From walk-on to MLB draft pick, Wichita State ace Caden Favors selected by Guardians

He began as a walk-on, played for three different head coaches, ascended to stardom and earned his way to becoming a Major League Baseball draft pick.

Wichita State ace Caden Favors was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the sixth round with the 175th overall pick on Monday. It also extended the program’s streak of 44 straight years with a former Shocker picked in a full-length MLB draft.

Watching with his family back home in Oklahoma, Favors fulfilled a lifelong dream.

“This is something that every kid that plays baseball dreams of,” Favors told The Eagle . “It was surreal to see my name pop up on the TV. You know all of the hard work that I’ve put in since I first started playing has paid off.”

Favors, a Midwest City, Oklahoma, native, was recruited by former WSU pitching coach Mike Pelfrey without a scholarship, but a promise for the chance to come in and compete for one. He proved up to the challenge, finishing second on the staff with a 2.82 ERA in 51 innings.

After playing for Eric Wedge in his sophomore season, Favors suited up for Loren Hibbs in his junior year and stuck around to finish out his career for new hire Brian Green this past season.

The 6-foot-3 left-hander blossomed when given the responsibility of being WSU’s Friday starter. He finished the 2024 season with a 9-4 record and 3.21 ERA in 106 ⅔ innings, the seventh-most in the country. Favors earned first team honors in the American Athletic Conference and second team Central All-Region from the American Baseball Coaches Association.

“I told this to all of the scouts this year, I think Caden has got another jump in him that he’s going to make in pro ball,” Green said. “His strength is coming for him. He’s figuring out his arm. If you look at his analytics, spin rates, metrics, all of that stuff, I think it shows that this guy is going to be a dude . So if you’re a Cleveland fan, the Guardians just took a guy in the sixth round who could potentially end up as a starter in the majors.”

While velocity has become increasingly important in today’s age, Favors breaks the mold. His fastball can still reach the low 90s, but more importantly, he has four pitches in his arsenal and tremendous command of them all.

In 200 career innings at WSU, Favors emitted just 47 walks. In his senior year, Favors’ 5.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio led the AAC and ranked 18th nationally.

“Today’s game is dominated by velocity, but I’m more of an old-school kind of pitcher,” Favors said. “I take pride in pitching, not just throwing really hard. I would tell (Cleveland fans) that they’re getting a competitor. I believe I can go out and compete against anybody. Hopefully I can show that and make an impact right away and reach the big leagues eventually.”

That competitiveness was on full display near the end of his Shocker career.

Favors delivered two quality starts, spanning four days, as he held UAB to one run in 6⅓ innings and top-seeded East Carolina to two runs in seven innings.

After WSU was stunned by a walk-off comeback against ECU to force an elimination game, Favors made a passionate speech to his teammates on the bus back to the hotel following the game.

“He got on the bus and said, ‘If anybody thinks we’re not going to win this next game, don’t get back on the bus,’” Green recalled.

WSU came back to run-rule the nationally ranked Pirates 12-2 in eight innings later to advance to the AAC tournament championship game. And it turns out, the 11-10 walk-off loss to Tulane in the final has still bothered Favors more than a month after wearing a Shocker uniform for the final time.

“I got a random text from him about five days ago at like 7 a.m., and he was like, ‘Skip, we should have won the league. I’m sorry we didn’t get it done,’” Green said. “That’s the kind of kid he is.”

Favors called WSU’s dramatic late-season surge a “bittersweet” ending to his career, something he has appreciated more and more with passing day.

While he will miss his time in Wichita, Favors is excited to begin his professional career. The almost 23-year-old college graduate will now negotiate a contract with the Guardians and wait to be assigned to a minor-league destination.

“Regardless of where I was drafted, I pride myself on my work ethic and never being satisfied,” Favors said. “I want to be one of the greats that get remembered. So I’m looking forward to going wherever is asked of me and hit the ground running and start to make an impact.”