2007 Cubs Pick Discussion

[Danny82]

I'm not upset with the Vitters pick. I would have preferred others, but the Vitters pick is solid.

 

I am ticked off about the Donaldson pick. I think Harvey or Burgess would have been a much better pick there.

 

Harvey would have been a "much better" pick there?

 

The same Harvey that went in the middle of the third round?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Lambert is a college reliever, he was quite good for UVA this year.

 

Smith is a college 3B(?), who also was quite good for Clemson this year.

 

Both guys were in the ACC.

[Have a seat, Neifi]

Who is Marquez Smith

[cuubs4life]

I love the Wright, and Smith picks because they are college guys who play against very good competition. I like the fact that we got some college guys this year as well.

 

both can hit very well especially wright, but smith has a lot of pop in his bat, neither with a lot of plate dicipline, but really know how to hit.

[E.J.]

Who is Marquez Smith

 

3b for Clemson. He's batting 3rd for Clemson against Miss State on ESPN right now if you want to see him.

[cuubs4life]

Who is Marquez Smith

 

3b for Clemson. He's batting 3rd for Clemson against Miss State on ESPN right now if you want to see him.

 

He can hit. very good raw power.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I wonder how much Peoria's brutal offense this year has contributed to all the college hitters.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Uh, Leon Johnson was awful offensively in a poor baseball conference. Sub .700 OPS

[Have a seat, Neifi]

OK, thanks. I should've known about Smith anyway; I went to Wake Forest and followed their run to the ACC championship game in baseball this year (beating Clemson in said tournament).

 

PS Considering how many Clemson draftees there seem to be, I wouldn't be surprised if their equipment manager were drafted at some point.

[sporrer17]

We must like Smith, we drafted him last year too, hopefully Wilken is seeing something more to him than other clubs are...

[CoolHandLuke]

I'm not upset with the Vitters pick. I would have preferred others, but the Vitters pick is solid.

 

I am ticked off about the Donaldson pick. I think Harvey or Burgess would have been a much better pick there.

 

Harvey would have been a "much better" pick there?

 

The same Harvey that went in the middle of the third round?

 

Harvey was a top fifteen talent that dropped because its going to cost a lot to get him to not stick to his college commitment (Boras clients are known to attend college and not look back)

[Guest]

Umm I believe Wilkin had some good drafts in Tampa Bay also, which werent last decade.

 

Without a doubt. Wilken plays a big role in how good TB's young guys/minor leaguers are.

[CoolHandLuke]

What years was Wilkin with what organizations? There needs to be a statistics website for scouts and scouting directors.

[Guest]

What years was Wilkin with what organizations? There needs to be a statistics website for scouts and scouting directors.

 

04-05. They overruled him on Townsend.

 

But I believe he nabbed guys like Niemann, Brignac, Davis and McGee in 04 (damn, what a haul that was).

[CoolHandLuke]

What years was Wilkin with what organizations? There needs to be a statistics website for scouts and scouting directors.

 

04-05. They overruled him on Townsend.

 

But I believe he nabbed guys like Niemann, Brignac, Davis and McGee in 04 (damn, what a haul that was).

 

not to mention Sonnanstine, in the 13th round. His 05 draft was pretty uninspiring, as stupid as it is to judge a draft after two years. Two of his higher picks from that draft are in our organization doing next to nothing(Reinhard and Lopez). It seems in TB his drafts were a lot more high school oriented. What years did he play a major role in Toronto?

[Guest]

Pick 487: LHP Zachary Ashwood, Kansas

[CoolHandLuke]

Pick 487: LHP Zachary Ashwood, Kansas

 

http://kuathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2006-2007/teamcume.html

 

Pretty crappy statistics. Transferred from TCU

[CubColtPacer]

What years was Wilkin with what organizations? There needs to be a statistics website for scouts and scouting directors.

 

04-05. They overruled him on Townsend.

 

But I believe he nabbed guys like Niemann, Brignac, Davis and McGee in 04 (damn, what a haul that was).

