I have a feeling a couple of years from now we're going to look back on this day as the day Jeff Luhnow prevented the Cubs from drafting Mark Appel.

As for Kris Bryant, he hit 31 homers this season, which is a ton these days, but USD was never really able to find him a defensive position, and when his team needed him to come up big in the post-season, he had one hit in five games.
Not that Bryant will have to worry about playing post-season games as long as he's with the Cubs ...

5 picks until the Birds pick. Intrigued by Braden Shipley, Austin Wilson and J. P. Crawford. Hearing the Cardinals liked Tim Anderson, but don't think any of the 3 I just mentioned were supposed to be there.  Could get interesting here in a few minutes. 

Damn, now Crawford goes to the Phillies. 

19) Marco Gonzalez- LHP from Gonzaga

I know nothing about either pick.

http://www.gozags.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=627518&SPID=90843&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=26400&ATCLID=205176487&Q_SEASON=2012

http://www.gozags.com/Gonzales.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26400?KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=26400&DB_LANG=C&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=

ESPN's take on Kaminsky. 

"Kaminsky is one of the most advanced prep pitchers in this draft class, making up for his lack of projection with good command and a strong curveball.

He's mostly 90-92 mph with his fastball already, but doesn't project to add velocity because he is largely filled out and his delivery already makes good use of his lower half. His curveball is consistently plus with good depth and, coupled with a fastball that's not that easy for hitters to pick up, he showed he could miss bats even on the showcase circuit last summer. His arm action is very clean and the only possible improvement to his delivery might be to lengthen his stride and see if the occasional 93 or 94 he flashes can become more frequent.

Kaminsky tries to drive the fastball down as much as he can, but he'll probably always be a little fly-ball-prone, limiting his ceiling somewhat, but I could easily see a No. 4 starter with a chance for better because of his command."

Last edited by forsberg_us (6/06/2013 9:51 pm)

ESPN on Gonzalez

"Gonzales is a highly polished command-and-control lefty with excellent secondary stuff, great athleticism, and a barely-average fastball. He's mostly 89-90 but will work across the 87-91 range, locating it extremely well, especially down in the zone -- he hadn't allowed a homer all year as of April 28. His changeup is plus, one of the best in this draft, at 77-79, fooling hitters more on arm speed than on action, and his curveball is average to a tick above at 75-77 with varying angles.

His feel for pitching is outstanding, and he can get hitters out with all three pitches with no trouble turning a lineup over. He's one of the best hitters on Gonzaga as well, among the team leaders in average and OBP, and would probably be drafted in the top five or six rounds as a position player, falling mostly because he only shows power in BP. His delivery is very simple and easy to repeat, leading to the plus command.


Gonzales' main drawback is his lack of projection -- he's listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, which is likely generous, and will probably pitch with less velocity when he's going every fifth day. You're probably getting a fourth starter, a league-average guy or slightly worse, but one who's very high-probability and could pitch in the majors this fall or next spring."

Last edited by forsberg_us (6/06/2013 9:54 pm)

forsberg_us wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

TTTIB just pickdd Lorenzen. I'm shocked he lasted this long. Huge arm.

There are concerns he wants to play the outfield rather than pitch. 

I've heard he wants to give centerfield a shot first, with pitching as a fallback. He's a good htter, and he's got great range. I wouldn;t rule out him making it as a position player.
 

It appears they may have gone with a high floor, low ceiling pick in Gonzalez, then maybe a little more upside with Kaminski. It will be interesting to see if they take a bigger gamble on a signability guy in rounds 2 or 3. It would seem their first 2 picks shouldn't stress their pool money that much.  

artie_fufkin wrote:

The Cubs picked a pitcher from Mizzou who went 2-9 this season. I thought Mizzou dropped baseball.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or serious. Mizzou is making a $4M upgrade in their stadium with the new SEC money.