craig

That's interesting. You seem to have gotten some much more favorable buzz on Beeler's stuff than anything I've read. I think the 3 vs 2.5 pitches argument for Beeler over Cates is good, but it depends on how good the pitches are. I wasn't under the impression that Beeler had any signature good pitch. Whereas I get the impression that Cates's changeup might be quite good. And I also had the impression that Cates's fastball might be better, in terms of velocity and perhaps also movement. I may be wrong for sure. But Cates would be ahead of Beeler on my list too. Not sure how much McLeod likes Beeler, but I wouldn't be surprised if he went after Cates because he too thinks his potential is pretty good.

I think the Cub prospects are so bunched that it's hard to really organize, so I can't much fault Sickels a whole lot. Plus it's hard to know where to rank so many of the guys who haven't played above Rookie ball. Of his front 24, Baez, Maples Vogelbach, candelareo, Hernandez, Amaya, Zych, and Dunston have at best rookie league experience, and really Hernandez and Amaya are the only ones who even have any positive rookie-league performance. Add in Wells and Golden, and basically half of the list aren't full-season. So it's really tough (as we all understand), and I can't fault Sickels for maybe having some that will look goofy later. Given those factors, and given the usual issues of hitters vs pitchers, and where to put guys with more physical gifts but poorer performance or control, I don't have too much fuss with his list. But things I definitely disagree with: 1. Torreyes not being higher. I'm almost certain from comments from Cub personnel and scouts that they value Torreyes more highly than Sappelt. I have no reason not to go with the Cubs view and to have torreyes higher. I'd certainly put him ahead of Hernandez (as well as Amaya.) 2. Dunston being listed. Several of you have fussed about Ha not being higher and being viewed as a tweener. Given all the other CFers in the system (Jackson ahead, Szczur behind, and others further behind...), I have serious doubts that Ha is going to play much CF for the Cubs. And the doubts about his ability to hit for RF power for the Cubs is more than fair. But, jsut as a pure prospect, he's a mile ahead of Dunston on my list. 3. Reggie Golden. When you have so much trouble hitting the ball, and has other problems (defensive issues, perhaps weight control), I'm not putting you ahead of Ha or Beliveau. I don't think Sickels's lists are that great; I don't think he knows a whole lot of scouts. So to some degree, I get the feeling his lists are n't really any more authoritative than any of us could create. I think he has his age/stats saber stuff, and he reads some scouting stuff, and makes his list. Not much different than what I might do, except that I probably follow Cubs prospects closer than he does. And while he may not have tons of scouts, he probably has at least some, unlike me.

No to Porcello. Hasn't improved at all. High HR's, low K's, not a good profile.

Wilken was running the draft room, and Ricketts seemed to build a strong rapport with Wilken. Despite his history in scouting, I've been under the impression that Hendry, during his tenure as GM, has largely let his scouting directors run the draft, and particularly in recent years, due to Wilken's stature in the industry. It also might give us insight as to why Ricketts was in the war room with Wilken. I think Hendry has always been very good at letting people he hires have full authority in their domain. So I have no doubt but that Wilken was running the draft room, just as Fleita has been given full authority to run the farm, etc. Hendry has been very empowering to those guys and to his managers as well. I think Hendry has been so non-obnoxious that his involvements in those areas are non-interfering and non-threatening. And from that standpoint I think he has been somewhat involved with the draft at two levels. I know that he has sometimes scouted draft prospects and submitted scouting reports, just like an area scout or crosschecker would. Not sure how many, or whether those are very intentional or targeted. For all I know could be a case where he's visiting a friend, or where he's on a trip someplace for some reason, and if there happens to be a draftable prospect who's playing somewhere he goes to watch the kid and files a report. But I do know that he has filed reports that go into the data bank just like any other scout. I believe that he has been heavily involved in the signing process. I've been surprised, he's a main guy in the signing negotiations with many of the draftees. Certainly with the big tickets. I thought it interesting that Wilken said on Monday night that Hendry had told him things were looking very much at risk with Vogelbach's signing. It wan't Wilken negotiating and telling Hendry, it was Hendry negotiating and keeping Wilken updated. I expect that Hendry has been pretty good at this. He knows all the agents, and he's always been great at making players feel wanted and making them feel like they'll be taken care of well. It's not just the big tickets, either, Vogelbach and Szczur. An 8th rounder like Dugas was interacting with Hendry, not just an area scout, about his deal. So I think he has been a major player in the process, and was still almost certainly a major player in the Maples/Dunston/Baez/Vogelbach signings last weekend. I do wonder to some degree whether Hendry might not have established a reputation as a dealmaker who will always pay whatever he needs to to get what he wants. If you push him to the limit, he'll pay what you want for a draft pick, for a free agent, or for a Garza or Pierre. Don't know, but I guess I wonder whether he hasn't been quite as tough as perhaps some GM's and has tended to be willing to be a little generous, and perhaps some agents have taken advantage a little.

http://networkedblogs.com/kzUJf Cubs sign Curacuo lefty Christian Pieters, 16. Phil Rogers said it was $350.

