SB Nation - Login for mobile commenting

Bleed Cubbie Blue

MLB Amateur Draft Open Thread

The Draft starts tonight at 5pm Central on the MLB Network and on-line at MLB.com. The Cubs have the 31st pick in the first round, so it's going to be a while before they get a turn.

It's amazing how fast the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft has grown over the past decade. Some of us can remember when picks after the first round were secret for at least a week. (That's why Bob Brenly's story about him calling the commissioner's office to see if he had been drafted isn't ridiculous at all.) The interest in the draft goes hand-in-hand with a much greater interest in amateur baseball, although I couldn't tell you which one was the chicken and which one was the egg.

To recap, this is an extremely difficult draft to predict after the Nationals select Stephen Strasburg. We prepared reports on nine players we think the Cubs might select, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Cubs select none of those nine players. I'll also quote ESPN's Keith Law: "The Cubs like a lot of guys who aren't going to be on the board when they pick."

The final mock drafts were published this morning and three of the four agree that the Cubs are grabbing a collegiate center fielder, but they can't agree on which one:

Jim Callis at Baseball America projects Brett Jackson OF California

Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus projects Tim Wheeler OF Sacramento State

Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com projects AJ Pollock OF Notre Dame

Keith Law at ESPN.com projects Andy Oliver LHP Oklahoma State

So you can see how difficult our task was.

If you wish to review, here are the reports on AJ Pollock, Eric Arnett, and seven others. Matt and I feel pretty good that Pollock and Arnett are in the Cubs sights.  Although I was last week when Matt wrote up the reports, I'm no longer confident that either will still be on the board at #31. None of the mock drafts issued this week have Arnett lasting to #31 and only Mayo has Pollock falling to us.  That's how quickly the draft changes.

So having said that:

Poll
Who should the Cubs take with the 31st pick in the MLB Amateur Draft?
AJ Pollock OF Notre Dame
39 votes
Eric Arnett RHP Indiana
15 votes
Brett Jackson OF California
64 votes
Chad James RHP Yukon HS (OK)
8 votes
Jared Mitchell OF LSU
20 votes
Garrett Gould RHP Maize HS (KS)
5 votes
Tim Wheeler OF Sacramento State
14 votes
Andy Oliver LHP Oklahoma State
22 votes

187 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  435 comments

Comments

Latest Insanity

Baseball America has the following Top 8:

1. Nationals: San Diego State righthander Stephen Strasburg.
2. Mariners: North Carolina first baseman Dustin Ackley.
3. Padres: Georgia HS outfielder Donavan Tate.
4. Pirates: Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez.
5. Orioles: California HS righthander Matt Hobgood.
6. Giants: Georgia HS righthander Zack Wheeler.
7. Braves: Vanderbilt lefthander Mike Minor.
8. Reds: North Carolina righhander Alex White.
It has been nuts!

so much movement. I love Hobgood, but number 5!?!?! Never saw that coming. Its’s been quite a day already and not even one pick has been made.

Sounds like

Pittsburgh is really firm on Sanchez, which is good news for us because I don’t think he goes in the first round if the Pirates don’t take him. Boston might grab him if Stassi wasn’t available.

They’re going cheapp here to spend all their money on Sano.

Now it's

1. Nationals: San Diego State righthander Stephen Strasburg.
2. Mariners: North Carolina first baseman Dustin Ackley.
3. Padres: Georgia HS outfielder Donavan Tate.
4. Pirates: Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez.
5. Orioles: California HS righthander Matt Hobgood.
6. Giants: Georgia HS righthander Zack Wheeler.
7. Braves: Vanderbilt lefthander Mike Minor.
8. Reds: North Carolina righhander Alex White.
9. Tigers: Picking from Matzek, Turner, Miller and Leake.
10. Nationals: Stanford righthander Drew Storen.

Nats grab Storen?

That’s real budget pick, although Storen probably could close for the Nats right now. Of course, you could probably close for the Nats right now.

That’s a good Top ten for us. Players are dropping.

Well

At least the Nats are going budget after grabbing Starburg. Pittsburgh going Sanchez is inexcusable. And Atlanta going Minor with White there is pretty bad (and of course Matzek, et al but Braves management won’t allow them to go over slot).

Pittsburgh's plan

is to grab Sanchez and then spend the big bucks on Sano and then take Gibson or Purke or someone else who slides out of the first round because of his contract demands and then pay him the big money.

It’s not the dumbest strategy in the world if it works, but if you want those sliders, why not just take them at #4?

Exactly

It’s very risky with Detroit and the Red Sox and Yankees around.

