Reds Take Chance on Former Cubs First-Rounder

Former Cubs first-round draft pick Mark Pawelek is back in affiliated baseball. The left-hander, who had been pitching for the Golden Baseball League’s St. George Roadrunners in Utah after being released by the Cubs this spring, was sold to the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.

The Golden Baseball League was founded in 2004 and is a non-affiliated independent league based out of Dublin, Calif. Pawelek, 22, made the Roadrunners roster but did not see any official game action. According to the team’s website, he was noticed by a Reds scout after tossing four innings during an exhibition game against Southern Utah University on May 18.

Pawelek was the Cubs’ first-round pick in the 2005 draft (20th overall) out of Springville High School in Utah. In four seasons in Chicago’s farm system, he never made it past short-season ball and was 6-12 with a 3.80 ERA and 147 strikeouts and 79 walks in 149 1/3 innings.

He spent 2008 at Class Low-A Boise and was 2-2 with a 6.20 ERA in 13 appearances.

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