Pre-Draft Overview

Cubs Video

CaliforniaRaisin (Navin Dore) posted an excellent pre-draft overview in the forums today. Be sure to follow the draft online here at NSBB!

The draft starts today at 6 pm CT and can be seen on the MLB Network and at MLB.com. Also, you can follow along on the draft’s Twitter account.The first two rounds will be today. Rounds 3 – 10 will be tomorrow (starting at 12 pm CT) and rounds 11 – 40 will be on Saturday (starting at 12 pm CT). Days 2 and 3 will not be televised.

Draft Order Round 1 1. Houston Astros 2. Miami Marlins 3. Chicago White Sox 4. Chicago Cubs 5. Minnesota Twins 6. Seattle Mariners 7. Philadelphia Phillies 8. Colorado Rockies 9. Toronto Blue Jays 10. New York Mets 11. Toronto Blue Jays (P. Bickford - unsigned) 12. Milwaukee Brewers 13. San Diego Padres 14. San Francisco Giants 15. Los Angeles Angels 16. Arizona Diamondbacks 17. Kansas City Royals 18. Washington Nationals 19. Cincinnati Reds 20. Tampa Bay Rays 21. Cleveland Indians 22. Los Angeles Dodgers 23. Detroit Tigers 24. Pittsburgh Pirates 25. Oakland Athletics 26. Boston Red Sox 27. St. Louis Cardinals 28. Kansas City Royals (E. Santana) 29. Cincinnati Reds (S. Choo) 30. Texas Rangers (N. Cruz) 31. Cleveland Indians (U. Jimenez) 32. Atlanta Braves (B. McCann) 33. Boston Red Sox (Ellsbury) Boston Red Sox (M. Napoli) Boston Red Sox (Drew) 34. St. Louis Cardinals (C. Beltran) Competitive Balance Round A 35. Colorado Rockies 36. Miami Marlins (M. Krook - unsigned) 37. Houston Astros (from the Orioles) 38. Cleveland Indians 39. Pittsburgh Pirates (from the Marlins) 40. Kansas City Royals 41. Milwaukee Brewers Round 2 42. Houston Astros 43. Miami Marlins 44. Chicago White Sox 45. Chicago Cubs 46. Minnesota Twins 47. Philadelphia Phillies 48. Colorado Rockies 49. Toronto Blue Jays 50. Milwaukee Brewers 51. San Diego Padres 52. San Francisco Giants 53. Los Angeles Angels 54. Arizona Diamondbacks 55. New York Yankees 56. Kansas City Royals 57. Washington Nationals 58. Cincinnati Reds 59. Texas Rangers 60. Tampa Bay Rays 61. Cleveland Indians 62. Los Angeles Dodgers 63. Detroit Tigers 64. Pittsburgh Pirates 65. Oakland Athletics 66. Atlanta Braves 67. Boston Red Sox 68. St. Louis Cardinals Competitive Balance Round B 69. Arizona Diamondbacks (from the Padres) 70. Arizona Diamondbacks 71. St. Louis Cardinals 72. Tampa Bay Rays 73. Pittsburgh Pirates 74. Seattle Mariners Round 3 75. Houston Astros 76. Miami Marlins 77. Chicago White Sox 78. Chicago Cubs 79. Minnesota Twins 80. Seattle Mariners 81. Philadelphia Phillies 82. Colorado Rockies 83. Toronto Blue Jays 84. New York Mets 85. Milwaukee Brewers 86. San Diego Padres 87. San Francisco Giants 88. Los Angeles Angels 89. Arizona Diamondbacks 90. Baltimore Orioles 91. New York Yankees 92. Kansas City Royals 93. Washington Nationals 94. Cincinnati Reds 95. Texas Rangers 96. Tampa Bay Rays 97. Cleveland Indians 98. Los Angeles Dodgers 99. Detroit Tigers 100. Pittsburgh Pirates 101. Oakland Athletics 102. Atlanta Braves 103. Boston Red Sox 104. St. Louis Cardinals Supplemental Round 105. Miami Marlins (B. Deluzio - unsigned) Rounds 4-40 Houston Astros Miami Marlins Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs Minnesota Twins Seattle Mariners Philadelphia Phillies Colorado Rockies Toronto Blue Jays New York Mets Milwaukee Brewers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Los Angeles Angels Arizona Diamondbacks Baltimore Orioles New York Yankees Kansas City Royals Washington Nationals Cincinnati Reds Texas Rangers Tampa Bay Rays Cleveland Indians Los Angeles Dodgers Detroit Tigers Pittsburgh Pirates Oakland Athletics Atlanta Braves Boston Red Sox St. Louis Cardinals The Cubs have a bonus pool of $8,352,200 to spend on their 10 picks in the first 10 rounds (or $8,769,810 when you consider the additional 5% overage without forfeiting a future draft pick). The Cubs have the 6th highest bonus pool in the draft. Pick # 4 $4,621,200 Pick # 45 $1,250,400 Pick # 78 $714,900 Pick #109 $480,600 Pick #139 $359,900 Pick #169 $269,500 Pick #199 $201,900 Pick #229 $191,800 Pick #259 $151,000 Pick #289 $141,000 Any team that exceed their bonus pools: a 75 percent tax on a 0-5 percent overage; the loss of a first-round pick and a 75 percent tax for more than 5 and up to 10 percent; the loss of first- and second-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and the loss of two-first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent. Here is a link to all teams’ bonus pools. Draft Boards: Here is a link to Baseball America's top 500 prospects. Here is a link to MLB.com's (Jim Callis/Jonathan Mayo) top 200 prospects. Here is a link to Scout.com's (Kiley McDaniel) top 291 prospects. Here is a link to Perfect Game's top 300 prospects. Here is a link to ESPN's (Keith Law) top 100 prospects. Mock Drafts: The final Baseball America mock draft has the Cubs taking Michael Conforto:

