OK, Now the Protected Pick is Locked In and Other Bullets

2015 mlb draftThe Cubs may have lost by 8 last night, but at least the Bears won by 8. If the Cubs/Cards game had been 27-19, that would have been fun to watch. Well, more fun if it was the Cubs getting 27. Anthony Rizzo with five homers. Jorge Soler with a few triples. Javy Baez with six walks.

  • Cubs outfield prospect Jacob Hannemann, whom the Cubs took in the third round in 2013 and paid well to sign, was among Baseball Prospectus’s disappointing prospects of 2014. The eyes-on reports had him every bit the athlete with upside the Cubs took, but the baseball skills trailed the athleticism (unsurprising, given his long time off from baseball before 2013, when he was focusing on football and took a two-year Mormon mission). Between Low-A and High-A, Hannemann hit .251/.315/.368 with 37 SB (7 CS). The Cubs will have to hope he keeps developing this Fall when he plays in the AFL. Those games start October 7.
  • Not to suggest Hannemann isn’t still an intriguing prospect, but if he’s the guy who showed up on BP’s list of disappointing prospects this year for the Cubs, it must have been a great year for the organization overall (and it was). (And I could argue it really wasn’t *that* bad of a year for Hannemann, considering his unique background, though scouts obviously had more looks at him than I did.)
  • Kyle Hendricks isn’t just a successful, intelligent, presumably good-dancing guy – he’s also really nice. Here he is making the day for some young Cubs fans.
  • Jose Altuve is not tall, but I still didn’t expect to see him leaving his feet to hit a high fastball (foul).
  • The Braves did end up firing GM Frank Wren, and could fill the spot internally with rising star John Coppolella.
  • The Cubs’ bullpen catcher, Chad Noble, does his job very well.
  • As of yesterday morning, the Cubs had “pretty much” guaranteed themselves a protected first round pick for 2015. Well, with last night’s loss, that “pretty much” drops off, and it’s officially official (technically, the Cubs could “fall” past a few teams and finish tied with the Phillies and Marlins for the 11th worst record, but because of the tie-breaker (worse record in 2013) the Cubs would slide “ahead” of the Phillies).
  • If you’re in the area, do what Sahadev says:
  • 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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