The Cubs finished up the first day of the MLB Draft by selecting Northwestern State (LA) right-handed pitcher Dylan Marionneaux win the fourth round. The junior right-hander went 4-2 with a 3.51 ERA in 14 starts with the Demons of the Southland Conference. He struck out 81 and walked 18 in 84.2 innings. Marionneaux was named to the first-team Southland Conference All-Conference team this year. He had committed to transferring to Alabama for his senior season before the Cubs drafted him. That’s about all I know about him.
So this one is a head-scratcher, although the Cubs almost certainly drafted Marionneaux because he’s willing to sign for a below-slot bonus that would allow the Cubs to give an big above-slot bonus to one of many high school players still on board for Sunday. Marionneaux is not listed on any of the published lists of draft prospects, and Baseball America covers the top 500 prospects.
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Even if Marionneaux is a “signability” pick for another, better player later on, there must have been something that they liked about him anyways. Certainly his control numbers look good. And sometimes these signability players end up surprising everyone. Riley Martin was a fifth-year senior the Cubs drafted out Quincy University in 2021 who signed for $1000. But before he got hurt, Martin was looking like he was going to be an important part of the Cubs bullpen this year.
Last year’s third-round pick, Dominick Reid, and their fifth-round pick, Kade Snell, weren’t quite so out of the blue as Marionneaux is, but they were below slot picks that allowed them to draft high schoolers Kaleb Wing and Josiah Hartshorn, who are now two of the Cubs top propsects.
If you’re looking at high school players still on the board in the fifth round, there’s right-hander Joseph Contreras, son of former All-Star pitcher José Contreras, two-way player Archer Horn, right-hander Savion Sims, outfielder Blake Bowen and others.
So while I’m convinced that Marionneaux is a below-slot pick designed to have money for someone else later, I believe that there is something the Cubs must have liked about him besides that. And like Riley Martin, he could surprise us. Still, it’s impossible to grade this pick until the Cubs finish the draft.
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