(670 The Score) The Cubs selected Kansas State left-hander Jordan Wicks at No. 21 overall in the MLB amateur draft Sunday evening.
Wicks, 21, is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. He has hit 96 miles per hour with his fastball, which usually sits more in the 90-92 range, according to the scouting report on the ESPN broadcast. He has plus command and what scouts consider a great changeup as well.
"Jordan was on our top 10 internal board, meaning if he got to us we would definitely take him," Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovtiz said. "To get him is exciting. He is what we consider both stuff and makeup wise to be a potential big league starter. We thought he was the best college left-hander. We didn't anticipate that happening. When it did, we weren't going to pass him up."
Wicks went 6-3 with a 3.70 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 15 starts in 2021, when he was named a third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He struck out 118 batters in 92 1/3 innings.
Wicks relies heavily on his changeup and believes he can learn from Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks' style and approach.
"It's a pitch that takes a lot of conviction and a lot of belief," Wicks said. "My changeup was a good pitch throughout high school and my first two years at Kansas State. I knew it had great potential, but the key was believing in it and having that commitment.
"I learned as a younger pitcher that you can't try and strike everyone out without the pitch count going so high. So I learned that pitching to contact would allow me to stay in a game six or seven innings. Hendricks is a guy who I have loved to watch pitch for a long while. He pitches what you would consider pitching unconventionally by today's norm. He knows who he is and stays in that zone of what works by tunneling pitches off. He is a guy who I definitely will try and pick his brain as much as possible."