Chicago Cubs Draft Prospect Profile: Seaver King |
Although the MLB season isn't even a month old, we are just three weeks away from the end of the college baseball season. Once that happens, you get into the regional and Super-Regional rounds of competition, followed by the NCAA tournament. Shortly after that comes the MLB Draft, which is set to take place from July 14-16.
That is still more than two months away, but it is never too early to start looking into potential draft targets for the Chicago Cubs. If you look at the most recent Mock Draft, the Cubs are linked to one of the better players in the nation. Unlike seasons past, the Cubs will once again be picking in the middle of the first round, as their first pick is slated to be No.14. Most of the top-level talent will be gone by the time they pick, but there are still some great players available to be had at No. 14. One of those players is Wake Forest SS/OF Seaver King, who is being linked to the Cubs at No. 14. I know what most of you are thinking, why draft another SS. Well, the answer is simple. Shortstop is the most athletic position on the field, and if King can play OF, the Cubs may be interested in trying him at an OF spot over the SS position. Unlike a lot of the top prospects in this year's class, King was once a D-2 star before transferring to Wake Forest and one of the best D-2 players in the nation. After getting off to a slow start this season, many were wondering if his success at the D2 level would translate at the D1 level. Not only has he figured things out, but the former Wingate star is playing his best ball of the season and is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak as the ACC regular season is winding down. When you look at King's overall numbers, you would never guess that he got out of the gates slowly, as he is hitting .321/.380/.642 for the season. With that comes the 13 home runs and eight stolen bases while also posting a 12.5% strikeout rate compared to a nearly 9% walk rate. King has had a tendancy to expand the zone more than he would like but also has the unique ability to make contact outside the zone similar to what Nick Madrigal and Nico Hoerner bring to the table. Not only does make contact with pitches out of the zone, but he often barrels them up and connects for line drives all across the field. While line-drive hitters may not be something to get fans excited, Matt Shaw was considered a line-drive hitter, and look at how things are unfolding for him. If the Cubs can find another diamond in the rough like Shaw, they will be sitting pretty for the foreseeable future as they continue to focus on contact-oriented players more so than power hitters. Another thing that sets King apart from other players, especially the rest of the infielders in this year's class, is that when he barrels up a baseball, the overall exit velocity is incredible as he ranks in the top 10 in overall exit velocity. Some scouts have also been impressed with the defensive ability he’s shown at shortstop this spring which goes to show how athletically gifted he is and his ability to play multiple positions equally well. King is part of an extremely stacked and talented Wake Forest team, and some have him listed as the No. 9 overall prospect in this year's class. That doesn't benefit the Cubs, but as you have seen before, strange things happen during draft day, so maybe he does fall to the Cubs. Given some of the recent performances from other players, you are seeing King fall a bit on the draft board, but that doesn't make him any less valuable than he once was. When you look at the Cubs recent track record drafted players, King checks a lot of the boxes. He is a college-level bat with tons of experience, good batted ball metrics, success with wood bats while playing in the Cape Cod Summer League, and a little bit of pop thanks to some late developmental stuff he encountered at Wingate. This isn't typically the time when you focus on draft picks, but the rumors and Mock drafts are coming as King is just one of many players linked to the Cubs at 14.
