2025 MLB Draft Day 2 Thread: Chicago Cubs Draft on North Side Baseball

Kiley has Hartshorn #53, Fangraphs has him 88

I'm not thrilled with a guy who has had back issues as a teenager, but the potential is excellent.

2 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Kiley has Hartshorn #53, Fangraphs has him 88

MLB and Callis had him at 108 too. I love this pick. 

If you pretend the draft went

Conrad / Hartshorn / Kepley / Wing / Reid / Snell

The draft as a whole looks a whole lot different

4 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

I'm not thrilled with a guy who has had back issues as a teenager, but the potential is excellent.

And blew out his elbow already as well.  But you don't get a kid like this in the 6th without some concerns.  Perfectly fine rolling the dice here.  I think he was 2nd in average exit velo at the draft combine for all HS players.  

9 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

I'm not thrilled with a guy who has had back issues as a teenager, but the potential is excellent.

That's fair. For a 6th rounder guys will have issues. Cubs seem really confident in their medical teams evaluation of guys and we have had success with guys coming back from injury. 

 

BA (167):

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167. Josiah Hartshorn

OF

Ht: 6'2" | Wt: 220 | B-T: B-L

School: Orange (Calif.) Lutheran HS, Calif. Drafted/Committed: Texas A&M
Age At Draft: 18.5

BA Grade: 50/Extreme

Hartshorn is the latest top prospect to come out of Orange Lutheran High in California, which has regularly produced draft talent throughout the bonus pool era. He’s a 6-foot-2, 225-pound outfielder and switch-hitter, although injuries to his elbow, back and oblique prevented him from switch-hitting full-time during his high school career and limited to hitting either righty or lefty exclusively for long stretches. Because of his lack of consistent reps, his lefty swing can look a bit more crude at times, but Hartshorn does have a solid mix of strength and bat speed that leads to big power upside in either batter’s box. He has a sound offensive approach, knows how to take a walk and has solid contact skills with good hand-eye coordination. Hartshorn has a filled-out and physical frame that he’ll need to maintain moving forward, but he moves around better than you might think and should be an average or tick below-average runner. He profiles as a corner outfielder with above-average arm strength. Hartshorn is a Texas A&M commit, but his talent fits in rounds 4-7.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run:50 | Field: 50 | Arm: 55.

MLB Pipeline (#108):

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California's Orange Lutheran High School has had three first-round picks over the years, most recently Mikey Romero in 2022. OLu's best player in the 2025 class is Hartshorn, who isn't in first-round conversations yet, but certainly raised his profile by showing off some serious offensive upside on the summer showcase circuit and continuing to post during his senior season. When healthy, Hartshorn is a talented switch-hitter with ability from both sides of the plate. A left-handed thrower, he actually hit only right-handed for nearly all of his first three years in high school because an issue in his left elbow made it hard for him to swing lefty. But then a back issue made hitting right-handed, a more consistent and easier swing, too difficult near the end of his junior season, so he brought the lefty swing back. It was clunky at first, but while you don't want to put too much stock in a home run derby, the fact he found his lefty swing enough to share in the MLB High School Derby win was impressive. He's back to hitting from both sides now, with a solid overall approach and some feel for it, an understanding of the zone and raw power he can get to from either side. It will largely be the run-producing potential of Hartshorn's bat that will get him drafted, though he was moving around better than expected in the outfield during his senior season. He moves well for someone his size with a little sneaky speed, with more conviction he can handle an outfield corner, even though his arm that used to throw up to 94 mph off the mound is still coming back from that elbow issue. The good news is his offensive profile could be impressive enough for the Texas A&M recruit to go in the first three rounds.

 ESPN rated him 53rd.

Same HS as Mikey Romero and Gerrit Cole.

29 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

It'd be hilarious if Bruin Agbayani were a Southern Cal commit, but alas, only Michigan.

Benny's son if you want to feel old.

 

This does feel like a nice gamble, but the back issues trigger some Brennen Davis PTSD for me. 

The Cubs just drafted a 6'8 245 lb pitcher.

Pierce Coppola, LHP, Florida (senior). Unranked by MLB:

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Coppola is a huge left-hander who was a top prep prospect hailing from Verona High School in New Jersey ahead of the 2021 Draft, but he opted to head to Florida. The 6-foot-8 southpaw has had trouble staying healthy, with back and shoulder issues limiting him to just one appearance in 2022 and ‘23 combined. He threw just under 50 innings total, but he has shown glimpses of a fastball that can touch the mid 90s and has flashed an above-average slider at times, though it all comes with that lengthy medical history.

