Regular Show

Outstanding :good: He looked great in the clip. Send him to AA or AAA.

[tweet] [/tweet] So Jim Callis has us taking SS Logan Davidson (which I seriously doubt). I like his mock drafts, but I think they're useful only at the top of the draft. It's really hard to predict who teams will take that deep into the draft unless you have a really good source(s). So far across various mock drafts the Cubs take one of these players: College bats: SS Braden Shewmake SS Will Wilson SS Logan Davidson SS Greg Jones 3B Kody Hoese OF Kam Misner 1B/LF Michael Busch 1B Logan Wyatt HS arms: RHP Daniel Espino RHP Jack Leiter RHP Quinn Priester RHP JJ Goss Last year we had no clue the Cubs were in on Nico Hoerner and those who follow the draft thought he was going in the 30's or the second round. I don't anticipate that kind of surprise happening again, but I think the Cubs taking a HS arm in the first round would be pretty shocking. I also liked the elite group of HS arms from last year way more than this year's group even with some of the best arms not being signable last year (Kumar Rocker, Cole Wilcox and Mike Vasil). Again, I can't stress enough how dangerous it is taking a prep arm without the benefit of having multiple high draft picks. Everyone has stated how weak college pitching is this year so I believe the Cubs are taking an advanced polished bat or a kinda raw athletic up-the-middle upside bat. I wouldn't mind them surprising me by taking a good HS bat if the right one falls to #27.

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[tweet] [/tweet]This really happened? "Glenallen Hill crashes into glass table while having a nightmare about a spider..."

[tweet] [/tweet] The kid does have some amazing tools, but that still seems way too high to me.

[tweet] [/tweet]Lots of good info in here. Kiley repeats some stuff we've already heard or read for draftniks. It's a good primer for those not as familiar with the 2019 MLB draft class. Highly recommend checking out THE BOARD to see the draft rankings: https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/2019-mlb-draft?type=0&sort=-1,1&pagenum=0&pageitems=10000000000000

From the latest Klaw chat:

https://www.thecubreporter.com/comment/263599#comment-263599 Yeah, the stuff is good enough to get minor league hitters out (and maybe MLB caliber hitters too), but Hultzen has to be able to pitch two days in a row or capable of pitching twice in three days. The arm strength is back, but getting used to the lower arm slot might take a little while too. I'm glad he's progressing and I totally wouldn't mind waiting till late August/early Sept to call him up if he's doing well in the minors. I'm assuming we're trading for a high leverage reliever at some point (or signing Kimbrel after the draft). Hultzen should just be viewed as a surprise bonus/addition down the stretch.

[tweet] [/tweet] Please don't fight... two of my favorite experts (Rany Jazayerli and Jim Callis) covering baseball got into a little tiff on twitter while discussing Bobby Witt Jr. and how his age (19) affects his draft stock. I think age is one issue when covering a draft prospect, but I agree more with Jim Callis. He's still very young relative to most minor leaguers and prospects progress at different rates; it isn't linear progress for most players/prospects. If Bobby Witt Jr. starts at low-A next year I see no problem with his age relative to level.

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[tweet] [/tweet]I find it hard to believe Bobby Witt ranks second on that prestigious list. I feel like in my lifetime that both Manny Machado and Justin Upton (everyone assumed Upton was moving off SS though) were rated higher. I'd personally take Carlos Correa over him if they were both in the same draft too. Over at Fangraphs a few months back it seemed like they had C.J. Abrams and Bobby Witt basically tied in their draft rankings.

I'd rather have RHP Brennan Malone, who goes at the very next pick to Milwaukee at #28 in this mock draft on Fangraphs. Again, I don't want the Cubs to target a pitcher with so many good hitters still available. I'm still a little upset over the pitcher heavy draft class of 2017. There is a chance both 1st round picks (Brendon Little and Alex Lange) end up being busts from that draft... Among the hitters still available I like Nasim Nunez, Matthew Lugo, Braden Shewmake and Gunnar Henderson. I say just take a hitter with the first pick and a pitcher in the 2nd round (if the Cubs are intent on taking some pitching). EDIT: So Kameron Misner is also still available in this mock draft when the Cubs are picking, but I think his profile is too risky for their liking. I doubt they take him now if he's available. ----- There is talk of the Cubs changing things up and doing things differently, but they understand risk and which demographic pools are the most likely to yield a big league player. Taking a HS pitcher is one of the most dangerous demographics to tap with your 1st round pick (and why I doubt they do it). I understand if the right pitcher falls it's worth taking a shot, but it can blow up very quickly. I also don't trust them when it comes to pitching, but the Cubs claim they've changed their process for evaluating pitchers. We'll see...

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[tweet] [/tweet]The Lodolo one is pretty good lol.

Lol. This was exactly my thought process last year with the Nico Hoerner selection. I was not happy at the time (and thought they should go for someone with a higher upside), but that pick has worked out pretty well so far. I'm praying Hoerner doesn't turn into Almora 2.0

[tweet] [/tweet] So there is a lot of interesting info in the article. The Cubs are finalizing their draft big board and getting some final looks at players in private workouts. The quote about being "typecast" is interesting and funny. I also think this draft is going to be pretty unpredictable, but fully expect the Cubs to take a pretty polished college bat in the 1st round. Probably one HS arm in the later rounds (maybe in the sixth round again).

On ESPN in the latest mock draft by Keith Law he has the Cubs taking 1B Logan Wyatt, which is pretty disappointing if true. He's super patient and draws a ton of walks, but he doesn't hit for enough power and the swing isn't geared for power. I think he'll get exposed and this super patient approach won't work in MLB. Also, he's not great defensively. If the Cubs are taking a 1B prospect the only one I really like in this draft is Michael Busch. Okay, yeah I also like Andrew Vaughn, but that's not happening...

Have you heard anything about Riley Thompson and the changes the Cubs' player development staff have made? It seems like both his command and control have improved drastically from where it was in college.

[tweet] [/tweet] In the first mock draft on The Athletic they have their beat writers select for each team so it's Sahadev Sharma for the Cubs. This should make Hrubes20 happy lol. Will Wilson is selected right before this pick to the Diamondbacks at #26 and Kameron Misner goes at #17 to the Nationals. I don't think we're taking Greg Jones because it doesn't fit what we've seen this FO do with their top pick. They're willing to take players with great athleticism that lack polish and are still raw in that 2nd/3rd round area (Jacob Hannemann and Brennan Davis). I don't think they would take that kind of player in the 1st round and Greg Jones has some doubters in regards to his swing/hit tool and how much power he'll develop. He's definitely an amazing athlete and would be the most athletic player in our system.

From the latest K. McDaniel chat on Fangraphs:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/2080adam/status/1132019218701017088[/tweet]