The Major League Baseball Draft isn’t like the NBA Draft or NFL Draft when it comes to the level of excitement that it generates. It’s really more on par with stamp collecting in that regard.
As Nelson Muntz would say, “stamp collection! Haw-Haw!”
Still the Chicago Cubs had two picks tonight, late in the first round, so here’s the skinny on who they took, Brendon Little out of the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota with the 27th overall pick and right-handed pitcher Alex Lange out of Louisiana State University with the 30th overall pick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZhCRha0rHE
According to the Cubs post-draft press release Brendon Little averaged 14.03 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in his sophomore season, striking out 133 in 85.1 innings while walking just 33 batters. He went 5-3 in 15 starts with a 2.53 ERA and surrendered just 67 hits.
“Brendon Little is a physical left-handed pitcher who we feel is just tapping into his potential now, with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s and what we believe to be one of the best curveballs in the Draft,” reads a statement attributed to Cubs Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod.
The McLeod statement on Lange reads:
“Alex Lange is a proven winner in the best conference in college baseball. He’s taken the ball every Friday night for a top caliber team and he is one of the best competitors in the country.”
Regarding Lange, the Cubs point out that he is 29-9 with a 2.88 ERA in 51-career starts over three seasons at LSU. He ranks second in program history with 390 strikeouts, just 19 shy of the program record.
He has earned numerous awards and recognitions in his three years with the Tigers, including the 2015 National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, 2016 First-Team All-American and 2017 Second-Team All-American.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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