The signing deadline for the 2016 MLB Draft is coming in one week (July 15), and the Chicago Cubs have officially announced the signing of 21 players, listed below in bold:
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Among the signings were all eight of the Cubs’ picks in the top 10 rounds (the bonus pool rounds), and you can read more about that crew here.
Given that the Cubs had the smallest bonus pool in baseball, and picked later than any team in baseball, you’ve got to feel like they did the best they reasonably could in this draft. Not only did the Cubs target college pitchers heavily (which makes sense given the need in the system), but they also targeted some guys with a good deal of upside who fell because of injury concerns (Hatch, for example) or possibly being limited to the bullpen (Mekkes and Clark, for example).
The Cubs will have spent up their entire pool, plus the 5% extra they can go without losing a future draft pick, and will have brought in some genuinely interesting prospects in the process. When you’ve sacrificed your top two picks (and the associated bonus pool) in free agency, there’s only so much you can do in the draft in the current system. This is pretty much exactly what I was hoping the Cubs would be able to do: get some guys who have a legit shot of becoming notable prospects down the road, even if they aren’t already obvious future impact guys.
Don’t forget about the BN Blogathon fundraiser for Make-A-Wish:
Tremendous progress, and I can't thank you enough! Let's keep going! https://t.co/jeaEwFx7Wg pic.twitter.com/VYLWzKpgY2
— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) July 9, 2016
I'm so eager for Cubs to win, & for MAW fundraiser to hit its goal, I'm gonna donate $50 if Cubs win tonight: https://t.co/jeaEwFx7Wg
— Brett Taylor (@BleacherNation) July 9, 2016