Cubs Announce Signing Of Eight Players From MLB Draft

Some of these signings have leaked out before, but now they are official. The Cubs have announced that they've signed eight players from the June Amateur Draft, highlighted by second round pick, LHP Rob Zastryzny out of Missouri.

You may have heard of the Cubs signing other players, such as fourth round pick Tyler Skulina, but in these cases, what has actually happened is that the Cubs and the player have "come to terms," which means, essentially, they've agreed on a bonus amount but the player still needs to take his physical, sign all the paperwork and the Cubs have to send it to MLB to get approved. Normally this is just a formality, but occasionally something goes wrong in the physical and you get a situation like Barret Loux or, going back even further, an R.A. Dickey. Fortunately, this is rare.

The signings are as follows.

2nd Round: LHP Rob Zastryzny, Missouri. Zastryzny is a left-hander whose main weapon is a fastball that he can dial up or back on, leading to it being clocked at a pretty wide range of 86 to 95 mph. He also has a promising change-up. Zastryzny reportedly signed for $1.1 million, which is $261,900 below slot for that draft position.

Pro tip: Zastryzny is not nearly as hard to spell if you break it up into three, three-letter syllables. Zas-try-zny.

10th Round RHP Zachary Godley, Tennessee. A senior signing, Godley signed for $35,000, which is $104,000 under slot. Despite that, he was the #1 starter this past season for an SEC team and he was ranked #487 in Baseball America's Top 500 draft prospects. He's a workhorse who threw 88-90 mph as a starting pitcher, but can hit 95 as a reliever and the Cubs will most likely move him to the bullpen because of that.

He'll obviously be a fan favorite for the Smokies if and when he makes it to Double-A.

14th Round C Cael Brockmeyer, Cal State-Bakersfield. Brockmeyer hit .333/.419/.484 for CSU-Bakersfield this past season, so it seems like he has the kind of plate discipline and power that the new regime is looking for in Cubs draftees. At 6'5", 220 pounds, staying behind the plate is going to be a challenge, although the Cubs are likely to let him try and stick there.

18th Round SS Giuseppe Papaccio, Seton Hall. Papaccio is another senior draftee. His senior year for Seton Hall, he hit .365 and led the Big East in doubles. He was named a third-team All-America selection and a first-team All-Big East.

20th Round 2B Zak Blair, Mercyhurst College (PA). Blair is a redshirt senior, so he's already 23 years old. But he did well in the Cape Cod League in 2012, hitting .338 and walking more than he struck out. Cubs Den has an interview with Blair here.

22nd Round LF Kevin Brown, Bryant University (RI). Another senior signing, Brown led Bryant in all three triple-slash stats--.367/.498/.552.

23rd Round LHP Tyler Ihrig, Marin CC (CA). Ihrig is from Monroe, WA. He was the closer for Marin this past season with a 1.58 ERA and 18 saves. He struck out more than a batter an inning.

30th Round RHP Zak Hermans, Princeton. Again, the seniors sign quickly, and Hermans is a senior signing out of Princeton. He was Ivy League Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and this article in the Trentonian describes him as a "hard thrower who likes to challenge hitters."