Chicago has signed pitcher Sam Mettert to a minor league deal, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN. A native of Chicago, Mettert played his college ball at St. John’s, graduating in 2025. He also trained at Tread Athletics, where the Cubs saw him throw 98 MPH.

Over his two years at St. John’s, Mettert pitched to a 7.17 ERA and a 51/33 K/BB ratio. On the surface, those certainly aren’t the prettiest numbers. However, Chicago clearly believes the right-hander is worth taking a gamble on. Especially if he is hitting those big velocity numbers.

Still, Mettert will have a near vertical mountain to climb to make an impact in the organization. It’s not yet known which league he will begin in, but it’s fair to imagine it’ll be the lower minors. With a high walk-rate and lack of run prevention in college, the Cubs will want to see how his newfound game translates to professional baseball.

But however this journey turns out for Mettert, he’ll forever get to say he signed with his hometown team. He chose to forgo grad school for this new minor league opportunity. The right-hander has the velocity for success. Now he’ll look to prove he can handle minor league hitting. Who knows, maybe he will be a diamond in the rough down the line.