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The 50th anniversary MLB draft is now done and dusted and the Cubs stuck to the formula that has been working for them over the past few drafts. Go with hitters early and then go quantity over quality on arms.
The complete list of the Cubs draft picks, by round and overall pick number:
1 (9) Ian Happ OF University of Cincinnati (Ohio) 8/12/94 S/R 6-0 205
2 (47) Donnie Dewees OF University of North Florida 9/29/93 L/L 5-11 180
3 (82) Bryan Hudson LHP Alton H.S. (Ill.) 5/8/97 L/L 6-8 220
4 (113) Darryl Wilson OF Canton South H.S. (Ohio) 10/8/96 L /L 5-8 177
5 (143) Ryan Kellogg LHP Arizona State University 2/4/94 R/L 6-6 230
6 (173) Dave Berg RHP UCLA (Calif.) 3/28/93 R/R 6-0 190
7 (203) Craig Brooks RHP Catawba College (N.C.) 9/23/92 R/R 5-10 180
8 (233) Preston Morrison RHP TCU (Texas) 7/19/93 R/R 6-2 185
9 (263) Tyler Peitzmeier LHP Cal State – Fullerton 2/26/93 L/L 6-2 210
10 (293) Vimael Machin SS VCU (Va.) 9/25/93 L/R 5-11 185
11 (323) Matt Rose 3B Georgia State University (Ga.) 8/2/94 R/R 6-4 195
12 (353) P.J. Higgins 2B Old Dominion University (Va.) 5/10/93 R /R 5-10 185
13 (383) Kyle Twomey LHP University of Southern California 12/29/93 L/L 6-3 170
14 (413) Jake Kelzer RHP Indiana University 6/30/93 R/R 6-8 230
15 (443) Scott Effross RHP Indiana University 12/28/93 R/R 6-1 195
16 (473) Michael Foster CF Northeastern University (Mass.) 11/4/93 R /R 5-11 184
17 (503) Casey Bloomquist RHP Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (Calif.) 1/25/94 R/R 6-3 190
18 (533) John Cresto 3B Cathedral Catholic H.S. (Calif.) 12/15/92 R/R 6-3 210
19 (563) Kyle Miller RHP Florida Atlantic University 12/21/93 R/R 6-2 165
20 (593) Blake Headley 3B University of Nebraska-Lincoln 5/7/93 L/R 6-2 218
21 (623) Jared Cheek RHP University of Georgia (Ga.) 10/31/92 S/R 5-11 180
22 (653) Alex Bautista OF Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) 9/6/93 R/R 6-0 200
23 (683) John Williamson LHP Rice University (Texas) 9/27/92 L/L 6-1 195
24 (713) Sutton Whiting SS University of Louisville (Ky.) 5/13/92 S/R 5-8 170
25 (743) Marcus Mastrobuoni C California State--Stanislaus 11/28/93 R/R 5-11 205
26 (773) Jared Padgett LHP Graceville H.S. (Fla.) 11/18/96 L/L 6-3 190
27 (803) Angelo Amendolare 2B Jacksonville University (Fla.) 12/2/92 R.R 5-9 170
28 (833) Delvin Zinn SS Pontotoc H.S. (Miss.) 5/29/97 R/R 5-10 170
29 (863) Ian Rice C University of Houston (Texas) 8/19/93 R/R 6-0 200
30 (893) Tyler Payne C West Virginia State University 10/25/92 R/R 5-11 210
31 (923) Daniel Spingola OF Georgia Tech 5/5/93 L/L 6-1 180
32 (953) Fitz Stadler RHP Glenbrook South H.S. (Ill.) 4/2/97 R/R 6-7 215
33 (983) M.T. Minacci RHP (No School) 6/6/95 R/R 6-0 175
34 (1,013) Cody Hawken OF Union H.S. (Wash.) 8/4/96 R/R 6-5 205
35 (1,043) Taylor Jones 1B Gonzaga University (Wash.) 12/6/93 R/R 6-7 225
36 (1,073) Al Jones SS Columbus H.S. (Ga.) 12/24/97 S/R 5-9 197
37 (1,103) Donnie Cimino OF Wesleyan University (Conn.) 8/21/93 R/R 6-2 205
38 (1,133) Rayne Supple RHP Champlain Valley H.S. (Vt.) 8/18/97 S/R 6-3 185
39 (1,163) John Kilichowski LHP Vanderbilt University (Tenn.) 5/17/94 L/L 6-5 217
40 (1,193) Domenic DeRenzo C Central Catholic H.S. (Pa.) 3/8/97 R/R 5-11 185
For those of you keeping track at home, that's 22 hitters and 18 pitchers. Of the 22 hitters, there were ten infielders, eight outfielder and four catchers. Of the 18 pitchers, there were 11 righthanders and seven lefties.