4. CUBS: This may be where the draft really starts. The Cubs want Aiken or Rodon to fall to them, and in a different draft system, they could make it happen with a giant bonus promise. In this system, they might be reduced to seeing who’ll take a cost-saving bonus at No. 4 that would allow them to

pay above-slot bonuses later to high-ceiling high school pitchers such as Jack Flaherty, Michael Kopech or Joey Gatto.

If Nick Gordon will take a haircut, he makes more sense than the college bats in the mix such as Michael Conforto and Kyle Schwarber. But Gordon would likely fall only one spot, while Conforto and Schwarber won’t go higher than eight if they don’t go at four.

Projected Pick: OF Michael Conforto

MLB.com's Jim Callis' final mock has the Cubs taking Michael Conforto:

4. Cubs: Michael Conforto, OF, Oregon State

The Cubs covet pitching, but if Aiken and Rodon aren't available, they likely will take a position player over Kolek or Nola. The Cubs would bypass Jackson to take Olympia High (Orlando, Fla.) shortstop Nick Gordon if they consider only talent. They're also mulling a discounted deal with one of four college position players, then using the savings to sign pitchers taken later in the Draft. Conforto and Kennesaw State catcher Max Pentecost are higher in Chicago's pecking order than Indiana catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber and North Carolina State shortstop Trea Turner.

MLB.com 'sJonathan Mayo's final mock has the Cubs taking Kyle Schwarber:

4. Chicago Cubs: Kyle Schwarber, C, Indiana

Ideally, the Cubs would like Rodon or Aiken to somehow get here. If they are gone, though, the Cubs could go off the board a bit with a college hitter, perhaps saving money to be more aggressive later on.

The final Perfect Game/Baseball Prospectus mock has the Cubs taking Nick Gordon:

NICK GORDON - SS - Olympia (Fla.) HS

In an ideal world, the Cubs would have a chance to take either Aiken or Rodon, and they may have a chance at Rodon should the Marlins select Alex Jackson. Recent word indicates that they've focused their attention on Nick Gordon, which may indicate they know how the top of the draft is going to shake out.

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