2015 Draft Thread

[HendryWallet]

Who are some of the guys (for those of you who follow this more in depth) want/think will be there with our 2nd round pick?

I would love for Young from TCU to fall to us but doubt it

[Tryptamine]

Are there 2 rounds today?

Yes

But not for us.

Yes, we still have pick 47 today

Guys I'm hoping somehow get to 47, Thom Eschelman or Jacob Nix would be nice.

[bukie]

isn't the draft record of high school first basemen absolutely horrendous?

Active players drafted out of high school as a 1B:

- Anthony Rizzo
- Adrian Gonzalez
- Prince Fielder
- James Loney
- Edwin Encarnacion
- Freddie Freeman
- Logan Morrison
- Eric Hosmer
- Jonathan Singleton
- Chris Carter
- Mark Trumbo

[Outshined_One]

So where does Happ fit on the Cubs' top 10, assuming he signs?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Junior looks like a big fat fatty.

[KingCubsFan]

So where does Happ fit on the Cubs' top 10, assuming he signs?

Probably somewhere between 3-5.

[ScrubMD]

So where does Happ fit on the Cubs' top 10, assuming he signs?

Schwarber, Torres, and McKinney are the only guys I would for sure have ahead of him. Maybe Edwards and Underwood.

[Tryptamine]

So where does Happ fit on the Cubs' top 10, assuming he signs?

Probably somewhere between 3-5.

#4 for me behind Torres,McKinney and Schwarber.

[Tryptamine]

Cleveland with some huge balls.

[toonsterwu]

It's interesting that Happ was announced as an OF, but McLeod noted the potential to play 2nd in the press release. Feels like this may be another Zagunis-type situation - they like the bat and will bring him in the fall to see if he can man 2nd, if not, perhaps push him up faster as an OF.

Can't complain about the pick. Not hugely excited ... I mean ... Happ is fairly similar to Zagunis if both are considered as corner OF's. That said, poor draft at the top. I wasn't even excited about the top 3 pitchers ... and I'm okay with drafting a pitcher in Round 1. I really like what I've seen of Cornelius Randolph, though, and I wonder if we'll look back in a few years and go damn, Randolph was next. Happ's safer, though.

Really fascinated with Whitley down the stretch, so will be fascinated to see how that turns out in Tampa. I like the Bregman/Tucker combination for Houston - not exactly a "floor" pick with Bregman, but a safer pick, and then a home run type gamble on Tucker. This presumes they get them all signed.

As for 2nd round ... tough to figure out who gets there. Looking at BA's top 200, my personal favorite is Joe McCarthy (would love to see if a swing coach can tinker with him a bit to get more power ... very disciplined, strong eye, and lots of raw power potential) ... but I doubt they draft another OF that early. I wonder if we'll go with another Stinnett-esque pick and save some money to push later ... although if I remember correctly, didn't they call about Derek Casey last year before going with Stinnett?

If Scott Kingery or Ke'Bryan Hayes are there, I'd be intrigued with those picks, particularly Kingery (granted, he's a 2nd baseman, and they may want to try Happ at 2nd as well, but Kingery's got such a good bat). Arm wise, maybe Cody Ponce falls there. That'd be an intriguing gamble. I'm somewhat intrigued with the little I know on Blake Hickman. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm too lazy to check right now, but didn't we draft Hickman back in the day? Sounds like an exciting arm to mold.

Just too far away to really know right now.

Cleveland popping Aiken and Giants popping Bickford - some high ceiling arms are coming off the board. I imagine Matuella will go late first and Kirby late first-early 2nd. Dream result would be Nate Kirby falling to us, but I doubt that.

[HendryWallet]

I I'm somewhat intrigued with the little I know on Blake Hickman. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm too lazy to check right now, but didn't we draft Hickman back in the day? Sounds like an exciting arm to mold.

According to Iowa's bio we drafted him in the 20th round in 2012 as a catcher out of simeon

[David]

from the baseball prospectus draft guy:

9. Chicago Cubs
Ian Happ, OF, Louisville
There are some guys who just get hitting. Ian Happ is one of those guys. The switch-hitting outfielder was the best pure hitter for me in the draft, and is a great pick for the Cubs (yes, I know, you wanted a pitcher). His swing is excellent from both sides of the plate, and there's sneaky pop from the left-side as well, with enough strength to drive into the gaps from the right. The question is whether he'll play second base or the outfield, but wherever he plays, he's going to hit. Another great pick from Theo Epstein and company.

No, sir, I did not.

[David]

can't wait to watch this guy put up video game numbers for a month in the lower levels

[Cubswin11]

can't wait to watch this guy put up video game numbers for a month in the lower levels

That's what he's supposed to do

[David]

isn't the draft record of high school first basemen absolutely horrendous?

Since 1965, I can only find 3 players drafted out of HS as a first basemen. One was Logan Morrison.

EDIT: The search didn't work right. Lots of 1B drafted out of HS.

Wasn't Rizzo?

[toonsterwu]

So where does Happ fit on the Cubs' top 10, assuming he signs?

Probably somewhere between 3-5.

#4 for me behind Torres,McKinney and Schwarber.

Let's see, I'd probably go

1. Kyle Schwarber
2. Gleyber Torres

A tier below
3-7 in some order - Duane Underwood, Ian Happ, Billy McKinney, Mark Zagunis, Carl Edwards Jr.

8-10 Trevor Clifton, Dan Vogelbach, ?

Not sure, tough to fill it out right now, and there's a 2nd round pick to factor in. A long way to go in the season. Underwood could slide down a bit. Depending on the reports for Clifton, he could go up or down. If Happ ends up in LF, we really have 3 have three somewhat similar guys in Happ/McKinney/Zagunis, so it's hard to figure how to rank those three. Vogelbach could obviously be gone by season's end.

[toonsterwu]

I I'm somewhat intrigued with the little I know on Blake Hickman. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm too lazy to check right now, but didn't we draft Hickman back in the day? Sounds like an exciting arm to mold.

According to Iowa's bio we drafted him in the 20th round in 2012 as a catcher out of simeon

2012 would be the first year for this regime, draft-wise, right? If so, Hickman is probably someone on their radar, as we know scouts love to keep tabs on their guys, even after a position-switch.

[Tim]

Don't forget all the prospects we will get when we are sellers at the deadline.

[Cubswin11]

Nice [expletive] outfit, Ashe

[NonProfitCow]

Cards are going to draft Funkhauser, and I don't like it.

[ARCubsFan]

Cards are going to draft Funkhauser, and I don't like it.

He'll no doubt replace Wacha who replaced Wainwright who replaced Carpenter

[Tryptamine]

Cards are going to draft Funkhauser, and I don't like it.

I heard the same thing, but it would be a strange move. Kids velocity is down like 4mph and he wont give medicals to anyone.

[toonsterwu]

With the way this draft is going, I do wonder if an intriguing college arm slips to us. Still .. 25 picks is a long way to go, but there's at least a half-dozen intriguing college arms on the board. Heck, Jon Harris is still hanging around. Betting money is none fall to 47, but it's intriguing how the HS arms and then the double shortstops going off in the teens have forced some college arms down.

Leaving aside the fact that I'd like an intriguing college arm to slip to us ... I do like the Nick Plummer pick for the Cardinals.

[ARCubsFan]

Probably the next Babe Ruth

[NonProfitCow]

Plummer. YESSSSS