For the second year in a row, the Cubs have selected a pitcher from Missouri with their second round pick. Last time around it was Pierce Johnson from Missouri State. This time it’s 6’3″ lefty Rob Zastryzny from Mizzou. Could this be the start of another run on pitching from the Cubs? In 2012 they took 7 pitchers in …
Cubs Draftee Profile: Kris Bryant
Welp, that was a bit of a surprise. As had been predicted by a few folks (notably, Aisle424), the Cubs passed over one of the big college arms and selected Kris Bryant at #2 overall. I think we can be more confident in their candidness regarding their preference for position players over pitchers in general in the draft. Unfortunately, we …
2013 MLB Draft: Live Draft Thread- Surprise! Cubs Take Kris Bryant
Draft Coverage The 2013 MLB Draft kicks off at 6pm on MLB Network. The first two rounds are tonight. Pre-draft coverage is already underway. Unfortunately, Greg Amsinger is hosting rather than Brian Kenny. And as always, it seems, the guys who really know what’s going on are more or less marginalized. Peter Gammons, Harold Reynolds, and John Hart are at the main table. …
2013 MLB Draft: Pre-Draft Rumor Mongoose-ing Thread
Schedule The 2013 MLB Draft starts at 6 pm CT, with coverage on MLBN kicking off an hour before that. The first two rounds take place today, with 3-10 coming tomorrow, and the remainder on Saturday. If this year is anything like last year, top players will go in the first few rounds, followed by a bunch of signable college seniors …
2013 MLB Draft: Jonathan Gray Tests Positive for Adderall
Does Adderall Add to the Fastball? Two days ago, the news broke that Jonathan Gray was one of two players to test positive for Adderall in tests administered by MLB to the top 200 propects in the draft. Adderall is an amphetamine. There is a decent chance (I would say in the neighborhood of one in three) that Gray is selected …
OV Daily Facepalm 5.21.13
Matt Garza returns tonight Garza is back and ready to go tonight, bumping Villanueva to the bullpen. The Cubs say Villanueva will be used in long relief, but given how their late inning options have sucked lately I'd rather see him in the late inning mix with Fujikawa and Transformed Kevin Gregg. Suddenly the Cubs pen doesn't looks quite as …
2013 MLB Draft: who do you take?
The first round of the 2013 MLB Draft is on June 6th and we haven't written much about it lately. A few days ago in the comments, jtsunami (think it was him) mentioned that he might lean more toward Kris Bryant because of his 80 power. For those not familiar with the scouting scale, players are graded on a 20-80 …
2013 MLB Draft: Could the Cubs Force the Astros to Pass on Appel?
Kiley McDaniel has posted his first mock for the 2013 MLB Draft and passes along some potentially interesting machinations from behind the scenes. Dmick has previously addressed the possibility that the Astros could once again pass on Mark Appel, but McDaniel doesn’t think it will happen: Last year, there was a large top group of talent with varying price tags that allowed …
Gordon Wittenmyer goes out on limb, predicts Cubs likely to take one of the top two talents available at number 2
I don't have a subscription to the Sun-Times. Can't imagine I ever will, so I got this info from MLBTR. Major League Baseball's draft is still about six weeks away, but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Cubs are likely to draft either Stanford right-hander Mark Appel or Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray with the No. 2 overall pick. …
2013 MLB Draft: Potential Penalty Figures for Cubs
Last year MLB and the MLBPA agreed to some draconian rules regarding the draft. Gone were the days when you could spend whatever you want. You might think that MLB may have adopted some penalties that may still have allowed teams to go over their first 10-rounds budget, but they made the penalties so damn harsh that they essentially eliminated …