Tim, where did you get the official list? It includes Elias, whose agreement was reported some time ago. And who was listing on BA's list for some time. But now today BA has un-bolded him. I wonder if that's a mistake, or if something is really up and he's unsigned?

He's tall, 20, throws hard, mid 90's, not sure about health history, and his mechanics are wildly inconsistent. Some guys can never get control, but sometimes if the mechanics get cleaned up and become consistent, who knows.

isn't his ceiling basically his dad? I think it's higher. Daniel lists a little taller, and my understanding is that he might be a stronger hitter than his father, with more power and a chance to hit for higher average. And I'm not sure, but it may be envisioned that he might be able to play SS. A .260 BA-.700 OPS 2B is one thing. A .280 BA-.780 OPS SS is quite another. We'll see, of course. But I think he's got a chance to be a much better offensive guy than his dad.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110816&content_id=23279900&vkey=pr_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc Wilken press release. There is a LOT of good stuff in there, I encourage you to read it. Some notes: 1. Says 34 signings. We've got 34 accounted for. So apparently no unknown low-profile signings that we hadn't hear about. 2. Makes reference to three first round talents, Baez, Maples, and Vogelbach. Dunston not included. 3. Says the spending this year was more than last two years combined. 4. Wilken sees this as one of the most talented draft classes he's ever seen signed, and speaks to it's depth. 5. Says that they invested in added scouts. I like that very much. 6. Says that this year's draft class as a whole was regarded as being really good and really deep, so that this was an ideal year to be able to spend.

Thanks, cal, very interesting. Speaks to how favorably the Cubs must have scouted him. I think he may be a somewhat undervalued prospect. I'll be curious to see how his career goes, defense-wise. If he's really a true SS in the pros, he's got a shot to be a very good-hitting SS. If he's a 2B, then maybe the bar needs to be a little higher for acceptable hitting.

You're right, it's possible someone small has slipped through the cracks. BA does now list Lockhart but without a bonus. It still doesn't have Andreoli signed, either. So while it's doubtful that we signed anybody else, I'm still vaguely hoping that a Struck or Rhoderick secret signing might still emerge.

Are we confident that all of the deals have been reported? Obviously all the midnight attention is on the big guns. But are we certain that if Sam Howard or Tanner Kichler or some late-round guy had signed, that we'd know about it? The BA list doesn't have Lockhart showing, so the absence of listing for some guy who might have gotten $100-250 doesn't necessarily mean we mightn't have signed somebody else, maybe?

Question: When is the deadline,actually. Midnight tomorrow, or 4 pm, or what? If it's midnight or 4, is that eastern time? I've had August 15 on my mental calendar for a while, but I'm wondering if it will all be determined and public by tomorrow evening, or what. And then how soon some of the info will get public. Dunston and Jacques are Tweeters supreme, and will cost dollars, so they'll tell us soon enough. But if David Ernst or Tanner Kischner sign, how will we find out and how soon?

Any idea what's up with him? There was a time when he was a good college pitcher. He's not just a senior, he's going to turn 24 in a couple of weeks. Is he injured? On drugs? Or simply realistic that pro baseball isn't for him and he's going to med school or law school or something practical like that?

http://m.tribune-democrat.com/TTD/db_265842/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=AwTXnwGz&detailindex=0&pn=0&ps=5 Austin Urban, 41st round RHP, turned 19 last month, says that he's signed. Why do I guess that he'll later announce that he got 4th round bonus and college coverage? His scouting report was that he was wild, had a bad delivery, but threw 90-92, has touched 94, and has a slider.

A .450 OBP when you're hitting .393 isn't too hot in the patience department, either. The Cubs drafting a free swinger? Who'd have guessed? Seriously, though, I think we shouldn't be misled by the value-per-dollar. Just because we're paying everybody like a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round pick (or higher, once we get our last guys signed) doesn't mean we're really going to get 20 of the best 150 guys in the draft. These guys have the leverage, and they're going to get well overpaid to get signed. Gretzky, Schlecht, Dunston if/when he signs, Maples, Shoulders for sure, Vogelbach, DeVoss, Zych, Taylor, I think all of these guys will be kind of overpaid. We've been wishing that the team would be willing to overpay to have a chance at guys. Certainly most of the guys getting paid won't work out, and perhaps none will. I just hope we don't spend the next five years complaining that the players aren't living up to their bonuses. But it's sure fun for now. And hopefully a lot funner by next Tuesday.

