2014 Draft Discussion

[Guest]

Just reading the tea leaves, but it seems to me that the Cubs might have Kolek and Hoffman as their top 2 right now. Surprised there hasn't been more news about them and Aiken.

 

There are no tea leaves to be read based on who has been where, it's all about scheduling and we don't always get reports every week of where they are. For example, we know Theo saw Kolek last Friday but have no info about Hoyer or McLeod last week. Theo and Jed probably checked out Hoffman yesterday because that allows them to double up and see Rodon tonight (due to the proximity of ECU to NC State). Aiken threw on Wednesday; I'm sure they'll be down to San Diego to see Aiken and Jackson in the next few weeks at a time when their games are on different days or times so they can double up on both in one trip.

[Guest]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140418&content_id=72515470&notebook_id=72516602&vkey=notebook_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

Jim Callis on Aiken, Jackson (he's high on Jackson even if he moves to RF), Pentecost and Patick Connaughton. Connaughton is a Notre Dame pitcher who also plays basketball and will probably return for his senior basketball season even if he turns pro in baseball; I like him a lot because he's got a high, untapped ceiling.

[NDCubs]

Connaughton is much like Samardzija. After one more season of basketball he's going to take some time but he's got the upside of top 5-10 type arms without the seasoning or wear and tear of them. Shark is 29 now but his arm is that of a 25 year old and although he's been with the Cubs for awhile now he's really still just learning how to be a pitcher and not a thrower. Connaughton will also peak late and while there is some risk associated with him the upside is well worth it. I would be ecstatic if we landed him at any pick besides #4.

[Outshined_One]

Connaughton is much like Samardzija. After one more season of basketball he's going to take some time but he's got the upside of top 5-10 type arms without the seasoning or wear and tear of them. Shark is 29 now but his arm is that of a 25 year old and although he's been with the Cubs for awhile now he's really still just learning how to be a pitcher and not a thrower. Connaughton will also peak late and while there is some risk associated with him the upside is well worth it. I would be ecstatic if we landed him at any pick besides #4.

 

If we had Hendry/Wilken still on board, I'd be convinced he would be our guy some time before the 11th round. Now...not so much so.

[Guest]

@kileymcd: Hearing Rodon is back to 90-93 after last week's tick up & Hoffman made the leap last night so pin the tail on the #1 pick I give up

[Guest]

Connaughton is much like Samardzija. After one more season of basketball he's going to take some time but he's got the upside of top 5-10 type arms without the seasoning or wear and tear of them. Shark is 29 now but his arm is that of a 25 year old and although he's been with the Cubs for awhile now he's really still just learning how to be a pitcher and not a thrower. Connaughton will also peak late and while there is some risk associated with him the upside is well worth it. I would be ecstatic if we landed him at any pick besides #4.

 

Yep, I've seen the Connaughton-Samardzija comparison a few times.

[bukie]

The "Hope Rodon has just enough perceived problems to slide to 4" strategy is working so well, even Cub fans are backing off him.

[NDCubs]

Connaughton is much like Samardzija. After one more season of basketball he's going to take some time but he's got the upside of top 5-10 type arms without the seasoning or wear and tear of them. Shark is 29 now but his arm is that of a 25 year old and although he's been with the Cubs for awhile now he's really still just learning how to be a pitcher and not a thrower. Connaughton will also peak late and while there is some risk associated with him the upside is well worth it. I would be ecstatic if we landed him at any pick besides #4.

 

If we had Hendry/Wilken still on board, I'd be convinced he would be our guy some time before the 11th round. Now...not so much so.

 

 

The ND connection means very little in terms of this FO taking Connaughton. There is considerably risk sure but there is tremendous untapped young arm upside for PC. He has never trained year round as a pitcher. Heck he didn't even throw 7 months out of the year in HS and did very little at ND. He's a basketball player first and foremost on a Bball scholarship. Much like Shark was with football. Pat is also much more coachable and more of a leader than Shark was. Jeff worked hard but has that carefree attitude to him. PC is outwardly one of the hardest workers you'll see. Someone with good instruction in the minors will get an absolutely steal after next March.

