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I read somewhere that a good comp for J. Adell is M. Upton. Great tools and amazing athlete w/ a lot of swing-and-miss. I hope J. Adell is more "B.J. Upton" than M. Upton lol

I like C. Mitchell too and I'm coming around on N. Allen. I think J. Estrada is going to UCLA. I really like A. Toral and I think his swing is maybe the best swing in the HS ranks I've seen on video. Well balanced, rotational and finishes with good loft. It's a pretty swing. Shame he can only play 1B. I think he is also going to college and will be a first-round pick (like J. Estrada) three years from now. I think my favorite HS position players prospects (available where the Cubs pick) are M. Vientos, H. Ramos, C. Mitchell, N. Allen and A. Toral. Maybe throw R. Vilade and D. Waters in that mix too.

I wonder if we should make a poll closer to the draft about who we want the Cubs to take at #27? I don't really know if there are enough posters on NSBB interested in the MLB draft these days? Especially since we don't have a high pick, and probably won't have one for a long time (fingers crossed). I also am curious who do you guys trust the most when it comes to scouting reports for these amateur players/prospects? K. Law, J. Callis, E. Longenhagen, J. Sickels, etc... I feel like Sickels gives the most generic information and doesn't stray from consensus. I like K. Law, but think he has some blind spots and biases (he hates Rice pitchers). I read all of them and the scouting reports on Baseball America (probably the best). I really miss K. McDaniel and his detailed notes...

Well, I guess a lot of you guys think he's a creep and/or a serial killer lol. I just think he's boring and doesn't smile very often. I think we've employed way creepier looking players like J. Taveras way, way back in the day... If anyone is a serial killer on this team it's J. Lackey. Not even close IMO

I'm sorry but I'm lost...Are you trying to make a joke about how he looks like a serial killer or something? Honestly, you make some of the weirdest posts on here. They're funny sometimes (I guess)...

Also, G. Canning will most likely be taken before the Cubs get a chance. Probably somewhere in the teens/mid-first round. Kinda sucks picking at the end of the first round, but hey, this is infinitely better than last year!

Yeah, I don't see a lot of college arms in that 25-35 range that I like and want the Cubs to take. So many of the college pitchers have the statement "may end up being a setup guy or reliever" in their scouting reports. There are some pitchers I like in the Juco ranks like RHP N. Pearson. If he's available and the Cubs think he can improve his breaking ball (slider or curveball) enough to get big league hitters to chase/strike them out then I'm on board. He's got great size and a blazing fastball that can hit the mid-90s consistently. I really like LHP B. Little but he'll probably be taken before the Cubs get a chance to select him. I want absolutely NOTHING to do with LHP S. Romero and wonder how far he'll fall. This Cubs regime really stresses high makeup and character so I doubt they'll even have him on their draft board. No way are we taking a chance on him with one of our top picks.

Why? J. Altuve is 5'6" and Pedroia is 5'8" I believe. Great players, especially for how short they are. I mention those two players because the vast majority of position players at that height (or shorter) do not make it to the big leagues or fail to develop into impact players. It's just really hard to hit for power when you're that size. I seriously doubt N. Allen is the next Altuve or Pedroia... I know you capped it at Allen's 5'8" but Mookie Betts is listed at just an inch taller, very short for MLB standards and is an absolute star (and, like Pedroia, a Theo draft pick). Pedroia was drafted in the 2nd, Betts in the 5th round and we're talking Allen at 27 or 30, so the risk isn't as bad as a top 10 pick. And despite the height, there are distinct positives for Allen that make him a viable pick at 27/30. Is Mookie Betts really 5'9"? Wow, well I guess it doesn't matter if he's a couple inches taller or not. He is in the same ballpark in terms of height. The Red Sox took Betts in the 5th round though so they obviously liked him, but I don't know if they liked him enough to take him with a top-30 draft pick. I'm fine with taking him in the second round or later, but he probably won't make it that far. I trust this scouting department (for the most part) and if they really like N. Allen and decide to take him at #27 or #30 then I'll come around.

At some point Mets pitching injuries will stop being funny. We have not yet reached that point. Ah, I think we reached that point dude... Anytime a person develops a clot somewhere in their veins and/or arteries -- it's potentially very dangerous and sometimes life-threatening. C. Bosh's career is basically over because of this issue.

