Article: 2024 Prospect Previews: Will Sanders

[Jamie Cameron]

In the latest installment of our 2024 Prospect Previews series, let's tackle the Cubs' fourth-round arm from the 2023 Draft.

Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo

The Cubs drafted righthander Will Sanders out of South Carolina in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound hurler was the 82nd-ranked prospect in the class per the Consensus Board. What can Cubs fans expect from Sanders in 2024? Let’s dig in.

The college pitching demographic was a bear market as the 2023 pre-draft process dragged on. After the top of the class (names like Paul Skenes, Rhett Lowder, Chase Dollander, and Hurston Waldrep), there was a promising secondary group comprising names like Cade Kuehler, Brandon Sproat, Juaron Watts-Brown, and Sanders, to name a few. They fell in the pecking order, almost to a man, due to uneven performance, injury concerns, or both.

Sanders has a stereotypical workmanlike starting pitchers physique. Tall and strong, he was a top-200 consensus player coming out of high school as a classic projection pitcher. As with many names in 2020, Sanders made it to campus (with a COVID-shortened draft partially to thank) at South Carolina, and saw plenty of improvements in his stuff, despite uneven results.

Sanders throws from a three-quarter slot with a high release, his fastball sitting 93-95 mph, but he touched as high as 98 mph in his college career. The pitch has always been a tricky one, as, despite some interesting characteristics, he struggled to generate whiffs with it, commanding it poorly, and it was hit hard in his final year for the Gamecocks.

Despite his height and arm length, Sanders has a decently compact arm stroke. He has three secondary offerings, giving himself a solid platform, while none are yet a plus pitch. In college, he favored his curveball over his slider, throwing both for strikes with good downward movement. Sanders also has a changeup which he demonstrates good feel for, with solid depth.

Sanders had an uneven 2023 season with South Carolina, albeit in a bloated D1 offensive environment. He managed a 27% strikeout rate, while walking just south of 10% of opposing hitters. Sanders had a home run problem in college, and I’d be surprised if the Cubs didn’t mess with his pitch mix, fitting him for a cutter or two-seamer to help keep hitters off his four-seamer.

Sanders didn’t debut after he was selected in the draft. Like many pitchers taken, we await his professional debut in 2024. Sanders has plenty of traits to like as a starter: a solid pitch mix, good velocity and excellent extension. There’s a third or fourth starting pitcher in there somewhere, if the Cubs can solve the fastball problem. As a guy who's already had success in the SEC, he seems like a guy for whom a strong and healthy spring would lead to opening 2024 in High-A South Bend.

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What did you think of the Will Sanders pick? What are your expectations for him in 2024?

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[craig]

Killian is one of the couple of guys on the 40-man at risk of getting de-rostered if/when they sign Bellinger or whomever.  Hope Sanders breaks out better than Killian.

Obviously draft is most likely to hit with 1st rounders.  Odds with Sanders aren't great.  But it would be so nice if the Cubs D+D started to stack some successes with guys who aren't 1st rounders or > $1M superslots.  

Would love it if Sanders worked out well, or Birdsell or Paciolla.  Gray and Murray.  

I'm hopeful for Sanders.  He wasn't a total wildman in college, so there's a chance that he might develop enough control to be big-league OK in that area.  And *IF* they can work up his stuff to work better without giving up a zillion HR's, there's a chance.  

[We Got The Whole 9]

Have him develop a splitter 

[CubinNY]

didn't the Cubs have a guy named Cam Sanders? Are they the same person?

[We Got The Whole 9]

7 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

didn't the Cubs have a guy named Cam Sanders? Are they the same person?

It's a pretty popular name. One was drafted in 2023 dude. 

[Jason Ross]

33 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

didn't the Cubs have a guy named Cam Sanders? Are they the same person?

Quite different! But similar names. Will Sanders has more pitchability, Cam Sanders is a wildman. Sadly for Sanders, doesn't seem like he's ever going to find enough strikes. Which really sucks...he's a fun watch on the mound.