NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs keep adding to the farm system, signing 24-year-old righty Nico Zeglin out of Mexico.
Formerly at Gonzaga and then Long Beach State, Zeglin was not drafted in 2023, despite ranking as the 408th best prospect in the class at Prospects Live, and seemingly being on the draft radar. I suppose that is to say, it may not be a surprise that he wasn’t drafted, but it’s a mild surprise that he didn’t sign right after the draft. Then again, we know that the new stateside roster limits can make it hard to accommodate every prospect you might otherwise want in the system, so maybe it took some injuries this year for there to be room.
Zeglin, listed at 6’4″ 200 lbs, pitched extremely well at Long Beach State in 2023, posting a 2.38 ERA over 94.2 IP (15 starts), striking out 117 and walking just 27. The crowning performance of his 2023 college season was a complete game shutout (10 K, 3 H, 2 BB) in May of last year:
Zeglin earned third team All-American honors for the season.
That LBSU team, by the way, featured Cubs 9th rounder Jonathon Long, so presumably Cubs scouts had a lot of looks at Zeglin and must have stayed in touch.
After the draft, Zeglin pitched in the Pioneer League (quite well, again), and then this year opened up in the Mexican League (out of which the Cubs just signed Daniel Missaki). The Cubs’ scouts must’ve liked what they saw, and now he’s already at Low-A Myrtle Beach.
