2008 Cubs Picks Thread

[CUBZ99]

Why are we drafting Sonny, he's not going to sign...

 

To give the casual fan something to bitch about in 10 years when he is a stud and they find out that we lost out on him.

 

If the Cubs had $5MM+ for Shark, they should be able to come up with enough to sign this guy. Gray seems like a better bet.

[Guest]

I think the Cubs will sniff around but won't come close, especially if Gray is going to summer school in July. Not enough time.

[Outshined_One]

I think the Cubs will sniff around but won't come close, especially if Gray is going to summer school in July. Not enough time.

 

They might be kicking the tires to see if he'd be worth drafting again come 2011. At the very least, they can plant a few seeds to make him more amenable to joining the Cubs in three years.

 

Also, since the draft is over, I'm of the opinion that this draft has some very nice potential. Depending on who signs, a number of the pitchers sound like they could turn out pretty well if their development goes as hoped. The hitters didn't particularly wow me. With any luck, this draft could turn out nicely for the Cubs down the road.

[CoolHandLuke]

I think the Cubs will sniff around but won't come close, especially if Gray is going to summer school in July. Not enough time.

 

They might be kicking the tires to see if he'd be worth drafting again come 2011. At the very least, they can plant a few seeds to make him more amenable to joining the Cubs in three years.

 

Also, since the draft is over, I'm of the opinion that this draft has some very nice potential. Depending on who signs, a number of the pitchers sound like they could turn out pretty well if their development goes as hoped. The hitters didn't particularly wow me. With any luck, this draft could turn out nicely for the Cubs down the road.

 

I beat you on that point, sort of.

 

 

 

I think I like this draft better than last years, but I still wish we would pick more high ceiling high schoolers.

[RammyFanny]

Wow, I left not expecting anything big, and they we go and pop Sonny Gray. I'll try and not get my hopes up, but I would go bezerk if we signed him. IMO he's a Jarrod Parker clone. Outstanding makeup as well.

 

Sonny was our consensus pick at #19 when we did the mock draft a few months ago. Cubs, please shell out some fat cash for him.

 

Whoever was here that said he knows Sonny, please call him and beg him to sign. Tell him he'll have is own fan club here.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Lots of intriguing arms in this draft.

 

Cashner

Shafer

Carpenter

Jackson

Wilson

Coleman

Gray

 

and my homer favorite, Cales. Hard to think there's not a good major leaguer in that group.

[RammyFanny]

From an article yesterday:

Smyrna's Sonny Gray was visited personally by representatives of every franchise in the last year. He made it known recently, however, that he planned to attend Vanderbilt in the fall rather than sign a pro contract and that any selection of him would be a wasted one.

 

He said several scouts have contacted him as late as this week and inquired as to whether he stood firm with that commitment.

 

"They said they'll respect my decision," Gray said. "From what people have told me, I think (I'll still get drafted), but it isn't a big concern."

 

Because he will attend a four-year institution, Gray will not be eligible for the draft again for three years.

http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/SPORTS/806050333

[badnews]

Yeah, the Gray pick is nothing to be excited about, it's a foregone conclusion.

 

Looking over the draft, on another note, is any organization as allergic to high schoolers as we are? Tampa actually drafts high schoolers, yet another reason why it doesn't look like Wilken had as much to do with their 2004 draft as people want to tout.

 

The early picks that bother me the most are Flaherty (which is exacerbated because of the guys left on the board) and Schafer. What's confusing about Schafer is that you describe what this guy used to be like and then look at the reports for guys on the board, they're guys who *are* what Schafer *used* to be like. I don't know that guys like Josh Harrison are sexy picks like Jordan Danks either.

 

There have been a few comments about this high potential arms, a lot of them the scouting reports are identical to Jake Renshaw, who we gave away for nothing, so I don't know about that. I haven't looked it all through.

 

Believe it or not I don't mind badass athletic high schoolers with no bat skills, I just don't like them with the first pick when there's someone better around.

[sporrer17]

I like a lot of the arms we took, and have no problem with Cashner in the first, regardless of whether he's a starter or reliever. Carpenter and Shafer, good picks with some upside. I like the Cerda pick, and I don't mind Ryan Flaherty (although he was a reach)...but there just doesn't seem to be any potential "impact" bat out of this draft.

 

Idk if the Dopiraks, Harveys, and Pattersons of the past have scared the Cubs off of HS bats, but it needs to stop. You can find failures at every level, at every position, in every organization.

[RedFlash]

Why are we drafting Sonny, he's not going to sign...

 

To give the casual fan something to bitch about in 10 years when he is a stud and they find out that we lost out on him.

 

If the Cubs had $5MM+ for Shark, they should be able to come up with enough to sign this guy. Gray seems like a better bet.

