS | Christopher Paciolla | Temecula Valley HS |
| 4 | RHP | Nazier Mule | Passaic County Technical Institute |
| 5 | RHP | Brandon Birdsell | Texas Tech |
| 6 | RHP | Will Fritsch | Oregon State |
| 7 | RHP | Nick Hull | Grand Canyon University |
| 8 | RHP | Mason McGwire | Capistrano Valley HS |
| 9 | RHP | Connor Noland | University of Arkansas |
| 10 | RHP | Brody McCullough | Wingate University |
| 11 | LHP | Branden Noriega | No affiliation |
| 12 | RHP | Mathew Peters | Indiana Institute of Technology |
| 13 | RHP | Luis Rujano | Sunshine State Elite Academy in Kissimmee, FLA |
| 14 | RHP | Shane Marshall | University of Georgia |
| 15 | C | Haydn McGeary | Colorado Mesa |
| 16 | RHP | JP Wheat | Next Level Academy |
| 17 | OF | Andy Garriola | Old Dominion |
| 18 | RHP | Garrett Brown | University of Georgia. |
| 20 | OF | Ke’Shun Collier | Meridian CC |
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