Additionally, the Cubs draft was very college-heavy. Of the 40 picks, only 10 were high school players. And several of those were "tough signs" that are unlikely to sign.
However, I expect everyone in the top ten picks to sign. In these days of draft pools, teams generally don't draft a player in the top ten unless they know beforehand what it will take to sign that player. Sometimes there's a miscommunication and sometimes the player changes his demands after the draft and things go wrong, but there is probably a 95 percent chance the Cubs sign all of their top ten draft picks.
All five picks in rounds six through 10 were college seniors, so they should sign pretty quickly and for under slot, as they have little leverage.
Keep in mind that this was generally considered to be a very weak draft, especially after the top dozen players or so. A lot of these guys are uninspiring at this point, but every year someone comes out of nowhere and surprises everyone. Let's hope it's one (or more) of these guys.
Here's a one-line summary of all top 10 picks.
1. Happ. Switch-hitting pure hitter. Weak arm, best position might be second base.
2. Dewees. Line-drive hitting lefty put up impressive numbers in weaker conference. Another weak arm, so left field only.
3. Hudson. Big lefty with a big curve. Still some projection left in his big frame.
4. Wilson. Speedy little guy with good contact skills. No power. Vandy commit, but should sign.
5. Kellogg. Another big lefty. Stuff never lived up to potential at ASU, but could still be a BOR guy.
6. Berg. Right-handed submariner. Rubber arm. Possibly the greatest NCAA reliever ever.
7. Brooks. Short right-hander with a big fastball. Probably future role in bullpen.
8. Morrison. Pitchability righthander with average stuff, but put up great numbers at TCU anyway.
9. Peitzmeier. Titans closer. Change-up specialist. Watch him in CWS this week.
10. Machin. Puerto Rican went to VCU for the education. Dad converted him from lefty to righty at age 5. Possible catcher.
The biggest name among the rest is 26th round pick Jared Pagett, whom Baseball America ranked as the 120th best prospect coming into the draft. He has a strong commit to Mississippi State and is very unlikely to sign.
Other high school players with strong commits and are unlikely to sign are 32nd round pick (from Glenbrook South HS) Stadler (Arizona State), 36th round pick Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt) and 40th round pick DeRenzo (Oklahoma).
Other interesting names taken on Day 3 of the draft.
12. Higgins. Decent hit tool. Part-time catcher. Cubs seem likely to make that full-time.
13. Twomey. A 3rd round pick 3 years ago. Thin, never filled out. Disappointing college career.
18. Cresto. Great athlete. Clean swing. Lots of projection here. Santa Clara commit.
24. Whiting. Short switch-hitting infielder. Baseball smarts, grit both go to 11.
39. Kilichowski. Sophomore-eligible at Vandy. Probably tough sign. At least watch him pitch in CWS.
We're getting the news of some players signing this week, such as first-round pick Ian Happ. Some of them will be announced on the Eugene Emeralds roster later today. We'll try to keep as much on the ball with keeping this list up to date as we can.