Minnesota Twins Draft Choice No. 4: Cade Povich, LHP, Nebraska
Round/Pick: Round 3, Pick 98
MLB.com Pre-Draft Prospect Rankings: NR
Pros: Solid Control, Four Pitch Mix
Cons: Average Stuff, Limited Experience
Of the five picks we’ll talk about here, Cade Povich was the biggest surprise. Unranked in MLB.com’s Top 250 Draft Prospects and in Prospects1500.com’s Top 350 and only ranked No. 537 on ProspectLive’s Top 600 prospects, Povich landing in the Top 100 picks was a surprise.
He only pitches out of the stretch, which likely hurt his rankings, but he has a four-pitch mix that he used to join Hajjar on the All-Big 10 team in 2021, going 6-1 with an 88-22 K-BB ratio. His main issue is his stuff.
His fastball sits in the lower 90s, and while he’s 6’3″, there really doesn’t seem to be much projectability left in his frame. He’s a lefty, which is good, but he’s 21 and doesn’t look like he offers much more than as a fill-in starter. Reaching for him in the third round when a little more upside his needed was a bad call. Grade: D+.