Jackson Sets Pace Among Cubs 2009 Draft Picks

The Deadline for signing players selected in this past June's Rule 4 Draft ("1st-Year Player Draft") has passed, and the Cubs ended up signing 31 of their 50 picks (including their top 12 picks, and 14 of their top 15), although two of the players they signed (17th round pick RHP B. J. Dail and 23rd round pick OF Jeffrey Pruitt) had their contracts voided last month and are now free-agents.

The Cubs also signed two Non-Drafted Free-Agents (NDFA), but one (LHP Daley Cox) has already been released.

There is no deadline for signing college seniors who have exhausted their eligibilty, but the Cubs signed all of the college seniors they drafted this year.

Of the 29 '09 draftees (plus one NDFA) signed by the Cubs who are still in the organization, 1st round pick CF Brett Jackson (Cal) has had the most-impressive pro debut, hitting 328/427/480 with 6 HR & 34 RBI and 13 SB (2 CS) in 50 games at three stops (AZL Cubs, Boise, and Peoria). 2nd round pick INF D. J. LeMahieu (LSU) has also performed very well, hitting 322/370/391 (combined) at AZL Cubs and Peoria (although where he will ultimately end up defensively is yet TBD), and 4th round pick LHP Chris Rusin (Kentucky) has had a nice debut (2.67 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP with a 8/24 BB/K in 27 IP combined at AZL Cubs and Boise).

A couple of JC guys are flying under the radar and could be steals. 32nd round pick RHP Trey McNutt (Shelton State CC) has an array of quality stuff and looks like he could start or relieve, and 38th round pick Bobby Wagner (a Canadian kid who played JC ball at Panola, TX) is a power-hitting lefty-swinger with a definite HR stroke who was drafted as a 3B, but was moved to LF at Fitch Park.   

Jackson, LeMahieu, and Rusin appear to be the most advanced of the 2009 draft picks, and I would think that (barring injury) all three will likely open the 2010 season at Daytona.

2009 RULE 4 DRAFT

SIGNED:

NOTE: click on player's name for current minor league stats

1. Brett Jackson, OF (Cal) - at PEORIA
2. D. J. LeMahieu, INF (LSU) - at PEORIA
3. Austin Kirk, LHP (Owasso HS - Owasso, OK) - at AZL Cubs
4. Chris Rusin, LHP (Kentucky) - at BOISE
5. Wes Darvill, SS (Langley, BC) - at AZL Cubs
6. Brooks Raley, LHP (Texas A&M) - at AZL Cubs
7. Blair Springfield, IF-OF (MacArthur HS – Decatur, IL) - at AZL Cubs
8. Robert Whitenack, RHP (SUNY – Old Westbury) - at BOISE
9. Richard Jones, C (The Citadel) - at BOISE
10. Charles Thomas, 3B-1B (Edward Waters College) - at AZL Cubs
11. John Mincone, LHP (Suffolk CC – West) - AZL Cubs 60-day DL
12. Runey Davis, OF (Howard JC) - at BOISE
14. Danny Keefe, RHP (U. of Tampa) - at BOISE
15. Cody Shields, OF (Auburn U. – Montgomery) - AZL Cubs 60-day DL (TJS)
18. Matt Williams, C (Duke) - at BOISE
19. Sergio Burruel, C-1B (Trevor Browne HS - Phoenix, AZ) - at AZL Cubs
21. Greg Rohan, 1B-3B (Kent State) - at BOISE
22. D. J. Fitzgerald, INF (Dyersburg State CC) - at BOISE
25. Justin Bour, 1B (George Mason) - at BOISE
26. Steve Grife, RHP (Mercyhurst College) - at AZL Cubs
27. Corey Martin, RHP (Western Carolina) - at BOISE
28. Jordan Petraitis, 3B (Miami U. of Ohio) - at AZL Cubs
29. Tim Clubb, RHP (Missouri State) - at AZL Cubs
32. Trey McNutt, RHP (Shelton State CC) - at BOISE
36. Brandon May, IF-OF (Alabama) - at AZL Cubs
38. Bobby Wagner, OF (Panola JC) - at BOISE
39. Nick Struck, RHP (Mt. Hood JC) - NOT ASSIGNED YET
41. Jake Schmidt, RHP (Concordia U. – St. Paul) - at AZL Cubs
46. Glenn Cook, OF (U. of Miami) - at AZL Cubs