430th by BA:

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430. Pierce Coppola

LHP

Ht: 6'8" | Wt: 215 | B-T: L-L

School: Florida Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 22.6

Coppola ranked as the No. 90 overall prospect in the 2021 class thanks to his towering 6-foot-8 frame and a fastball that was up to 96 mph from the left side. He reached campus at Florida where he has shown flashes of dominance, but also been racked by back and shoulder injuries that have limited him to just 49.1 innings across three seasons. Coppola dominated the early non-conference schedule in 2025, but missed the bulk of the season with just seven starts and 21.1 innings under his belt. He posted a 2.53 ERA with a 46.7% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate, and also threw a bullpen at the MLB Draft combine. At his best, Coppola sits in the low 90s and touches 96 with his fastball. His slurvy upper-70s, low-80s breaking ball is his go-to secondary, but he also has an infrequently-used mid-80s changeup. Coppola is a below-average strike-thrower who needs to sharpen his fastball command and because of that and his injury history, probably fits best as a reliever in pro ball. His draft stock has as much to do with what team doctors might say about his medical as anything, but his outlier 6-foot-8, 245-pound frame could make him an interesting play in rounds 11-20.

 

Coppola had a 46.7% K rate this year. 21.1 IP but lmfao

And another 15 Ks in 7.1 IP on the Cape.  I'm down for a hulking lefty back-end reliever.  

Wow.  Phillies pop Fisher in the 7th.  

Really liking the Phillies Draft so far.

The Tigers apparently drafted an entire college:

Jake Knapp, another huge senior sign pitcher.  6'5, 270

8th round: RHP Jake Knapp, UNC (senior)

Not ranked by Pipeline:

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Knapp redshirted at UNC Wilmington to begin his college career in 2020, then spent the next two years at Walters State (Tenn.) CC, tying for the national junior college lead with 14 wins as a sophomore. He had middling success after transferring to North Carolina in ‘23 before missing all of last season following Tommy John surgery. He returned this spring to win Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year accolades, going 14-0 to lead NCAA Division I in victories and tie a school record. He also ranked third in D-I in WHIP (0.83) and fourth in ERA (2.02). Teams aren't quite sure what to make of Knapp because he turns 25 a month after the Draft and comes with a 6-foot-5, 270-pound frame. He's a workhorse who ranges from 91-97 with nifty induced vertical break on his fastball, but his low-80s changeup is just average and his low-80s slider is fringy. He pounds the zone, especially with his heater, and has impressive mound presence.

Ranked 328th by BA:

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328. Jake Knapp

RHP

Ht: 6'5" | Wt: 255 | B-T: R-R

School: North Carolina Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 24.9

Knapp is quite an unusual draft prospect. He’s the oldest player in the class, yet he’s coming off what is by far the best season of his career. Knapp is workhorse righthander with a 6-foot-5, 270-pound frame that makes him one of the most physical players in the country. He started his college career at UNC Wilmington but didn’t play, then transferred to Walters State (Tenn.) JC where he pitched effectively as a starter. Knapp transferred to North Carolina in 2023 and missed the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery. In 2025, he was the ACC pitcher of the year after posting a 2.02 ERA over 15 starts and 102.1 innings, with a 22.2% strikeout rate and 4% walk rate. He sits around 93 mph with his fastball and will run the pitch up to 97 mph. Against lefties he uses a mid-80s changeup as his go-to secondary, while against righties he turns to a slider around 80 mph. Knapp will turn 25 shortly after the draft, but some teams could view him as a quick-moving starter and priority senior sign target.

 

With all these seniors on top of the remaining savings yesterday, they might have another $1 million swing in them.

EDIT: Certainly $500k-$750k. Lovich got $650k, Hope $400k.

I am surprised Bauer hasn't gone by this point, maybe he's really committed to college or teams are really scared off by the huge velo uptick in a short time with relatively few innings.

1 minute ago, bukie said:

I am surprised Bauer hasn't gone by this point, maybe he's really committed to college or teams are really scared off by the huge velo uptick in a short time with relatively few innings.

He and Appenzeller sounded like they had huge asks

I'm the hoping the Cubs being Bauers local team can pull him away from College.

2 minutes ago, bukie said:

I am surprised Bauer hasn't gone by this point, maybe he's really committed to college or teams are really scared off by the huge velo uptick in a short time with relatively few innings.

His college commitment is probably strong enough it has scared teams from taking him in the first 10 rounds, where any unsigned pick means the team also looses that pick's bonus money. I'm sure he'll be picked in rounds 11-20, even if it's unlikely he'll sign.

(I think his combination of poor control/velo uptick might not have helped.)

The Pirates drafting another Jared Jones is funny