The second bold sentence puts the first one into question. That Allen blows them both out of the water defensively, at SS to boot, gives him a huge leg up. From there it's just a matter of whether you're high on the bat or not. If he can put the ball into the air consistently already vs the normal groundball heavy profile of these speed/defense guys he could conceivably be one of the highest ceiling players in the draft. I'd imagine in the Cubs' system he would see time at SS, 2B, CF, and LF. Ramos and Vientos seem liked they'd have more swing and miss in their game. I was very high on Vientos early, but it does seem like he is having a terrible year. I would rather not draft a HS position player struggling their senior year unless he was an outright top of the draft guy, Vientos is not that. Jake Eder's interesting. 6'4" HS LHP with possibly premium fastball command. Vanderbilt recruit Well, upsides and ceilings (for the most part) have to do with how well you think their bats develop. It's pretty rare that a player has a high upside due to incredible defense at a premium position like C, SS or CF if the bat is sub-par or average (A. Simmons). I guess maybe N. Allen could conceivably have a higher ceiling than Vientos and Ramos if scouts really are sold on him being a perennial GG-contender/above-average defender at SS. If we're talking about theoretical ceilings/upsides and best outcomes for just these three players I think most scouts would list it H. Ramos, M. Vientos and then N. Allen. If we're talking about chances of actually reaching their respective floors then I think you would list it as N. Allen, H. Ramos and then M. Vientos. This is just my opinion (I could be wrong). We'll see how this all shakes out once we get closer to the draft.

Also, M. Vientos and H. Ramos have higher upsides. Like much higher upsides. Ramos has great tools and a good chance at sticking in CF. M. Vientos has been talked up and followed by scouts for years. His stock is down, but he still has good tools and should develop into a quality third-baseman. Both of them have higher upsides than N. Allen. I guess maybe Allen has the higher floor though -- the scouting reports say he'll definitely stick at SS.

Thanks for sharing. I guess I'm coming around on Nick Allen. It still feels underwhelming if we did decide to select him with one of our top two picks. I mean how many true impact players are there at that size or shorter? J. Altuve and D. Pedroia...I'm sure there are many others, but it's not a deep list. This whole draft class feels underwhelming so maybe he is worthy of being taken that high I guess. I'd rather go after H. Ramos or M. Vientos, if those two are still available at pick #27. This is so so weird...you get that, right? Why? J. Altuve is 5'6" and Pedroia is 5'8" I believe. Great players, especially for how short they are. I mention those two players because the vast majority of position players at that height (or shorter) do not make it to the big leagues or fail to develop into impact players. It's just really hard to hit for power when you're that size. I seriously doubt N. Allen is the next Altuve or Pedroia...

Combination of Schwarber's chip on the shoulder, Almora/Bryant's IQ/instincts and Almora's ability to barrel line drives (at least in HS). Thanks for sharing. I guess I'm coming around on Nick Allen. It still feels underwhelming if we did decide to select him with one of our top two picks. I mean how many true impact players are there at that size or shorter? J. Altuve and D. Pedroia...I'm sure there are many others, but it's not a deep list. This whole draft class feels underwhelming so maybe he is worthy of being taken that high I guess. I'd rather go after H. Ramos or M. Vientos, if those two are still available at pick #27.

It's a lot easier to probably scout and judge a pitcher is ready from the low levels than it is a hitter. If a pitchers stuff is good, it's good and is probably easier to scout/figure out if it can play at the ML level quicker than moving a hitter up at such a young age/low level. Also their arms are ticking time bombs so if they're anywhere near ready, you might as well get whatever innings you can out of them in the big leagues. Isn't there a counter-argument that pushing a top pitching prospect too fast could be detrimental since those innings in the big leagues could be so stressful? I mean I'm all for pushing talented pitching prospects when they're ready, but I don't agree with how the Marlins handled and promoted J. Fernandez. I mean it did work out, but I don't think that's the right approach for most pitching prospects. PS -- I really, really like how the Dodgers are handling J. Urias and limiting his innings/workload (even if it is costing them in the standings right now).

I wouldn't compare KB to Lebron in any way lol. Yeah, Lebron is consistently great and I get what you're saying, but I don't think KB is there yet...

