Callis has published his final mock draft and he has the Cubs still taking Albert Almora.
6. CUBS. Some teams think Chicago would take Florida high school outfielder Albert Almora if it had the No. 1 overall pick. While that might be a bit of a stretch, the Cubs aren't going to pass him up at No. 6. If they did, it might be for Fried.
Projected Pick: ALBERT ALMORA.
I posted his scouting report here and Berselius had some notes from yesterday afternoon regarding the draft. I'll update this thread as we hear about new rumors throughout the day.
UPDATE @ 11:53 AM: Connor Glassey of Baseball America has nearly completed a draft day chat and had the following ot say about Almora.
Rory (Mexico): Do you see any of the top 10 players drafted today in the 2012 MLB draft make Baseball America's top 50 Mid Season Prospect list? Thank you,
Conor Glassey: We put 8 prospects from last year's draft in our preseason Top 50: Bauer, Bundy, Cole, Rendon, Hultzen, Starling, Bradley and Lindor. This year there will be fewer, but I could see Buxton, Correa, Appel & Gausman in that range, with the possibility for more like Zimmer, Zunino, Fried, Almora & Giolito.
And another:
Theo (War Room): Who should we choose – Almora or Correa? Doesn't Correa have more upside than the "safer" pick Almora who could top out as a solid regular major leaguer down the road?
Conor Glassey: Don't think Correa's getting to the Cubs at 6. Almora would be a great pick there.
UPDATE @ 12:36 PM: Another Q&A from Glassey:
Paul (Santa Clara, CA): Who has the better chance of reaching their potential – Albert Almora, Courtney Hawkins, or David Dahl?
Conor Glassey: Almora has the best chance of those three because he's so polished.
More updates coming…
Comments
But does he have a workout video? Otherwise, no dice.
joshQuote Reply
Nate linked a great article over at Cubs Den earlier this morning
http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2012/06/observations-on-javier-baez/
Sounds like Baez is just a fierce competitor, not a raging asshole
BerseliusQuote Reply
he’s a 19 year old millionaire hitting 450 ft bombs. Im sure all of us would have been assholes too (dying laughing)
dylanjQuote Reply
Wouldn’t taking Amoral go against “the cubs way”?
GWQuote Reply
GW wrote:
(dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ dylanj:
(dying laughing), yeah, no kidding. I just mean that it’s really easy for people to draw a line between “OMG TERRIBLE SPORTMANSHIP” to clubhouse cancer, but it looks like it’s not the case with Baez.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Sorry, that was a pretty cool autocorrect (I assume you were on a phone)
I think the Cubs said they were going to focus on pitching but in the first round it sounds like you take the best player available, so if they made a case that Almora was the best guy available even with pitching still on the board, then I guess that works. If they took Fried or Gaussman (if available) I don’t think I’d complain though.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
lineup
CF Campana
SS Castro
RF DeJesus
1B LaHair
3B Stewart
2B Barney
C Clevenger
P Shark
Cubs going for the sweep!
BerseliusQuote Reply
i know they want to focus on pitching but i think i’ve read several times this is a really shitty draft for pitching.
dylanjQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
nope, just a half-assed language joke.
GWQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
It depends not on the attitude, but how well he’s liked by the fans and media, which is based on how good the player is.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Berselius:
They’re going to need a lot of sweeps to move to the top. The Pads and Twins can’t seem to stop losing.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Cubs have a two-game cushion against the Twins but are a game back of SD.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I just realized I was looking at the old standings below instead of actually checking the real standings. I’m suing OV for making me look dumb.
joshQuote Reply
@ dylanj:
I’m generally fine if a team doesn’t go after much pitching in a draft, but I’d take any of the 3 RHP if available before I’d go with Almora. I’d also take Correa before him.
mb21Quote Reply
I updated the post
mb21Quote Reply
Quick chem question on the forum, if anyone knows things about such things: http://obstructedview.net/forum.html?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=81#postid-944
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Safe choice is okay. I kind of want the awesome choice. Who is the awesome choice? That’s probably bad strategy.
joshQuote Reply
I don’t know why we’re even discussing this anyway. Albert Pujols was a 38th round pick so it makes no difference who anyone drafts.
/Yellon
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Was he one of the ones who was drafted late because everyone thought he’d be too expensive to sign, or one of those that slipped under the radar?
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
He was drafted in the 13th round. The evaluators just missed on him. It happens.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
It seems like lately the first rounders have gotten much better. Teams must have realized what it was costing them to miss the Pujolses and Jeters of the world.
joshQuote Reply
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tommywes/half-cat-half-machine-and-totally-insane
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
That is disgusting… and awesome.
WaLiQuote Reply
Hong-Chi Kuo ————-> Cubs
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Hmmmm, I wonder if he has the plans posted somewhere…I’ve got a neighborhood cat that keeps pooping on my deck.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
If this were 2008, I’d be feeling pretty good right now about our chances.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Not sure if what you are after is in this or not but it is technical.
http://www.clinchem.org/content/39/3/481.full.pdf
pinetarQuote Reply
@ pinetar:
I appreciate it. Not exactly what I was looking for, but still had some interesting information.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
There’s a chapter in Jonah Keri’s book about the Rays devoted to how the Rays completely whiffed on Pujols. And you wonder why some scouts feel really underappreciated…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/transactions/cubs-sign-hong-chih-kuo.html
mb21Quote Reply
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply