2008 Cubs Picks Thread

[BeerHere]

Impressions of the haul thus far (for a guy stuck at work arguing all day)?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Impressions of the haul thus far (for a guy stuck at work arguing all day)?

 

Not too bad. All college guys so far, although our last two picks have upside above their draft spot if their injury troubles are behind them.

[Outshined_One]

Impressions of the haul thus far (for a guy stuck at work arguing all day)?

 

Decent, with the potential to be very good if Carpenter and Shafer can get back to their pre-injury stuff.

[Guest]

Bryan Smith (4:41:06 PM PT): Kevin mentioned the Cubs taking Chris Carpenter a little bit ago, but I don't want to let the 65th overall pick go unnoticed. Aaron Shafer was, one year ago, considered to be a sure-fire top ten pick. What happened wasn't really a loss in velocity, but a complete loss in consistency. He has a great change up, and if the Cubs feel they can teach him a breaking ball, he becomes a good prospect quick.

[Guest]

4th rounder: SS Matt Cerda, Oceanside HS (Oceanside, CA)

 

San Diego recruit Matt Cerda began to impress scouts with his performances on the Angels scout club in the fall of 2007. He followed that with a breakout day at the February showcase in Compton. Just 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, Cerda projects as a second baseman as a pro thanks to below-average range. He has an average arm. His best tool is his bat, as he has a quick, compact swing with extension and a full finish. Cerda's supporters see an offensive second baseman with strong makeup and an "old school" style of play. He would instantly make an impact in the Toreros' lineup if he doesn't sign.

[UK1679666180]

You guys are going to hate this one:

 

Cerda was one of the surprise players in Southern California this spring as he was on few prospect lists at the beginning of the 2008 season. Scouts say he falls into the category of ultimate gamer, an intense player who has tremendous skills as a player and enough tools to play at a high level. Cerda’s best tool is his lefthanded bat. He has a short, quick swing and squares up everything while showing a willingness to hit to all fields. He hit .537-14-40 and struck out only six times, compared to 23 walks. Cerda’s arm strength won’t be a negative at second base, although it is stressed at shortstop, and he’s very quick turning double plays. He’s a fringy average runner but makes up for his lack of raw speed in the middle infield with his intensity and instincts. Cerda seems like a great college-type player on the surface but there seems to be plenty of teams who like him in the top five rounds. When scouts like a 5-foot-9 high school second baseman that well, you know he can play.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

From a MaxPreps site for his HS, Cerda's numbers this season.

 

139 PA's, .542/.647/1.075/1.722, 9 2B, 16 HR, 29/6 BB/K

[Guest]

Apparently he was part of a 2001 LLWS team.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't mind the pick, and I like that with guys like Thomas, Flaherty, and Cerda they're going after middle infielders with some pop. Like Raisin said though, it'd be nice to have someone in the first day with impact upside(although I guess you could stretch to apply that label to Carpenter).

[CubColtPacer]

From a MaxPreps site for his HS, Cerda's numbers this season.

 

139 PA's, .542/.647/1.075/1.722, 9 2B, 16 HR, 29/6 BB/K

 

I'm glad to see that he must have some pop in his bat. He has to in order to have a slugging average that is double his batting average, especially since he reportedly has barely average speed.

[Guest]

Catcher?

 

• The Cubs popped San Diego area prep hitter Matt Cerda in the fourth round, a rumor we’d heard after Cerda had a tremendous workout for the Cubs two weeks ago in Los Angeles. Cerda received extra attention from Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken, impressed with the bat and even took a turn working out as a catcher. - John Manuel, BA

[UK1679666180]

Catcher?

 

• The Cubs popped San Diego area prep hitter Matt Cerda in the fourth round, a rumor we’d heard after Cerda had a tremendous workout for the Cubs two weeks ago in Los Angeles. Cerda received extra attention from Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken, impressed with the bat and even took a turn working out as a catcher. - John Manuel, BA

 

If he only has avg. arm strength and that small frame, I can't see him lasting there.

[Guest]

5th rounder: RHP Justin Bristow, East Carolina

 

A transfer to East Carolina from Auburn, Justin Bristow has been a two-way prospect ever since high school but focused on pitching and put together his best collegiate season. He pitches between 90-92 mph with a fastball that can be too true. He keeps hitters off balance with a cut fastball and curveball. Bristow finished 8-2, 3.22, including two shutouts.

[UK1679666180]

Bristow was a legitimate first-round candidate in the 2005 draft as both a pitcher and shortstop coming out of a Virginia high school, but he never came close to fulfilling expectations in two seasons at Auburn. As a freshman, he played only third base and hit just .255-0-13. As a sophomore, he struggled even more playing both roles. He hit just .217 and went 1-6, 9.30 on the mound. The 6-foot-4, 213-pound Bristow has gone a long way towards resurrecting his career this spring after transferring to East Carolina. He was immediately installed as a starting pitcher and was dominant, at times, in the early going. He still possesses a 93 mph fastball with hard, late sinking action and a 77-78 mph slider which has good depth when he stays on top of the pitch. He still needs to develop a third pitch to remain in a starting role, but he goes after hitters aggressively and is around the plate with all his pitches. Bristow has also seen limited time at third base, but it’s clear his immediate future is on the mound.—ALLAN SIMPSON

