Nick Hull – Pic by Grand Canyon University Baseball
Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona is turning into Old Dominion West for the Chicago Cubs. Last year, the Cubs took reliever Frankie Scalzo off the Antelopes’ roster in the draft along with free agent Catcher David Avitia while also selecting his brother Daniel who was committed to Grand Canyon. David wound up becoming a grad assistant coach rather than sticking with the Cubs. This year, the Cubs took GCU’s Friday night starter Nick Hull who was actually the set up man for Scalzo in 21.
Basic Information
Height – 6-foot
Weight – 205 lbs.
Throws – Right
From – Grand Canyon University
Age – 22
7th round, 2022 MLB Draft
Nick Hull throws in the low to mid 90s and he has a plus slider with a spin rate of over 3000 RPM. That’ll get you drafted. As for what role he’s going to have, that is going to remain to be seen.
Hull first started playing for Grand Canyon in 2018 and he appeared in 17 games, eight which he started. The ERA was 7.61 that year and he improved on it a lot for 2019 as he got it down to 3.98 in 21 games, only three of which she started.
For Hull, 2018 was a turning point in his Antelope career. Here’s what he told the Grand Canyon University website.
“The failure that I had early on is really what helped me get here. It taught me that I’m not going to be the best player on the team right now and that, if I want to be, then I have to put in more work than everyone else. I’d always been a hard worker, but it didn’t occur to me what hard work really was until I got to college.”
In 2020 and 2021, Hull was back in the bullpen full-time and he had a 2.08 ERA in 2019 and in 2020 he posted a 1.77 ERA. He returned for a fifth year this spring as a starter and a grad student. He made 16 starts with a 3.72 ERA and struck out 102 batters in the spring.
I actually like this pick a lot. When next season starts, he’s going to be 23 and there’s some flexibility about how the Cubs could use him. Depending upon his throwing program/individual development plan, he could add a little something-something to his fastball as well as develop a third pitch to that complements his fastball and slider.
More than likely, where he goes to start 2023 really depends upon if he’s going to be a starter or a reliever. If he’s going to be in relief, South Bend all the way. If he’s going to start, Myrtle Beach might be the best location as there’s probably going to be a little bit of a log jam at South Bend and Tennessee next year.
| 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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