He's probably moving up draft boards now. I doubt he'll be there when the Cubs get to select someone. Hopefully some good college pitchers will be available at #27.

Wow. Very, very impressive performance. Wish he didn't throw 123 pitches though...

I think we're being a little bit too harsh towards C. Young. Is he a prospect? Absolutely. Is he a super valuable prospect that other teams covet and ask for in trades? No, probably not. Is he just a fringe prospect who might not even have a notable career beyond a cup-o'coffee? Yeah, that's possible. All I know is that the hit tool is pretty special and most opinions say he'll be a decent bench bat and utility player. I mean it would help if he batted lefthanded for sure. Maddon spoke highly of him in ST, but Maddon speaks highly of a lot of our prospects, maybe to a hyperbolic degree. I don't think C. Young is a good fit for this Cubs team, but maybe to a rebuilding team like the Padres or A's. It kinda sucks that they didn't expand rosters with this latest CBA because ML benches are so short and it's so hard to fit players like this on a big league roster (unless you get struck down with a crazy number of injuries). All that said I hope C. Young makes it and has a D. Barney-like career.

Man, I LOVE that it was Coghlan with maybe the most epic leap over a C in MLB history! Right over Molina. There is already a certain segment of Cardinals fans that think Coghlan is/was a dirty player for the slide that took out Jung Ho Kang a couple yrs ago. It sucks that Kang got hurt on that play, but it was NOT a malicious slide and Coghlan is NOT a dirty player.

Yeah, I agree. Never doubted the work ethic and commitment to improve. I just hate his new swing, but it's working so far. If he keeps this up I'll gladly eat some crow at the end of the season :D .

I don't know...I kind of like it that we have one player who tries so hard to be non-offensive and boring in a T. Duncan way in KB. And then we have another player who loves to show off his personality and exuberance in Baez (and it definitely rubs fans of other teams the wrong way). I don't think we have anybody on the same level as J. Bautista, in terms of overall disdain it creates in another team's fanbase. Maybe Schwarber is on his way to being that player in relation to Cardinals fans lol. I doubt we'll ever get to witness some epic Bat Flip from any of the Cubs players, though.

Well, there will be no more fluff pieces on the Cardinals from beat writer M. Saxon on ESPN. He was let go. This sounds harsh but good riddance. He was a homer and I didn't care for his writing. J. Bowden has also been fired -- about time. He was terrible. The only one I'll actually miss on the baseball side is J. Stark, who was pretty decent in my view. Don't know why he was let go.

Man I can't recall a college player who hit this well and teams still decided to select them as a pitcher. Insane. Well, you'll always have a really good fallback plan if he doesn't work out as a pitcher. Totally agree on taking Schmidt in the 2nd round too. I wonder if he would fall that far or still be willing to sign for that amount. Maybe we'd have to offer more than slot value?

Umpires Union is extremely powerful Indeed. That's the weird thing. No one cares about the Umpires Union. Fans don't care about them except when they rule against their favorite team, the players definitely don't care for them, and I feel like management/ownership has some issues with them too. Like the day is coming when technology in some form will usurp their ability to call balls & strikes. Like it's inevitable at this point. Unfortunately, the Umpires Union is going to fight that losing battle. Fight hard. They might even go on strike because they know that's the most important part of their jobs. I don't remember who wrote this sentiment, but our children and/or grandchildren are going to think it was insane we ever let humans call balls and strikes in some imaginary strikezone that changes batter to batter.

Not a lot of advanced college bats this yr besides B. McKay (who might go as a LHP) so I think that helps explain it? I like A. Haseley too, but it is a little weird that he is the top college OF. Definitely get some T. Crowe vibes and reminds me of other advanced college bats that were 'tweeners. He should end up being better than T. Crowe (I think). I don't like the hitting prospects on either the HS or college side in this draft class. Actually the one hitter who has really impressed me is A. Toral, who I believe is committed to U of Miami. Great swing, but he's a first baseman all the way meaning he has to hit. I doubt this current Cubs FO would value HS 1B/DH prospects like D. Vogelbach or A. Toral that highly since that demographic is so risky. I do like N. Pearson and D. Tillo as pitching prospects at the Juco level. Pearson is really impressing me, but I didn't know he was rising all the way into 1st round consideration. That would be a great choice.