2012 Draft Day Thread + Cubs Picks Discussion

[SouthSideRyan]

It's like Jim Hendry is still running the team. Just what the Cubs needed, another potential back of the bullpen arm.

 

be honest... you don't know who any of these guys are

 

Seriously. If you're not going to take the time to know anything about the draft then don't say a word (like me)

[ScrubMD]

What time does the 2nd round start?

[Guest]

11 AM Central

[Guest]

Not very impressed with the first day of the draft. I think the Cubs will regret not taking Appel, when he was literally gifted to them. For a team that has a huge talent void on the pitching side, he would have immediately become their top pitching prospect and at least given them realistic hope of having a front of the rotation starter in the next few years.

 

Obviously we can't judge the draft based on the first day alone, but so far the draft is indicating that the Cubs don't expect to compete for a few more years. Maples is still at least 3-4 years away from the big leagues (if he can stay healthy), Blackburn, if they are able to sign him, is very raw and cannot be expected to contribute for a while. Johnson looks more like a solid back of the bullpen guy, and has some injury concerns. McNutt is struggling, Whitenack is not close and is no guarantee that he will regain form, Rhee is unimpressive so far this year......Where are they going to get rotation help from?

 

The point of the draft is to get the best players possible, not sacrifice that to get the players who might be the quickest to arrive at the big leagues. This is no sign of whether the Cubs plan on competing sooner or later. Add to that the new complication of balancing bonuses with the new CBA. It sure sounds like Appel has no interest in signing without massive bonus demands that would ruin the rest of the Cubs draft (and play one in Boras' playbook this year is trying to convince teams to be willing to pay the penalty in picks and money, per Kevin Goldstein).

 

That is fair enough. Like I said, it will be interesting to see when it comes down to it, what it will take for the Pirates to sign Appel. I just think he may have overplayed his hand and doesn't much leverage at this point. I do agree though, if you believed that there is no way that he signs for less than a 60-75%+ of your draft budget, it doesn't make sense.

The other factor here is that you don't want to pick for need - especially when you're drafting at #6 overall. If the Cubs graded Almora higher than Appel (and I agree with them there), then the right call was to draft Almora.

[A New Era]

It's on MLB.tv but you have to pay to see it streaming right? I have MiLB.tv, does that count? ;)

[KingCubsFan]

Keith Law put the Cubs in the "Other" category for picks he liked. I'm assuming that means most analysts will put our picks near the top of their lists.

[rawaction]

Buttrey or Kelly would be nice picks today.

[Guest]

I like Kelly. Also wouldn't mind the Cubs luring away an Oregon commit. I expect a cheap/senior guy early on.

[Guest]

Did this get posted?

 

Through the Pirates, Mark Appel issued a statement. This is it, in full: "I’m currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford. I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time."

[Guest]

It's on MLB.tv but you have to pay to see it streaming right? I have MiLB.tv, does that count? ;)

 

It's free on MLB.com.

[Cubswin11]

Did this get posted?

 

Through the Pirates, Mark Appel issued a statement. This is it, in full: "I’m currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford. I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time."

Pirates let me interpret that for you. "Hey Pittsburgh, it's your first round pick Mark Appel go [expletive] yourself. Unless you want to give me $6m then [expletive] me, right???"

[Guest]

Weird thing about the Law piece...he listed some specific picks, with some analysis, he liked, not necessarily drafts. Then in "Others I liked" he just listed a bunch of teams (including the Cubs) but not picks, specifically.

[MSG T]

11:41

Comment From Kyle

Cubs draft so far? Lots to like?

 

11:42

 

Kiley McDaniel: They could draft beer league players the rest of the way, Almora is enough for multiple drafts, scouts say he will likely solve time travel within the year and that's conservative

McDaniel seems to have some irrational love for Almora, I love the pick, but wow. I'd like to know what specific tool(s) he and others are most enthralled with other than just his makeup and other intangibles.

 

All his tools grade out above average (including his plate discipline =P~ , which isn't really a "tool" per se..)except his speed... and the speed doesn't seem to be a big deal as he grades out as very good defensive CF and a good basestealer anyway. Add the makeup and work ethic and all that, and you have the love.

 

 

I think the quote I saw about Almora's range was that it was fantastic despite having average speed. Said he has great instincts and gets a better jump than almost anyone. Saw another that said he was nearly, or was, ML ready defensively, sorry can give names (I think it was a BA tweet).

 

Far too many tweets yesterday while watching my younger son pitch one game then my older catch a second game. Going off of memory, so I'm paraphrasing, and (unfortunately) probably combining different tweets into one statement.

[Post Count Padder]

I'm pleased with day one. Like everything I heard about Almora. And I'm happy with the pitchers in the supplemental round. I have faith in the new regime. Also, you can't really judge the draft after the first day, or even when it's over. Give it time, let's see how these kids develop.