[Guest]

@DanMKirby: ECU RHP Jeff Hoffman has a 1.54 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33 K/3 BB over his last 4 starts. #MLBDraft

[A New Era]

@DanMKirby: ECU RHP Jeff Hoffman has a 1.54 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33 K/3 BB over his last 4 starts. #MLBDraft

 

If he continues to do this well, I won't hurt so bad when Aiken, Kolek, and Rodon are all off the board. He pitches in the Cape though doesn't he? Same league Mannea dominated?

[Guest]

@DanMKirby: ECU RHP Jeff Hoffman has a 1.54 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33 K/3 BB over his last 4 starts. #MLBDraft

 

If he continues to do this well, I won't hurt so bad when Aiken, Kolek, and Rodon are all off the board. He pitches in the Cape though doesn't he? Same league Mannea dominated?

 

The top of the draft is quite fluid and each team is going to have different draft boards so there's no guarantee Aiken, Kolek and Rodon will be the first three drafted.

 

Yes, Hoffman pitched and dominated in the Cape Cod League the last two offseasons, as did Manaea a couple of offseasons ago. The Cape is the premier college offseason league and numerous high college draft picks have played there, including our own Kris Bryant.

[A New Era]

@DanMKirby: ECU RHP Jeff Hoffman has a 1.54 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33 K/3 BB over his last 4 starts. #MLBDraft

 

If he continues to do this well, I won't hurt so bad when Aiken, Kolek, and Rodon are all off the board. He pitches in the Cape though doesn't he? Same league Mannea dominated?

 

The top of the draft is quite fluid and each team is going to have different draft boards so there's no guarantee Aiken, Kolek and Rodon will be the first three drafted.

 

Yes, Hoffman pitched and dominated in the Cape Cod League the last two offseasons, as did Manaea a couple of offseasons ago. The Cape is the premier college offseason league and numerous high college draft picks have played there, including our own Kris Bryant.

 

Yes I understand all that. I just meant it's nice to have an apparent 4th option. It will be nice to feel as though there is not that much of a drop off from the 3rd to 4th pick. I'm just wanting there to be 4 really great players at the top of the draft, that way it won't matter who the Astros, Marlins, and Sox take.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Some had Hoffman over Rodon before the season started. If he continues to dominate for another month, there's no drop off whatsoever.

[A New Era]

He struggled a bit out of the gate so I wasn't sure what to think of him. It sure would be nice if he dominates the rest of the way. It would be wonderful to add a guy like that to the farm. The Cubs could have 2 top 50 pitching prospects after the draft. That sure would be nice.

[RammyFanny]

Hoffman was exceptional, striking 16 over eight shutout innings, walking just one and allowing three hits. The Pirate ace was consistently hitting 94-96 mph with his fastball, and showed the plus-plus breaking ball and above-average command that made him such a hot commodity over the summer.

 

"Tonight was a 1-1 performance," an NL crosschecker said after the game. "If he had done this all year, I don't even know if we'd be having a debate right now. People use the term 'electric stuff' a lot, but this was truly electric. There's no way that guy is going to get out of the top six or seven picks just based on tonight, he was that good."

 

The most likely landing spots for Hoffman right now are to either the Chicago White Sox or Chicago Cubs, with the Seattle Mariners being his absolute floor, but if he shows this kind of stuff over the last month of the season, he's got a chance to go in the first two picks to either the Houston Astros or Miami Marlins.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb-draft/post?id=1596?ex_cid=InsiderTwitter_CrawfordHoffman

[Guest]

@CJonesScout: #Gators RHP Karsten Whitson so far: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Easily his best outing of the year so far, fastball up to 92-93 mph.

[Guest]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-draft-theo-epstein-bits-cubs-spt-0423-20140423,0,292686.story?track=rss

 

Ratings of the top players in the June amateur draft have fluctuated in the past two months with high school pitchers Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek rising past several college pitchers in the eyes of several talent evaluators.