Crow's contract demands

have him falling.

he has no leverage

since it would just be flat out dumb for him to not to sign

Arnett

I went with Arnett, he has pretty good upside and looks to be a real durable guy who can throw 200 inning on a relatively consistent basis. His fastball and slider are both plus pitches. The difference for him will be if he can develop a changeup. If not, he may end up in the pen, but I am confident.

I have no confidence

that Arnett will still be available when we pick at #31. When you wrote the profile last week, I thought there was a good possibility, but now I don’t think he falls past the White Sox at #23 and could go a lot earlier.

Im with you

just hoping we take him if he’s there :)

Me too

But I don’t think he’ll be there.

Keep an eye on the HS pitchers

The Cubs have been linked to Jacob Turner, but we might see a free fall with guys like Tyler Matzek, Matt Purke, and Shelby Miller because of their bonus demands.

If the Tigers don’t take one of them, the Cubs could see one of those four fall into their laps.

Its crazy

seeing a dude from a rival school being the top high school arm available.

Zack Wheeler – East Paulding High School
Me – South Paulding High School.

Zach Wheeler

will go from 5-7. If Baltimore and the Giants pass, there is no way that Atlanta passes up the local kid.

But I bet he goes to Baltimore at #5.

Meh

I’m not gonna sit here and try to predict where people are gonna go. Not smart enough for that.

But you’re right I doubt he’ll get past 7

The Braves

try to grab as many high school players from GA and SC as they can. It’s been their MO for years and it works for them.

Watch it live on MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/draftlive_app.jsp

By the way

I responded to your question about Brett Jackson in the previous thread. A guy who knows Jackson and Cal told me his K problems are because he’s too selective and disagrees with college umps too much. He sent me a bunch of stats and videos too. (No, it wasn’t Brett himself.)

Knowing the quality of college umps, I find that at least partially believable. I can’t believe it explains all of it. But it could be a factor that could be corrected.

Bryce Harper story on NPR now

WBEZ 91.5 FM in Chicago, if you’re interested.

Anybody mind

giving the condensed version for those outside of the Chicago area?

Being called "the chosen one" by Las Vegas Sun writer

“Refreshing attitude” and “five-tool player” were other highlights. Kid is getting his GED so he can go to junior college and be on the draft next year.

LOL I guess I answered my own question
Is it basically just more of the same that we've heard?

About how he is the best prep athlete anybody has seen in a while and how he’s trying to enter the independent league to become draft eligible early?

Oooh

Who are the Nats going to take?

I don't know!!!

But MLB TV tells me it might be Mike Trout!

Gotta be Strasburg...
Obvious Pick #2 coming up

Seattle Mariners, meet Dustin Ackley. Dustin Ackley, meet Seattle Mariners.

Hope you like rain, Dustin
Hope you're not too fond of winning Dustin
Actually

that division is so bad right now, the Mariners could turn it around quickly.

Sad but true

Do you know where the Seattle farm system ranks?

Not off the top of my head

They were a top system, then they traded everyone to Baltimore for Bedard and have let Jeff Clement rot in the minors.

Middle of the pack, I guess.

Isn't it possible they become sellers this year though

I know I’ve heard Beltre’s name mentioned not sure who else could be available

Oh yes

If they can get anything for Bedard or Beltre, they’ll deal them both. Washburn too, but I don’t think he’ll bring anything back.

Good call.
Obvious pick is obvious.

He’s the best bat in the draft and the Mariners have been hard after him for awhile.

True. And Seattle desperately needs an impact bat in their system.
Pirates have a pre-draft deal

in place with with Sanchez

What if

the Padres take him? :-)

Now for the first drama

Do the Padres chose Donovan Tate?

most likely
The Pads

should really take Matzek, but I don’t think it happens

The Pads

If they don’t take Tate, they sure aren’t taking someone with signability concerns.

If they take someone like Minor or Leake, this draft will go flying out the window.

Good pick, IMO. So athletic.
Pads take Tate

laaaaaaaaaaaame

What ever are you talking about????

Harold Reynolds said that the Padres are boring and Tate is exciting! He must be right!!

the idiot sitting next to him

also thought Trout was in the mix for #2, and that Matzek threw in the upper-90’s

Tate to Padres

No surprises yet. And the Pirates will take Sanchez.

Everything is going per the board so far.

The TV/online broadcast is pathetic...

The broadcast of this draft is yet another embarrassment for MLB. The first round of the draft used to be done in about 5 minutes. This time-filling, three minutes a pick thing is just stupid. Some events are just not made for TV, and the MLB draft is one of them.

Then don't watch

I never got that argument. Yes, they’re filling time so they can sell commercials. But if you don’t like it, don’t watch.