I thought both Lindgren and Dugas sounded pretty interesting. Obviously Dugas didn't have superstar tools, but he's got a good shot to be a major league contributor. That's one of the things about this draft: to me, it looks like pretty much everybody is interesting, other than a few of the college picks. I like them all, I think, so anybody they do sign is interesting, and anybody they don't is something of a disappointment. But we'll see. Maybe dugas will still change his mind, who knows. The next ten days will be pretty interesting. I remain somewhat curious to see how quickly what signings occur on the 15th get public quickly. With tweeting dunston, and with a guy as high profile as Maples, if they sign it won't stay secret for long. But if George Asmas signs, I'm not sure Callis is going to be knowing that or posting that right away. My memory may be wrong, but I don't recall being immediately aware of either the Struck signing two Augusts ago, or for that matter Roderick last August.

I'm hearing from a couple of sides that Dunston is telling Cubs and vandy that he's going to college. Too bad. O well, can't get them all, and it's pretty clear that is wasn't for lack of effort or a lack of dollars. If a kid decides he really wants to go to school, that's his choice.

I think after the draft, in one of the articles Schlecht said teams had been telling him in the 5th-8th round range. May be a lie; might be only Cubs scouts telling him that; or might be three scouts from teams that like him and the other 27 teams aren't telling him they think he's a 35th round talent. So there are always questions about these kinds of comments from kids. But it may also be true. Always a range of opinions between different scouts.

$125-200 has basically been slot for any HS/JC/sophomore type pick almost anywhere in the draft, seems to me. My understanding is that kurcz, Fitzgerald, Hartman, Beeler, all those kinds of guys get that. I understand perhaps the "listings" include college value, and they perhaps get less in actual dollars. Whereas Jensen sounds like he's claiming "actual" 4th round money, plus college besides. But I think $175 isn't that surprising. I admit I'm almost surprised he signed for that little. I'd probably overrated him, but to me his scouting reports had sounded considerably more promising that with Jaques.

I read that Negrin was his staff ace back in cuba and won 11 games .... I believe he's 27. Here are the only stats I could find on Negrin: That comes from an interview with his advisor/agent. It also says that his fastball is consistently at 90, peaking at 94 and he throws a two-seamer, four-seamer, slider, curve, and change. ..... Sounds like a modestly interesting guy. Might be a minor-league roster filler, a guy who's a little overmatched in AAA, or a guy who might end up being a usable major leaguer. When was the 48th Cuban season, versus the "staff ace and won 11 games?" Agents tend to puff their clients, so if the agent says he throws 90 and has touched 94, that sounds like something of a soft-toss finesser. But if a guy was really throwing 90mph 2-seamers with command, obviously that could be an upgrade on the kind of junk rotation options we've got on the big-league team and in the minors. No idea what the parks or scoring is like in cuba. But certainly a soft-tossing finesse reliever with a 4.2-4.9 ERA's doesn't sound like an especially big-ticket pickup.

A poster on a different board says that Taylor Scott has agreed to terms. A poster on a different board, who also seems to have some inside connections, has suggested that Scott was something of an ugly deal. They'd thought they had a pre-arrange, then after they drafted the agent double-crossed and demanded more. Unconfirmed as always, and general agreement is rather different from a complete signed-off or signed and approved. So reports of "agreement" and some lengthy delay before it's wrapped are compatible in my view.

. Excellent news. I'm especially enthused about Jensen. Good numbers and 2.0 in the high-level California JUCO ranks is excellent, and that's as a highly-regarded guy entering the season (he was a pre-season JUCO all-American.) USC doesn't need to offer scholarships to guys who don't have reasonably good arms. I don't know anything, but I actually had both Jensen and Zimmer well ahead of Jacquez on my hope-we-sign wish list.

I believe it is true, or will be true. The Urban one is pretty much beyond doubt based on his Twitter. A couple weeks ago somebody on PSD had suggested that Maples wasn't too far off, each side a couple hundred off of $2 But indicating that the Cubs were into it and were serious about paying major money. Dunston rumors have also been circulating, so that seems likely. But Dunston has apparently Tweeted that it's not true, and it's not done, although the phrasing seemed to me more to the effect that it's not completely finished rather than that it isn't going to get finished. Wow wow wow. It just gets better and better.

Nice! (If true.) Urban is apparently really wild and has some delivery/mechanics problems. Having a poor summer.