Chicago Cubs announce the signing of 19 of 20 draft picks

The Chicago Cubs announced that they have signed 19 out of 20 draft picks from the recent MLB Draft. The final two players to come to terms are second-round pick LHP Jackson Ferris and 16th-round pick RHP JP Wheat.

As a refresher, here’s who the Cubs selected in the 2022 Draft. The players who signed are in bold. Additionally, the reported bonus value and the slot value for the pick are at the end.

All players taken in the 11th through 20th round can sign for $125,000 without it counting against the bonus pool. Any amount above that counts toward the allowable spending before the penalties kick in.

1. Cade Horton. RHP. University of Oklahoma. DOB: 8/20/01. 6’1”, 211. (Signed $4.450,000/slot $5,710,000)
2. Jackson Ferris. LHP. IMG Academy (FL). DOB: 1/15/04. 6’4”, 195. ($3,005,000/$1,660,400)
3. Christopher Paciolla. SS. Temecula Valley HS (CA). DOB: 3/16/04. 6’2”, 185. T:R, B:R. ($900,00/$735,200)
4. Nazier Mulé. RHP. Passiac Tech HS (NJ). DOB: 6’3”, 210. ($1,000,00/$538,400)
5. Branden Birdsell. RHP. Texas Tech. DOB: 3/23/00. 6’2”, 240. ($385,000/$402,400)
6. Will Frisch. RHP. Oregon State. DOB: 7/14/00. 6’0”, 222. ($228,00/$303,900)
7. Nick Hull. RHP. Grand Canyon U. (AZ). DOB: 8/21/99. 6’0”, 205. ($25,000/$237,000)
8. Mason McGwire. RHP. Capistrano Valley HS (CA). DOB: 1/05/04. 6’4”, 190. ($200,000/$189,100)
9. Connor Noland. RHP. Arkansas. 7/20/99. DOB: 6’2”, 215. ($200,000/$164,500)
10. Brody McCullough. RHP. Wingate University (NC). DOB: 6/30/00. 6’4”, 205. ($125,000/$154.300)
11. Branden Noriega. LHP. No school. DOB: 7/9/01. 6’2”, 180.
12. Mathew Peters. RHP. Ivy Tech Fort Wayne (IN). DOB: 12/28/00. 6’4”, 215.
13. Luis Rujano. RHP. Sunshine State Elite Academy (FL). DOB: 4/22/03. 6’4”, 200. (Bonus $210,000)
14. Shane Marshall. RHP. University of Georgia. DOB: 3/15/00. 6’4”, 210.
15. Haydn McGeary. C. Colorado Mesa University. DOB: 10/9/99. 6’5”, 235. T:R, B:R.
16. JonPaul Wheat. RHP. Next Level Academy (AL). DOB: 8/3/02. 6’5”, 185.
17. Andy Garriola. OF. Old Dominion. DOB: 12/15/99. 6’5”, 235. B:R, T:R.
18. Garrett Brown. RHP. University of Georgia. DOB: 11/6/9. 6’7”, 218.
19. Brock Blatter. RHP. Billings Central Catholic (MT). DOB: 7/10/04. 6’6”, 215.
20. KeShun Collier. OF. Meridian Community College (MS). DOB: 12/21/00. 5’8, 160. B:L, T:R.

Blatter, the one player who did not sign, was a strong commit to Alabama and was likely taken by the Cubs as a fallback option in case something went wrong with the negotiations with Jackson Ferris. Since Ferris signed and the Cubs have spent their entire $10,092,700 bonus pool, plus the 5% that you can go over without losing a draft pick, it is safe to say that the $125,000 that they can offer Blatter will not entice him to forgo his commitment to Tuscaloosa.

Cubs vice-president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz (the guy in charge of the draft) predicted that the Cubs would sign 18 or 19 of the 20 players drafted. The Cubs ended up on the high-side of that prediction, which is obviously good news.

The last step is getting all these players processed and starting their careers that will hopefully end in a debut at Wrigley Field in the next few years.