 

not to mention Sonnanstine, in the 13th round. His 05 draft was pretty uninspiring, as stupid as it is to judge a draft after two years. Two of his higher picks from that draft are in our organization doing next to nothing(Reinhard and Lopez). It seems in TB his drafts were a lot more high school oriented. What years did he play a major role in Toronto?

 

I think something like 89 to 00 was when he had the most impact (could be off by a couple years)-here's a list of people that Wilken had a major impact on:

 

Tim contributed to Toronto's signing and developing a distinguished list of players including Casey Blake, Chris Carpenter, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Freel, Jay Gibbons, Shawn Green, Roy Halladay, Orlando Hudson, Reed Johnson, Steve Karsay, Jimmy Key, Alex Rios, Shannon Stewart, Vernon Wells, Craig Wilson and Michael Young.

 

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20061204&content_id=1749967&vkey=pr_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

[Guest]

What years was Wilkin with what organizations? There needs to be a statistics website for scouts and scouting directors.

 

04-05. They overruled him on Townsend.

 

But I believe he nabbed guys like Niemann, Brignac, Davis and McGee in 04 (damn, what a haul that was).

 

not to mention Sonnanstine, in the 13th round. His 05 draft was pretty uninspiring, as stupid as it is to judge a draft after two years. Two of his higher picks from that draft are in our organization doing next to nothing(Reinhard and Lopez). It seems in TB his drafts were a lot more high school oriented. What years did he play a major role in Toronto?

 

It sounds like there was some sort of power play in 05 beyond just Townsend (don't know who he wanted, instead of Townsend), though. Obviously he liked Reinhard and Lopez to get him as the guys traded for Ryu.

 

He became the Blue Jays national cross checker in 1989 and was there till 2003.

[sweetpeteman]

Pick 517: Arik Hempy, USoCar

 

 

Stats:

 

http://uscsports.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stats/2006-2007/teamcume.html

 

 

Also:

 

Hempy is scheduled to start on Saturday vs. the Tar Heels in game two of the Super Regional n He is 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 58.2 innings with 57 strikeouts.

[CoolHandLuke]

Q: Jared from Chicago asks:

I was curious about the Cubs 2nd round pick Josh Donaldson, if the Cubs were going to take a catcher with that pick I would have preferred Mitch Canham but maybe I'm biased because I have seen Canham play and not Donaldson. Could you compare the two for me? Thank You

A:

 

Moderator: Similar players really, athletes who are catchers and may not stay at C. Canham's an LH hitter, Donaldson RH, but Donaldson's hit tool is probably a bit better. Wilken knows catchers, no doubt, it's a solid pick really.

 

 

It's still going on, so get your questions in!"

[CoolHandLuke]

I lied, but Callis is having another chat in a couple hours.

[Guest]

Round 7/Pick 217:

 

Outfielders Brendan Duffy andWright are both leadoff types who run well. Duffy, whose older brother Chris plays for the Pirates, is a better prospect because he can play center, while Wright's arm relegates him to left. Wright extended his hitting streak to 35 games, second in Oklahoma State history behind Robin Ventura's NCAA-record 58-game skein, in the Cowboys' first NCAA regional game.

 

Round 9/Pick 277:

 

Redshirt junior center fielder Clark Hardman was by far their top hitting prospect despite injuries (labrum surgery, herniated disc repair) that cost him the 2005 season and left him a bit rusty last season, when he batted .224/.268/.259. He was back to .376/.422/.491 this spring. Hardman is an above-average hitter who lacks home run power and patience, and his offensive profile is that of a fourth outfielder. He has a plus arm and can play all three outfield positions.

 

Round 10/Pick 307:

 

BYU teammate Leon Johnson has been drafted three times, all by the Devil Rays. A 6-foot-2, 190-pound athlete whose older brother Elliott is a second baseman in the Devil Rays system, Leon spent two years on a mission after two years at Eastern Arizona Junior College. His tools resemble those of his second baseman brother, though he has more speed (he's a well-above-average runner) and covers lots of ground in center field, making him an above-average defender. Offensively, he started strong despite his rust before falling off significantly in the second half; he hit just .248. His speed should get him picked again, probably in the 20th-round range.

