Bleacher Bums Forum

Cubs finally picked a guy that might actually be able to be a starting pitcher.

To me this draft is just a typical Cubs draft. The did great in the first round and then after that it was kinda like I guess.

The need starting pitching and it is the strength of the draft and they don’t take anybody until the 5th round. He a 3 sport high schooler so hopefully there is untapped potential there. The got 2 hard throwing lefties with control issues that profile as relievers and a LF that mashes the ball.

The Cubs have done well under Espstein after the first when the go after high school kids with potential, Cease, Steele, Davis, and  Roederer. The Cubs have done that so rarely though and it is just frustrating to see the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  When Epstein contract is up I hope they go after the D-Backs leadership.

The Cubs have done well under Espstein after the first when the go after high school kids with potential, Cease, Steele, Davis, and  Roederer. The Cubs have done that so rarely though and it is just frustrating to see the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  When Epstein contract is up I hope they go after the D-Backs leadership. [

I think it's tough to say the Cubs have done well doing that when those guys have collectively played 0 innings for them.  And three of them 0 innings period.

Little is a raw 19 year old with poor control and Burl is the top pure reliever in the draft (and perhaps close to the majors), so not surprising that the latter drafted higher.

But, the point is a report that Little has a “above-average” slider with bite—-that contradicts notion of “no secondary stuff.”

Maybe you saw Little pitch on a day that BA is unaware of.

Fangrapghs, Law, McDaniel and MLB pipeline all disagree with BA’s description of an above average slider, but I forgot only BA matters to you. That doesn’t really matter though, because the Cubs have done well with tweaking breaking balls recently.   I’m more worried about syncing up his devlivery to make his control passable.

So what if Burl is the best college reliever and closest to majors.  The last 2 years there have been 3 college relievers that have had 10 saves in a major league season. Being the best college reliever doesn’t guarantee success. He still has a violent delivery with control issues that won’t go away.

Nationals took former Cubs draftee Mitchell Parker in the 5th round.

He had 2 scary great seasons at San Jac...

...To me this draft is just a typical Cubs draft. The did great in the first round and then after that it was kinda like I guess.

The need starting pitching and it is the strength of the draft and they don’t take anybody until the 5th round. ...

The Cubs have done well under Espstein after the first when the go after high school kids with potential, Cease, Steele, Davis, and  Roederer. The Cubs have done that so rarely though and it is just frustrating to see the same thing over and over ...

It's a new scouting boss, and a restructured development system.  I'm just going to hope that their analysis can see untapped potential, and can recognize correctible mechanical issues; and that they have the development process to bring the best out of some highly imperfect prospects who have some loud tools. 
*Burl and Little are big-time wild; but both are big-time fast.  Let's see if the development can get more out of them than in past from Steele or Hudson or Blackburn or Zastrysny or Stinnett or Carson Sands. 
*Moreno is a nice projectable prospect, but barely got over 90 last year.  Let's see if maturation and development turns him into a solid competitive fastball to go with other qualities; or if he's always velocity-short.

Absolutely true that once again, they didn't even try with rotation pitching.  They haven't spent on international pitchers for years, they didn't try this draft, they didn't in the Hoerner draft, and if you believe Jensen and McAvene last year are relievers not starters, then they didn't try last draft either. 

I kind of figure that if you hit on a 4th or 2nd rounder and Little or Lang end up being quality power-lefty relievers in the majors, though, I'm not going to complain "what bad picks, we should have gotten good rotation starters, but all we got from 2nd and 4th round were two excellent relievers".  But yeah, sooner or later SOMEBODY needs to start. 

Blackburn, Underwood, McNeil, and Prietto in the first 5 rounds.  Sands, Steele, Cease, all million-dollar guys.  Bryan Hudson, Darryl Wilson, million-dolllar guys or close, right?  Estrada got a million, and Velasquez was high-ceililng.  Davis and Kohl look good, plus Roederer was that year.  So they've taken some HS upside guys and signed a number of millionish guys.  They just haven't worked that well prior to Davis and maybe Kohl. 

Not sure it's philosophy, I think it's probably just case-by-case scouting and developing.  Derek Johnson just loved Stinnett.  Oops.  McLeod and somebody really loves Zastryzny, and they loved Carson Sands.  Oh well. 

Regarding Cubs signing international pitchers, Cubs signed what some considered the top international pitcher in the 2018 signing period, Richard Gallardo. 

Longenhagen says he has peaked already, so looks like that hasn't panned out.  Cubs were also hurt by two consecutive years recently when they were prohibited from signing anybody for over $300,000 (except from Mexico, with clubs getting most of the bonus).  In any case, it's a very poor record, obviously.

I get it that folks don't get excited about drafting reliever-types. 

And, the analysts that we read always downgrade pitching prospects who project as relievers.  Get that.  They throw a lot fewer innings than starters.  They rack up fewer WAR totals. 

But, if your bullpen sucks, you are going to go crazy.  Nats didn't start to move up last year until the bullpen got a lot better.  There are more relievers in every pen than ever before.  The high velocity guys are relievers, as a group.  Bullpens are pitching more and more innings in the aggregate than ever before.

So, I'm not averse to developing power relievers, if that's part of the Cubs new pitching plan. 

Yes, it's a significant problem if you're not drafting and developing SPs.  Just draft and develop better pitchers.  Draft talent, no matter the role. And, develop it.