It’s been a while since the Cubs I’ve had a lot of position players taken in the draft which means we’re going to get to see them play very, very soon.
There were seven position guys taken on days one and two. As for day three, the Cubs went mostly with college guys for the second half of the draft. They would up picking 9 college guys on day 3. Ony 4 of them were position guys for a grand total of 11. And of those 11, 8 were of the college variety.
As a result, most of those college bats are not going to stay in Mesa and play the next two months. Most of them should be off to Myrtle Beach.
Key phrase there is should be.
WIth Myrtle Beach already guaranteed a playoff spot, the Cubs might want to have some their top draft picks experience a playoff atmosphere early.
If they did, that could upset the apple cart for the players who are currently in Myrtle Beach and earned that post season berth. We shall see who ends in Myrtle Beach and maybe some will get a head start with South Bend, if need be.
| Draft Pick | 2023 Destination Possibility |
| Matt Shaw | Currently, there’s not really a rush to get Shaw to the major leagues. As a result, Myrtle Beach might be fun for him to go and get a taste of the playoff experience and get used to the process of being a minor league player in the Carolina League and he can start next year in South Bend and move quickly from there. |
| Jaxon Wiggins | Wiggins is going to be in Arizona rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. |
| Josh Rivera | Rivera should also be in Myrtle Beach and getting the hang of how the minor leagues work as well as getting some playoff experience. |
| Will Sanders | It’s highly unlikely that Sanders is going to be pitching much, if at all after signing. If he does, it’ll be like 10 to 20 innings, tops. He could probably do that in South Bend and be OK. Then again, they may want him to also get a nibble of winning baseball. |
| Michael Carico | Carico’s placement depends upon how he’s recovered from a recent wrist injury. More than likely he’s just going to be in Mesa to begin his career. |
| Alfonsin Rosario | Rosario is definitely bound for Mesa and that’s where he’ll stay this year. Depending upon how he does in extended spring training, that’s going to determine where he goes in 2024, which still feels strange to type. |
| Yahil Melendez | Melendez will be in Mesa this year and hopefully the Cubs can begin to bulk him up a little bit and we’ll see how he does next year in extended spring. |
| Brett Bateman | Bateman could be a guy that ends up in Myrtle Beach as they are a little short on outfielders, and he would be the perfect lead off man in a league where hitters of his ilk thrive. |
| Jonathon Long | Jonathon Long should probably be in Myrtle Beach, too. |
| Luis Martinez-Gomez | I don’t see LMG getting out of Mesa unless he’s just pure and utterly dominant in the short time he’s there and then he could end up in the bullpen in Myrtle Beach. But like most pitchers, he is probably not going to pitch very much after pitching a full season in the spring |
| Zyhir Hope | He’s going to go to Mesa and spend a lot of time there this summer and possibly next depending on how he produces in spring training and/or extended spring training. |
| Carter Trice | A lot of his assignment will be based on how he does in Mesa. He should start there with a chance to go to Myrtle Beach. |
| Sam Armstrong | Yeah, he’s probably not going to be pitching much after going almost 80 IP at ODU and pitching on the Cape. |
| Grayson Moore | He should pitch some at Myrtle Beach. He only worked 26.1 innings this spring. Should be good to go. |
| Ty Johnson | He’s a tweener in that he threw 53 innings. However, I doubt he ends up in Myrtle Beach. Mesa might be his gig in a limited amount of innings. |
| Daniel Brown | With only 1 inning and an injury, he likely stays in Mesa if he is healthy enough to pitch. |
| Ethan Flanagan | Considering he had injuries this spring, I would not be shocked to see him rest in Mesa. |
| Brian Kalmer | Oh, yeah! He’s going to Myrtle Beach with that bat! |
| Nick Dean | I doubt if he pitches as he was a starter for Maryland this spring. |
| Drew Bowser | He will be in Mesa for sure to start and he might do well enough to get to Myrtle Beach. |
If I counted correctly, that’s 6 possible bats and 3 possible pitchers in the Carolinas by next month. Somehow, 4 position guys might be better and possibly 2 relief pitchers might be best.
I am excited to see them get their Cubs careers started!
