2011 Cubs picks and signings thread

[Guest]

Good point. I was using a list from last year, when Szczur's bonus was $100,000, not $1.5 million.

 

That bumps them up to $6.13 million and 16th in baseball (which matches their draft spot last year). The 15th place team was the Yankees.

[Splendid Splinter]

Good point. I was using a list from last year, when Szczur's bonus was $100,000, not $1.5 million.

 

That bumps them up to $6.13 million and 16th in baseball (which matches their draft spot last year). The 15th place team was the Yankees.

 

 

What was 10th in terms of $$$? Didn't know $6 mil was 16th. They need to spend at least that this year and more towards like top 10 in $$ given out to sign a bunch of those overslot players...

[craig]

Between the $6+ spent on draft (including Szczur), and the high spending internationally, I'd assume their overall spending last year was probably around 10th, plus or minus a couple. Hardly cheap.

 

We'll never know about the draft, but I still think that Simpson was signed because wilken liked him, and he happend to be cheap. My guess is that had he been a half million pricier and still wilken's favorite pick, then our draft spending would have been a half million higher and been at 13th or whatever. May be wrong, of course. Perhaps the half million or whatever saved on Simpson is exactly what opened up funds to sign Beeler and Harman and Geiger and Reed to their overslots.

 

But we'll never know.

 

What we do know is that their overall procurement spending last year was high. Or at least well above average.

[Guest]

Good point. I was using a list from last year, when Szczur's bonus was $100,000, not $1.5 million.

 

That bumps them up to $6.13 million and 16th in baseball (which matches their draft spot last year). The 15th place team was the Yankees.

 

 

What was 10th in terms of $$$? Didn't know $6 mil was 16th. They need to spend at least that this year and more towards like top 10 in $$ given out to sign a bunch of those overslot players...

 

Here's the link I was using: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2010/08/bonus-expenditures-2008-10/

 

The Tigers were 10th at $7.3 million.

[Guest]

I keep hoping we've signed someone when I see this thread has new posts. :(

[ctcf]

I keep hoping we've signed someone when I see this thread has new posts. :(

 

That's why I made the signings thread :wink:

[davell]

I'm the same as Tim......I keep thinking we've signed someone. That said, I kind of expect most of our bigname guys won't have any news until close to the deadline anyway.

 

 

I'll say this though: I'm very excited about the possibilities of who we'll sign and don't expect us to be cheap whatsoever. The comments from Bush, Wilken, AND Ricketts all basically say we're spending much more this year than last.

 

I'll even take it a step further and mention the Woj article on ESPN today calling out Ricketts for not having a plan and call BS on it. What else can we do? Until these bad contracts fall off, we're going to have to spend smartly and we're now doing that. Last year's draft? I'll admit to having been disappointed for sure, especially with Simpson. But, I look at Szczur as our 1st rounder at this point anyway, and considering we gave him slot money for a 1st rounder, I'm going to continue looking at it like that.

[BeerHere]

I stand (or sit) corrected. I hadn't accounted for the international or Cuban signings.

[harrdb00]

So, um, are we going to sign anyone? I understand Baez, Vogelbach, Dunston, and Maples may come later, but I would have expected that we had a few of the other top 15 picks signed by now.

[iowahawkeyes89]

So, um, are we going to sign anyone? I understand Baez, Vogelbach, Dunston, and Maples may come later, but I would have expected that we had a few of the other top 15 picks signed by now.

 

 

I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Baez signed before August.

 

I agree on Vogelbach and Maples though. I think Maples ends up at UNC.

[Outshined_One]

Arizona Phil commented on this back on Wednesday.

 

Submitted by Hagsag on Wed, 06/22/2011 - 8:04am.

Phil,

Is the signing precess going a little slower this year? I believe some teams have about half their draftees signed already. Thanks.

 

===================================

 

HAGSAG: Yes, the signing process has been slower this year (for the Cubs).

 

So far the Cubs have signed just 12 of their 50 selections, but none of their top 15. (The highest pick signed so far is #16 pick Rafael Lopez, who was a 5th year senior).

 

By this date last year, the Cubs had signed 19 of their 50 selections, including #1 (Hayden Simpson), #4 (Hunter Ackerman), #8 (Cam Greathouse), #10 (Austin Kurcz), #11 (Eric Jokisch), #12 (Austin Reed), #13 (Pierre LePage), #14 (Colin Richardson), #15 (Elliot Soto), #16 (Ryan Hartman), #19 (Dustin Fitzgerald), #20 (Ryan Cuneo), #22 (Jeff Vigurs), #23 (Matt Loosen), #25 (Eric Rice), #28 (Joe Zeller), #32 (Brent Ebinger), #34 (Dustin Harrington), and #37 (Chad Noble).