 

Agree. Shark had a guarantee 1st/2nd rd money to play in the NFL, the Cubs had to compete against. I'm not saying it will be easy, but the Cubs did draft him, wth the intentions of signing him. Yes, I did read the article in the thread, about he is firmly to Vanderbilt, but if the Cubs hit the magic number, I definately see Gray deciding to make the jump.

 

I know it's a longshot, but.......where's there hope...

[badnews]

The Cubs haven't been big on high school guys any which way for a while, but now it seems weird to me. Here's a question for the draft gurus: Has any team ever drafted so few high school guys through the first 20 or 25 rounds in a draft before? I mean this looks worse than early 00s A's and Blue Jays. I don't like this at all. Tampa and the Dodgers didn't build badass farm systems like this.

 

I'd to see more high school pitchers drafted in Rounds 2-9.

 

Is Schafer, who I'm not sure I understand the enthusiasm over, the poor, poor man's Jared Hughes? Used to have great stuff, now succeeds with blah stuff, and people can't forget he used to have good stuff, imposing stature, so forth? I hope it's not an apt comparison.

[CubColtPacer]

The Cubs haven't been big on high school guys any which way for a while, but now it seems weird to me. Here's a question for the draft gurus: Has any team ever drafted so few high school guys through the first 20 or 25 rounds in a draft before? I mean this looks worse than early 00s A's and Blue Jays. I don't like this at all. Tampa and the Dodgers didn't build badass farm systems like this.

 

I'd to see more high school pitchers drafted in Rounds 2-9.

 

Is Schafer, who I'm not sure I understand the enthusiasm over, the poor, poor man's Jared Hughes? Used to have great stuff, now succeeds with blah stuff, and people can't forget he used to have good stuff, imposing stature, so forth? I hope it's not an apt comparison.

 

That's an interesting point about high schoolers. I do know that the draft overall was more heavily weighted towards college players than in any year in its history. I see some teams being similar to the Cubs in their approach without even looking at any other drafts.

 

For comparison, the Cubs took 5 high schoolers in the first 30 rounds. Round 4, Round 21, Round 22, Round 27, Round 29

 

San Diego took a high schooler with their sandwich pick. Their next high schooler was a 15th round pick that will likely not even sign with them. After that, it's down to the 22nd round for their 3rd high schooler. Those were the only 3 taken in the first 30 rounds.

 

The Giants didn't take a high schooler until round 10, and then waited until round 22 to take their 2nd high schooler. Those were their only 2 high schoolers in the first 30 rounds.

 

Seattle took 4 high schoolers in that time period. Round 6, Round 11, Round 17, and round 23. Those are the only high schoolers they took in the first 30 rounds.

 

The Cardinals also took 4 in the first 30 rounds. Round 3, Round 7, Round 12, and Round 20.

 

The White Sox also took 4 in the first 30. Round 12, Round 17, Round 23, and Round 29.

 

Colorado took 2 in the first 30 rounds. Round 14, and Round 25.

 

Detroit took 5 in the first 30. Round 7, Round 12, Round 18, Round 22, and Round 27.

 

So the Cubs were hardly groundbreaking in how college heavy they were. They weren't even the most extreme this year. Colorado and the Giants were both markedly more college heavy then the Cubs were, and then the Cubs fall somewhere in that next group of teams.

[waffle]

did anyone do a pick by pick analysis that I can review? I was off the grid for a week and would like to get a good overview

[craig]

Gray obviously doesn't plan to sign. But the guys who are available in the 27th round are mostly either college guys who will be roster-fillers, or HS/JC guys who you probable can't sign or else aren't very talented. So you take a pick, and wonder if he'll maybe change his mind? Sometimes teenagers do.

 

He might be wise to do so. Somebody observed that his delivery is incredibly violent, and that there's a good chance that he'll need surgery before he becomes eligible to be drafted again. Might be wise to take some the money while he can. But, obviously that isn't his plan.

 

On the HS thing: I think there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of HSers drafted since they dumped the draft-and-follow process. At present, will the team offer enough to make it better for the kid to sign than to go to college? Seems to me that unless the signing bonus is $150K (top 5 rounds area), the kid is better to get free college, have all the fun and personal development that comes with college, and then have chance to make a million (or more) as a college pick. Why should I sign for 7th round money? If I'm going to become a good major leaguer, then I'll have elevated to 1st-2nd round status by my junior year, so financially I'm as well off in college. If I'm not going to become a good major leaguer, then it would be better for me to get free college, be prepared for a life after baseball, be a star athlete on campus with lots of girlfriends and team camaraderie, rather than to experience night after night of frustration as a failing inadequate low-minors bust. My point is, for the average kid, either he needs to be a high-draft pick who gets a high-dollar bonus, or else he should go to college.