That's not the point, Josh...

There is no reason that it needs to take so long. Three minutes per pick? Why? The NBA and NFL drafts are worth televising for two reasons:
1. The top picks might make an immediate impact on their team.
2. Teams can trade picks for players and move around in the draft, creating the potential for drama.

Baseball has neither of those things. These draftees will disappear for a year or three in the minors. There are no trades. There is no drama, just Mel Kuiper Jr.-esque babble. It is boring.

I am watching because I want to know who is picked (in part because I know a young man who might go in the first three rounds), but I feel like I being held hostage by marketing.

It may be boring

And I know it used to take half an hour. Yes, they’re trying to sell commercials. They’re a business.

But if you just want to know who gets picked and where, you can follow on line with the on-line draft tracker. It will just announce the players with no video.

Yes, and it would still take 3 minutes or more a pick...

That is the big problem. They don’t need all this time. So, yeah, I could be watching the draft tracker online and it would still take three hours to do what should take just a few minutes. 45 minutes in, they should be into the third round by now.

Look at the team official sitting in the room there. There is nothing for them to to do. This is a case of MLB trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

So I’ll ask you a question. Why is this format necessary? What does it add to the process?

well you could have

pretended the draft is tomorrow instead of today and scanned the list of all the players drafted in less than 10 minutes tomorrow

It can work...

But they need to copy the NBA/NFL formula. Get some compelling personalities on TV with a few guys who actually know what they’re talking about. Do it in front of a live studio audience. Invite a bunch of the picks and let some of the potential picks sit in the audience. Have an open bar for even more raucous fun.

The last thing we need

are a bunch of drunk New Yorkers chanting M-E-T-S METS METS METS.

Oh admit it

You’d take great joy in seeing the Mets fans getting excited for a certain player, and then watch them recoil in horror as the Mets take a guy who was rated as a 4th rounder. :)

a catcher? a CATCHER?

we needed a third baseman! gah!! (look of disgust)

Wasn't Vitters at the draft when he was selected?

I thought I remembered him walking up after his name was called at the Wide World of Sports

Yes

That was the first televised draft. They cut that out.

I imagine it would have been tough this year

they would have invited the whole projected first round because nobody knows who will go where unlike most years

The biggest problem

was that most of the top draft picks were playing in the Super Regionals of the CWS and couldn’t be there.

It should have worked this year

with the next games not being till Friday

Jorge?

Just call him Tony

No Pollock!!

His ultimate upside is a Reed Johnson type!! That’s not worth a 1st round pick!! Please, no Pollock or Jackson!! Shoot for the moon and take a guy with a future, no more Tyler Colvins!!!

Well, Ackley is gone

So the list of potential superstar hitters is now zero.

I need some more Jim Callis
I'd settle

for Jonathan Mayo.

Hobgoblin to Orioles
Hobgood to the O's

big fan. Should have taken Matzek

My wife interviewed

for a job at Hobgood’s HS. She had two interviews and didn’t get the job.

My co-worker has two kids who go to Norco HS...

… but they are band kids.

Doesn't Matzek have "signability issues?"
Yep

Not as bad as some other guys in this draft, but he wants to get paid in a big way.

I'd say worse

He wants more than Porcello.

Really?

Someone told me earlier that Purke and Turner wanted more money than Matzek.

Yeah

I thought that was Purke who wanted more than Porcello.

But what do I know?

people say that

about every HS player

it just means he won’t sign for slot

Isn't the slot system a joke anyway?
very much so

Got worse when they arbitrarily decreased slot for this year

Some

but not like Purke or some others.

Wheeler to the Giants
Still according to book

to use a chess term.

If you want a real snoozer

You should be following the MLB draft on Twitter.

What, look at the great insights!

“As each player is selected, a member of the A’s scouting staff takes their names off The Board.
OaklandAs.”

And then …

“Just to clarify, “The Board” is actually 7 big white boards which box in the tables…each with about 50 names of prospects."

Thank god for Twitter.

Really Harold, teams want guys who can pitch?

I thought they wanted guys who could sink a 15 foot J? I never would have guessed that!

I love when the guys say

“Forget the numbers, this guy can pitch/hit/field/play.” Um, no…it’s baseball. I’m not going to just forget the numbers.

Haha

They said Minor pitches in the mid-90s.

He tops out at 91 and mostly throws in the upper 80s.

ridiculous!

they said that about Matzek too. idiots.

What did they say about Matzek?

He does operate 92-96 and hit 99 last week.

They said "high-90's"
he has been 90-93 all year

where did you get 99?

