Callis has published his final mock draft and he has the Cubs still taking Albert Almora.
6. CUBS. Some teams think Chicago would take Florida high school outfielder Albert Almora if it had the No. 1 overall pick. While that might be a bit of a stretch, the Cubs aren't going to pass him up at No. 6. If they did, it might be for Fried.
Projected Pick: ALBERT ALMORA.
I posted his scouting report here and Berselius had some notes from yesterday afternoon regarding the draft. I'll update this thread as we hear about new rumors throughout the day.
UPDATE @ 11:53 AM: Connor Glassey of Baseball America has nearly completed a draft day chat and had the following ot say about Almora.
Rory (Mexico): Do you see any of the top 10 players drafted today in the 2012 MLB draft make Baseball America's top 50 Mid Season Prospect list? Thank you,
Conor Glassey: We put 8 prospects from last year's draft in our preseason Top 50: Bauer, Bundy, Cole, Rendon, Hultzen, Starling, Bradley and Lindor. This year there will be fewer, but I could see Buxton, Correa, Appel & Gausman in that range, with the possibility for more like Zimmer, Zunino, Fried, Almora & Giolito.
And another:
Theo (War Room): Who should we choose – Almora or Correa? Doesn't Correa have more upside than the "safer" pick Almora who could top out as a solid regular major leaguer down the road?
Conor Glassey: Don't think Correa's getting to the Cubs at 6. Almora would be a great pick there.
UPDATE @ 12:36 PM: Another Q&A from Glassey:
Paul (Santa Clara, CA): Who has the better chance of reaching their potential – Albert Almora, Courtney Hawkins, or David Dahl?
Conor Glassey: Almora has the best chance of those three because he's so polished.
More updates coming…
But does he have a workout video? Otherwise, no dice.
Nate linked a great article over at Cubs Den earlier this morning
http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2012/06/observations-on-javier-baez/
Sounds like Baez is just a fierce competitor, not a raging asshole
he’s a 19 year old millionaire hitting 450 ft bombs. Im sure all of us would have been assholes too (dying laughing)
Wouldn’t taking Amoral go against “the cubs way”?
GW wrote:
(dying laughing)
@ dylanj:
(dying laughing), yeah, no kidding. I just mean that it’s really easy for people to draw a line between “OMG TERRIBLE SPORTMANSHIP” to clubhouse cancer, but it looks like it’s not the case with Baez.
@ Rice Cube:
Sorry, that was a pretty cool autocorrect (I assume you were on a phone)
I think the Cubs said they were going to focus on pitching but in the first round it sounds like you take the best player available, so if they made a case that Almora was the best guy available even with pitching still on the board, then I guess that works. If they took Fried or Gaussman (if available) I don’t think I’d complain though.
lineup
CF Campana
SS Castro
RF DeJesus
1B LaHair
3B Stewart
2B Barney
C Clevenger
P Shark
Cubs going for the sweep!
i know they want to focus on pitching but i think i’ve read several times this is a really shitty draft for pitching.
@ Rice Cube:
nope, just a half-assed language joke.
@ Berselius:
It depends not on the attitude, but how well he’s liked by the fans and media, which is based on how good the player is.
@ Berselius:
They’re going to need a lot of sweeps to move to the top. The Pads and Twins can’t seem to stop losing.
@ josh:
Cubs have a two-game cushion against the Twins but are a game back of SD.
@ Rice Cube:
I just realized I was looking at the old standings below instead of actually checking the real standings. I’m suing OV for making me look dumb.
@ dylanj:
I’m generally fine if a team doesn’t go after much pitching in a draft, but I’d take any of the 3 RHP if available before I’d go with Almora. I’d also take Correa before him.
I updated the post
Quick chem question on the forum, if anyone knows things about such things: http://www.obstructedview.net/forum.html?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=81#postid-944
@ mb21:
Safe choice is okay. I kind of want the awesome choice. Who is the awesome choice? That’s probably bad strategy.
I don’t know why we’re even discussing this anyway. Albert Pujols was a 38th round pick so it makes no difference who anyone drafts.
/Yellon
@ Berselius:
Was he one of the ones who was drafted late because everyone thought he’d be too expensive to sign, or one of those that slipped under the radar?
@ josh:
He was drafted in the 13th round. The evaluators just missed on him. It happens.
@ mb21:
It seems like lately the first rounders have gotten much better. Teams must have realized what it was costing them to miss the Pujolses and Jeters of the world.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tommywes/half-cat-half-machine-and-totally-insane
@ EnricoPallazzo:
That is disgusting… and awesome.
Hong-Chi Kuo ————-> Cubs
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Hmmmm, I wonder if he has the plans posted somewhere…I’ve got a neighborhood cat that keeps pooping on my deck.
@ Berselius:
If this were 2008, I’d be feeling pretty good right now about our chances.
@ josh:
Not sure if what you are after is in this or not but it is technical.
http://www.clinchem.org/content/39/3/481.full.pdf
@ pinetar:
I appreciate it. Not exactly what I was looking for, but still had some interesting information.
@ josh:
There’s a chapter in Jonah Keri’s book about the Rays devoted to how the Rays completely whiffed on Pujols. And you wonder why some scouts feel really underappreciated…
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/transactions/cubs-sign-hong-chih-kuo.html