As we noted yesterday, the Chicago Cubs came to terms with first round pick Hayden Simpson, but those terms were not disclosed immediately. Those terms were just disclosed, and they reveal that indeed, the Cubs did reap the one reward of picking a 4th round projected player in the first round.
“The first couple days were kind of a whirlwind,” Simpson said. “I’m from a town of 13,000 people, and everybody wanted to take credit for this. I love the people of Magnolia. They’ve enjoyed it, and I’ve enjoyed it. The community has shown a lot of support, and the state has shown a lot of support. It’s been fun.”
Simpson, who signed for $1.06 million will get to work immediately, going to Mesa, Ariz., to work out before joining the Cubs’ Class A Boise team. Simpson was 13-1 with a 1.81 ERA in his junior season at Southern Arkansas, a Division II school. He had six complete games in his 15 starts, and struck out 131 in 99 1/3 innings while walking 35. cubs.com.
Recommended slot for where the Cubs were picking was about $1.5 million, so they saved a pretty penny by picking Simpson. I still contend that the Cubs would not have selected him in the first round if they believed there was a realistic chance he’d be available in the second round (let alone fourth or fifth as many are saying).
Given his age, 21, the Cubs likely hope he can dominate at Low A Boise before taking a turn in the Arizona Fall League.