Cubs add Texas righty as undrafted free agent |
Dustin Riese
· · 6 hours ago
Over the next few weeks, we will be diving into each of the Cubs' 20 draft picks and what they bring to the table for the future. However, with the undrafted free agency period changing by the hour, we tend to ignore the undrafted players that sign with a team until it is too late.
Not only did the Cubs add 20 players during the MLB draft, but they were also one of the first teams to land an undrafted free agent, as they picked up University of Texas right-hander Aiden Moffett. He is the only undrafted player to have signed with the Cubs as of now, but as you may have noticed in years past, the Cubs monitor the undrafted market more closely than most teams, so expect more signings to continue until the season ends. When you look at Moffett, the one thing that stands out about the right-hander is his intimidating presence on the mound. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, Moffett not only has the size you look for in an MLB arm, but is an intimidating force for some college hitters. However, his overall success hasn't translated up to this point, and his signing with the Cubs is purely an upside play to see what he can bring to the table. When you examine his Amateur career, this is a guy who began his career at LSU before making the move to the Longhorns this past season. As was the case with LSU, Moffett struggled to find consistent time on the mound, appearing in just six games this past season and throwing four innings. While the results were good, allowing one run for a 2.25 ERA, the four walks were a concern, as command has been the biggest issue up to this point. Moffett managed to strike out seven in his four innings, which alone shows that there is plenty of strikeout potential should he be able to harness that command at some point. Looking at his entire college career, Moffett appeared in 23 games with the Tigers and Longhorns, posting a 5.40 ERA in just under 22 innings. He walked 19 and struck out 28 as the command kept him from being a regular in the pen. Throw in his summer ball totals, and Moffett has 52 walks and 82 strikeouts in 58 career innings of work. Regarding a small sample size of work, Moffett is clearly a project that will require a significant amount of work, as his lack of command will likely prevent him from making an impact anytime soon. Despite the struggles across the board, it's always nice to look under the hood to see if there is something the Cubs can build off of. For starters, he averages 93 MPH with his fastball and has touched 96 on several occasions. That alone would play at the professional level and is something the Cubs are hoping they can work with. That fastball also comes from a 3/4 arm slot, giving it some natural cut, which can make it hard to square up if he can find the zone. Moffett also has an interesting delivery where he creates deception by hesitating before releasing the ball. In an era where pitchers need as much of an advantage as they can get, that hesitation to create deception is something the Cubs can work with once the command side of his game is ironed out. Getting away from his fastball for a bit, Moffett has two off-speed offerings that have improved, but are still a ways away from being trusted options. His curveball tends to sit at 84 MPH, has nice, tight spin, and good shape, making it a solid second pitch. He has shown confidence in throwing his curveball on any count. Moffett is also starting to mix and 87 MPH changeup with some fade and deception to it. That alone could be the better of the two secondary offerings at some point in his career, as the Cubs are excited to start working with him in Mesa. Don't expect much from Moffett this season when it comes to the Cubs, but instead keep an eye on him next season as his professional career begins.
