Outshined_One

Yeah. That's how I feel - I didn't like Colvin or Jackson and a lot of guys didn't like Cashner and all 3 of those first rounders have had success to this point. I did want Sale or Castellanos. Was Wilken responsible for Pawalek and Harvey? Just out of curiosity, what was the overall feeling about those 2 when they were drafted? Nope. Wilken's first draft was Colvin/Samardzija. Pawelek was lauded, especially since he signed very quickly (I think the same day he was drafted), which was unheard of for a Boras client. Harvey was also very highly rated and was considered a good pick.

Golden will probably be an overslot in the second round. They might be saving their money to snag guys who fall into later rounds.

If they sign Cole, they might have one heck of a pitching staff in four years.

Click on the "Draft Tracker" link on MLB.com's draft page. BA's draft database will also have it.

Gibbs is advanced defensively and has a decent bat, but don't expect him to do more than hit .280 with 10-15 HRs. He was slated to go somewhere around here, so it's still a pretty good pick. Nice. The blurb I read didn't sound that optimistic. I don't know how hitting .280 with decent pop can't net you a starting gig these days. His defense will be what gets him to the majors. .280 with 10-15 HRs is on the optimistic side of his ceiling. Even then, for a third round pick, getting a potential backup catcher really isn't a bad thing.

Gibbs is advanced defensively and has a decent bat, but don't expect him to do more than hit .280 with 10-15 HRs. He was slated to go somewhere around here, so it's still a pretty good pick.

Some concerns, but if the Cubs are willing to spend, he shouldn't be too difficult to sign. Meanwhile, the Cubs just took another player from LSU.

Wonder how signable Hague is going to be out of Rice? He had a putrid start to the year, after being a potential Top 15 pick, but rebounded enough to get picked here. If he returns for his senior year, he could really boost his stock. Meanwhile, Mel Rojas Jr. just went to the Pirates.

He's a bit of a gamble, though. He's got problems making contact and needs to improve his pitch recognition skills. However, his tools are off the charts and his ceiling is really, really good. The Cubs will have to do a lot of work with him and he'll need plenty of time. But, as a second round pick, he's a great gamble to take. It's also nice, since apparently he was a bit of a signability concern. It shows the Cubs should be willing to spend.

YES! Reggie Golden! Love that pick!

That's a solid 1-2 punch. If they sign both, their draft budget is going to look pretty impressive.

Whoa, who's the lady selecting for the Padres?

Oh, MLB Studios guys. You try so hard, but fail so badly.

Holy crap, Stetson Allie to the Pirates. What the hell?

Oh thank God, no Harold Reynolds.

Blame that one on player development and management. Considering how well he was doing at AAA, Cashner should have stayed in the rotation. It's not Wilken's fault that this organization can get really moronic with its prospects.

Box Scores Iowa won 5-1 Box Score CF/LF J. Adduci 1/3, BB, RBI SS M. Camp 0/4, CS (3), PO (1B) 3B C. Tracy 4/4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR (5) 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/4, RBI, 2B (12), K RF B. Snyder 0/4 LF B. LaHair 1/4, R, 2 K 2B B. Scales 1/3, R, 2B (14), K C C. Robinson 1/3, RBI PH M. Smith 0/1 SP T. Diamond 5 scoreless, 2 H, 8/0 K/BB, 2-5 GO-FO RP J. Gaub 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/0 K/BB, 2 WP RP J. Berg 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP J. Samardzija 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP B. Schlitter 1 scoreless, 2 H, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Tennessee won 3-0 Box Score CF T. Campana 0/3, BB, R, K SS N. Samson 1/4, K LF T. Wright 1/4, R, 2 RBI, HR (9) C R. Chirinos 1/3, BB, R RF B. Guyer 1/4, K 3B J. Vitters 1/3, RBI PH M. Spencer 0/1, K 2B T. Thomas 2/3, K SS M. Gonzalez 0/1, E (7, throw) SP C. Carpenter 6.1 scoreless, 3 H, 6/1 K/BB, 9-3 GO-FO RP R. Buchter 1.2 perfect, 3/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO RP D. Cales 1 scoreless, 1 H, 0/1 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO Daytona won 7-0 Box Score CF B. Jackson 2/5, 2 R, 2B (10), K 3B DJ LeMahieu 1/5, 2 R, RBI, K 2B R. Flaherty 1/4, BB, RBI, 2B (14) 1B R. Ridling 1/3, BB, R, RBI, 2B (11), K RF K. Burke 2/5, 2 RBI, 2B (15), 3 K SS J. Lake 0/2, 2 BB, R, 2 K SP C. Archer 6 scoreless, 2 H, 8/2 K/BB, 5-3 GO-FO RP D. Patton 2 scoreless, 2 H, 2/1 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO RP A. Shafer 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO Peoria won 7-4 Box Score SS HJ Lee 2/3, 2 BB, R, 2B (11), CS (4), 2 PO (1B, 3B) 2B L. Watkins 2/3, R, 2 RBI, 2B (6) 3B M. Cerda 0/2, BB, R, RBI LF DJ Fitzgerald 1/3, BB, R, 2 RBI, 2B (5), K 1B J. Bour 1/4, R, 2 RBI, HR (3) RF JH Ha 2/4, 2B (1), 2 K DH N. Perez 0/4, K C J. Mota 0/3, R, K, HBP SP J. Antigua 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 6/1 K/BB, 2 HR, 1-7 GO-FO RP R. Morla 3 perfect, 4/0 K/BB, 4-1 GO-FO RP Y. Gonzalez 1 perfect, 2-1 GO-FO DSL Cubs 1 lost Game 1 of their DH 3-1 Box Score DSL Cubs 1 lost Game 2 of their DH 7-6 Box Score DSL Cubs 2 lost 13-0 Box Score OVERALL: 4-3

After going through this thread and doing some research, some general comments... First of all, the absolute worst reason for a team to draft someone is because he might not be there when that team picks again. You should draft the #1 guy on your board, regardless of what other teams might think of him. Based on what I've seen from the Cubs in recent years, they seem to have adopted that philosophy. They may have an unorthodox approach to determining who the #1 overall player is, but they will select that guy. I really do think that Simpson was the #1 guy on the Cubs' board based on some combination of his current talent, ceiling, and signability. The good news with Simpson is, if he were two inches taller or if he went to a better school, it sounds like he would have been a much more highly regarded prospect. If he legitimately has four pitches that could be above average to plus and he could handle the starter's workload, then he is absolutely worth the #16 pick. Yeah, compared to some of the available players, it was disappointing to see the Cubs select him over guys like O'Connor and Allie. However, the Cubs didn't select a guy with a low ceiling. He's actually quite intriguing. If the Cubs selected him in the second or third, I would have loved the pick. The potential bad news with Simpson is what he might represent as far as spending in the draft is concerned. I'm guessing the Cubs will be able to sign him below MLB's slot recommendation. So, the major question question is whether the Cubs are under tight budgetary restrictions, as Tim mentioned above. If this is like the Pirates taking Tony Sanchez last year so they could hand out six and seven figure bonuses to sign high-end guys who dropped because of strong college commitments, this pick is wholly justifiable. If, instead, the Cubs proceed to select a bunch of guys who will sign at or below slot from here on out, then this pick will be quite the disappointment. I'm willing to take a wait and see approach with Simpson. Assuming he signs soon, we should get a good handle on what he has to offer when Boise starts its season.

And I'm out for the rest of the night. Enjoy the draft!

Padres take Karsten Whitson.

Anything's possible. This has already been a fairly strange draft.

Houston Astros take Delino DeShields Jr.

Mutts take Matt Harvey.