2009 Non-Drafted Free-Agents (NDFA) SIGNED:

Daley Cox, LHP (Santa Fe CC) - HAS BEEN RELEASED
Jesse Ginley, RHP (St. Petersburg CC) - at AZL Cubs

 

SIGNED - CONTRACT SUBSEQUENTLY VOIDED:

17. B. J. Dail, RHP (Mt. Olive College)
23. Jeffrey Pruitt, OF (Cal State – Northridge)

 

THE 19 WHO GOT AWAY (deadline was August 17th):

13. Chad Taylor, SS-RHP (Jefferson HS – Tampa, FL) - signed NLI with U. of South Florida
16. Keenyn Walker, OF (Judge Memorial Catholic HS – Salt Lake City) - signed NLI with Central Arizona JC
20. Eric Erickson, LHP (U. of Miami) - JR (rehabbing from TJS)
24. Gerardo Esquivel, RHP (De La Salle Institute – Chicago, IL) - signed NLI with Kansas State
30. Daniel Sheppard, C (Downers Grove North HS – Downers Grove, IL) - signed NLI with U. of Iowa
31. Andrew Clark, 1B (U. of Louisville) - JR
33. John Lambert, LHP (NC State) - JR
34. Rett Varner, RHP-OF (UT – Arlington) - JR
35. Kevin David, C (Oklahoma State) - draft eligible SOPH
37. Peter Mooney, SS (Palm Beach CC) - JC FRESH
40. Eric Whaley, RHP (Cardinal Gibbons HS – Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - signed NLI with LSU
42. Trey Ford, SS (Chaparral HS – Scottsdale, AZ) - signed NLI with Chandler-Gilbert CC
43. Colin Kaepernick, RHP (U. of Nevada) - JR
44. Frank DeJiulio, RHP (Daytona State CC) - JC FRESH
45. Addison Dunn, RHP (Warren Area HS – Warren, PA) – signed NLI with Kent State
47. Joey Jocketty, 3B (Ladue Horton Watkins HS – St. Louis, MO) - will attend Mami U. of Ohio
48. John Nasshan, RHP (Niles West HS – Skokie, IL) - signed NLI with Bradley U.
49. Christian Segar, OF (McQuaid Jesuit HS – Brighton, NY) - signed NLI with Bradley U.
50. Zach Cleveland, RHP (Central Arizona JC) - JC SOPH (will transfer to U. of New Mexico)

Tags: 
Rule 4 Draft
Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 2:03pm
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Comments

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 2:59pm

We should have spent an extra $10 million an signed all those players.

I mentioned before I am really happy about getting Raley. Obviously he's a real coup for the scouting department since almost everyone figured he'd be asking for crazy money go forgo his last two years after tailing off at the end of the season. Have you gotten to see him yet, AZ Phil? Any talk of him doing things other than being a starting pitcher?

What about Glen Cook, hitting some BP bombs and looking foolish against real pitching?

Also, any idea how if the Cubs signed the number of guys they wanted to sign? How does a team figure out the number of players they want to bring in, or do they just bring in the guys they think have a chance and let things sort themselves out?

Submitted by springs
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 6:27pm

Not sure if you are mocking my previous thoughts on the subject, but I think that could be $10 million well spent, depending on the draft strategy.

Look at the Pirates this year -- other than their 1st round pick, they took lots of good prospects who fell for signability reasons or other issues. The Pirates spent some extra money and had a great draft.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 3:08pm

john lambert was signed...and cut.

great arm, but he's too busy partying to get on with his life. what a f'n waste.

some people never learn...even if he is still a kid.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 3:10pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/news/story?id=44...

Chicago Cubs chairman Crane Kenney has an agreement in place with Tom Ricketts to stay in his current capacity as the team is being sold by Tribune Co. to the Ricketts family, according to ESPN 1000.

The agreement is for multiple years, a source close to Kenney told the radio station.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 5:54pm

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 5:54pm

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Submitted by Chad
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 7:41pm

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 4:07pm

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090824&c...

expedited court date to Aug. 31st for bankruptcy to move the sale along...

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 11:02pm

Can the Cubs use bankruptcy court to shed Soriano's contract?

And why stop there?

Submitted by JoePepitone
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 9:28am

"Can the Cubs use bankruptcy court to shed Soriano's contract?"