 

They ended-up signing 29 (the fewest they had signed since signing just 24 in 2004), including four (#7 Ben Wells, #9 Kevin Rhoderick, #29 Casey Harman, and #40 Brian Smith) on the last day before negotiation rights expired (August 16th). In fact Rhoderick's was supposedly a last-minute deal where he called the Cubs (after previously maintaining that he was going back to Oregon State for his senior year) and asked them if their last offer was still on the table, and it took some phone calls to get that one approved in a hurry (because they didn't have much time to get it finalized).

 

So they signed just six of their 2010 draft picks between June 22nd and August 16th, including #2 (Reggie Golden), #3 (Micah Gibbs), #5 (Matt Szczur), #24 (Dustin Geiger), #41 (Dallas Beeler), and #49 (Bryce Shafer). It's not unusual for negotiations with 2nd and 3rd round picks to drag a bit, and Szczur ($600K), Geiger ($150K), and Beeler ($150K) got over-slot bonuses that required some negotiation. (Szczur would not sign if he couldn't play his senior season of football at Villanova, Geiger had the leverage of a free-ride to Central Florida, and Beeler was coming off 2009 TJS).

 

In fairness to the Cubs, the Commissioner's office is dragging its feet (again) when it comes to approving overslot bonuses. In discussing Kolten Wong's signing with the Cardinals yesterday, this blurb appeared in BA:

 

The Cardinals agreed to terms with Hawaii second baseman Kolten Wong on Saturday for $1.3 million. Wong becomes the sixth of 33 first-rounders to sign, and the second to get a deal slightly above the commissioner's office recommendation for his draft slot.

 

The Cubs might have a bunch of their guys signed and ready to go, but they might just be waiting for MLB to sign off on the deals.

[davell]

While it's odd for the Cubs to only have 12 guys under contract, I think quite a bit of it has to do with the fact we took so many high schoolers and even community college guys this year. Given that MLB evidently doesn't approve overslots for more than 5% to 10% at this point and time, until near the end of the signing period, we're probably sitting on quite a few guys who we've gotten to agree, that we just don't know about yet......If I go by the players I've heard or read at least SOMETHING on, here's what I can remember......

 

Baez-Supposedly an easy sign if he were a top 15 pick. Still, wouldn't surprise me if we had to go slightly overslot, because he was a fast riser right before the draft.

Vogelbach-Sent out letter to teams saying he wanted 1.5ish mill for him to sign.

DuVall- Read him and Cubs had talked, he had a number in mind and was wanting Cubs to match. Find it hard to believe he's going to take much more than slot to get here, but who knows?

Zych- Fell further than he probably thought and may want more than slot to account for where he thought he should have went, possible supplemental guy. This one is pure speculation on my part.

Scott- Said he plans to sign. Considering he's a HS guy who was a late riser with upside, makes me think he'll get overslot of some sort.

Rosario- No word on him, but my guess is since he's a HS C who went rather early and had shown up on a few top 200 lists, he's not going to be an easy sign either. Although I don't even know off the top of my head where he's attending school next year.

Dugas- Surprised he isn't already here honestly. Figured he was going to be a org guy like Campana.....

Gretzky- Sounds like he's signable, but I'm sure it'll take overslot and while it'd be nice to have him here, he's pretty far down my list of overslot guys that I really want badly.

Sclecht- Everything I've seen is he's signable too, Selig approves the 150,000 deals like we gave Reed and Co. early, so I'm kind of surprised he's not here already.

Lockhart-Have heard nothing and don't really care if we get him or not. Hope we don't go overslot on him.

Dunston Jr- A tough sign, but read it's certainly possibly to get him here. That said, as great as the nostalgia would be, there's still other guys I'd rather want, if we're making tough choices here. A little too raw(even though I was pushing for him at the draft). We've gotten quite a few guys I like, so assuming we're on a budget, I'd possibly wind up letting him go.

Lindgren- Guy was ranked REALLY high as a rising junior, but fell badly from there. Has talked to Cubs and is expecting an offer in early July.

Martin-Not one word on him.

