Tim Wilken is new Cubs Director of Scouting

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

cubs.com link

 

Wilken left the Jays (he was VP at the time) b/c "I decided I needed to look for more opportunities and to make more of a contribution to an organization." - source: Toronto Sun.

 

Here's a list of Wilken's last 10 top first round picks:

 

1996 Billy Koch, rhp Out of baseball

1997 Vernon Wells, of Blue Jays

1998 Felipe Lopez, ss Reds

1999 Alex Rios, of Blue Jays

2000 Miguel Negron, of Blue Jays

2001 Gabe Gross, of Blue Jays

2002 Russ Adams, ss Blue Jays

2003 Aaron Hill, ss Blue Jays

2004 David Purcey, lhp Blue Jays

2005 Ricky Romero, lhp Blue Jays

 

1997 draft really stunk. the top 16 picks were:

 

 

1.Matt Anderson, rhp, Tigers

2.J.D. Drew, of, Phillies

3.Troy Glaus, 3b, Angels

4.Jason Grilli, rhp, Giants

5.Vernon Wells, of, Blue Jays

6. Geoff Goetz, lhp, Mets

7. Dan Reichert, rhp, Royals

8. J.J. Davis, of, Pirates

9. Michael Cuddyer, 3b, Twins

10. Jon Garland, rhp, Cubs

11. Chris Enochs, rhp, Athletics

12. Aaron Akin, rhp, Marlins

13. Kyle Peterson, rhp, Brewers

14. Brandon Larson, ss, Reds

15.Jason Dellaero, ss, White Sox

16. Lance Berkman, Astros

 

Wilken did a good job with Wells. The only name i saw that was available for selection that comes close to Wells is Berkman.

 

other Wilken successes:

Other first-rounders who have become major contributors to the Blue Jays current success are ace Roy Halladay and center fielder Vernon Wells, another pick that was maligned as an overdraft at the time. Five Jays everyday starters--Wells; second baseman Orlando Hudson (43rd round); DH Josh Phelps (10th); outfielder Shannon Stewart (first); and shortstop Chris Woodward (54th)--were drafted and signed during Wilken's tenure.

 

from a BA Article

[JWCUB]

Looks like a good resume.

[Soul]

Well he drafted a couple position players that turned out OK. That sounds like a welcome change to me.

[mhuber92211]

So this replaces Hughes? I am confused. I though Hughes was still with the team.

[Jon]

So this replaces Hughes? I am confused. I though Hughes was still with the team.

Hughes is. He's a special assistant to Hendry. Wilken is replacing John Stockstill, who left the organization earlier this offseason to join his brother in Baltimore.

[Kyle]

I think Wilken is an excellent hire. We desperately need more good position players in this organization.

[Proven Veteran]

Didn't this happen quite a while ago?

[mhuber92211]

So this replaces Hughes? I am confused. I though Hughes was still with the team.

Hughes is. He's a special assistant to Hendry. Wilken is replacing John Stockstill, who left the organization earlier this offseason to join his brother in Baltimore.

 

Thanks. For some reason I thought Hughes took over for Stockstill.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Didn't this happen quite a while ago?

 

Yeah, a couple weeks I thought. There was another thread when it happened somewhere.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

doh! sorry. :(

[RynoRules]

For the love of G-d, man! Don't you pay attention to every thread?!

 

:wink:

[badger1679666666]

Speaking of which, does anyone know when the search function is going to be reenabled? It's getting near the time for me to bump my CedenoBANDWGN thread up to the top. :D

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Speaking of which, does anyone know when the search function is going to be reenabled? It's getting near the time for me to bump my CedenoBANDWGN thread up to the top. :D

 

I guess I have until May to get the Wade Miller BandWGN back up and running.

[B]

Tim Wilken thread

[badger1679666666]

Speaking of which, does anyone know when the search function is going to be reenabled? It's getting near the time for me to bump my CedenoBANDWGN thread up to the top. :D

 

I guess I have until May to get the Wade Miller BandWGN back up and running.

 

I spent 15 minutes finding the Cedeno WGN and was successful:)

[Fred Hornkohl]

Speaking of which, does anyone know when the search function is going to be reenabled? It's getting near the time for me to bump my CedenoBANDWGN thread up to the top. :D

 

I guess I have until May to get the Wade Miller BandWGN back up and running.

 

I've got a truck I'm not using right now. Let me know if you need a little help !

[UK1679666180]

His hire was my favorite acquisition of the off-season. Nothing against Stockstill, but it was pretty obvious at some point in his career, he was going to be united with his brother.

 

I'm not sure what his hire will do to change any philosophy concerning the draft (BPA) or how in-house players are evaluated, but he has a very solid track record as shown.

[stitchface]

correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a very tools oriented list to me.

[UK1679666180]

He would fall into the catagory of a traditionalist/OFP.

[stitchface]

what's that in english?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a very tools oriented list to me.

 

Gross, Hill, and Adams are all pretty solid statistically, I don't know what their tools are.

[UK1679666180]

Get your head out of Moneyball for a sec! :)

 

OFP is Overall Future Potential... It is the evaluation tool for scouts and has been around forever.

[stitchface]

I read moneyball in about three hours!

 

I really think the cubs need some counter-balance to this approach. Though I like it a lot better for pitchers than hitters.

[UK1679666180]

Agreed, although I think it becomes more important with the major league scouts moreso than amatuer scouts. You can improve a player that is gifted athletically, bat speed, raw power, etc. more effectively early on in his career (18-19) compared to someone who is 25-27 and been drafted out of HS for almost 10 ten years and still struggling with his approach which has impacted his overall numbers.

[CuseCubFan69]

The hardest thing to do is convince some 18-19 year olds that their way isn't going to make them successful in MLB. They have had success all their lives and getting them to buy into a different approach is often difficult.