2022 Prospect Previews: Cade Povich

[Jamie Cameron]

In a new series at Twins Daily, JD Cameron looks at some of the Twins' early draft picks from 2021, what attracted the Twins to them, and storylines to watch for in 2022. Next up, the 98th overall pick, Cade Povich.

While the MLB lockout continues to stagnate the offseason, minor-league players are preparing to travel to Florida and Arizona to begin preparation for their seasons. In this series, I’ll look at some of the Twins' notable picks from the early rounds of the 2021 draft. I’ll dig into scouting reports and storylines to look for ahead of the 2022 season. Next up, Cade Povich, a left-handed pitcher drafted out of the University of Nebraska.

Scouting Grades: Unavailable
 

 

The Twins selected left-handed pitcher Cade Povich with their third-round pick in the 2021 draft (98th overall) out of the University of Nebraska. Povich signed for a $500,000 bonus, slightly shy of the $593,000 slot value. Povich was not ranked in the MLB.com pre-draft process and was ranked #276 by Baseball America. One note on pre-draft rankings as several readers have alluded to them in the comments on previous entries in this series: outside of elite talents, don’t put too much stock in pre-draft rankings. Thirty of the recently released top 100 prospects at Baseball America were not drafted, at all, so take the pre-draft rankings for what they are worth.

Povich was the second of two college left-handed pitchers selected by the Twins in the early rounds (behind Steven Hajjar in the second round). Povich, similarly to Hajjar, has a solid floor with which to become an MLB starting pitcher and adds another left-handed starting pitching prospect to a system bereft of them until the 2021 draft.

Povich is 6’3 and 185 pounds had plenty of success in his time at Nebraska. He managed a 2.82 ERA in his final season, walking 19 and striking out 79 in 73 1/3 innings. Povich’s fastball operated between 89-93 mph in 2021, with questions about the consistency of its velocity similar to those posed by Hajjar’s in his final season at Michigan. Adding velocity for Povich should come easily as he fills out. Early reports from his time with the Twins suggest his fastball was already sitting in the 93-95 mph range. 

Early Success
Povich impressed in his 2021 professional debut. He started three games and pitched in four between rookie ball and low A Fort Myers. When he moved to the Mighty Mussels he was particularly impressive, striking out 16 batters in eight innings of work as a starter and surrendering just a lone earned run. Povich’s impressive debut and added velocity led Baseball America to suggest he could move most quickly through the Twins system if he gets off to a fast start in 2022.

In terms of his arsenal, Povich has used up to a five-pitch mix before, including a four-seamer, cutter, changeup, curveball, and slider. Povich’s curveball is his best secondary pitch and has an impressive 12-6 spin. When speaking with Twins Daily’s Seth Stohs, Povich mentioned he modeled his curveball after Clayton Kershaw's. Povich also boasts strong command and the ability to throw strikes, which, in combination with increased velocity will be important as his fastball doesn’t carry a ton of spin. In an additional sneaky skill, Povich has an excellent pickoff move, nabbing six batters in the 2021 college baseball season

Likely to Start At: Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (A) (with the ability to move quickly to Cedar Rapids A+).

Conclusion
Povich has a similar profile to Hajjar. He is a high-floor left-handed starting pitcher whose growing frame and increased velocity should allow him to move quickie through the Twins system. If Povich rises to meet his ceiling, he profiles as a middle rotation starter.

Who is the most intriguing of the four draft picks discussed so far? What are your thoughts on Cade Povich ahead of the 2022 season?

Previous Prospect Previews 
Twins Prospect Preview: Chase Petty
Twins Prospect Preview: Noah Miller
Twins Prospect Preview: Steven Hajjar

 

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[DocBauer]

Next to Petty, Povich is my most intriguing early prospect. (And just because he's a Husker, lol). I could easily see him at 205-210lbs in a year or so and throwing consistently and maintaining 95-ish velocity to go along with his secondary stuff and great control. I think he's a fast riser with some real potential.

[Jamie Cameron]

28 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Next to Petty, Povich is my most intriguing early prospect. (And just because he's a Husker, lol). I could easily see him at 205-210lbs in a year or so and throwing consistently and maintaining 95-ish velocity to go along with his secondary stuff and great control. I think he's a fast riser with some real potential.

I like him a ton, too Doc. I think he's going to impress and move quickly in 2022. Thanks for reading.

[Dman]

Don't know much about Povich as most analysts had little info or at least little to say about him.  The most I have heard about him is on this site and Seth stating he was an arm that turned heads in camp.  I am hoping Doc's take turns out to be true.  We could use a good lefty or two to balance out the rotation.

[jmlease1]

He's definitely got talent, and seems like a fine pick for where we took him. My question on him is whether or not he can get deeper into games. Even at Nebraska, he was closer to a "5 and fly" guy, so I'm curious to see how he holds up in a full professional season and whether or not he can throw 7 innings in a game more than a couple of times in Ft. Myers. He pitched really well in his cup of coffee last year, but it was only 3 starts and 4 total appearance in the minors last year, and in that he only piled up 10 innings? 

Maybe they were babying his arm, but he only threw 81 innings for Nebraska in 15 starts. I don't want to see college teams Rice their pitchers, but I still wish this guy had a few more innings to back up the fine rate stats.

[RJA]

I love this series.  It will make following these young guys a lot more fun this summer. He is so similar to Hajjar, left handed, improved fastball since working with Twins coaches, and projectable.  Also, like Hajjar, he seems to have a good secondary pitch, in his case a curveball.  I think both of them could move quickly this summer.  As to who is the most intriguing prospect thus far, I have to go with Petty given the heat he can bring together with what looks like excellent secondary pitches.  But, we will have to be patient with him.  That being said, these two lefthanders are not far behind, and they are closer to the majors.  Should be a fun summer watching the minors this year.

[Jamie Cameron]

6 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

He's definitely got talent, and seems like a fine pick for where we took him. My question on him is whether or not he can get deeper into games. Even at Nebraska, he was closer to a "5 and fly" guy, so I'm curious to see how he holds up in a full professional season and whether or not he can throw 7 innings in a game more than a couple of times in Ft. Myers. He pitched really well in his cup of coffee last year, but it was only 3 starts and 4 total appearance in the minors last year, and in that he only piled up 10 innings? 

Maybe they were babying his arm, but he only threw 81 innings for Nebraska in 15 starts. I don't want to see college teams Rice their pitchers, but I still wish this guy had a few more innings to back up the fine rate stats.

'Rice their pitchers' is a brilliant line I'm going to have to use in the future lol!

[Jamie Cameron]

5 hours ago, RJA said:

I love this series.  It will make following these young guys a lot more fun this summer. He is so similar to Hajjar, left handed, improved fastball since working with Twins coaches, and projectable.  Also, like Hajjar, he seems to have a good secondary pitch, in his case a curveball.  I think both of them could move quickly this summer.  As to who is the most intriguing prospect thus far, I have to go with Petty given the heat he can bring together with what looks like excellent secondary pitches.  But, we will have to be patient with him.  That being said, these two lefthanders are not far behind, and they are closer to the majors.  Should be a fun summer watching the minors this year.

Really appreciate it! One more profile to come next week, maybe saving the most exciting for last.