Exactly a month until the draft. Who are we gonna take???

[cuubs4life]

if the draft were today who would the cubs pick??? who would the 2 teams in front of them take?

[Rob]

Tampa Bay is almost certainly taking Price.

 

Kansas City is interesting though. Personally I think they're going to take either Wieters or Porcello. If they take Wieters, I'm about 90% sure the Cubs take Vitters. If KC takes Porcello, I'd say it's about 60-40 Vitters-Wieters.

[b_wiggy_66]

Tampa Bay is almost certainly taking Price.

 

Kansas City is interesting though. Personally I think they're going to take either Wieters or Porcello. If they take Wieters, I'm about 90% sure the Cubs take Vitters. If KC takes Porcello, I'd say it's about 60-40 Vitters-Wieters.

 

Are these guys pitchers?

[Rob]

Tampa Bay is almost certainly taking Price.

 

Kansas City is interesting though. Personally I think they're going to take either Wieters or Porcello. If they take Wieters, I'm about 90% sure the Cubs take Vitters. If KC takes Porcello, I'd say it's about 60-40 Vitters-Wieters.

 

Are these guys pitchers?

 

Price is a college lefty.

 

Wieters is a college catcher.

 

Porcello is a righty prep pitcher.

 

Vitters is a prep 3B, and supposedly the best pure hitter in the draft.

[Guest]

Right now, it looks like it'll go down as: 1. Price, 2. Porcelo, 3. Vitters.

 

Scherzer might change things up, but probably won't make a difference with the Cubs pick...it looks like it will be Vitters or Wieters.

[TruffleShuffle]

Cubs will take Vitters... in other news I'm looking forward to Wieters making the bigs within 2 years of being drafted and producing at a 280/380/460 clip by 2010.

[BeerHere]

Picking early, Wilken has said that his strategy is "best available" rather than "filling needs". The question comes down to, is Vitters better than Wieters?

[radarluv1]

Cubs will take Vitters... in other news I'm looking forward to Wieters making the bigs within 2 years of being drafted and producing at a 280/380/460 clip by 2010.

 

why do i have the feeling we'll pick incorrectly? if we could get that from a young catcher....

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Cubs will take Vitters... in other news I'm looking forward to Wieters making the bigs within 2 years of being drafted and producing at a 280/380/460 clip by 2010.

 

why do i have the feeling we'll pick incorrectly? if we could get that from a young catcher....

 

It doesn't matter who we pick, he won't end up making it to the bigs for one reason or another.

[tfarks]

I wanted Wieters, then Vitters, then Wieters again. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

[YearofDaCubs]

I wanted Wieters, then Vitters, then Wieters again. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

I'll be happy with either of them. Of course this is reading what others/scouts have said. I have not seen any of them play.

[Mephistopheles]

i want a healthy blake beavan.

[Rob]

I wanted Wieters, then Vitters, then Wieters again. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

I'll be happy with either of them. Of course this is reading what others/scouts have said. I have not seen any of them play.

 

I think we'd be best served to take Vitters. General consensus is that Wieters will slip because of his Boras connection... it's extremely doubtful he makes it to our supplemental pick, but it's a very remote possibility.

[Brian]

I'm still on the Wieters BandWGN.

[Guest]

I wanted Wieters, then Vitters, then Wieters again. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

I'll be happy with either of them. Of course this is reading what others/scouts have said. I have not seen any of them play.

 

I think we'd be best served to take Vitters. General consensus is that Wieters will slip because of his Boras connection... it's extremely doubtful he makes it to our supplemental pick, but it's a very remote possibility.

 

I don't think Wieters is slipping just because of his Boras connection.

[CoolHandLuke]

I still want Wieters, but only if he will stick at catcher, which it sounds like he can. If he has to move I would prefer Vitters. Anywhere to see some scouting vids of the draft prospects?

[Tedward]

I want who Wilken wants

[Rob]

I wanted Wieters, then Vitters, then Wieters again. I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

I'll be happy with either of them. Of course this is reading what others/scouts have said. I have not seen any of them play.

 

I think we'd be best served to take Vitters. General consensus is that Wieters will slip because of his Boras connection... it's extremely doubtful he makes it to our supplemental pick, but it's a very remote possibility.

 

I don't think Wieters is slipping just because of his Boras connection.

 

His performance this season on its own probably wouldn't justify a top three pick, true... but his performance in the seasons prior plus everything else indicates that he's almost zero risk to be an above-average offensive catcher. But his performance this season seems to have diminished his upside in scouts' eyes... teams are gonna be pretty scared to deal with Boras for a guy that doesn't project for as much upside as he did last year... cause Boras is gonna negotiate like he's the next Joe Mauer.

[jersey cubs fan]

I want who Wilken wants

 

I can live with that.

 

Don't know much about any and don't have a strong feeling on any. The last time I did was in my Draft Tex phase. I'd think I'd lean toward Wieters, being a polished and accomplished college hitter, but the Vitters guy sounds intriguing as well. I've been trained not to trust high school hitters loved by scouts, however, given the Cubs history.

 

 

Who was the last prep 3B comparable to Vitters who had great success in the majors?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Who was the last prep 3B comparable to Vitters who had great success in the majors?

 

David Wright? I think Wright came up as a comp for Vitters, although he's probably not quite the player Wright is.

[jersey cubs fan]

Who was the last prep 3B comparable to Vitters who had great success in the majors?

 

David Wright? I think Wright came up as a comp for Vitters, although he's probably not quite the player Wright is.

 

He's not quite the player Wright was, but Wright was a sandwich pick, no? What about him makes Vitters potentially that much more of a pick than Wright? Is it just the depth of the drafts? Or is there more respect for prep 3B now?

[Guest]

I've seen the Wright comparisons before. I've also seen A-Rod comparisons.