 

Round 12/Pick 367:

 

Righthander Ryan Acosta's father Oscar, who was a Yankees minor league manager, was killed with another Yankees official in a car accident in the Dominican Republic last year. Ryan was lauded for remaining with his high school team after the accident, and could draw interest from teams that like his potential as a pitcher. He played mostly at shortstop as an underclassman and is a good athlete with plus arm strength. His secondary pitches and command are unrefined.

 

Round 14/Pick 427:

 

Lefthander James Russell, whose father Jeff was an all-star closer, has a long, lean 6-foot-4, 206-pound frame, but his game is all about finesse and not power. His best pitch is his changeup, followed by a fringy 84-88 mph fastball and a marginal breaking ball.

 

Round 17/Pick 517:

 

Hempy, meanwhile, is something of an enigma. He returned to South Carolina's rotation this year and pitched well down the stretch, but he has a violent delivery and is already 23. ----> Had Tommy John surgery

 

Sounds like Wilken really likes Marquez Smith.

[Iceblink]

Am I counting right? 17 of 19 so far are college players?

[Guest]

Josh Donaldson was BA's #11 guy at the Cape Cod League last year. Also, going itno the season, he was rated a smidge higher by BA (#32 prospect for 2007):

 

Donaldson split time between third base and catcher as a sophomore at Auburn, and he did the same for Harwich. His pro future is behind the plate, where he shows quick feet and a strong arm that allowed him to erase 48 percent of basestealers, the second-best rate on the Cape. He still needs more experience and better receiving skills, but those should come with time.

 

Donaldson projects as an all-around catcher, as he has strong hands, plenty of power and uses the entire field well. He finished fifth in the batting race at .302 after hitting just .277 at Auburn during the spring.

 

"A lot of kids take some time to adjust to wood," Harwich manager Steve Englert said. "But as soon as he got in here, he was squaring up balls. He showed he could handle these pitchers right away."

 

Tony Thomas (FSU 2b):

 

BA Draft Blog[/url]"]But after watching him two weekends in a row and talking to multiple scouts, I’m confident in saying that TTJ is for real. We’re not talking Mark-Kotsay for real, and he’s not going to finish the season with a better batting average than your NCAA bracket’s winning percentage (well, I certainly hope, for you sake, it wasn’t that bad). But the adjustments Thomas has made at the plate, and his approach and his tools, make him a legitimate pro prospect.

 

He’s opened his stance, and he says that’s been the key to his improvement this season. Apparently, he wasn’t seeing the ball as well as he is now that his front foot is angled toward third base and his head is squared up better to the pitcher. I’m sure it’s never looked better to the Valrico, Fla., product.

 

Thomas’ display in batting practice was once again outstanding, and although he collected only one hit in tonight’s 10-4 FSU win, the hit he had was a rocket off the wall in left-center field. And his line-out to the warning track in straight-away center field in the first inning, well that ball–the first pitch he saw tonight–most likely now has the consistency of the hard boiled eggs your kids will be painting this weekend.

 

He has balance in his setup, looseness in his hands, above-average bat speed and lets the ball travel deep before releasing the barrel. His approach is solid–he worked up the middle, hit the ball hard the other way, and showed good plate discipline.

 

Profiling him might be tough, as he plays second base well but is just an average runner with fringe-average range, and isn’t terribly fluid turning the double play. But he has a chance to hit for average with 10-15 home run power as a professional.

 

Thomas looks more like the man, not the myth.

 

Looks like Darwin Barney (4th rounder from Oregon State) was thought of *much* more highly before this season. He was BA's #36 college prospect going into this season before he fell to "utility player ceiling." BA also considered him the Pac-10's #4 draft-eligible prospect before the season.