The Cubs went with two pitchers on Day 1 of the 2022 MLB Draft.
After drafting University of Oklahoma right-hander Cade Horton seventh overall, the Cubs selected lefty Jackson Ferris with their next draft pick, 47th overall.
"In the first round, Cade was our prime target," Cubs VP of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said. "In the second round – it's hard to have visibility so you don't normally put too much stock into it — but Jackson was the No. 1 target there as well."
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Ferris, 18, comes from the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida. He's ranked the 19th overall prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline and 34th by Baseball America.
Considered one of the top prep pitchers in the draft by evaluators, Ferris — who stands 6-foot-4, 195 pounds — has a mid-90s fastball that touches 96-97 mph.
According to Pipeline's scouting report, he also wields a mid-70 mph 12-6 curveball and a mid-80s changeup and has No. 2-3 starter potential.
Baseball America ranks Ferris' changeup as the fourth-best among high school pitchers in the draft.
MLB
In his senior season at IMG, Ferris went 8-0 with a 1.33 ERA in 10 outings, striking out 103 batters in 54 1/3 innings.
"This wasn't somebody that was just coming in and pitching with two pitches for two innings," Kantrovitz said. "He’s throwing complete games and showing off four pitches and going multiple times through the order and showing ability to make in-game adjustments.
"It kind of went above and beyond sort of your typical times-two-pitch high school pitcher. This is somebody with a full repertoire, and once he adds a little weight to his frame, we think he's pretty ripe to add power across his whole mix."
Ferris is committed to play collegiately at Ole Miss, but Kantrovitz said the Cubs don't anticipate any issues signing him.
It's the second straight year the Cubs drafted an IMG pitcher with one of their top picks. They selected lefty Drew Gray in the third round last year.