 

As much as the Cubs would love to select an impact pitcher with the fourth overall selection, President Theo Epstein insisted they won't be influenced by need.

 

"We're just going to take the best player, regardless of position," Epstein said Tuesday. "The best investment, the best bet on that player's career. There's tremendous pitching depth in this class. It's more depth than elite, per se. But we should be coming out with a good pitching haul when it's said and done.'

 

Aiken and Kolek are considered as the top two high school players, but a cross-checker for an American League team said pitcher Jeff Hoffman of East Carolina intrigues the Cubs. He has a 2.94 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 671/3 innings.

 

There's always the possibility that the Cubs could use their first pick on a position player but load up on pitchers with their subsequent picks, as Epstein said two months ago.

 

"There are always secrets — who you like, who you don't like of that group," Epstein said. "The industry consensus is very rarely one team's consensus as well. You put up the top names. Ask any given team. Those they like and don't like but you won't reveal that. All that matters is who you pick when they're available."

[RammyFanny]

Dino (Chi-town, NORTH side.): Hey John, thanks for the chat! Jedi (really Theo) is gonna take a pitcher at No. 4 right? Given this draft is pitcher-heavy, and the relative lack of arms in our system compared with our positional depth, this seems pretty obvious. One of Hoffman, Beede, Rodon, Aiken, Kolek is gonna be there.

 

 

John Manuel: We thought the same thing last year, when the Cubs picked No. 2 overall, but they wound up going with a hitter in Kris Bryant. That said, there is not a Bryant in this draft, and this pitcher class is stronger than it was last year. Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod were all in town last week to see both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Rodon, so both are in play, as potentially are Aiken and Kolek as you said. I can see Aaron Nola being in that mix, though he's more in the Mike Leake mold, and I believe Kyle Freeland, Erick Fedde and Brandon Finnegan also could be in that mix at No. 4. None of those guys would stun me at No. 4, though I would at this point be a bit surprised by Beede at that spot.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1398267269

 

They are live chatting the draft now, plenty more at the link.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Aaron Nola is in the Mike Leake mold? As in skipping the minors?

[davell]

Aaron Nola is in the Mike Leake mold? As in skipping the minors?

 

I could see that. Everyone thinks he's super advanced, just doesn't have truly elite stuff. I guess it wouldn't surprise me if he had the highest floor in the draft.

[Guest]

@keithlaw: ECU right hander Jeff Hoffman will miss at least his next two starts after experiencing arm soreness during a side session yesterday.

[imb]

@keithlaw: ECU right hander Jeff Hoffman will miss at least his next two starts after experiencing arm soreness during a side session yesterday.

 

:(

[Guest]

Between CJ and this, the side sessions the past few days haven't been good.

 

@kileymcd: Scout told me earlier this week that they noticed Hoffman appeared to have some soreness at the end of his last start so not a huge surprise

 

@kileymcd: We'll find out in two weeks. Sounds likes powers that be saw him last two weeks RT @thebronxempire how big of a deal is this RE: the draft?

 

@kileymcd: Out two weeks with arm soreness. Unconfirmed buzz is that it's elbow RT @lot_49: @kileymcd What happened to Hoffman?

[davell]

I wonder which team gives him 3 mill once it's announced he's going to have TJS prior to the draft?

[Guest]

@KendallRogersPG: .@ECUBaseball HC Billy Godwin tells me RHP Jeff Hoffman to miss 8-10 days bc of “mild” arm soreness. Will have a bullpen next wk. #MLBDraft

 

@KendallRogersPG: Godwin said the hope is that Hoffman can pitch in some sort of capacity next weekend vs. #USM, but “will take every precaution possible”.

 

@Clint_BA: Just spoke w/ ECU coach Billy Godwin who said RHP Jeff Hoffman experienced "mild arm soreness" yesterday in pen and will have 8-10 days off