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http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/22400743/2019-nba-mock-draft-rj-barrett-zion-williamson-more-rising-prospects I get what you’re saying but I’m starting to think this years class isn’t all that great either. Doesn’t mean it isn’t better than next year but I’m starting to think even in the lotto a lot of these guys are just rotation pieces at best. I’m not seeing too many perennial all-stars, best or second best players on a championship team, etc other than maybe the guy from Europe. I agree that this draft class might not have that many perennial all-stars either or the best/second best player on a championship team. I feel like that's even more of a reason to move up in this draft class to try to maximize your chances of grabbing that special player. I think there are 4-5 players that can be impact players if they reached their 90% highest projections/ceiling, but probably most of them end up being just good players/role players. I definitely think this year's class is WAY better than the 2019 draft class. I'm not impressed at all by the prospects in that draft class like R.J. Barrett and Z. Williamson. It also lacks depth as well and not just high-level players at the top of the draft.

I mean you've heard of Mark Appel right? He was taken #1 right ahead of KB lol. I'm not that high on Mickey Moniak, but he should reach the big leagues. He might end up being their version of Albert Almora.

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/22400743/2019-nba-mock-draft-rj-barrett-zion-williamson-more-rising-prospects Yeah I saw it. I just can't see GarPax taking a gamble like that. He's stressed that this is a multi-year rebuild, so I can't see him just giving up a 1st round likely lottery pick in a year where the lottery odds begin to smooth out a bit. I definitely understand where you are coming from. If the Bulls end up with like the 9th pick, I wouldnt be opposed to offering their pick and NO pick, as well as the option to swap picks in 2019 to move up into the top 4, but I can't see them outright trading next year's pick. Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I did put some protection (top-3) on the traded pick to provide cover for the Bulls should that draft pick end up being really valuable. I think the Bulls are actually going to be contending for the 8th seed next year with a healthy LaVine, a high draft pick and our young players improving. So, I really don't think our pick next year is going to be that great (in a weak draft). The problem with doing a pick swap is A.) it might not be possible since that team might not even control their draft pick in next year's draft and B.) the team trading with the Bulls to allow them to move up in this year's draft might be worse than the Bulls next year as well. Swapping picks only makes sense when you're pretty sure the team you're swapping with will end up being worse than you. I don't mind trading the NO pick in the right trade, but the Bulls better not package their picks to take another scrub like they did in 2014 when they drafted Doug McDermott.

So I guess this means they trade him away in a couple seasons like Piscotty?

So, I mentioned this but no one seemed to notice -- the 2019 draft class kinda sucks. I proposed the Bulls package their pick with next year's pick (top-3 protected) if they don't end up with a top-5 pick in this year's draft. I think it's even more important that the Bulls get a high pick and take the right player in this year's NBA draft. http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/22400743/2019-nba-mock-draft-rj-barrett-zion-williamson-more-rising-prospects

Badler had basically the same article a year ago. The thought of scouting 12-year olds feels icky. How the hell do you scout a 12 year old prospect? That's insane. You can't be that successful at figuring out which prospects will pan out and develop at that age. Obviously, it looks bad and feels wrong, but it also feels stupid and foolish at the same time.

Yeah, in his second start of the year. There are a lot of well regarded prep arms so maybe one gets lost in the shuffle or has serious injury, but I just have a hard time seeing any of Hankins, Liberatore, Stewart or Denaburg (or even Rocker) falling to 24. Yeah, we might not get a chance at any of those HS arms you listed at #24, but we should get the chance to draft a very good prospect. This draft class looks stellar, especially in terms of pitching at both the HS and college level. There are some interesting hitters in this draft as well.

Well, I sympathize for this poor guy. At least he didn't get teased as a kid (probably). I mean I didn't know what that term meant until college. I swear I thought someone just made it up lol.

The Cubs never had a realistic chance of drafting Liberatore (as long as he remains healthy). He has arguably the highest ceiling for any HS pitcher in this year's draft.

I'm probably thinking too far ahead and prognosticating next year's draft class could make me look foolish this far out, but I have to say the 2019 draft class looks really bad. Like truly awful. It could be the worst draft class of this decade (2011-2020). I'm not that impressed by any of the draft prospects right now. The NBA draft isn't really like drafts in other sports either. You can really see the standout prospects and the quality of a class pretty far in advance. Certainly, some prospects come out of nowhere like S. Curry and you can find some gems later in the draft like J. Butler. The top players in an NBA draft class are usually well scouted by the time they're Seniors in HS. Lebron was talked about as a Freshman and well known by scouts when he entered the draft straight out of HS. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is right now the Bulls might end up not picking in the top-5 of this year's draft, which I regard as superior to next year's draft. If we don't get lucky and jump into the top-5 range I say the Bulls package their pick and next year's draft pick (top-3 protected) to move up. I realize that's a risky move and could be disastrous if the player selected ends up being a bust. I'm just not feeling next year's NBA draft class right now.