Here's a question:

In the MLB draft, should you draft “need” or “best available?”

Best available

with the caveat that he’s the best available who you can sign.

Leake to the Reds

Pretty good pick.

Love Leake

Al told me that “Deep Goat” said the Cubs were hot on Leake. I told Al that if Leake was still available when the Cubs picked at #31, I’d eat my shoes.

That sounds about right for Wilken

He doesn’t mind size for his pitchers. Tim Lincecum was #1 on his board in 2006. Jarrod Parker was #3 in 2007 (after Price and Vitters).

Sonny Gray last year

I know there was no chance he signed but he’s another small pitcher

The Cubs would have loved to get Leake.

They knew that at #31, that was probably a pipedream. Good selection by the Reds.

Wow

BA was certain it’d be Alex White.

I'm not happy

that Leake is going to be pitching in the NL Central.

At least its a hitter's park.
Jacob Turner to DET
There goes

the thought that Turner would fall to us on signability issues.

Well

Might as well keep up hope on Matzek, Purke, or Miller.

Purke probably will fall to us

But he’s not worth what he’s asking for. I suppose we could draft him and get another pick next year.

How exactly does that work?

Would the Cubs get the 31st pick next year, or is it a supplemental?

It would be the 32nd pick
Actually

It might be the 31st pick if the Cubs are the only team who doesn’t sign their pick out of this year’s draft. I could be mistaken on that, though.

You're probably right on that
Yeah forgot the number of teams for a sec
We'd get

the #32 pick—or maybe a few picks later if teams before us don’t sign their pick

Yeah my bad

didnt think about picks before us possibly not signing

Argh!

That was one signability guy the Cubs were linked to.

Yep...but DET doesn't have that problem (see Porcello)
Well, they do in a sense

Because Matzek rates better than Turner.

Storen to the Nats

if all the rumors are correct.

it is...good call
Now it gets interesting

Do the Rockies take Tim Wheeler or Pollock or one of the guys we want?

Hate to say it but I hope they take Pollock
I don't think they will

But the D-Backs could take him at #16 or #17.

Alex White

The Rockies loves them some college pitching.

BA's blog said pitcher

And they nailed everyone but Alex White at 8.

How about Alex White

for the Rockies?

And Jonathan Mayo

makes an appearance. He’s being wasted here.

Matzek to the Rockies

So he doesn’t fall any farther.

Matzek to the Rockies

surprised, but like it for them

Agreed

Good pick

Tyler Matzek to the Rockies

They better be ready to pony up.

They'll offer him

Matt Harrington’s contract.

Any rumor on why...

Alex White has fallen?

He had a couple of terrible starts

although his last one was great. Top that off with his salary demands and he’s dropping.

Cool.

Thanks to you both :)

I wish they had limitations on the bonus demands...

1) It’s ridiculous that a guy who has never played a game is asking for multi millions;
2) It would make the whole draft much more interesting if any team could draft any guy based off of talent.

He has control problems

But no one has mentioned anything about bonus demands or injury problems.

Also...

I hope MLB dispenses with these player interviews (or at least interviewing HS’s). Some of them have been painful…

I've discovered

that young baseball players are not usually the most articulate people in the world.

Yeah.

I’ve never been one of those people who takes pleasure in watching people struggle, so I’m sitting here cringing and hoping that the kid makes it throug without saying something embarressing.

Royals break the bank

and take Crow.

After Hochevar

It’s not totally unexpected.

No, it's not

is Crow represented by Boras?

Greinke, Hochevar, Crow sounds pretty promising in a couple of years
Also

It makes more sense than giving $10 million to Jose Guillen or $6 million Willie Bloomquist.

Grant Green

to Oakland?

Green to the Athletics

so Green will be wearing green.

Grant Green to OAK

To that, I say meh.

Grant Green to OAK

Thoughts?

I love that they call him a 5-tool player

and then say he’s average in all 5 tools…

Well...

If he can go back to what made him a great player his sophomore year, the A’s would have a fantastic player on their hands.

However, I’m leery of hyped up guys who regress.

It is pretty funny...

I think from now on I’ll refer to myself as a former 5-tool player.

Grant Green to Oakland!

(Everyone else said it; figured I should too) :-p

Here, I'll say it again.

Grant Green to Oakland!

Shelby Miller seems the obvious choice for TX

Despite heightened bonus demands.

really surprised on that one
Speaking of high bonus demands - Purke to Texas
Purke won't fall to us

Teams are daring the signability players to not sign.

The rate this is going

The Cubs game will be over when they get to pick

Is the draft taking place in NYC?
No

Secaucus, NJ (sp?)

