Cubs select eight players on second day of MLB Draft |
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today selected eight players in rounds three through 10 of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, seven pitchers and one position player, including five college players and three from high school. The 2022 Major League Baseball Draft concludes tomorrow with rounds 11-20.
The Cubs began the day by selecting shortstop Christopher Paciolla out of Temecula Valley High School (Calif.) in the third round (86th overall), right-handed pitcher Nazier Mulé out of Passaic Tech High School in Wayne, N.J. in the fourth round (113th overall) and right-handed pitcher Brandon Birdsell out of Texas Tech University in the fifth round (143rd overall). Later in the day, Chicago selected right-handed pitcher Mason McGwire, the son of Mark McGwire, in the eighth round (233rd overall). Paciolla was recommended by area scout Evan Kauffman, Mule was recommended by area scout John Pedrotty, Birdsell was recommended by area scout Todd George and McGwire was recommended by area scout Evan Kauffman. Paciolla, 18, hit .390 (32-for-82) with nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 21 RBI in 29 games during his senior campaign at Temecula Valley High School in 2022. The right-handed hitting infielder batted .394 (109-for-332) with 19 doubles, five triples, 10 homers and 64 RBI in 94 games over four high school seasons. The six-foot, two-inch, 185-pound Paciolla becomes Temecula Valley High School’s first draft pick since 2014. The Temecula, Calif. native is committed to UCLA. Mulé, 17, a two-way player at Passaic Valley High School (N.J.), pitched and appeared at shortstop and designated hitter during his high school career. Both a right-handed pitcher and a right-handed hitter, Mulé in two seasons as a pitcher went 9-2 with a 2.18 ERA and 163 strikeouts. He was named was named to the All-State Second Team for the second-straight season in 2022 after he led Passaic Tech with 41 hits, with a New Jersey-leading eight home runs and 34 RBI. Born in Paterson, N.J., Mulé is the No. 1 ranked player from New Jersey and the No. 18 ranked player nationally in the 2022 high school class and is committed to the University of Miami (Fla.). Birdsell, 22, garnered Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors in 2022 after he went 9-3 with a 2.75 ERA (26 ER/85.0 IP), 106 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP in 15 starts for Texas Tech, guiding the Red Raiders to a 39-22 record. The right-handed pitcher began his college career at Texas A&M in 2019, before transferring to San Jacinto Junior College in 2020 and Texas A&M in 2021. The six-foot, two-inch, 240-pound Birdsell was previously selected in the 39th round in 2019 by Houston and the 11th round in 2021 by Minnesota. The Willis, Tex. native is a graduate of Willis High School, where he was named to the 2018 Texas High School Baseball Association Class 5A All-State Third Team. In the eighth round, the Cubs selected right-handed pitcher Mason McGwire out of Capistrano Valley High School (Calif.). McGwire, the son of 16-year major league first baseman Mark McGwire, transferred to Capistrano Valley after starting his high school career at JSerra Catholic High School. He is ranked as the No. 3 right-handed pitching prospect in California by Perfect Game. The #Cubs today selected eight players in rounds 3-10 of the #MLBDraft, seven pitchers and one position player. pic.twitter.com/imv0n21er4
