Ethan

Hankins

Hankins was a supplemental first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and never wound up making it to the big leagues. The 24-year-old righty battled persistent injury issues and never accumulated more than 60 innings in a single season during his career. He made just one start this year for Double-A Akron.

Hankins allowed just four hits, and he issued one walk. The 35th pick of the 2018 MLB Draft, Hankins has pitched very well for the short-season club in his four appearances with a 1.06 ERA and 23 strikeouts against eight walks. The 19-year-old gets his heater up to 98 mph, and he shows a plus change along with two average -- sometimes above -- breaking-balls. There’s a lot of work to be done on repeating his delivery and improving his command, but Hankins has huge upside, and could pitch at or near the top of a rotation if everything maxes out.

It’s unclear how much Hankins’ signing bonus will be, but it will surely be significantly more than the assigned slot value for the No. 35 pick of $2.0164 million since the Tribe needed to pay him enough to keep him from going to college. Hankins is a high-upside, high-risk arm.

Heyman hears that Hankins will receive a bonus of $2,246,022, which checks in just above the assigned slot value of $2.0164 million. Selected out of Forsyth HS (Ga.) in last month’s draft, Hankins likely would have gone much higher if it wasn’t for some shoulder issues in the spring.

Hankins would have been one of the first picks in the draft had the draft been held in February, but some arm issues saw his stock fall substantially. When at his best, he touches the high 90s with his fastball -- with more coming from his 6-foot-6, 200-pound frame -- and he shows an above-average change and solid breaking-ball. There’s risk in his profile, but his upside competes with any player -- not just pitcher -- in the draft.