Alex White to CLE
Good news

as the Indians were rumored to take Arnett. White falling to CLE increases our chances of getting him.

Arnett won't get to us
Probably not

I think the White Sox take him at #23 if he gets that far.

Pollock

could go to the D-Backs at #16 or #17.

What is the consensus between Mitchell and Pollock
That was a strange comment by Matzek in that interview.

Asked if he would miss batting, since he was drafted as a pitcher by the Rockies, he said “Well, [the University of] Oregon has told me that I’ll get to play first base, so….[pause] we’ll see what Colorado has to say about it.”

I guess I get what he was trying to say, but….

I know what he was trying to say

“I like money.”

if they give you a microphone

say what you want to say

Borchering

to the D-Backs. I think they go pitching here now.

Forget about Pollock

that will make some of you happy. He goes to the D-Backs.

I hope Shelby Miller doesn't make it to St Louis

Come on, Florida.

I think Jackson might be gone by #31

Since Purke is gone, I think the Yanks take Jackson

The Yankees are hot on

Renfroe or Heathcott

they won't take Renfroe in the 1st

Heathcott probably is the likely pick. Not a fan of Heathcott either. Big time mechanical issues

So do we get Wheeler?
James gone

to Florida

I liked him

Pretty good pick by the Marlins. They’re good at developing their prep pitchers.

I did too

definitely a good pick. They need some more pitching in the system, too.

And there goes James

Will any of our profiled players make it to us?

I'm going to feel like an idiot

if they don’t

Don't

I didn’t have Andrew Cashner on my board last season.

I was hoping he'd drop to the Cubs

But knew he’d go here. Classic Marlins pick.

I hope the Cardinals "pass"

ala the Seahawks in the NFL draft a couple years ago.

Do the Cardinals finally grab Gibson?

If they don’t, I think he slides out of the first round—maybe we take him.

i'm sure the redbirds taking a hurt pitcher

would go over well on their board

Damnit

Fantastic pick by the Cardinals.

Miller to the Cards

I think we’re going to have a shot at Gibson now. But did we do enough scouting on him to feel comfortable picking him? Until last week, I doubt the Cubs paid any attention to him, figuring he’d be long gone.

They'll have done their due diligence

They even checked out Starsburg.

I'm sure this has been mentioned somewhere...

but does anyone know what percentage of players drafted actually sign with their team? (As opposed to going to college, being a tool about money, etc.)

It depends

On the round they’re drafted. Lower round guys are less likely to sign obviously.

Are you talking overall or first round?

Most of the first round picks sign—usually one or two exceptions. Most of the guys taken later in the draft (like after the 35th round) don’t, depending on whether they have other options.

Makes sense.

Thanks. (I was mostly talking about the first couple rounds).

Thanks Shawon...

reminding us why the Cubs drafted you over Dwight Gooden…thanks for that.

Shawon had the better arm
Why indeed, Shawon... why indeed....
Shawon Dunston...

has about the moth soothing voice in the world. He’s like Bob Ross….

Miller

Great ceiling, but holy heck is the guy raw. The Cardinals better be ready to be patient with him.

And the Astros

continue to stockpile their system with crap. Don’t think Mier will hit at all

Yeah

The Astros really don’t know what they’re doing.

Mier would have been a good second round pick.

Ooh

First out of the blue pick. I had heard some talk the Angels might take him. Mier goes to the Astros at #21.

Wow

Alex White just converted to Judaism on the MLB Network.

Huh?
Harold Reynolds

asked him how he felt on becoming a member of the tribe. “Member of the Tribe” is a slang term for being a Jew.

Being Jewish

that is.

Oh...

Sorry I’m slow. I didn’t make the connectinon. :)

Harold Reynolds is an embarassment...

The man needs a muzzle.

It really isn't pretty
Kyle Gibson a Twin
Great pick

He’ll recover from his injury and be back to full strength next season.

gibson off the board

damn

He slid pretty far

just not all the way to us. The Twins kind of surprise me though.

Schleppers

could fall to us now. Want to take the chance?

Well

Arnett, Scheppers, Wheeler and Mitchell are still available. Even some very intriguing HS bats (Everett Williams, Mike Trout).

Of course Brett Jackson is available too. :(

So Josh/MJMars....

What are the Cubs looking at right now?

Arnett is still there

him, Jackson, Gould are the top 3

Arnett, Wheeler, Jackson

I think they hope Arnett falls.

throw Wheeler in there
Mitchell to the White Sox

Guh.

really good pick

for them

Yes Mitchell is a good fit for the Sx
Any chance he'll get drafted in the NFL?

or is he all baseball?

