Cubs Draft Prospect Target: Brody Brecht |
Over the next month-plus, the MLB Mock draft landscape will start taking shape as the NCAA season comes to a close and will begin to focus on the draft ahead. When it comes to the Cubs, this will be an interesting draft, especially when you look at the Mock Drafts that have already taken place.
Depending on who you ask, the Cubs are expected to go with a position player like Cam Smith or Seaver King at No. 14, although more have them picking Smith over anyone. However, there are two other mock drafts out there showing the Cubs taking a pitcher at No. 14, and that makes a ton of sense when you look at what this organization has been trying to do. Regardless of who they take, one thing we do know is that it is expected to be a college player, as the Cubs are more about experience at this point than potential. Of all the Mocks that have been dropped, the one that seems to be the most puzzling at this point is seeing the Cubs draft RHP Brody Brecht out of the University of Iowa. That isn't to say Brecht isn't good, but he is listed as the 28th-best prospect in this year's class, so taking him at 14 would be a significant reach. The fact that the Cubs are linked to him at 14 shows that they must really like something about him that makes them willing to reach for him. The first thing you notice when you see Brecht is his size, as his 6-4 and 224-pound frame is the ideal size you look for in a pitcher. A multi-sport athlete in high school, Brecht flashed all the skills teams look for in a first-round arm in 2021. However, Brecht ultimately turned down being drafted as he was committed to WR for the Iowa football team in the fall. After redshirting his first season and then seeing minimal action the next, Brecht elected to give up football altogether and put all his focus on baseball. This was the best decision he has ever made, as he could be one of the better arms that not many people talk about. He led NCAA Division I with a .143 opponent average in 2023, but he hasn't been able to match that this season, going 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA across 63 innings. He's walked 40, which is a bit higher than normal but has struck out 108 as the strikeout stuff is still there. While no one can pinpoint why he has struggled this season, scouts who have followed him closely think it has to do with the Iowa staff changing some of his overall pitching mechanics, as it has taken him a little bit to adjust to the new mechanics. However, when he is on and locked in, Brechts's fastball/slider combination has been comparable to Paul Skenes, whom the Cubs will face on Saturday. Granted, the velocity may not match what Skenes brings to the table, but Brecht can still rush that heater up there between 96-99 MPH and has even touched 101. Add to that the extreme running action that pitch has and more depth and shape than Skenes' heater, and you can see why teams have drooled over him the past few seasons. As good as his fastball is, the slider is his best pitch, sitting around 87-89 MPH, and can top out at 91. He can't locate as well as Skenes can, and if he could, this guy could be the first pitcher taken off the board, so maybe taking him 14th overall isn't as big of a reach as some would think. A big reason why the command may not be where you would like it to be is that he uses more sliders than fastballs. Brecht has shown the ability to throw a 93 MPH splitter, but it is very unpolished at this point of his career, and he will have to use that more often at the next level to become a truly elite pitcher at the next level. Given the command issues he has shown the past two seasons, it is tough to project whether he will be a starter or a reliever. Regardless, he has a ton of potential and will be hard to pass up when the Cubs come calling.
