Player: Zack Short
Position: SS
Height: 5’10 Weight: 180 Age: 25 Bats/Throws: R/R Current Level: AAA Iowa
MLB.com Rank: 19th in Cubs System
Drafted: 2016 (17th Round, 524th Overall by Cubs)
Hometown: Kingston, NY
College: Sacred Heart
The Cubs took Zack Short in the 17th round back in 2016 and signed him for $80,000. Short had a great sophomore season in college at Sacred Heart: leading the Northeastern Conference in both walks (33) and home runs (9). His junior year was more of a struggle and his draft stock suffered: dropping him to the 17th round.
He’s been impressive with the bat as he’s made his way through the Cubs system. Short made it to Triple-A Iowa last season, but missed 10 weeks with a broken hand and never really got back into form.
Scouting Grades
Short has quick hands that give him more power than you’d expect from a 5’10, 180 pound shortstop. He has a tendency to get pull-happy and he’s had some struggles catching up to fastballs with his aggressive swing. It would be nice to see him shorten up with two-strikes and spray the ball more. That being said, he works deep counts and takes a high number of walks, which keeps his on-base percentage up. On the bases, Short is a good base-runner with solid speed, but nothing crazy.
Short fields his position tremendously and has a strong enough arm to stay at shortstop. He has the ability to play as a utility infielder in the big leagues as he could easily handle second and third-base as well as shortstop. He is blocked by Javy Baez, Nico Hoerner and Kris Bryant at the big-league level, but he provides depth should the Cubs need him. He’s currently listed on the Cubs 40-man roster, but was not among those invited to Summer Camp at Wrigley Field.
Zack Short Stats