I think he's all baseball
That was my guy

:(

Worst kept secret

The Angels take Mike Trout with one of their two picks here.

Skaggs

with the other.

Actually they could take Everett Williams

Or Gould
Baseball Prospectus

is saying Grichuck

Scheppers with the other

Apparently their medical staff cleared him

Because we all know

what the Angels need is more pitching. :-)

Why don't the cubs

have their ntural first round pick?

They do

It gets bumped back two spots because the Nats didn’t sign Crow and the Yankees didn’t sign Cole.

They do...they had the 2nd best record last year

hence the 2nd to last pick…

gotcha thanks
Prospectus was right

The Angels take Grichuk. If they’re still right, they go with Trout now.

Could somebody please tell Midwest Bud...

… that it is not pronounced “Los An-jel-leez”. God, what a hayseed.

who gives a crap?
Somebody who lives here, jackass.
Hilarious that something like this would bother anyone. Be sure to email mlb and let them know of your concern.
Hilarious that you would take the time to rip me for ripping Small-market Bud...

… I know he and MLB don’t give a damn. After all, it is something that concerns a fan.

I want Scheppers
WOW

shocked on that one

Gotta be Trout

Mayo is interviewing him.

Wow

I know the Cardinals love Grichuk.

Shocker

the Angels take Trout.

oooohhhhh

Skaggs is still available. I would LOVE for the Cubs to take him. Didn’t think he would get passed the Angels

Bet you

the Brewers grab Arnett here.

The Brewers are one team

who could take Jackson. Then Yankees might too.

Yup

As could Seattle.

Arnett

won’t make it past the Mariners.

I'm praying
I know though

that Jackson wants to play for the Cubs really badly.

hope he's better than the last Jackson (Danny)

that played for the Cubs really badly…

Which of the CFers just started learning to switch-hit

I forgot who it was but I think it might have been Trout now that I think about it so this question is irrelevant

1-0 Cubs! Fuku drives in Sori
Oh damn! Forgot the game was on! Thanks
Frag

Arnett to the Brewers

Josh calls it

Arnett gone

Called it

so we don’t get Arnett.

Well at least...

that beautiful “CHC” is finally on the ticker there….We’ll get an answer soon. :)

2-0 Cubs

Lee drives in Dome

You didn't see...

Soriano’s double did you? My gameday says that he “doubled to shortstop Miguel Tejada”…he must really have been hauling :) Was wondering what happened.

Ugh

Hoping for Scheppers. Or maybe Wheeler, Gould or Everett Williams.

Wheeler or Jackson

is my guess now.

are most people happy with either?
Wheeler, yes

Jackson…God no.

NO

I would like Wheeler. Not Jackson

Shocker, Bradley Ks looking
Great pick

love Franklin

Nick Franklin

to the Mariners. They wanted Pollock and Arnett too.

Max Stassi

has been rumored as going to the BoSox for quite a while now.

This just in

The Mariners selected a baseball player!!

If Wilken wants a LHP like he said

Rex Brothers will likely be available.

I keep on thinking that is Ben Gordon's agent :)
Brothers

Scares the daylights out of me. He’s had horrific control problems.

However, he has a fantastic arm. He’d be a risky pick, but a fascinating one.

Andy Oliver is still out there, too.

Just take Renfroe
I'd love Scheppers

but a voice in the back of my head is whispering “Bobby Brownlie, Bobby Brownlie.”

Aaron Shafer

Already has that covered.

Yeah but Shafer

wasn’t a first round pick.

i just cringed
Yeah

But Scheppers velo has already bounced back.

Brownlie’s never did.

PERDICTIONS CALL IT OUT

im going with Wheeler from Sacramento state

agreed
Scheppers
Andy Oliver

Been awhile since we’ve seen a Boras client.

OOH

Fuentes had more helium under him for the past week. And the BoSox pass on Stassi.

Not that we would have taken either.

Rex Brothers

is unbelievably still out there.

any word on why he's dropping?
No

and he wasn’t asking for a mint, either.

do we take him if he's available? or Scheppers?
I'd take Brothers

because of that injury voice in my head.

Franklin

Damn the Mariners. I will never drink a Starbucks again.

No Jackson!
but but

Heathcott is going to pitch, why did they ignore this?

well not necessarily

but there is a decent chance

Come on Tampa

Take Brett Jackson.

I'm pretty sure

Tampa won’t take Jackson.

I want Brothers now

I never dreamed he’d still be here. Baseball America had him at #9 this morning.

eeek

I think he is a reliever.

His BB and HBP numbers are insane

I love his pure stuff, but a lefty with horrible control problems? Scary! Scary!