For some weird reason, I actually think Lincecum can do really well as a relief pitcher. His control and command was never great, and he probably isn't the best pitcher to bring in a jam with runners on. I don't know if pitching in Texas is the best place for him to make a comeback either. I do think he's capable of striking out a lot of hitters if he has that good separation between his nasty changeup and fastball. If the velocity on his fastball is low-90's he is definitely capable of being a good RP.

WTF is up with the selection of music during BP in that second tweet??? That is just bizarre and terrible at the same time...

Yeah, when I meant earpiece I meant earpiece(s) for both pitcher and catcher. They both would hear the pitch being called for from the manager/pitching coach. Obviously, the pitcher is the one who gets decides which pitch to throw so he might start shaking off orders from the manager instead of from the catcher. That'd be kind of weird at first. Also, yeah you'd need nonverbal cues to get on the same page and relay that information to the infielders as well.

Yeah, it's a good idea and would help speed up the game. I still think mound visits will be necessary even with an earpiece/technology in place for those big moments when a pitcher needs to collect themselves. It'll be a much smaller # with the earpiece/technology, which is what we want. This would be the second thing I would do if I were in charge after putting in place an automated strike zone, and taking away the ability of umps to call strikes/balls and maybe even balks. I think managers should be allowed to challenge whether a pitcher committed a balk or not, and then they can review it. Limited # of challenges for managers and honestly I could care less about balks being called. I also hate sign stealing and catchers changing signs and that whole ordeal. I do wonder how much a catcher can help decide what they want to do when a manager/pitching coach is verbally giving the orders. Like maybe the catcher wants to do a pitch out and snap throw to first? I think the catcher should still do some signals occasionally for special commands or actions.

Eh, I need to watch it before I say the guy is awful. Might have been trying to work on some pitches or isn't up to full speed yet. I hope he sucks and the Cubs torch him the first chance we get. Yeah it’s ST and his first start so stats are mostly meaningless but that’s a rough debut for a guy who sucked last time he was in MLB and hasn’t pitched in MLB in years. I do think the Cardinals' rotation has the chance to implode if Mikolas sucks and Wainwright continues to struggle. Wacha has had problems staying healthy. I think the Cubs have a much stronger rotation now. We should make a thread or poll for when we think MM will get fired lol. I'll say right around early August after the trade deadline.

It's fine. Lauri is totally sold on the tanking scheme and sees the big picture lol.

Yeah, I was just about to post that. I don't know how I feel about this... It's a lot easier stealing bases in ST games than it will be during the regular season. I mean he's definitely faster on the bases now which is a good thing.

Well, that news certainly sucks. I know he's short (like really short) and I usually don't like short players as prospects, but he's a pretty good hitter. I think he'll hit enough to be a solid 2B at the MLB level. He kind of reminds me of D. Pedroia. He won't be as good or hit for as much power as Pedroia.

Eh, I need to watch it before I say the guy is awful. Might have been trying to work on some pitches or isn't up to full speed yet. I hope he sucks and the Cubs torch him the first chance we get.

Yeah, I like the trade for Vonleh. He never got enough playing time in Portland. Wish we could have gotten something for R. Lopez and Holiday before the trade deadline. Even a high 2nd round pick would help, but maybe no team was offering even that for those two.

Yeah, non-contact injury and it looked like his knee buckled a bit. That’s not good. So he didn't tear his ACL fortunately. They listed it as a meniscus injury (whatever that means). Hopefully, Butler won't require season ending surgery. I'm still worried about him because he plays under Thibs...

Here's some good info on draft prospects from K. McDaniels on Fangraphs: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/draft-notes-in-person-scouting-scuttlebutt-galore/ Good video of curveball monster RHP Carter Stewart in the article. He's probably moving up draft boards now. I really like him, but I doubt the Cubs get a chance at drafting him. A good video of LHP S. McClanahan is in there too. The Cubs are definitely not getting a chance at drafting him unless he gets hurt or something weird happens. PS -- Fans of Fangraphs here should try to donate if possible. Everything is free, and it seems like they're really making a push to get donations with the banner at the bottom of every article now. It would suck if a lot of their content was behind paywalls.

Dude, you need to put a spoiler and NSFW warning before posting that horsefeathers. horsefeathers Hawk Harrelson and good riddance...

Wow, that's one hell of a breaking ball. Not a great delivery though lol.

It is the infamous right forearm strain. We'll see him in 2019. I really hope he doesn't need TJS. Hopefully just needs some rest and time off. He's already one of the most entertaining pitchers in all of MLB. That screwball is something else...