Maples- The guy I really, really want here.(as is the case with most of us obviously). Law said it'll take 2 mill and doesn't expect us to sign him. Bruce said he expects us to have a 50/50 shot or so, who knows? But my fingers are crossed.

Marra- No idea.

Elias- Expects an offer soon and sounds like he wants to sign.

Zimmer- Sounds like a tough sign and with the other talent we have around, he's probably not a real high priority for us.

Shoulders- Has a figure in mind and evidently the Cubs haven't met it. My guess is he's a fallback option from Vogelbach and Gretzky, although I'd rather get him here than Gretzky personally.

Jensen- Sounds like a fat riser that's going to take overslot to sign.

Easterling- Has talked to football program and is thought to be leaning towards giving it up to play baseball.

Maltos-Garcia- is hurt after having a great start to season, probably would require significant money and he's probably not going to be ready to go until next year at this time.

Richardson- Was a preseason top 200 by some folks. Kind of the same guy as DuVall, my guess is we get one or the other.

Jacquez- Cubs have talked to him and given him things to work on this summer. Both sides are receptive to a deal if he accomplishes what they want him to. This would certainly be a very significant overslot, possibly a mill or maybe even slightly more than that.

 

Anyway, the Cubs usually sign around 30 guys and I just listed 23 here, so in a perfect world for me, we'll get 15-18 of these guys and leave anyone I didn't mention alone(with the possible exception of Urban)

 

The bottom line for me though is this: If it takes trading away some major league salary to get a few extra guys in here, I'm all for it. We certainly drafted some talent this year, much more than usual. But, right now, with the type guys we drafted, I'm not surprised at all that we don't have more under contract, because of the way Selig does things......

[Guest]

Nothing earth-shattering in Kevin Goldstein's review:

 

Baseball Prospectus[/url]"]Chicago Cubs

First Three Rounds

1. (9) Javier Baez, SS, Arlington Country Day HS (FL)

2. (68) Dan Vogelbach, 1B, Bishop Verot HS (FL)

3. (98) Zeke DeVoss, OF, Miami

 

Who They are: It was a bit surprising to see Baez go this high, but he's hardly a total reach. Some scouts saw him as the top high school hitter in the draft with outstanding hands, a lightning-quick bat, and a chance to develop some power as his game matures. He won't be a shortstop long-term, but the bat should work at second or third base.

 

Vogelbach has top-of-the-charts raw power, but he's also an incredibly bad-bodied teenager and already just plain fat.

 

DeVoss is hardly fat; he's a skinny speedster with a leadoff man's approach.

Later Picks of Note: With a mid-90s fastball that consistently touches 97-98, fourth-round pick Tony Zych was one of the hardest throwers in this year's draft, but he doesn't have another plus offering. Sixth-round catcher Neftali Rosario is a very good defensive catcher with a bit of pop. He'll be a nearly impossible sign, but many think 11th-round pick Shawon Dunston Jr. will be a first-round pick in 2014 after honing his skills at Vanderbilt.

Analysis: The Cubs focused more on teenage upside than in recent drafts, which fits well with the system needs. Tough signs like Dunston and seventh-round pick Trevor Gretzky give them a chance to make this an excellent crop.

[Guest]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]The decision now is school vs. baseball.

 

“He’s inbetween now,” Dunston said. “It’s 50-50.”

 

The family will sit down to talk about Shawon Jr.’s future but dad said he wants this to be his son’s decision.

 

“I’m leaving it up to him,” Dunston said. “He knows education is important, and he knows to be a Major League Baseball player he has to go through the Minor Leagues. We’re going to leave it up to him.”

[Rob]

It's worth nothing that in his initial contract with the Cubs, Shawon Sr. had a clause in there that would require the Cubs to pay his tuition should he decide to return to school after his playing days.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's worth nothing that in his initial contract with the Cubs, Shawon Sr. had a clause in there that would require the Cubs to pay his tuition should he decide to return to school after his playing days.

 

I'm pretty sure that is fairly standard for most high schoolers.

[Bear Cub]

According to BA the Cubs have signed Taiwan Easterling and Arturo Maltos-Garcia.

[Outshined_One]

Easterling- Has talked to football program and is thought to be leaning towards giving it up to play baseball.

Maltos-Garcia- is hurt after having a great start to season, probably would require significant money and he's probably not going to be ready to go until next year at this time.

 

Two down...

 

Wonder if the Cubs gave Easterling a Szczur-like deal so he can play football for FSU in the fall?