UPDATE (5/15): Bristow restored a lot of his lost draft value with a solid, occasionally-dominating season as a pitcher at East Carolina. Never comfortable in a two-way role, he was able to focus all his attention on being a starting pitcher this spring and his confidence soared as he went 8-2, 3.22 with 25 walks and 78 strikeouts in 87 innings. With a big, strong frame, he was able to sustain the velocity on his fastball deep into games. The pitch was normally in the 89-91 mph range, but occasionally crept to 92 and even 93, though it had a tendency to be straight. He also had command of a 73-74 mph curve and a hard cutter, while showing feel for a changeup.—AS

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Player   	          era  	w-l  	app-gs  	cg  	sho  	sv  	ip  	h  	r  	er  	bb  	so  	2b  	3b  	hr  	ab  	b/avg  	wp  	hbp
Bristow, Justin   	 3.07  	9-2  	16-16  	2  	2/0  	0  	93.2  	81  	39  	32  	27  	84  	14  	1  	4  	351  	 .231  	0  	13

[Guest]

On the way back machine, this is from 2005:

 

Bristow is easily one of the best two-way players. As a pitcher, Bristow is 22-2 in his high school career and has some of the best command in the country. Armed with a fastball that is clocked in the 90-92 mph range, Bristow has some of the filthiest breaking stuff in next year's MLB Draft crop. A four-year starter on the varsity team, Bristow broke on to the scene with an amazing 9-0 record as a freshman and went 9-1 with a 0.83 ERA as a junior in 2004.

[CUBZ99]

Anybody watching the scouting video's on the players from Mlb.com? You would think they could find impressive footage to post. On Bristow's clip, he looks to have serious control problems, hit a batter and barely tops out at 91.

[Guest]

More Bristow from 2005:

 

4. JUSTIN BRISTOW, rhp/ss (National Rank: 43)

School: Mills Godwin HS.

Hometown: Richmond.

B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 205 Birthdate: 3-6-87

College Commitment: Auburn

Scouting Report: Bristow looks to join Matt Moses as the second Godwin first-rounder in three years. Both of their older brothers play for James Madison, and all four played youth baseball with Justin Verlander, the second overall pick last year. Bristow draws attention for his work in both phases of the game. While some scouts like his 91-92 mph fastball and a clean, easy arm strike enough to mark him as a pitcher, most have the feeling he'd rather continue his career as an everyday player. A slider that ranges from plus to soft and a delivery that gets uphill at times might push the scouting consensus in that direction as well. Drafting Bristow as a position player means buying the bat. His bat speed doesn't best that of fellow Virginia prepster Brandon Snyder, and his swing gets around the ball rather than inside it at times, which could trim points off his average. But the strength, leverage and backspin in Bristow's swing should produce more power than Moses. A high school quarterback, Bristow's athleticism would make a shift to third base easy; he displays body control on slow rollers and owns the plus arm that would combine to make at least an average defender. His only below-average tool is speed. Bristow would be an outstanding college shortstop/closer if he doesn’t receive first-round money and heads to Auburn.

 

#43 overall by BA in 2005. And that's your Virginia boy.

[sweetpeteman]

Anybody watching the scouting video's on the players from Mlb.com? You would think they could find impressive footage to post. On Bristow's clip, he looks to have serious control problems, hit a batter and barely tops out at 91.

 

 

Not the first Cubs draft pick to be shown hitting someone, I think Schafer was also shown hitting someone.

 

 

Also, for not having all that much power according to scouting reports, the videos of Flaherty keep showing him hitting home runs. Doesn't mean anything, but still funny.

[Outshined_One]

I really really really really liked Bristow back in 2005.

 

I'm happy with this pick.

[hotshot13422]

The cubs going to draft anything besides right handed pitchers or shortstops?

[delroy lindo]

Shortstops are typically the best athletes on the team. Each of these '6' picks projects somewhere else.

[Guest]

Kevin Goldstein (5:45:56 PM PT): strupp (Madison): KG, had to spend a few hours at the worksite... can you give me a quick and dirty Cubs recap? Appreciated.

 

They've been really college heavy, which seems really weird for them. My favorite pick as far as talent vs. where we went is Chris Carpenter.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Player   	          avg  	gp-gs  	ab  	r  	h  	2b  	3b  	hr  	rbi  	tb  	slg%  	bb  	hbp  	so  	gdp  	ob%  	sf  	sh  	sb-att
Harrison, Josh   	 .378  	59-59  	238  	66  	90  	22  	3  	5  	54  	133  	 .559  	25  	7  	20  	5  	 .437  	9  	3  	32-40

[badnews]

Wow, I nailed the Bristow pick. I mentioned him like two months ago as a likely pick because he's from Virginia and the Cubs considered him in 2005. His college career has been pretty blah though.

 

I don't like this draft. Every draft day people on here bend over backwards to paint a shiny, happy picture and the following years we end up surprised when we have a lump of coal.

 

You compare these picks to all the prospect lists, they all look like reaches and there are always better guys on the board when they picked. Using your first pick on a closer is stupid. This "He'll be helping us in September" crap they use to brainwash people never pans out, I didn't Casey Weathers helping the Rockies in September, so forth.

 

And nobody ever try and defend Wilken using that 2004 Rays draft crap again. It's obvious that was Tampa, not Wilken, this guy doesn't draft high schoolers. It was the Rays who grabbed guys like Jake McGee, Wilken is a Blue Jay through and through, nothing but a lot of blah college guys or injured college guys. Cerda looks like a nothing guy, Flaherty not much better.

 

It's not as bad as it could've been. Huzzah.