Now that the Cubs are officially on the clock?

Who do you think they’ll take?

Who do you want them to take?

OK Josh, make the call...
WHO?

That’s my first “Who?” moment.

one of them toolsy OF guys

Gets comps to Damon

Um, Bud

Washington is an OF, not 2b

The teams generally submit the position they want the player to be listed at...

… that said, it wouldn’t shock me that Bud was wrong.

The Rays list him

as what they want him listed as. Unless Bud read 2B as OF.

Brothers sounds good
You're not going to like it

but I think it’s Jackson.

Why do you dislike Jackson?
Strikes out too much

But he does have some upside.

power is fringy, too
we don't take Wheeler now do we?

no Jackson….

Earl Cunningham, Ty Griffin, ... and...
thinking negative, eh?
Ted Lilly just got a triple.

This is a good omen for the draft.

Did the outfielder die?
Lilly just went shopping in the gap, leadoff triple
I think we'll take a pitcher
Got it

I had inside info.

hey josh

got a jackson-comp for us?

Why God, Why?
Tools

I guess. Hate his plate discipline.

For what its worth, Harold has a man crush on him
He has a man crush on every pick
if these moron's like the pick

then we should know its a bad one

*Ducks from Interwebs explosion*
here is to hoping we take good picks in the later rounds
Why do we all hate him?

Besides the fact that Harold likes him?

He strikes out a ton
Totally gutless

We must have no money to spend

I like the pick of Jackson

A college position player. Somebody maybe to keep Josh Vitters company as the only viable major league prospect in this system.

He can't hit!
That's not fair

but not too far off.

Can you post the full blown analysis of Jackson?
He hasn't hit...

There is a difference.

He hasn't hit with aluminum bats

That’s kind of important.

Let me be the voice of (semi) reason...

He won’t be up until 2011 at the VERY earliest…let’s wait and see what happens either way.

Here's the good news on Jackson

He’s going to sign. He wanted desperately to be a Cub.

Maybe that can be good for him

He will work harder to improve his game that many people don’t like right now.

who does jackson compare to?
Kind of looks like a taller Sam Fuld.
J.D. Drew

physically

Can we make him hit like Drew?
drew had a much better bat though
Way better!
Soriano

without the power

Or speed

but seriously, Soriano is not a good comp.

Jackson has good speed

He’s a leadoff hitter with high K and low BB, excellent arm, projected as a corner OF. Sori is a pretty decent comp.

Does Jim Callis like Jackson?
not particularly
So are we sayin' that this pick is shades of Wilken's reach pick of Tyler Colvin in 2006?
Yep, another AA .250 hitter!
It's not a reach

as every team had him going late in the first round. But he could be Tyler Colvin, yes. But he’s the upside guy you wanted.

What I want is some major league projectable position players in this system

And yes, my bias is to go with collegiate players given the current status of the Cub organization and the win-now mode we are in. You can’t keep spending horrendous sums in free agency every year.

The difference being

Jackson was considered a first round talent, but seem pretty damn similar to me

Are they doing the comp. round

on the TV?

Yeah

JD Drew would sort of be the ceiling for Jackson. If he turns into Drew, that would be great. But the odds are long he becomes JD Drew.

What about Nick Swisher
Yeah that sounds better

except that he’s better defensively—potentially.

there is nothing about Jackson

that relates to Swisher

Here's what Kevin Goldstein said

“Cubs take Brett Jackson from Cal, who seemed to be in the mix for every team in the 20s. He’s either a star or the next Tyler Colvin. That’s really the range here as a risk/upside college guy.”

colvin wasn't really considered a cf candidate

was he?

jackson could be, no?

All I know is that Colvin can be chalked up yet as yet another bust
yup

that he was.

hopefully our selecting is better now.

I only consider players busts when they are picked in the top 10

And they don’t pan out.

he was

wasnt going to be great but probably league average

Is there any data on his eye?

How’s his OPS?

er,

I mean OBP

OBP

He hit .321 with a .407 OBP at Cal this year. Eight home runs.

had 28 walks

forget what the OBP was, check yesterdays post.

You can check his stats

Here.

seems like

a .900+ OPS shouldn’t be considered “never hit”

Yeah

people are being too harsh. He’s not bad. But the number of Ks is worrisome. Other than that, he’s fine although hardly a potential superstar. But neither was Tim Wheeler who people around here wanted us to take.

so it sounds like

if he makes contact at a better rate, he’ll likely be a pretty decent player

he took walks which is something colvin never did, seems like a bit better player than colvin a bit less projection in terms of power though

That's a big "if" though...

if he’s struggling with Ks in college, expecting better contact in the pros might be asking a LOT.

understood
Agree with the rest of it though...

aside from the low contact rate (which is a concern), he does walk a more than Colvin, and appears to have similar (but slightly less) power. Similar speed?

