Short isn’t your typical prospect. He is originally from Kingston, NY and was drafted in the 17th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut — not exactly a hotbed of MLB prospects. In fact, they’ve never produced a major league baseball player. At the end of his junior year, nobody would blame you if you didn’t think Short was going to be the guy to break that drought. He hit just .241 with three home runs while seeing his strikeouts rise from 35 to 52 in his junior season.

Zack Short, INF, Cubs (Photo by John Arguello)

What’s more, Short is not exactly a physically imposing player. At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, he’s certainly not the guy you notice walking off the bus. It’s on the baseball field where the Chicago Cubs noticed Short. What he lacks in physical size, he makes up for with a loose, athletic frame that helps him generate very good rotation in his swing. The result is some surprising pop for a somewhat slender middle infielder. He has a good eye and a disciplined approach, enabling him to draw a lot of walks as well as getting himself into good hitting counts, where he can tap into some of power. Despite the spike in strikeouts his junior year, Short does have good feel for contact. Overall, he is currently hitting .288/.422/.591 with four home runs, three stolen bases, and a 17.1% walk rate for South Bend.

In the field, Short shows good middle-infielder actions. He’s good enough to stick at shortstop, but his athleticism, instincts, and baseball IQ have the Cubs already moving him around the infield. One scout likened him to Red Sox super-utilityman Brock Holt.

Short may not have superstar written all over him, but I think his combination of skills make him an interesting prospect, especially in the current era where versatility is valued so highly.