[Elrhino]

Appel passed on that statement in lieu of the traditional conference call with Pirate beat reporters. Probably a reason he fell to #8.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Did this get posted?

 

Through the Pirates, Mark Appel issued a statement. This is it, in full: "I’m currently concentrating on winning a national championship and finishing my academic endeavors at Stanford. I will address the possibility of a professional career in due time."

Somebody's not thrilled with possibly ending up in Pittsburgh.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

11:41

Comment From Kyle

Cubs draft so far? Lots to like?

 

11:42

 

Kiley McDaniel: They could draft beer league players the rest of the way, Almora is enough for multiple drafts, scouts say he will likely solve time travel within the year and that's conservative

McDaniel seems to have some irrational love for Almora, I love the pick, but wow. I'd like to know what specific tool(s) he and others are most enthralled with other than just his makeup and other intangibles.

 

All his tools grade out above average (including his plate discipline =P~ , which isn't really a "tool" per se..)except his speed... and the speed doesn't seem to be a big deal as he grades out as very good defensive CF and a good basestealer anyway. Add the makeup and work ethic and all that, and you have the love.

 

 

I think the quote I saw about Almora's range was that it was fantastic despite having average speed. Said he has great instincts and gets a better jump than almost anyone. Saw another that said he was nearly, or was, ML ready defensively, sorry can give names (I think it was a BA tweet).

 

Far too many tweets yesterday while watching my younger son pitch one game then my older catch a second game. Going off of memory, so I'm paraphrasing, and (unfortunately) probably combining different tweets into one statement.

 

 

There was a BA article that quoted a scout as saying he had 80 range in CF with just 40 speed. That's got to be pre-draft hype, because I just can't imagine how that works.

[Elrhino]

There was a BA article that quoted a scout as saying he had 80 range in CF with just 40 speed. That's got to be pre-draft hype, because I just can't imagine how that works.

 

Finally, we got our Jeter.

[A New Era]

It's on MLB.tv but you have to pay to see it streaming right? I have MiLB.tv, does that count? ;)

 

It's free on MLB.com.

 

Thanks. Yesterday I was walking between my computer and the living room TV. Today I'll be following it all on MLB + here, PSD, and BN.

[davell]

Twomey, Virant, Underwood, and Lovegrove are the 4 guys I really would like to see us take one of. Buttrey or Pike would be very nice as well. If we go hitting, Kelly or Mathisen, my guesd is they're very expensive though. Mitch Brown's really good too as far as HS pitching goes. I think we'll take Agosta myself and that's not bad either. I've got a list of 40 guys I'd like to see us get 2 of somehow.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Any thoughts on Almora's bat speed? Maybe I've watched too much Baez video, but it seemed kind of unimpressive.

[Guest]

Some comments from McLeod on Almora

 

“He’s driven to be the best,” McLeod said on a conference call. “(With) this market, I think there is something to the whole ‘Theo Epstein’s first draft.’ (But) that’s going to subside pretty quickly, and it’s going to become about him and his career and what he’s going to do for this franchise going forward.

 

“We feel that he’s going to handle it very well because of who he is and what it means to him to be a professional and what it means to him to be great.”

 

The Cubs were drawn to Almora’s experience with Team USA. He’s already been part of six national teams and has won five gold medals. At the Pan-Am Games last year, he was named tournament MVP after leading the under-18 team on a 9-0 run to the gold.

 

“This kid is such a well-rounded baseball player,” McLeod said. “We feel he’s someone who can step in, compete right away and – I don’t want to say rapid ascent – but we feel (he) isn’t going to come in and have to repeat levels and take a longer track to get to the major leagues.”

 

I like that last part a lot.

[craig]

Almora has good reports on his plate discipline. I think by that they may mean that he can recognize breaking balls and doesn't look bad or swing at a lot of junk.

 

I don't think it means he takes many walks, though. I believe he doesn't. As a senior, he took only 13 walks in like 78 AB. Great for a pro, but not great in HS when you're the Barry Bonds of your conference. I think Baez's walk rate was at least double that last year as a senior. And I don't think Almora played in a super big-school power conference did he?

 

So I'm not expecting Almora to be an IsoD monster or anything like that.

[KingCubsFan]

Any thoughts on Almora's bat speed? Maybe I've watched too much Baez video, but it seemed kind of unimpressive.

Someone posted a scouting report last night that said his bat speed wasn't great but could improve.

[Guest]

I would imagine that at the high school level, teams would be more wont to pitch around the likes of Baez, who could hit the ball 500 feet with aluminum, than Almora, who doesn't have that raw power. Still, the pitch recognition is the important thing, the decision making is something that can be refined more easily.