Jonathan Cannon Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

IP	72.2
ERA	3.59
WHIP	1.22
BB/9	2.97
SO/9	8.3

Full name Jonathan Patrick Cannon
Born 07/19/2000 in Alpharetta, GA
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 213 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Georgia
Drafted in the 3rd round (101st overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2022 (signed for $925,000).

View Draft Report

Cannon ranked as the No. 67 prospect in the 2021 draft class and was one of the highest-ranking collegiate players to go unselected. A draft-eligible sophomore in 2021, Cannon returned for his third season with Georgia in 2022, where he continued to show some of the best command in the country with a deep arsenal of solid offerings. Cannon is a tall and lean righthander listed at 6-foot-6, 213 pounds, who attacks with a sinker, slider, cutter mix and induces plenty of ground balls and weak contact. He sits around 94 mph and touches 97 with his four-seam fastball but uses a two-seam variant frequently as well. His most used secondary is a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that generated whiffs at a 31% rate and induced plenty of ground balls. A new addition to his arsenal this spring was a cutter around 88-90 mph that gives him another option against lefthanders, and while he didn’t throw the pitch much, he also has a mid-80s changeup. None of Cannon’s pitches grades out as plus, but all of them look like 50- or 55-grade offerings. Cannon is a bit of an old-school pitcher who works in the zone heavily and likes to pitch to weak contact, so it’s possible a team will shorten his pitch mix in pro ball and have him focus on missing more bats, but he has been effective as a groundball artist who rarely issues free passes. Cannon profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter with a high-likelihood to pitch in the majors.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 50/High

Track Record: Cannon was available in the 2021 draft as an eligible sophomore at Georgia but went undrafted after announcing that he intended to return to school for his junior year. A regular weekend starter for the Bulldogs in 2022, Cannon led the staff with nine wins in 13 starts. The White Sox drafted Cannon in the third round and signed the righthander for $925,000. He made four brief appearances late in the regular season before taking the mound during the fall instructional league.

Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor and projects as a durable backend starter. An effective strike thrower, he pounds the zone with a 93-96 mph fastball that typically sits 94, and his sinking two-seamer is the better of his two fastball variants. He has the ability to work east to west but needs to improve the carry on his four-seamer in order to improve his vertical attack. The 83-mph slider is a slurvy breaking ball with plus spin. It could have more movement with depth in the future to improve its effectiveness vs. lefthanded hitters. Cannon also mixes in a cutter at 89-91 mph against lefthanded batters and his 85-mph changeup has good run and downward action. Cannon has a repeatable delivery and consistent release point from a three-quarters slot, which allows him to pound the zone and attempt to induce weak contact.

The Future: A polished college pitcher with an SEC resume, Cannon could jump right to High-A Winston-Salem to start 2023. He has the look of a durable back-of-the rotation starter, with the stuff and pitchability to move quickly through the system.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Cutter: 50. Control: 60

Draft Prospects

Georgia produced a pair of righthanders who signed for a combined $9 million in the 2020 draft (Emerson Hancock, Cole Wilcox) and Cannon was primed to follow in their footsteps as a potential Day One pick this spring in his draft-eligible second season with the Bulldogs. Cannon provided glimpses of big-time stuff out of a large frame and easy delivery as a reliever in the shortened 2020 season, but his 2021 transition to a starting role was delayed after a case of mononucleosis. Cannon pitched to a 3.98 ERA through his first 63.1 innings and 12 starts, with 57 strikeouts (8.1 K/9) and 13 walks (1.8 BB/9) and he showed flashes of excellence, but also got hit around a few times, including a three-homer game against South Carolina in early April. Cannon has a deep pitch mix led by a fastball that’s been up to 97 mph this spring, but averages 93, with sinking action. His go-to breaking ball is a mid-80s slider that is at its best towards the upper band of its velocity range, where it shows sharper bite and he also throws a slower, 12-to-6 curve in the 78-81 mph range that is more of a get-me-over pitch that can be loopy. A mid-80s changeup could be his best secondary. He throws it with good arm speed and it has solid, tumbling action. While Cannon’s arm action gets extended in the back, he repeats well and has thrown plenty of strikes in his collegiate career. He doesn’t turn 21 until a week after the draft.

Scouting Reports

BA Grade/Risk: 50/High

Track Record: Cannon was available in the 2021 draft as an eligible sophomore at Georgia but went undrafted after announcing that he intended to return to school for his junior year. A regular weekend starter for the Bulldogs in 2022, Cannon led the staff with nine wins in 13 starts. The White Sox drafted Cannon in the third round and signed the righthander for $925,000. He made four brief appearances late in the regular season before taking the mound during the fall instructional league.

Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor and projects as a durable backend starter. An effective strike thrower, he pounds the zone with a 93-96 mph fastball that typically sits 94, and his sinking two-seamer is the better of his two fastball variants. He has the ability to work east to west but needs to improve the carry on his four-seamer in order to improve his vertical attack. The 83-mph slider is a slurvy breaking ball with plus spin. It could have more movement with depth in the future to improve its effectiveness vs. lefthanded hitters. Cannon also mixes in a cutter at 89-91 mph against lefthanded batters and his 85-mph changeup has good run and downward action. Cannon has a repeatable delivery and consistent release point from a three-quarters slot, which allows him to pound the zone and attempt to induce weak contact.

The Future: A polished college pitcher with an SEC resume, Cannon could jump right to High-A Winston-Salem to start 2023. He has the look of a durable back-of-the rotation starter, with the stuff and pitchability to move quickly through the system.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Cutter: 50. Control: 60
BA Grade/Risk: 50/High

Track Record: Cannon was available in the 2021 draft as an eligible sophomore at Georgia but went undrafted after announcing that he intended to return to school for his junior year. A regular weekend starter for the Bulldogs in 2022, Cannon led the staff with nine wins in 13 starts. The White Sox drafted Cannon in the third round and signed the righthander for $925,000. He made four brief appearances late in the regular season before taking the mound during the fall instructional league.

Scouting Report: Cannon is a polished pitcher with a high floor and projects as a durable backend starter. An effective strike thrower, he pounds the zone with a 93-96 mph fastball that typically sits 94, and his sinking two-seamer is the better of his two fastball variants. He has the ability to work east to west but needs to improve the carry on his four-seamer in order to improve his vertical attack. The 83-mph slider is a slurvy breaking ball with plus spin. It could have more movement with depth in the future to improve its effectiveness vs. lefthanded hitters. Cannon also mixes in a cutter at 89-91 mph against lefthanded batters and his 85-mph changeup has good run and downward action. Cannon has a repeatable delivery and consistent release point from a three-quarters slot, which allows him to pound the zone and attempt to induce weak contact.

The Future: A polished college pitcher with an SEC resume, Cannon could jump right to High-A Winston-Salem to start 2023. He has the look of a durable back-of-the rotation starter, with the stuff and pitchability to move quickly through the system.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 50. Cutter: 50. Control: 60
BA Grade: 50/High

August Update: Cannon ranked as the No. 67 prospect in the 2021 draft class and was one of the highest-ranking collegiate players to go unselected. A draft-eligible sophomore in 2021, Cannon returned for his third season with Georgia in 2022, where he continued to show some of the best command in the country with a deep arsenal of solid offerings. Cannon is a tall and lean righthander listed at 6-foot-6, 213 pounds, who attacks with a sinker, slider, cutter mix and induces plenty of ground balls and weak contact. He sits around 94 mph and touches 97 with his four-seam fastball but uses a two-seam variant frequently as well. His most used secondary is a slider in the low-to-mid 80s that generated whiffs at a 31% rate and induced plenty of ground balls. A new addition to his arsenal this spring was a cutter around 88-90 mph that gives him another option against lefthanders, and while he didn&#39t throw the pitch much, he also has a mid-80s changeup. None of Cannon&#39s pitches grades out as plus, but all of them look like 50- or 55-grade offerings. Cannon is a bit of an old-school pitcher who works in the zone heavily and likes to pitch to weak contact, so it&#39s possible a team will shorten his pitch mix in pro ball and have him focus on missing more bats, but he has been effective as a groundball artist who rarely issues free passes. Cannon profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter with a high-likelihood to pitch in the majors.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Cutter: 50. Control: 60.

Career Transactions

Birmingham Barons transferred RHP Jonathan Cannon to the Development List.
RHP Jonathan Cannon assigned to Birmingham Barons from Winston-Salem Dash.
Birmingham Barons activated RHP Jonathan Cannon.
RHP Jonathan Cannon assigned to Birmingham Barons from Winston-Salem Dash.
Winston-Salem Dash activated RHP Jonathan Cannon from the temporarily inactive list.
Winston-Salem Dash placed RHP Jonathan Cannon on the temporarily inactive list.
Winston-Salem Dash placed RHP Jonathan Cannon on the temporarily inactive list.
RHP Jonathan Cannon assigned to Winston-Salem Dash from Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.