Figured I'd start a thread since this is such an important draft for the Cubs. Here's a quick update on how some of the top draft eligible players have performed this season and a ridiculously early top 10 mock draft:

Manea has pitched good but has run into some weather problems.
Appel has been dominate his last 2 starts.
Stanek has gotten off to a slow start.
Frazier has hit 3 home runs in 4 games.
Moran is off to a very slow start in the power department.

1) Houston: Sean Manea LHP Indiana St
2) Chicago NL: Austin Meadows OF Grayson HS
3) Colorado: Mark Appel RHP Stanford
4) Minnesota: Ryne Stanek RHP Arkansas
5) Cleveland: Clint Frazier OF Loganville HS
6) Miami: Dominic Smith OF Serra HS
7) Boston: Colin Moran 3B North Carolina
8 ) Kansas City: Kris Bryant 3B San Diego Univ
9) Pittsburgh: JP Crawford SS Lakewood HS
10)Toronto: Kohl Stewart RHP St Pius HS

Drew Ward has been declared eligible for the 2013 draft. Ward (6'4" 210) is a high school junior from Oklahoma who will graduate a year early. Ward projects as a power hitting third baseman with good athleticism and a strong arm. Ward could find his way into the first round of this year's draft.

RHP Johnathan Gray (Oklahoma) has rocketed up draft boards and is now seen as a possible top 10 pick after recently sitting 94-98 and topping out at 100. Gray (6'4" 240) has also improved the command of his plus slider and developing changeup.

Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows are playing against each other tonight and in Frazier's 3rd AB (K and FO) he hit a massive 3 run shot into the light tower. My man-crush on Frazier is as big as my....well it's big but I think Meadows has the higher upside.

Is Meadows that special of a left handed power bat to ignore the huge pitching holes when there are already 2 high end prospect OF's in the system?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Meadows is a lot more than a power bat. He's an amazing athlete. He's 6'3" 210 and runs the 60 in 6.35. He has a beautiful line drive swing and the ball explodes off his bat. He also plays a very good CF and has a strong arm.

I've heard Theo/Jed both say in the history of the top two picks position players have a higher success rate than pitchers. I could definitely see them taking one of the high school outfielders then loading up on pitching with the next ten though this draft is also deep in high school catchers which is another need for them. A lot depends on what Houston does at 1-1 but they're in a nice position.

I figured Frazier's home run would already be on YouTube. It would have been nice if the cameraman followed the flight of the ball. I'm sure there will be a better video up soon.

That swing is what you call short and quick. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1yKBK2CWIs

Draft#:1
Austin Meadows
Ht/Wt:6' 3"/200 lbs
Position: OF
School: Grayson HS (GA)


Draft#:2
Ryne Stanek
Ht/Wt:6' 4"/180 lbs
Position: RHP
School: Arkansas


Draft#:3
Sean Manaea
Ht/Wt:6' 5"/215 lbs
Position: LHP
School: Indiana State


Draft#:4
Mark Appel
Ht/Wt:6' 5"/190 lbs
Position: RHP
School: Stanford


Draft#:5
Clint Frazier
Ht/Wt:6' 0"/190 lbs
Position: OF
School: Loganville HS (GA)


Draft#:6
Kris Bryant
Ht/Wt:6' 5"/205 lbs
Position: 3B
School: San Diego


Draft#:7
Austin Wilson
Ht/Wt:6' 4"/210 lbs
Position: OF
School: Stanford


Draft#:8
Kohl Stewart
Ht/Wt:6' 3"/185 lbs
Position: RHP
School: St. Pius X HS (TX)


Draft#:9*
Trey Ball
Ht/Wt:6' 6"/175 lbs
Position: LHP
School: New Castle Chrysler HS (IN)


Draft#:10
Jonathan Crawford
Ht/Wt:6' 1"/205 lbs
Position: RHP
School: Florida


Draft#:11
Bobby Wahl
Ht/Wt:6' 3"/200 lbs
Position: RHP
School: Mississippi


Draft#:12
Colin Moran
Ht/Wt:6' 4"/175 lbs
Position: 3B
School: North Carolina


Draft#:13
Reese McGuire
Ht/Wt:6' 1"/190 lbs
Position: C
School: Kentwood HS (WA)


Draft#:14
Oscar Mercado
Ht/Wt:6' 2"/175 lbs
Position: SS
School: Gaither Senior HS (FL)


Draft#:15
Stephen Gonsalves
Ht/Wt:6' 4"/185 lbs
Position: LHP/OF
School: Cathedral Catholic HS (CA)


Draft#:16
Justin Williams
Ht/Wt:6' 3"/215 lbs
Position: OF
School: Terrebonne HS (LA)


Draft#:17
Dominic Smith
Ht/Wt:6' 0"/195 lbs
Position: 1B/OF
School: Serra HS (CA)


Draft#:18
Ian Clarkin
Ht/Wt:6' 2"/190 lbs
Position: LHP
School: James Madison HS (CA)


Draft#:19
Aaron Judge
Ht/Wt:6' 7"/240 lbs
Position: OF
School: Fresno State


Draft#:20
Jeremy Martinez
Ht/Wt:5'11"/195 lbs
Position: C
School: Mater Dei HS (CA)


Draft#:21
Marco Gonzales
Ht/Wt:6' 1"/185 lbs
Position: LHP
School: Gonzaga


Draft#:22
Andy McGuire
Ht/Wt:6' 1"/190 lbs
Position: SS
School: Madison HS (VA)

Here's another video of the home run but again the camerman does not follow the flight of The ball. I want to see how far that bad boy went.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMyruaBcjCA

Pedro Alvarez would like to sit down and have a word with you.

