Will Sanders Stats & Scouting Report

IP	44.1
ERA	2.64
WHIP	1.040
BB/9	1.6
SO/9	8.9

Full name William McKeown Sanders
Born 03/30/2002 in Atlanta, GA
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 230 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School South Carolina
Drafted in the 4th round (113th overall) by the Chicago Cubs in 2023 (signed for $600,000).

View Draft Report

School: South Carolina Source: 4YR

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.3
BA Grade:45/High
Tools:Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Curveball: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.

A projection righthander out of high school, Sanders ranked as the No. 200 prospect on the 2020 BA 500 thanks to a lanky, 6-foot-5 frame and an upper-80s fastball that scouts expected to be much firmer in just a few years. The projection proved accurate, as Sanders packed on strength to a frame now listed at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds and averaged 93 mph and has touched 98 mph with his fastball at peak velocity. Sanders has logged 50-plus innings each year at South Carolina, and in his 2023 draft year posted a 5.37 ERA over 11 starts and 60.1 innings, with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. He works from a deliberate windup with a more compact arm action than you might expect given his long levers, and throws from a three-quarter slot with downhill angle thanks to a high release point. While he has solid velocity on his fastball, and above-average induced vertical break, the pitch has always played down a bit and been hit hard. This spring hitters managed a 1.109 OPS against the fastball, though he has generated solid whiff rates with a curveball, slider and changeup. He throws his curveball in the low 80s with good depth and 12-to-6 movement, the slider is in the mid 80s with solid tilt and his changeup has long been a solid pitch for him in the mid 80s. Sanders has allowed a high rate of home runs in his career, and could experiment more with a cutter or two-seam fastball at the next level to keep hitters off the barrel more consistently.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 40/High.

Track Record: Sanders was a second-team preseason All-American in 2023 at South Carolina, but a knee injury that year led to his worst college season. The Cubs drafted him in the fourth round that year and signed him for $600,000. Sanders debuted in 2024 and made 22 starts for High-A South Bend.

Scouting Report: Sanders is a 6-foot-6 righthander with starter’s traits and feel for a three-pitch mix. His primary pitch is a 92-94 mph four-seam fastball with below-average ride from a high release. It’s a straight fastball in the traditional sense with little wiggle. His low-80s slider features slurvy shape and is his best performing pitch from a swing-and-miss perspective with a 20.5% swinging strike rate. Sanders shows great feel for his changeup and it might have the highest upside of any pitch in his arsenal. He shows two variations of the pitch, a traditional changeup and a split-changeup version with more dynamic tumble. It’s an average pitch and improved command of the two variants could help it become above-average at peak. Sanders is a fringe-average strike thrower, who will go through bouts of command woes.

The Future: Sanders has the size and pitch mix to develop into a back-end depth starter.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 45 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45.

Draft Prospects

School: South Carolina Source: 4YR

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.3
BA Grade:45/High
Tools:Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Curveball: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.

A projection righthander out of high school, Sanders ranked as the No. 200 prospect on the 2020 BA 500 thanks to a lanky, 6-foot-5 frame and an upper-80s fastball that scouts expected to be much firmer in just a few years. The projection proved accurate, as Sanders packed on strength to a frame now listed at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds and averaged 93 mph and has touched 98 mph with his fastball at peak velocity. Sanders has logged 50-plus innings each year at South Carolina, and in his 2023 draft year posted a 5.37 ERA over 11 starts and 60.1 innings, with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. He works from a deliberate windup with a more compact arm action than you might expect given his long levers, and throws from a three-quarter slot with downhill angle thanks to a high release point. While he has solid velocity on his fastball, and above-average induced vertical break, the pitch has always played down a bit and been hit hard. This spring hitters managed a 1.109 OPS against the fastball, though he has generated solid whiff rates with a curveball, slider and changeup. He throws his curveball in the low 80s with good depth and 12-to-6 movement, the slider is in the mid 80s with solid tilt and his changeup has long been a solid pitch for him in the mid 80s. Sanders has allowed a high rate of home runs in his career, and could experiment more with a cutter or two-seam fastball at the next level to keep hitters off the barrel more consistently.
A projection righthander with a lanky, 6-foot-6, 195-pound frame, Sanders is a pitcher who most scouts see a lot of upside with in the future but are still waiting on him to tap into it. His stuff is mostly fringe-average at best now, but scouts love the indicators he’s shown with his athleticism and a body that should add plenty of strength and muscle in a few years. His fastball sat in the 87-90 mph range for the most part last summer, and he’s run the pitch up to 92 mph at his best. He’s also shown some feel to spin a slurvy breaking ball in the 77-79 mph range that has potential to become an above-average secondary. Sanders has also shown some promise with a 78-80 mph changeup that might wind up being his best pitch, a swing-and-miss secondary he’s shown exceptional feel for at his age. While most scouts and teams are excited to see what Sanders will be in a few years, most also would prefer to let him reach campus at South Carolina, unless he was signable somewhere in the middle of day two. If he was to sign, Sanders would be a slow-mover through a minor league system as he adds the necessary physicality to his frame.