 

In the DFE days, of course, the team could draft the kid without committing 1st/2nd round money to a kid who might but probably won't work out; then if he did blossom, pay him that via draft and follow.

[RammyFanny]

Obviously a fat chance Sonny signs, but as previously mentioned, why not try.?It's one thing to talk about this all of this money in principal with your family, but when you actually have a letter in front of you saying sign here and ___ million $ is yours, it's a little tougher to turn down. Still not likely, but it's worth trying once rather than picking another 5'5 infielder from ____ community college of art and design.

[Post Count Padder]

Overall seems like we had a decent draft. Now, let's see what we can do to make sure none of them ever make it past AA.

[Guest]

Wichita State lost 14-4, box:

 

SP Aaron Shafer 2.2 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 4 K/2 BB, HBP, 2 WP, 87 pitches (55 strikes) - worst outing of his college career

[ChiCubsFan]

Wichita State lost 14-4, box:

 

SP Aaron Shafer 2.2 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 4 K/2 BB, HBP, 2 WP, 87 pitches (55 strikes) - worst outing of his college career

Well that sucks.

[Guest]

Wichita State lost 14-4, box:

 

SP Aaron Shafer 2.2 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 4 K/2 BB, HBP, 2 WP, 87 pitches (55 strikes) - worst outing of his college career

Well that sucks.

 

Ryan Sontag had a career game yesterday for ASU - 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R (first multi-HR NCAA game).

 

http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/060808aaa.html

[Guest]

22nd rounder Tarlandus Mitchell is only 5'8, 190 lbs but apparently he tops out at 96 mph:

 

Corsicana Daily Sun[/url]"]Mitchell to pass on Navarro, drafted by Chicago Cubs

 

ALTO — A 96-mph fastball is hard to ignore.

 

Football might have to take a back seat for a while.

 

While the Alto Yellowjackets have won two state grid titles, the big news now is baseball.

 

Alto’s starting quarterback in football, Tarlandus Mitchell, is also a standout baseball player.

 

Mitchell was drafted in the 22nd round (the 671st player) by the Chicago Cubs in the recent amateur baseball draft.

 

Mitchell, a 5-8, 190-pound right-handed pitcher, impressed scouts with his 96-mph heater from the mound.

 

“I am tickled to death for him,” said veteran Alto baseball coach John Paul Dixon. Dixon said he thinks Mitchell will sign with the Cubs and forego his pending football scholarship at Navarro College.

 

Mitchell was playing in a select baseball league tournament in Monroe, La. and could not be reached for comment.

 

This year, Mitchell led Alto to the quarterfinals in baseball with a perfect 8-0 record. He had 115 strikeouts in 42 innings posting a 1.35 earned run average. Mitchell pitched a no-hitter in the playoffs as Alto finished the year with a 21-5 record.

 

Dixon, the Alto head baseball coach for the last 19 years, said Mitchell was the first Yellowjacket to be drafted in baseball.

 

“We knew he was doing well and the scouts were interested. We thought if he got drafted, it would be by the Astros. He went to a try out camp for them and threw 96 mph,” Dixon said. “We did not realize he was throwing that hard.”

 

Dixon added, “They’re interested in him as a pitcher. But he’s a good hitter and he has good speed. He could turn out to be an outfielder or something. They have people who are experts and they will determine all that.”

[UK1679666180]

TT, in '07 when Cales was at UIC, that one BB he had in the 35+ IP was intentional.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

haha, that is ridiculous

 

Is there any indication how signable he'll be?

[UK1679666180]

I have no clue.

[Guest]

TT, in '07 when Cales was at UIC, that one BB he had in the 35+ IP was intentional.

 

Wow.

[badnews]

Gray obviously doesn't plan to sign. But the guys who are available in the 27th round are mostly either college guys who will be roster-fillers, or HS/JC guys who you probable can't sign or else aren't very talented. So you take a pick, and wonder if he'll maybe change his mind? Sometimes teenagers do.

 

He might be wise to do so. Somebody observed that his delivery is incredibly violent, and that there's a good chance that he'll need surgery before he becomes eligible to be drafted again. Might be wise to take some the money while he can. But, obviously that isn't his plan.

 

Whoa whoa whoa. Earlier weren't people just amazed with his easy arm action and smooth mechanics and how he was this year's Jarrod Parker? I'm pretty sure if push comes to shove I can dig up the posts where people are talking about his mechanics. I remember in particular one response to the whole thing "I like." That line.

 

How did we go from smooth mechanics and easy arm action to "incredibly violent delivery?"

 

We must pour more NSBB money into our scouting department so I can have a scouting report with no conflicts.