Getting to know: OF Jacob Wetzel |
Every year when the draft process is going on, you come across a feel-good story that makes you want to root for a player to be as successful as possible. Sometimes those stories are hometown kids getting drafted by their hometown team. Other times occasionally, players have beaten an illness and are now on the verge of doing something great with their lives.
This year, one of the best stories in the draft happens to be Jacob Wetzel as he signed with the Chicago Cubs via the undrafted free agent wire. The OF from Frederick MD, JC hasn’t always had a smooth road in terms of his baseball journey as it almost ended as quickly as the success came. The former two-sport star from Frederick, MD, thought baseball was the best of his two sports and ultimately decided to pursue that at the next level. After going through all the offers he had on the table, he chose to enroll at Old Dominion University with hopes of making significant contributions for the Monarchs. Once arriving at Old Dominion, things didn’t go the way he had planned, as this is where the feel-good story begins. After battling through months of mental health and depression disorders, Wetzel withdrew from Old Dominion before even playing a single game leaving his baseball future entirely up in the air. Not ready to give up quite yet, Wetzel took the time away from school to refocus and chose to try out for his hometown community college team with hopes of getting one last shot at the game he grew up loving. Not only did he try out, but he made the team and quickly became one of the best players on the roster proving to everyone that he not only has what it takes to be a big-league player but could quite possibly emerge as one of the better steals in the undrafted free agent class. Even though he wasn’t drafted in your typical way, Wetzel has gone on record saying his decision to sign with the Cubs is a dream come true as he now gets set for his professional career. Taking a year off from such a difficult game can be incredibly tough to return to form, especially when playing at the college level. For Wetzel, not only did he look like a natural when he enrolled at Frederick, but it appeared as if he didn’t miss a beat and quickly became the best hitter on the team. In 50 games as a freshman, Wetzel smoked the baseball hitting .377 that season while adding a .510 OBP and .667 slugging percentage. His high on-base percentage was contributed mainly from the fact that he hit upwards of .400 and showed a keen eye at the plate taking 12 more walks than strikeouts 37/25. Not only did he demonstrate the ability to hit well, but Wetzel also showed the ability to hit for some power while using the whole field in the process. Of his 61 hits on the season, 24 were of the extra-base variety as he logged seven doubles, 11 triples, and six homers to go with his 55 RBIs. Speed is also a considerable part of Wetzel’s game as he successfully stole 14 bases in 16 attempts. Given the high average, great speed, and ability to hit for power, it appeared as if Wetzel was on the verge of becoming a player who had five-tool potential. Looking to build off his incredible freshman season, Wetzel was off to perhaps an even better start to his sophomore season despite the numbers not looking as good. In 17 games this season, Wetzel continued to hit the ball hard as he once again logged a .333 average to go with .509 OBP and .542 slugging percentage. The decline in his slugging was primarily because Wetzel had yet to hit a homer this season, but eight of his 16 hits went for extra bases as seven RBIs resulted from his bat. His two steals in three attempts was down also, but he continued to display a keen eye at the plate once again, taking more walks than strikeouts. At just 5-11 and 195 lbs., the left-handed-hitting Wetzel is one of the smaller OF products of the undrafted class and is certainly not going to intimidate you with his size on the field. Instead, what he does do well is make contact, use his legs, and display a great eye at the plate, making him a tough player to keep off the bases. From a hitting standpoint, he minds me a lot of Ben Zobrist and Jose Altuve as someone who knows how to not only work the count but knowns how to put the ball in play. Even if Wetzel never turns out to be a budding star in this league, his ability to reach base consistently a variety of ways makes him a lock to be a fourth OF down the road and someone who would be a very nice bench piece for several years. Most of us may not have known much about Wetzel until this signing, but this signing is not all that surprising given that the Cubs were in on him for a while. There have been reports out there that long before COVID-19 put an end to the season, that the Cubs were looking at drafting Wetzel around the middle rounds of this year’s draft. Going back to last fall, the Cubs area scout and Wetzel were having extensive talks following his freshman season. Those talks began to progress so well that even Theo Epstein himself took it upon himself to call Wetzel and check in on the young man. That right there shows you that the Cubs were not fooled by his history of depression and had he put together another strong season he most likely would have been drafted around round 20 if not higher. Maybe this was destiny waiting to happen for Wetzel, but I just get the feeling that had he had another strong showing this season that Chicago would not have gotten the opportunity to have his services. Now that they do, you can believe they are ecstatic about it and are very excited to get him in camp and see what he can do.
