Theo and Co have been saying for a while that they prefer a hitter over a pitcher so it wouldn't surprise me if they took Bryant 1-2. Though it would be awfully hard to pass up one of those arms especially if Houston ends up taking Colin Moran 1-1.

Many believe the positive tests for Adderall will not affect the draft status of Johnathan Gray and Aaron Blair

Clint Frazier won the High School player of the year award

Sean Manea (and Scott Bora$) will not release his medical records to major league teams

HS RHP Connor Jones wrote a letter to all 30 teams telling them not to draft him. Josh Bell did the same in 2011 and signed with Pittsburgh for $5M when they selected him 2-1

Rumors persist the Astros will select Colin Moran 1-1

The lack of SS may have moved JC Tim Anderson into the top half of the draft

Teams are still debating if Michael Lorenzen's (Cal St Fullerton) future is as an outfielder or a pitcher

I'm liking the idea of the Cubs drafting Bryant. They've got to get 3B solidified somehow.

Bryant won't be a third baseman in the majors. He'll be a right fielder and a pretty good one.

Frazier!!! MY GUY!! POY!!! Go get him Theo.

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

What's holding him back from being a big league 3rd baseman?

He's 6' 5". Bryant's a good athlete with a strong arm but he won't have the quickness to be a big league third baseman. The best comp for Bryant is JaYson Werth who's a really good right fielder

hoping the cubs take appell and get raked over the coals by boras

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Kid lacks leverage this time, no?

The short sighted inpatient part of me wants them to take Appel and Gray becuase of their ETA

Boras always finds a way.

I assume the leverage is a fan base desperate to get a rebuilding going and entitlements for stadium improvements still hanging in the balance. Not signing the #1 would look bad.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

The draft is now heavily slotted. The Cubs have a bonus pool of $10,556,500 to spend on their first 10 round picks and a cap of $6,708,400 for the first round pick. If a team goes over these caps there are heavy penalties including a tax and loss of future picks. The days of Bora$ racking teams over the coals are over.

The Sox have a bonus ppol of $5,301,600 and $2,164,000 to sign their first pick.

fyi- Bryant is a Bora$ guy too.

Wasn't Scott Rolen about 6'5"?

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

Thats what I heard too. If he was gonna play 3rd, the choice would be tough. But with Almore and Soler in the system and a lack of top pitching prospects, I think the Cubs take Appell/Gray. But Bryant has tremendous power and is likely to make Houston and Chicago sorry at times he wasn't their choice.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

Except he did it with Appel last year under the same rules.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He didn't rake anyone over the coals. 7 teams passed on Appel until Pittsburgh chose him at #8. They only had $3.5M to offer so Bora$ took his ball and went home. Problem is if they try that again home is the Independant League.

Which he has done in the past.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

That was before the bonuses were capped.

The rumors could come fast and furious today – and they could all contradict each other, because why wouldn’t they? – and it’s starting early.

Baseball America’s Jim Callis just released his latest mock draft, which has the Astros going for Jonathan Gray at the top (remember, Callis was saying just yesterday that he was hearing more and more that the Astros might step up and pay for Mark Appel), and the Cubs taking Appel second.

Of greater note here is why Callis has Gray going first and Appel going second. Callis suggests the Astros have yet to receive assurances from Appel’s camp that he’ll sign at a reasonable figure. And, as a senior who can wait to sign until next year right before the draft, Appel could hold the Astros’ bonus pool hostage, as Callis puts it.

Moreover, Callis hears “a lot of buzz” that the Cubs are closing in on a deal with Appel. Obviously they can’t yet literally make a deal with him, but there can be sufficient winking and nodding for the Cubs to have comfort in selecting Appel (who may prefer to wind up with the Cubs over the Astros, anyway, even if he hails from Houston).

That said, you have to regard the rumor suspiciously at this stage in the game. It could have been leaked by Appel’s camp to try and get a little extra money from the Astros (i.e., he tells them “I’ve got a $6 million offer from the Cubs, and I’m going to take it unless you agree that you’ll offer me $6.5 million … and if you draft me without an agreement in place, I’m going to hold your feet to the fire for $8+ million”).

So, yeah. Maybe the Cubs are close to a deal with Appel and he’ll be their pick tonight. Or maybe Appel really wants to go to the Astros, and just wants a little more scratch.

_________________

We are going around in circles. Boras has shown that he will hold a player out for the top available dollar in the capped environment. He has shown in the past that college is not his league of last resort if a team thinks it has him cornered. Has he worked a deal that showed he has changed from these positions?

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yes we are. I'm saying he can't rake anyone over the coals. It's a take it or leave it situation. He can try to hold his breath and stomp his feet for as long as possible but eventually he's going to have to take.

Look, Im not racist, but this scares me

Looks like a crazy cross of Jody Davis and Keith Moreland

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

That was with uncapped bonuses. Appel has zero leverage. He is only delaying his bigger payday. Kid's already 22 (July) and has years of cheap service time to look forward to. I'd want to burn those ASAP.

Blake Griffin and Conin Obrien had a kid?

_________________
Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

Exactly. Just look at Chris Sale. He was supposed to be a top 5 pick but fell to 13. He could have cried and went back to school but instead he signed with the Sox for slot and made it to the majors that season. His arbitration/free agent clock started early and he signed a $32M extension before this season.

If Appel took the Astros $6M offer last year he could be in the majors right now with his clock ticking to his big payday. Bora$ is holding him back for a couple million up front only to delay his big payday down the road.

Here is a very poorly formatted chart, which lists the first round draft order and the assigned bonus value:

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

I would love to take a gamble and hope you have an infield in 2015 of Bryant, Baez, Castro and Rizzo but I think Theo / Jed can't pass up a possible #2 pitcher in 2015.

_________________
Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

Im not sure I understand the whole system completely.

The money is slotted, but you CAN go over as long as you stay within your total pot for top ten picks?