NEWSLETTER
After Ed Howard, Burl Carraway, Jordan Ngowu, and Luke Little, the Cubs concluded their abbreviated 2020 MLB Draft by selecting high school righty Koen Moreno out of North Carolina.
The Cubs didn’t take a traditional college starting pitcher in the draft this year. How’s that for a change of pace?
The Cubs final pick in the 2020 Draft is Koen Moreno, a prep pitcher from North Carolina.
Area scout Billy Swoope with a prep pitcher for the second straight year, after DJ Herz last year.
Moreno looked really solid in the MLB Network highlights. Projectable, plus arm speed.
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) June 12, 2020
Moreno was unranked by MLB Pipeline, FanGraphs, and Keith Law, but Baseball America? They see him as a sleeper:
The Cubs get high school RHP Koen Moreno at 147. @CarlosACollazo has been saying Moreno is a sleeper for … well … a while.
Here's why: https://t.co/U84XhpGfzZ pic.twitter.com/UgALvFmUTO
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 12, 2020
Ranked all the way up at 128, here’s what BA had to say about Moreno:
Moreno is one of the more athletic pitchers in the prep class and he also participated in basketball and track at Panther Creek High in Cary, N.C. A 6-foot-2, 170-pound righthander committed to East Carolina, Moreno doesn’t have a ton of innings on his arm and scouts were impressed with the consistent steps forward he made last summer. At East Coast Pro, Moreno threw a fastball in the 87-93 mph range and ticked up to 94 at the Future Stars Series during the fall. He has exceptional feel to naturally spin a breaking ball, but the pitch needs continued refinement to become a plus offering. It shows solid depth and three-quarter shape in the 73-78 mph range, but it’s hittable when he leaves it up and only flashes sharp biting action. Moreno also showed feel for an 81-85 mph changeup that he throws with good arm speed and had swing-and-miss qualities with average or better potential in the future. Moreno is a projection arm in the true sense of the definition, with plenty of room remaining on a lean frame, athleticism that should allow him to make big strides in the future and an innate feel for spinning a baseball. Scouts didn’t see him pitch much at all this spring with a shortened 2020 season, but he was a candidate to take a step forward stuff-wise. It wouldn’t be surprising for a team to bet on his upside now in the 3-5 round range—if he makes it to East Carolina he could easily become a top-three round talent.
That reads like the kind of high school pitcher the Cubs have taken an occasional swing on in the 5 to 7 round range, or 11 to 15. I suspect they wouldn’t have grabbed Moreno here if they didn’t feel they could sign him, but I don’t see a ton of slot savings in the first four rounds, and slot here for the Cubs is just under $370,000. Of course, they can go over their total bonus pool by up to 5%, so that’s another $300,000 or so to play with, and maybe a good portion is already earmarked for Moreno.
Some videos:
Saw #Cubs 5th rounder Koen Moreno at STP (now Truist Park) this fall. Loved the projection of the frame and the arm speed. FB sits in the low-90s, CH is going to be plus, CB is a solid secondary with potential too. #MLBDraft https://t.co/r6a32Jag6u
— Gregory Gerard (@GGerardPG) June 12, 2020