[davell]

No idea about Easterling, but my guess is he's done with football. If I were to bet on his bonus, I'm going to say he got around 150,000 or so. Nothing but speculation though from me. But, I don't think they're approving deals larger than that yet. I'm pretty surprised we got Maltos-Garcia. Maybe the TJS was just a rumor? I hope so anyway, but would think he'd get a decent bonus to lure him away from a 4 year school. maybe he took 150,000 as well?

[TruffleShuffle]

why the heck would the cubs have given $150k to easterling? he's a late-round draft pick as a college junior. unless he was an nfl draft prospect there would be no reason to pay him six figures.

[Outshined_One]

why the heck would the cubs have given $150k to easterling? he's a late-round draft pick as a college junior. unless he was an nfl draft prospect there would be no reason to pay him six figures.

 

Apparently he was someone who could have received NFL draft consideration. He was a return man for FSU and has good speed; somewhere in the 4.5 range in the 40, if I remember. He probably would have been a guy selected in the 4th-7th range, depending on his season, combine, etc.

[stuy119]

why the heck would the cubs have given $150k to easterling? he's a late-round draft pick as a college junior. unless he was an nfl draft prospect there would be no reason to pay him six figures.

 

Apparently he was someone who could have received NFL draft consideration. He was a return man for FSU and has good speed; somewhere in the 4.5 range in the 40, if I remember. He probably would have been a guy selected in the 4th-7th range, depending on his season, combine, etc.

 

Not a return man, but a solid receiver who would have received some consideration next year in the NFL draft. Had a catch in 27 straight games for us.

 

Won't be playing football next year for us.

[Outshined_One]

why the heck would the cubs have given $150k to easterling? he's a late-round draft pick as a college junior. unless he was an nfl draft prospect there would be no reason to pay him six figures.

 

Apparently he was someone who could have received NFL draft consideration. He was a return man for FSU and has good speed; somewhere in the 4.5 range in the 40, if I remember. He probably would have been a guy selected in the 4th-7th range, depending on his season, combine, etc.

 

Not a return man, but a solid receiver who would have received some consideration next year in the NFL draft. Had a catch in 27 straight games for us.

 

Won't be playing football next year for us.

 

Interesting. He did some kick and punt returns in 2008 and 2009, but looks like he moved out of that role last season.

 

Do you know much about how he profiles baseball-wise? I haven't been able to find much on him.

[thefranchise]

why the heck would the cubs have given $150k to easterling? he's a late-round draft pick as a college junior. unless he was an nfl draft prospect there would be no reason to pay him six figures.

 

Apparently he was someone who could have received NFL draft consideration. He was a return man for FSU and has good speed; somewhere in the 4.5 range in the 40, if I remember. He probably would have been a guy selected in the 4th-7th range, depending on his season, combine, etc.

 

Not a return man, but a solid receiver who would have received some consideration next year in the NFL draft. Had a catch in 27 straight games for us.

 

Won't be playing football next year for us.

 

Interesting. He did some kick and punt returns in 2008 and 2009, but looks like he moved out of that role last season.

 

Do you know much about how he profiles baseball-wise? I haven't been able to find much on him.

 

Looking at his stats out of high school they were pretty impressive. I believe he hit close to .450 and had 13 homers and won Mississippi High School player of the year I believe, so the potential was there. He didn't play baseball again until last year and it showed. This year he's been a lot better but only hit 1 homer in 100 plus at-bats and stole 6 bases. He also doesn't have the best strikeout to walk ratio.

 

I'll be interested to see if he goes to Boise or Mesa. Since he didn't play much in college I think he'll probably end up in Mesa. Sounds like he's got good speed so maybe he can be a leadoff hitter if he can make contact and get on base.

[tspain]

I got to watch Easterling in the college playoffs on tv and he is quite a man. He is tall. Looks like a baseball player. Has not played that much of late, but came on as the season wore on. Looks like he can be a player, has the tools anyway. Has the body. Just has to get the rust off and put it together. Glad he signed, and I am sure he will go to Mesa and not Boise. I think he has a chance to be real good. He is definitely someone I am interested in just from seeing him play on tv one game. He is a physical specimen who goes to the top of the list of Cubs players on that list, and when you see him, you will know immediately he can be a 30 hr guy for the Cubs. Play rf and have great range, great arm, and 30 hr power. Yep, glad he signed. Keep an eye on him, and give him time to develop. Patience.