It might be theoretically possible but there are numerous practical reasons why it would not even be attempted. Consider first that the run through bankruptcy court has been characterized as a device to expedite the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family. If the Cubs were to try get the bankruptcy court to shed their obligations on players’ contracts, the entire process would get bogged down in very messy litigation with the players' union over the entire matter and we wouldn’t see the sale get completed any time in the foreseeable future. I’d gladly wager in advance that such a maneuver would never even be attempted.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 9:54am

I would imagine that the players union might agree to this if it were an all-or nothing scenario. Make all the Cubs players FA's by voiding all thier contracts. The Soriano, Bradley and Zambrano would get screwed but guys like Theriot, Marmol, and Soto would be quite happy.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 4:11pm

bone chips for Johan, surgery and out for season...could have been worse I suppose

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4421928

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 4:17pm

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 1:59pm.

I mentioned before I am really happy about getting Raley. Obviously he's a real coup for the scouting department since almost everyone figured he'd be asking for crazy money go forgo his last two years after tailing off at the end of the season. Have you gotten to see him yet, AZ Phil? Any talk of him doing things other than being a starting pitcher?

What about Glen Cook, hitting some BP bombs and looking foolish against real pitching?

Also, any idea how if the Cubs signed the number of guys they wanted to sign? How does a team figure out the number of players they want to bring in, or do they just bring in the guys they think have a chance and let things sort themselves out?

=======================================

REAL NEAL: I think the Cubs probably signed everybody they really wanted to sign (at least the college & JC guys). The HS kids who didn't sign (Taylor, Walker, Esquivel, Sheppard, et al) were fall-back options is case the Cubs couldn't sign the high picks, but they all probably wanted more money than they're worth right now, and Erickson probably figured he would be better off going back to the U. and showing he's 100% and then maybe get the really big bucks as a Top 5 round pick next year.

Raley isn't really in shape yet. I want to see him throw in the AZ Instructional League when somebody like Dennis Lewallyn is around to work with him. The Cubs project Raley as a pitcher right now (probably because that's what he prefers), but he always could move to the OF if he fails on the mound. He's a legitimate "two-way" prospect (a good hitter with plus-speed and and an outstanding OF arm), so (hopefully) the Cubs will get their money's worth one way or the other.

Glenn Cook was sort of a long-shot when he signed (the Cubs based their evaluation on an old HS scouting report and a couple of pre-draft BP sessions), and I'm sorry to say he really doesn't look like he's going to cut it at the plate. And he's not that great defensively, either.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 4:43pm

Thanks. Also thanks for taking the time to link all those players' milb.com page.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 5:53pm

Soriano late scratch due to knee.

Jake the snake in left.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 6:12pm

Z off the DL, Caridad down...I assume Gorzelanny to the pen?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 6:34pm

That would make sense, though he certainly hasn't done anything to justify losing his job, other than not making $8+ million or being a RoY candidate.

Submitted by John Beasley
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 7:20pm

Wells will pass his inning total from last year during the 4th inning Thursday vs. Washington. Maybe him give 2-3 more starts after that, then shut him down. Gorz should probably get the job back by default, despite my earlier claim that Sanardzija should get an extended audition. Obviously if there's anything wrong with Z, Lilly or Dempster, you can shut them down as well. At this point, it's not only about winning next year, but also about doing it with this group of guys, Harden withstanding.

Submitted by ddp33
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 6:40pm

any thoughts on who the september call ups will be? i wonder what will happen with berg, stevens, caridad, atkins, scales, samardzija (guys who have contributed throughout the season), and if someone like chris robinson, who's had a great year, will get the nod.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 6:48pm

I assume a third catcher is coming up, but maybe they'll use Fox if absolutely necessary.

I would guess scales, blanco, hoffpauir, stevens, caridad, berg, patton and atkins are all real possibilities....reed johnson should be ready by then as well, keeping fuld on the team.

Submitted by toonsterwu
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 8:18pm

McNutt's the kid that runs it in the mid-90's right? How's his secondary development looking?

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 8:24pm

Hooray Z hit a homer!!!

Pitching??

Well you can't have everything.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 8:32pm

This was a real critical game for this team.

I'm a little disappointed in the results.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 9:11pm

true, we might lose out on the division by 10 games now instead of 9.

Submitted by billybucks
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 9:13pm

There has never been a team in the hisory of sports, including pairs figure skating, that had fewer balls than this Cub team.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 9:46pm

I'm sure if we looked at that statement objectively we'd find a previous Cubs team that could challenge that statement.

