Yesterday wrapped up the first year player draft for Major League Baseball, and the Cubs closed it out by selecting another 20 youngsters. Despite the flowery stories you hear about all the baseball stars who were drafted in the later rounds, the truth is that most of these guys will do one of two things:
1.) Not sign, either because they slipped so low, or because teams knew they would not sign unless they were drafted high, and so teams let them slip; or
2.) Become minor league roster filler.
I know, it’s not nice, but it’s sincere. For the guys that do sign with the Cubs from these later rounds, many will get a nice chunk of change – the Cubs have a habit of drafting the “will not sign unless drafted high” types in the later rounds, and then throwing enough money at them to change their minds.
Overall, the Cubs selected 23 pitchers (17 right-handers and six lefties), 15 infielders, seven outfielders and five catchers. Scouting director Tim Wilken chose 36 college players and 14 high school players in the three-day Draft. cubs.com.
If you’ve checked out our 2009 Cubs Draft resource before, please note that soon, it will have a complete list of the draftees, information on their signing, and links to articles about them. It’ll be pretty sweet. But it takes a little time to put together, so please be patient.