Chris Cortez

School: Texas A&M
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.8
BA Grade: 45/High
Tools: Fastball: 70. Slider: 60. Changeup: 40. Control: 40.

Cortez was a lightning-armed prep at Las Vegas’ Silverado High who ranked as the No. 220 prospect in the 2021 draft class, but he was raw as a pitcher and wound up making it to campus at Texas A&M. He started a handful of games in his three seasons with the program but has primarily been used as a reliever. He had a career-best season in 2024, when he posted a 2.83 ERA over 57.1 innings with a 37.1% strikeout rate and 12.1% walk rate. A 6-foot-1, 205-pound righthander, Cortez is one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the class. He averaged 98 mph with his fastball this spring and has been up to 101 with solid sinking life. The pitch plays best at the bottom of the zone and makes him a groundball machine, and he should break many wood bats in pro ball. Cortez did a nice job keeping the pitch down throughout the spring and he complements his fastball with a hard, upper-80s slider that features impressive horizontal movement for its velocity. It was a consistent swing-and-miss pitch and is far and away his most reliable secondary, though he will also mix in a firm upper-80s changeup at times. Cortez is a likely reliever with the power stuff to be an impact arm out of the bullpen.