 

Vitters goes to the same HS that Scott Moore went to.

Edited May 8, 2007 by CaliforniaRaisin

[Guest]

For goony:

 

Vitters enjoyed a very productive summer, hitting against the best pitchers in the nation at numerous high profile showcases and tournament in front of dozens of scouts and scouting directors. He went 3 for 4 in the Aflac All-American Classic, with all three of his hits being doubles, while adding a walk. He walked against Matt Harvey, while doubling against Michael Main, Madison Bumgarner and Rick Porcello, all of whom are projected to go in the first round next June. Vitters has incredibly polished hitting mechanics and very good bat speed. His quick hands and wrists allow him to make last-minute adjustments while also fouling off good pitches. He is more of a line-drive hitter at this point in time, but there is no reason not to expect more power down the road. Defensively he is sound, not special, at third base, with good enough lateral quickness and a strong arm. Even if he doesn't stick at the hot corner, and there is no reason to think he couldn't at this point in time, he should hit plenty enough to be a productive left fielder. His brother Christian played shortstop at Fresno State before being drafted by the Oakland A's during the 2006 draft, Both Christian and Josh have continued an impressive shortstop tradition from Cypress High School (CA), where 2002 first-round pick Scott Moore also played. Josh doesn't turn 18 until next August. He has committed to play at Arizona State.

 

I posted this earlier, but once again:

 

It looks like Matt Wieters and Josh Vitters are establishing themselves as the top college and high school position players in the 2007 draft class, and it looks like the Cubs may have their choice between the two at No. 3. What, besides experience, separates these two and might make the difference between taking one over the other? What weaknesses do they have?

 

Justin Riddick

Nashville

More comparing and contrasting. The biggest difference between these two is their position. Wieters is a catcher at Georgia Tech, while Vitters is a third baseman at Cypress (Calif.) High. That gives Wieters more positional value than Vitters, though it's not easy to find third basemen either.

 

Vitters is the best pure hitter in this draft and projects to hit for a higher average. Wieters has more present power than Vitters, and he's a switch-hitter to boot. Not that it will play into his draft status, but Wieters also has shown a 94-98 mph fastball off the mound.

 

Vitters doesn't have a glaring weakness. He's not a stud athlete or a plus runner, but he's not a slug either. He'll need to add some strength to his 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame, but he's not even 18 yet and there's no reason he shouldn't. As you can tell, I'm nitpicking here.

 

As for Wieters, his detractors think his size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) hampers his agility and receiving. One scouting director, who also isn't enamored of his hitting ability, compared him to Ben Davis, who was a bust as the No. 2 overall pick in 1995. But that's not the consensus.

 

One other consideration to keep in mind is that Wieters' advisor is Scott Boras. He'll likely seek a major league contract for Wieters, while Vitters is more likely to sign for slot money.

 

Cost won't be the consideration for the Cubs, but I keep hearing that they love Vitters. Right now, he'd be my projection for the No. 3 overall pick.

 

Here's a recent write up from Sports Illustrated a couple of days ago:

 

A big hit

With power to all fields, Vitters a natural at the plate

 

 

While talking to a veteran scout who saw Darryl Strawberry and Gary Carter as young hitters, Cypress (Calif.) coach John Weber gained insight into how outsiders view his star third baseman, Josh Vitters.

 

"I've never seen a hitter hit like this guy," one scout told Weber.

 

Noting his hand-eye coordination and uncanny ability to make adjustments, Weber says, "He's the rare combination of being able to hit with mammoth power and also drive the ball in the gaps. I firmly believe that he can be a [major league] all-star every year and a major run producer."

 

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Vitters, who missed five games earlier this season due to pneumonia, is batting .409 with six home runs and 21 RBIs. As a junior he hit .352 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs as Cypress went 20-3.

 

"He gets the ball as well as anybody and has really soft hands," Weber says. "Probably 90 percent of his errors are when he has to move two or three steps to his left."

 

Last summer, Vitters starred against the nation's best. He was 3-for-4 (all doubles) in the 2006 Aflac All-American Game last August. One of those two-baggers came off a 93 mph fastball from Michael Main, one of the nation's premier pitchers. Another came off of Rick Porcello, the ace of the nation's No. 1-ranked team, Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.). Later that summer he was named top prospect at the Area Code Games

 

"I always wanted to hit the ball as hard as I could. I always had that power mentality," says Vitters, an Arizona State signee who hopes to be selected in June's amateur draft. "I'd definitely say I was more of a natural hitter. It came easy to me and I didn't take lessons. I just followed my brother, Christian [a shortstop now in the Oakland A's system]."

 

Though he's had many great games, Vitters says that a 1-for-2 performance is the one he will remember the most because it came during his sophomore year when the Centurions defeated Yucaipa, 7-1, to win the Southern Section Division II championship at Angel Stadium.

 

Weber believes that there was an even more memorable moment earlier this spring when Vitters faced a noted flamethrower in Long Beach (Calif.) Wilson junior Aaron Hicks in the Loara Tournament. "It was a great duel -- two phenoms," Weber says of the seven-pitch at bat that ended with Vitters lining a one-hop drive off Hicks's leg that knocked the pitcher out of the game. "He was blowing gas and Josh was just standing there. That at-bat encompasses who Josh Vitters is and solidifies how good of a hitter he is."

 

"It was probably a defining moment for scouts," Vitters says, "but for me it was just another at-bat."

 

And from BA:

 

Josh Vitters, 3b, Cypress (Calif.) HS

Some scouts are calling the Cypress, Calif. third baseman the safest pick in the draft

[RichHillIsABeast]

Vitters please.

[imb]

I really like Wieters, but I would love Vitters too. It looks like either way, we win, because at least one of those guys will be there at No. 3.