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 9:17pm

I'm really not sure I could despise the two Aarons any more than I do now. At least we have hate to play with for the remainder of the season. Jim Hendry==FAIL.

Why not turn Zambrano into an outfielder and be done with it already? God knows he sure as hell doesn't pitch like a $90 million ballplayer, maybe he can hit like one. What a joke.

I wonder if the Cubs put Soriano on waivers, would anyone even bother to claim him? If they did, would they be willing to ante up even HALF the $$ on his remaining contract? Truly awful.

101 years and counting. I'm spent with this year's slugs.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 9:47pm

They're veterans. They'll figure it out.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 9:49pm

GM's were laughing at the Sox for taking Rios, you can sure as hell bet no one is going to take Soriano at this point. The Red Sox put Manny on waivers during the offseason for two years in a row and had no takers, it was only as his contract approached expiration that teams began to get interested.

I am not going to get over excited and declare a pitcher who entered the game with a 103 and 65 record and a 3.47 career ERA 'a joke' but I do think it's time to consider him for an expanded role on the team, like backup first basemen.

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:15pm

Just to clarify, I don't mean Zambrano is a joke, I mean his contract. He's paid to be in the same league as Santana and Halladay, and he has never risen to that level of performance. If Zambrano was paid the same as Lilly for example, then things would be different.

But of course, it's not OUR money as they say........

Submitted by rokfish
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:21pm

pinella says soriano probally to get mri he did not say
if it was for the knee or the head.

Submitted by George Altman
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:44pm

The MRI is for Hendry's head. Ricketts wants to establish if there's really anything there before he brings Alderson (or whoever) in to run the show and replace this current steaming pile of horse dung running the Cubs.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:56pm

Cutler and Forte looked really good the other night.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 11:28pm

I know nothing about this sports writer but...

"but placing Carlos Marmol in the glory role was a no-brainer way back in March. Non-moves like this make me think that Lou Piniella really isn't invested anymore."

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/12111833/rss

he seems like kind of a bad writer especially when he says he isn't giving up on them.

Very silly. Obviously he's not a stats guy and doesn't see the RISP and record against good teams.

Fuck Michael Barrett. He's still killing us.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 1:43am

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090826&c...

"It's hard to be comfortable when you don't get a hit, you get booed every time," Bradley said. "When I go home and look in the mirror, I like what I see. My family's there, and I have people I can talk to who are supportive in spite of everything and all the adversity and hatred you face on a daily basis. I'll be all right. I always have."

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 1:48am

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=316534

General manager Jim Hendry said he was not aware of the report. Kenney last year signed Hendry to a contract extension through 2012. The extension was run by each of the ownership groups that were in contention to buy the Cubs, including the Ricketts family.

In other words, Hendry is likely going nowhere.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 9:19am

In other words, Ricketts will spend the next several years spending money on redoing the stadium before they address the team.

I mean how do you improve on a $ 150 million team?

yikes.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 1:52am

Besides Cashner and Vitters, this year's top 2 picks are gonna be there, Strasburg and Ackley...and I'm sure others.

Is there room on AZ Phil's couch for me to crash?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 2:25am

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/17348...

He said he was told earlier in the season that going on the disabled list for two weeks might clear up the problem.

''I said, 'I don't want to take two weeks; I want to play,''' he said.

so that worked out well

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 2:27am

from the same article...

Hendry said he isn't fazed about public calls for a housecleaning (because I have a contract through 2012, thanks Crane!!!).

''I don't really think much about it, to be honest with you,'' he
said. ''We've done a lot of good things the last couple years. We're
having a bad year. I just try to go to work every day and do the best I
can.''

 

Submitted by billybucks
on Wed, 08/26/2009 - 7:59am

Dear Mr. Ricketts-

Good luck with your recent investment. You purchased a deterioratng ballpark and a team that the fan base can't stand (the players don't seem to like the fans, either), and most of the players are signed to long-term, expensive contracts.

Also, all of your players seem to have had their testicles removed, and curl up into a fetal position at the first sign of pressure.

Congrats!

Submitted by DavidP
on Tue, 09/01/2009 - 2:10pm

Phil - can you answer a hypothetical?

Suppose Castro was put on the 40 man roster today and brought up to the ML club for the rest of this season. Next spring he does not make the big league roster and remains at Iowa for the entire 2010 season.

Does either 2009 or 2010 count as one of his three option years?

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