It is too early to start talking about the 2015 draft. Way too early. Very much way too early.
But since we have very good reason to think that the Cubs will once again zero in on the best college hitter in the draft with their first round pick next summer, it is almost hard not to take an early look at the candidates.
Well, courtesy of Dan Kirby, here you are. Based on that list, and on that list alone, I suspect D.J. Stewart will be ranking very high on the Cubs leaderboard. A left handed slugging left fielder with more walks than strikeouts? Yes, please.
Of course a lot can happen before the draft (because it is, after all, way too early), and I fully expect some names further down that list to surge to the top. Skye Bolt, for example, could be a name to watch. Blake Trahan may need to show a little more power to catch the Cubs’ interest, but he has the rest of the tools. And of course we can’t dismiss Alex Bregman.
Keep in mind that these are just the college hitters. If a very good high school hitter emerges, the Cubs could go that route. And I don’t think we can completely dismiss the chance that they will finally make their critics happy and draft a pitcher high. Those groups are even tougher to project than college hitters, though, so for now we’ll stop here. There will be plenty of time to analyze the rest of the candidates over the next nine plus months.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa could not hold a lead in this 6-5 loss. Tennessee – The Smokies had some chances, but could not cash them in. They lost 5-2. Daytona – The Cubs were able to squeeze in a doubleheader yesterday. They lost Game One 5-1, but rallied to win the second contest 3-2. Kane County – Kane County saved all their runs for the end, but they still won 4-3. Boise Hawks – This was a back and forth affair, but Boise won it 9-8 in ten innings. Arizona – Arizona was rained out. I may try to find the record for AZL Cubs rainouts in a season. We have to be getting close.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Kris Bryant launched his 17th Triple A homer and finished 3 for 5.
[Iowa] Felix Doubront had an interesting game. He struck out 7 over 4 innings (80 pitches), but he also gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks.
[Tennessee] Christian Villanueva and Jae-Hoon Ha both doubled in this one. Ha, with two hits, was the only multi-hit Smokie.
[Tennessee] Addison Russell reached twice on a single and walk. He also stole his second base for Tennessee.
[Daytona] Tayler Scott pitched a nice game in Game Two. Over 6 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and struck out 5.
[Daytona] Dan Vogelbach collected a pair of singles in the second game. Kyle Schwarber also finished the day with two hits, one in each game.
[Daytona] A Game One double helped raise the Daytona line for Jacob Hannemann to .278/.316/.361.
[Daytona] Gioskar Amaya broke out of his slump with a 2 for 3 performance in Game One. That was his first multi-hit game in roughly two weeks.
[Kane County] Jen-Ho Tseng put together another good start. He lasted 5.2 innings, allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, and struck out 5. The only real blemish is that he allowed 3 walks.
[Boise] Trevor Clifton did not have one of his better starts and lasted just 1.2 innings, but Yomar Morel pitched 4.1 innings of relief allowing just one run on 3 hits to keep the game close.
Other News
Jorge Soler had the day off. He made a pinch hit appearance, though, that ended with a strikeout.
Lendy Castillo did a nice Carlos Marmol impression in yesterday’s Double A game. He pitched one inning of relief in which he walked three, struck out two, and escaped without giving up a run.
Rock Shoulders has a nice streak going. Not only has he walked in six straight games, he has actually drawn eleven walks over those six games. He also has three home runs in that span.
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NEWSLETTER
It is too early to start talking about the 2015 draft. Way too early. Very much way too early.