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Need-based drafting in baseball is definitely not the way to think.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Johnathan Gray had another dominating performance last night while again topping out at 100mph.

Sean Manea was good but not great. His stuff definitely isn't as crisp early this season as it was last summer during at Cape Cod League when he burst onto the scene.

Clint Frazier hit his 7th home run of the year....in 8 games.

Next Bryce Harper?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

A ridiculously early revised top 10:

1. Houston: Mark Appel RHP Stanford
2. Chicago NL: Austin Meadows OF Grayson HS
3. Colorado: Johnathan Gray RHP Oklahoma
4. Minnesota: Clint Frazier OF Loganville HS
5. Cleveland: Sean Manea LHP Indiana St
6. Miami: Johnathan Denny C Yukon HS
7. Boston : Ryne Stanek RHP Arkansas
8. Kansas City: Kris Bryant 3B San Diego
9. Pittsburgh: Austin Wilson OF Stanford
10. Toronto: Kohl Stewart RHP St Pius HS

1. Houston: Mark Appel RHP Stanford
2, Chicago NL: Austin Meadows OF Grayson HS
3, Colorado: Johnathan Gray RHP Oklahoma
4. Minnesota: Clint Frazier OF Loganville HS
5. Cleveland: Sean Manea LHP Indiana St
6. Miami: Johnathan Denny C Yukon HS
7. Boston : Ryne Stanek RHP Arkansas
8. Kansas City: Kris Bryant 3B San Diego
9. Pittsburgh: Ian Clarkin LHP James Madison HS
10. Toronto: Kohl Stewart RHP St Pius HS
11. New York NL: Braden Shipley RHP Nevada
12. Seattle: Chris Anderson RHP Jacksonville
13. San Diego: JP Crawford SS Lakewood HS
14. Pittsburgh: Austin Wilson OF Stanford
15. Arizona: Colin Moran 3B North Carolina
16. Philadelphia: Phillip Ervin OF Samford
17. Chicago AL: Oscar Mercado SS Gathier HS
18. Los Angeles NL :Marco Gonzalez LHP Gonzaga
19. St Louis: Matt Krook LHP St Ignatius HS
20. Detroit: Trey Ball LHP New Castle HS

There's a few YouTube videos on Meadows. That swing is something.

I heard from one of my Cardinal guys (he's the one that hipped me to Taveras as a 16 year old, if that has any merit) that Stanek is potentially the new Wacha. Any thoughts on this Keyser?

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Stanek has a higher ceiling than Wacha. As good as Wacha has been he is still pretty much a two pitch pitcher with a plus fastball and plus changeup. Wacha's slider is below average and that's going to hold him back.

Stanek has three pitches with a plus fastball and plus slider . Stanek's third pitch (changeup) is average which makes it better than Wacha's third pitch.

Stanek could become an ace where Wacha is more of a 3 or 4.

Johnathan Gray has put himself in the 1-1 discussion with another dominating performance tonight. He topped out at 99 and his last pitch of the night to end the 8th inning was 96.

It isn't said enough, but, thank you Keyser.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

+1

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

You're welcome. Here are a few more draft tidbits:

High school RHP Jordan Sheffield a potential 1st rounder has been lost to Tommy John surgery

Sean Manea's velocity has steadily increased but it's still not where it was when he was dominating the Cape Cod league last summer

Clint Frazier hit his 11th home run

Hunter Renfoe hit his 12th home run and is moving up draft boards

High school RHP Hunter Harvey has touched 97 mph

Austin Wilson has finally started playing after suffering an elbow injury and is off to a mediocre start

High school OF Matthew McPhearson is flying up draft boards (and around the bases) after being timed at a ridiculous 6.21 in the 60.

Meadows has more rake than Menards... he probably homered while i was typing this.

Theo is busting a nut at #2... just don't judge him until 2015.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

What Illinois HS prospects may get drafted high?

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None. This is an awful year for Illinois baseball.

RHP Zach Burdi (Downers Grove South) is probably the top player in the state. He throws in the low 90's but has serious mechanical and command issues.

RHP Andy Honiotes (Geneva) also throws in the low 90's but it's the most hittable low 90's you've ever seen and he has secondary pitches suck.

