Cam Sanders

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Chicago Cubs #28 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: The son of former Padres reliever Scott Sanders and All-American softball player Linda Lunceford Sanders, Cam began his college career at Northwest Florida State JC before spending one season as a swingman at Louisiana State. Sanders did little to distinguish himself in the low minors after the Cubs drafted him, but his stuff ticked up in 2022 to facilitate a rise to Triple-A. He moved to Iowa's bullpen in the second half and didn't allow an earned run in eight of his final nine appearances.
  
  Scouting Report: Sanders is an athletic, 6-foot-2 righthander with five different pitches that miss bats. His 94-96 mph four-seam fastball and 92-94 mph two-seamer feature high spin rates and are both above-average, swing and miss pitches. His favored secondary is an above-average, mid-80s slider he has good feel to spin, and his average mid-80s changeup and average low-70s curveball get swings and misses in the zone, too. He creates different shapes and looks with all his weapons and keeps hitters guessing. Sanders repeats his delivery, but he has trouble commanding all of his offerings at the same time. He has struggled with walks throughout his career and is prone to hitting batters.
  
  The Future: Sanders' good stuff and shoddy control have him on track to be a middle reliever like his dad. His major league debut should come in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 30

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #475 prospect in 2018 draft
  The son of big leaguer Scott Sanders and former softball All-American Linda Sanders, Cam was an 18th-round pick of the Padres last season out of Northwest Florida JC. He has some of the best stuff on the LSU staff, but his inconsistent control has kept him from having sustained success this year--he was 1-0, 6.59 at the end of the SEC tournament. Sanders walked 7.2 batters per nine innings this season and his performance in SEC games was even worse (11.12 ERA, 10 BB/9). Sanders did get better as the season wrapped up, as he started locating his 92-96 mph fastball and sharp spike-curve more consistently.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: The son of former Padres reliever Scott Sanders and All-American softball player Linda Lunceford Sanders, Cam began his college career at Northwest Florida State JC before spending one season as a swingman at Louisiana State. Sanders did little to distinguish himself in the low minors after the Cubs drafted him, but his stuff ticked up in 2022 to facilitate a rise to Triple-A. He moved to Iowa's bullpen in the second half and didn't allow an earned run in eight of his final nine appearances.
  
  Scouting Report: Sanders is an athletic, 6-foot-2 righthander with five different pitches that miss bats. His 94-96 mph four-seam fastball and 92-94 mph two-seamer feature high spin rates and are both above-average, swing and miss pitches. His favored secondary is an above-average, mid-80s slider he has good feel to spin, and his average mid-80s changeup and average low-70s curveball get swings and misses in the zone, too. He creates different shapes and looks with all his weapons and keeps hitters guessing. Sanders repeats his delivery, but he has trouble commanding all of his offerings at the same time. He has struggled with walks throughout his career and is prone to hitting batters.
  
  The Future: Sanders' good stuff and shoddy control have him on track to be a middle reliever like his dad. His major league debut should come in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 30
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: The son of former Padres reliever Scott Sanders and All-American softball player Linda Lunceford Sanders, Cam began his college career at Northwest Florida State JC before spending one season as a swingman at Louisiana State. Sanders did little to distinguish himself in the low minors after the Cubs drafted him, but his stuff ticked up in 2022 to facilitate a rise to Triple-A. He moved to Iowa's bullpen in the second half and didn't allow an earned run in eight of his final nine appearances.
  
  Scouting Report: Sanders is an athletic, 6-foot-2 righthander with five different pitches that miss bats. His 94-96 mph four-seam fastball and 92-94 mph two-seamer feature high spin rates and are both above-average, swing and miss pitches. His favored secondary is an above-average, mid-80s slider he has good feel to spin, and his average mid-80s changeup and average low-70s curveball get swings and misses in the zone, too. He creates different shapes and looks with all his weapons and keeps hitters guessing. Sanders repeats his delivery, but he has trouble commanding all of his offerings at the same time. He has struggled with walks throughout his career and is prone to hitting batters.
  
  The Future: Sanders' good stuff and shoddy control have him on track to be a middle reliever like his dad. His major league debut should come in 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Control: 30
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Sanders is the son of former Padres reliever Scott Sanders and All-American softball shortstop Linda Lunceford Sanders. He began his collegiate career at Northwest Florida JC before transferring to Louisiana State and was drafted by the Cubs in the 12th round after one season with the Tigers. Sanders failed to distinguish himself in the low minors, but his stuff ticked up in the upper minors to make him one of the Cubs&#39 better pitching prospects.
  
  Scouting Report: Sanders&#39 fastball velocity has steadily increased from 92-96 mph in college to 95-99 mph as a professional. His four-seamer gets plenty of ride with high spin rates and he can give hitters a different look with a 93-95 mph sinker. Both fastballs get swings and misses, as do his above-average mid-80s slider, average mid-80s changeup and average low-70s curveball. Sanders&#39 shortcoming has long been his below-average control. All five of his pitches are competitive offerings that generate above-average whiff rates in the strike zone, but he doesn&#39t throw them in the strike zone often enough.
  
  The Future: Sanders has the arsenal to start but will need to improve his control. If he can&#39t his fastball and slider combination will play in the bullpen.