Then again, perhaps comparing him to Colvin isn’t a great thing?

Not worried about power

Baseball is making the shift back to how the game was played in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Maybe it’s the post-steroid era taking hold. But all I know is that power isn’t the biggest consideration I would be looking at. Can the kid hit, and can hit execute with the bat. Those are the things of most concern. If he can do those things I could care less if he is 15 HR type player.

it hasn't

but again i’d rather have a guy who struggles to make contact but has been productive than a guy who struggles to walk

its college

striking out 28% of the time.

when is our next pick?
Number 79

We don’t have a supplemental this year.

send him to boise in a month?
If he signs
will he take slot?
probably a little above

very few guys will sign for slot since MLB decreased them for this year, but he doesn’t have big bonus demands reported.

Does he sign?
He signs

I’ve been told he’s wants to be a Cub really badly. He fell in love with Wrigley when he went to a game there when he was 18.

I actually like the pick

If we didn’t have a guy like Colvin, we’d be a lot more excited about this pick.

David Renfroe

During the long wait for pick #79, I have a question for those of you who pay far more attention to the draft and the available players. Is the hype surrounding Renfroe due to rumors that the Yankees would take him and pay him above slot (a/t the NY Post, he wants $3m) or is it because he is the son of (the real) Laddie Renfroe?

Probably Laddie

He is very talented though. I would take him if I had a supp. pick. Prefer him as a SS actually and like him better than Mier.

Cubs take

LaMahieu, infielder from LSU.

Can’t play short, not great great at 2b. Long swing.

my anger continues

justified

anger, not the pick.

we have, what, 19 second basemen in the pipeline?

and 2 shortsops?

i guess i haffa watch the

college world series after all

Don't

We already have enough middle infielders from LSU?

this is

Tim Wilken’s mantra

he’ll draft 2B/SS/CF/C and SP’s, he rarely drafts Corner players

We want Max Stassi
What the hell happened to him?

I’m back after dinner. He hasn’t been drafted? I guess once he slid out of the first round, he wasn’t willing to sign for less.

must be it

I was surprised the BoSox passed on him

Kevin Goldstein

says he has no clue why Stassi fell so far.

Just stopping in to say

Why take a CF when we all know how that works out for the Cubs?

Cubs 3rd Round Pick

LHP Austin Kirk

may be the best pick today

high school left-hander 88-91 with advanced change

LaMahieu

Given his size, I wonder if he can eventually grow power-wise into a 3B.

Top Available - per BA

30. Max Stassi, c, Yuba City (Calif.) HS

38. Sam Dyson, rhp, South Carolina

41. Zack Von Rosenbuerg, rhp, Zachary (La.) HS

43. Brody Colvin, rhp, More HS, Lafayette, La.

45. Madison Younginer, rhp, Mauldin (S.C.) HS

47. Keyvius Sampson, rhp, Forest HS, Ocala, Fla.

55. Chris Dwyer, lhp, Clemson

59. Jeff Malm, 1b, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas

60. A.J. Morris, rhp, Kansas State

62. Jason Stoffel, rhp, Arizona

63. Kent Matthes, of, Alabama

64. Angelo Songco, of, Loyola Marymount

65. Brian Goodwin, of, Rocky Mount (N.C.) HS

68. Dane Williams, rhp, Archbishop McCarthy HS, SW Ranches, Fla.

74. Jacob Stewart, of, Rocky Moutain HS, Fort Collins, Colo.

80. Ryan Jackson, ss, Miami

81. Austin Maddox, c, Eagle’s View Academy, Jacksonville, Fla.

82. Brooks Raley, lhp/of, Texas A&M

83. Andrew Doyle, rhp, Oklahoma

90. Ryan Buch, rhp, Monmouth

92. Kendal Volz, rhp, Baylor

94. Matt den Dekker, of, Florida

96. Luke Bailey, c, Troup HS, LaGrange, Ga.

Surprised Stassi fell like this

Von Rosenberg is my favorite of that group. Three very strong pitches for a HS arm, surprised he didnt go in the 2nd

Anyone else notice

that Cubs first pick Brett Jackson was born the week the lights went on at Wrigley (he was born 8-2-88)?

I can’t guarantee this means he’ll end up being the best Cub of the modern era, but I can’t guarantee he won’t either.

You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Bleed Cubbie Blue to post a comment.