Cubs Draft Notes: The Big College Arms, What the Astros Might Do, Financial Considerations, More

gray appelThe 2013 MLB Draft is just a touch under one month away …

  • Hoyer, to Cubs.com, on the Cubs’ plans for that pick as it relates to Houston picking in front of them: “We don’t expect to know until the name is called in New York [on June 6]. When you pick second, it’s a pretty short list [of candidates]. We’ll react to what [the Astros] do. At this time of year, you’ll get texts from friends thinking they know how things will fall out. The truth is, only two or three people in the Astros organization know how it’s going to happen. We don’t expect to know until the last minute. We’ll keep doing our due diligence.” Thankfully, there’s only so much “gaming” the Cubs can be subjected to. If they’ve got a list of two, they’re going to get one of those two, no matter what. The only rub is in pre-draft “discussions” (which aren’t exactly permissible) with players to determine who would be willing to sign for what. You don’t want to be used as a leverage piece, and wind up focusing all of your attention on a young man who isn’t going to be available to you. Again, that doesn’t appear to be an issue here. The Cubs will narrow their list to two, and they’ll take the top guy if the Astros don’t, and the second guy if the Astros do.
  • Jed Hoyer spoke to Jim Bowden and Casey Stern earlier this week on Sirius XM and confirmed that the Cubs aren’t missing any Gray or Appel starts these days, but that those aren’t the only two players the Cubs are considering at the top of the Draft.
  • Phil Rogers hears that the Cubs are still very much considering San Diego third baseman Kris Bryant, as well as Indiana State lefty Sean Manaea, with their first round pick. The latter would require a very strong finish to his season to get back in the mix. As for Bryant, I remain of the mind that the Cubs could wind up taking him, but only if they believe he’s got a better than 50/50 shot of sticking at third base (at 6’5″ and without great defensive scouting reports, it’s a stretch). If he’s a corner outfielder at best, it’s going to be very hard to pass on one of the pitchers.
  • Here’s a question for you (and the Cubs): with a $6.7 million slot amount for the number two pick, it’s fair to estimate that each of Mark Appel or Jonathan Gray is going to demand full slot to sign, and they’ll probably get at least $6 million. What if the Cubs knew they could get Kris Bryant for, say, $4.5 million? Is it worth the savings there, which could be applied to overslot picks down the road, assuming the difference between Bryant/Appel/Gray is very slim in the Cubs’ mind? Maybe. I don’t think it’s a question we can answer, because we don’t know how many overslot/sliding types are interesting to the Cubs right now. If they know there are a ton of guys they expect to slide because of signability questions, well, then maybe they take the chance on Bryant (maybe they want him anyway).
  • (I still expect Appel or Gray, though, as of today.)
  • Jonathan Mayo talks about the possible top picks in the Draft – Appel, Gray, Bryant, Frazier, Meadows, Manaea – and why each should/shouldn’t be the top pick.
  • Conor Glassey looks at what might happen in the first round of the Draft.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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