2012 Draft Day Thread + Cubs Picks Discussion

[A New Era]

Phil Rogers[/url]"]Jason McLeod on taking Albert Almora after Mark Appel slid. "We have a process in how we evaluate and select. Certainly we saw Mark Appel a lot this spring. He's a very talented young man, and we wish the Pittsburgh Pirates well. For us it's not to compare the two players. We know who we were looking for, who we had done the due diligence on. It was going to be Albert or one of two other players (even if someone like Appel fell). Albert was the guy we wanted.''

 

Methinks Appel is going to be pitching in the independent leagues next year - sounds like he still wants 1.1 money.

 

It sure does seem the Cubs were keen on Almora's maturity and drive. When you're looking to change a culture from the ground up, it's easy to see why Almora why rise to the top of their board. You simply don't find 18 year old kids with that kind of dedication and natural leadership.

 

Would it be too quirky to say "The kid is just a BASEBALL PLAYER". :hello:

[MSG T]

I think it was Goldstein, and I haven't seen his roll up of the first round yet to verify it, but he said everything but Almora's speed was around a 60 rating, which is really good.

[Elrhino]

Looks like the Cubs got good value. No real reaches. The only pick that bothers me the first day is Johnson because of the arm issues, but I can understand the pick after they went Almora at #6. The system needs live arms, and in numbers, in a bad, bad way. Let the attrition rate fall where it may. Edited June 5, 2012 by Elrhino

[CUBZ99]

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?

[Elrhino]

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?

 

Maybe they're expecting to acquire some upper level pitching talent through Garza, Dempster and maybe LaHair trades.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Elrhino

[Tyrant]

The only qualm I have with the first day is Johnson's arm issues, but I can understand the pick after they went Almora at #6. The system needs live arms, and in numbers, in a bad, bad way. Let the attrition rates fall where it may.

 

Just give Johnson TJS now to get it over with and he'll be ready to go next summer.

 

I'm kidding. Sort of.

[Guest]

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

[iowahawkeyes89]

Literally gifted to them?

 

Wtf does that even mean? :-s

[iowahawkeyes89]

I like Virant with our 2nd round pick

[Guest]

McDaniel said us, SD, and the Astros have had the 3 best drafts so far.

link?

[tfarks]

McDaniel's infatuation with Almora has been fun to follow.

[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?

 

You realize there are other ways to acquire major league starting pitching than blowing an entire draft on a single prospect, right?

[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 draft has less than zero correlation with when the Cubs expect to compete. Drafting Appel on the hope that we'd have a quality pitching prospect ready before your Maples timeframe is...it's a really, really, really bad idea. Preferring Appel to Almora isn't an outlandish idea by any stretch, but it's hardly the gift you're phrasing when drafting Appel means severely limiting their ability to draft in the remainder of the top 10 rounds. Almora and the money to draft the rest of the cap freely is probably a lot better than Appel and a bunch of underslot college or injured HS signs.

 

And again, Appel was not some transcendent talent that fell to the Cubs. He's a good pitcher that isn't appreciably better than the rest of the options in the Top 5, and he wants a lot of money from a team's limited draft resources.

[davell]

David, it's on Twitter. Can't link from my phone. Conor Glassey of BA just said the 4 winners of day 1 were the Jays, Pads, Astros, and Cubs.

[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).

[Guest]

David, it's on Twitter. Can't link from my phone. Conor Glassey of BA just said the 4 winners of day 1 were the Jays, Pads, Astros, and Cubs.

 

Thanks.

[CUBZ99]

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?

 

You realize there are other ways to acquire major league starting pitching than blowing an entire draft on a single prospect, right?

 

By the time that he slipped all the way to #6 he didn't have much leverage as far as his demands. I guess we will find out fairly quickly what he is willing to accept or turn down.

[davell]

I was entertaining the thought of Appel at 6 while he was dropping. If his pricetag is 6-7 mill, it's not nearly worth it. we got a future stud CF that everyone raves about at 6. We got great value at 43 because of an injury issue that the guy has already come back from. Hell, Johnson was rumored to go 11 to the A's earlier yesterday. And my favorite pick was actually Blackburn. Shot at 3 plus pitches, good control and command already, athletic, with projection. So far I've got us at either a B+ or maybe even an A-. We've done VERY well.

[Cubswin11]

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.

[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).

 

Wonder if he will/did do this with Almora, and if not, why not?

[CUBZ99]

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.

[Guest]

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.

Edited June 5, 2012 by David

[Guest]

Thought this was good for a laugh...

 

18th anniversary of me being taken 9th overall in the MLB draft. I often reminisce about how many people were fired over that decision.

 

— CJ Nitkowski (@CJNitkowski)

[A New Era]

ABTY from PSD

Blackburn was hitting 94 consistently during his session with the Royals a couple weeks back- he was high on their 2nd round wish list. Had an area scout tell me he already locates his fastball better than 95% of HS pitchers in this draft and if gain in velocity lasts for the long haul, he projects he'll be regraded in year three as a player that should have gone in the mid teens... Didn't feel nearly as strong about him but it's always nice to hear these types of things...

[davell]

I'm sure Boras has let teams know beforehand what his clients wants and needs are. He's a hardass, but he would have been shuffled away by now if there wasn't some give and take involved berween him and GM's. Plus, he wants and needs(and has) a great relationship with the Cubs. And Theo as well.