Others who may get drafted late are Jake Ring (Grant), Corey Simon (Simeon), Jordan Getzelman (Prarie Ridge) and Chucky Robinson (Danville).

You can do a lot worse than 31 homeruns with that high of a pick

Appel and Gray continue to dominate and have seperated themselves from the pack

Kris Bryant hit his 20th home run of the season

Manea topped out at 93 in his last outing (I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be)

Stephen F Austin SS Hunter Dozier is flying up draft boards

HS LHP Cody Reed topped out at 95 in his last outing

1. Houston: Mark Appel RHP Stanford
2. Chicago NL: Johnathan Gray RHP Oklahoma
3. Colorado: Austin Meadows OF Grayson HS
4. Minnesota: Ryne Stanek RHP Arkansas
5. Cleveland: Kris Bryant 3B San Diego
6. Miami: Clint Frazier OF Loganville HS
7. Boston: Colin Moran 3B North Carolina
8. Kansas City: Johnathan Denny C Yukon HS
9. Pittsburgh: Braden Shipley RHP Nevada
10. Toronto: Kohl Stewart RHP St Pius HS
11. New York NL: Sean Manea LHP Indiana St
12. Seattle: Chris Anderson RHP Jacksonville
13. San Diego: JP Crawford SS Lakewood HS
14. Pittsburgh: Trey Ball LHP New Castle HS
15. Arizona: Hunter Renfoe OF Miss St
16. Philadelphia: Phillip Ervin OF Samford
17. Chicago AL: Andrew Mitchell RHP TCU
18. Los Angeles NL: Reese McGuire C Kentwood HS
19. St Louis: Marco Gonzalez LHP Gonzaga
20. Detroit: Austin Wilson OF Stanford
21. Tampa Bay: Dominic Smith OF Serra HS
22. Baltimore: Ian Clarkin LHP James Madison HS
23. Texas: Ryan Boldt OF Red Wing HS
24. Oakland: Ryan Eades RHP LSU
25. San Francisco: Hunter Harvey RHP Bandy's HS
26. New York AL: Nick Ciuffo C Lexington HS
27. Cinncinati: Kevin Ziomek LHP Vanderbilt
28. St Louis: Hunter Dozier SS Stephen F Austin
29. Tampa Bay: Connor Jones RHP Great Bridge HS
30. Texas: DJ Peterson 3B New Mexico
31. Atlanta: Jason Hursh RHP Oklahoma St
32. New York AL: Matt McPhearson OF Riverdale Baptist HS
33. New York AL: Andrew Thurman RHP UC Irvine

Report: Cubs Have Narrowed Top Draft Choice to Mark Appel or Jonathan Gray
By Brett on April 26, 2013

The NFL Draft is going on now (you cannot escape it), and the MLB Draft is about five weeks away. It won’t get the same national coverage, and it won’t have the same kind of immediate impact on the teams involved, but it’s going to be a very, very big deal for the Chicago Cubs. They pick second in the draft and, setting aside all of the other picks in the Draft, that’s the one one which the Cubs really can’t afford to whiff.

There are only a handful of players reasonable under consideration for the Cubs in that two slot, but with a dearth of advanced pitching talent in the system, and a couple of big-time college arms available at the top of the Draft, it’s always been a fair bet that the Cubs would be choosing from Stanford righty Mark Appel and Oklahoma righty Jonathan Gray. And, according to Gordon Wittenmyer, that’s exactly what the Cubs are going to do.

Wittenmyer reports that the Cubs have narrowed their choices at the two spot to Appel and Gray, with the intention of taking whichever is still on the board after the Astros select first overall. (Query which the Cubs would prefer if both are still on the board. That will be an interesting question over the coming weeks.)

He also notes that Dale Sveum confirmed for the media that he’s been watching film on the top 10 candidates for the Cubs’ pick, and indicated it would be hard to pass on Gray or Appel if they keep doing what they’re doing.

Patrick Mooney, in a similar piece, also reports that Gray and Appel have emerged at the top of the Cubs’ draft board.

Does any of that mean that the Cubs are absolutely locked into only those two pitchers no matter what? Obviously the answer is no. There are still five weeks to go before the Draft, and a number of things could happen in that space – most prominently, an injury. But it is conceivable that, barring any surprising changes, the Cubs very well could have decided that it’s going to be whichever of Appel or Gray is still on the board at number two.

College stats are only slightly more useful than high school stats, which are just a shade above useless, but each of Gray and Appel have been cruising this year. In nine starts, Appel has thrown 71.1 innings with a 1.54 ERA. He’s struck out 84 while walking just 12. He’s allowed 48 hits, and just one home run.

Gray’s numbers, as you’d expect them to be, are equally impressive, if not moreso. Through 10 starts, he’s thrown 74.1 innings and has a 1.09 ERA. He’s struck out 91, allowed just 13 walks and 40 hits, and has given up just one homer. The Pac12 is considered a slightly better baseball conference than the Big12, for whatever that’s worth.

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Calling High School stats a shade above useless is probably giving them too much credit.