The Cardinals and RHP Luke Weaver agreed on a $1.843M signing bonus. The deal is for slot value.

The Phillies and RHP Aaron Nola agreed on a $3.39M signing bonus. The deal is for slot.

The Rockies and LHP Kyle Freeland agreed on a $2.3M signing bonus. That's about $890k below slot.

The Padres and SS Trea Turner agreed on a $2.9M signing bonus. The deal is over slot by about $167K.

The Marlins and RHP Tyler Kolek agreed on a $6M signing bonus. The deal is $821.8K under slot.

The Red Sox and OF Sam Travis (Providence) agreed on a $846.8k signing bonus. The deal is for slot.

How many players did the Cubs sign over slot?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

None. Everyone is signing under slot just for the chance to possibly contribute to what will be a decades long National League juggernaut. College seniors are declining signing contracts with their draft teams, and are working on establishing residence in the Netherlands and Haiti in order to declare as International Free Agents in 2017 so they can sign with the Cubs after the overage penalties the Cubs are facing expire.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

what did the Purdue 1st rounders sign for?

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

None yet but they should have three high school pitchers signed to over slot deals shortly.

Whatever it was it was too much.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Timing is everything. The Cubs signed LHP Carson Sands to a $1.1M bonus. The deal is $619.4k over slot.

Jim Callis on Twitter

More on @Cubs 5th-rder Justin Steele's $1 mil bonus. Pick 139 value = $359,900. Miss. HS LHP w/88-92 FB, touches 95, improving CB. @MLBDraft

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It will be interesting to track the over slot players and how much of an impact they ever make on the MLB club.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It is interesting to track all players drafted and how much they impact the MLB club.

This is the point of the draft.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Um, ok.

Theo had a set strategy here. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. These players become more important because of what they did with the most valuable pick they had.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Picked the best hitter in the draft? My God. What a sacrifice. We all know how it turned out when he did it the year before. Tragic.

The strategy is sound, and logical. The Cubs need pitchers. Theo drafted three arms that, supposedly, in a few years, will all have as much or more upside than guys like Nola that were available in the first round. Signability is a huge reason why prospects drop in the First Year Player Draft. These pitchers aren't 'fifth round' talents.

I think many GM's in the Cubs' organizational position do the same.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Don't be so defensive. People smarter than you and me put the exact strategy they were doing out there for all to know.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Many had Jackson and Conforto rated higher than Schwarber.

I'm not disputing the cost savings. But Schwarber isn't Hayden Simpson.

Let's remember that I don't even like this pick all that much. But pitching #4...there weren't any great options. Everyone wanted Aiken, Kolek, or Rodon.

Jackson, Gordon, Conforto, Nola...those guys don't have a much higher ceiling but do have much lower floors.*

*For clarity's sake, I don't want to be Keyser Soze and pretend this information is coming from my own personal analysis. I'm going off of the popular opinion of baseball scouts and analysts.


Best current hitter** Jackson and Conforto may have higher ceilings. But Schwarber was referred to as the most advanced of the hitters.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Pick your side. Everyone else seems to think they picked someone they could sign below slot to be able to pay other players.

If you really want, I can instead expect him to become the best hitter in MLB from this draft. You can't play it ways though.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If a guy has a 88-92 mph FB how does he touch 95? Wouldn't it be more proper to say he has a 88-95 mph fastball. Of course it would but it would sound foolish to say that there is a seven mph difference in his fastball. He should fit in great with the Tommy John surgery pick.

Hooray, you overpaid a soft tossing pitcher more money than he is worth. Look how Theo has evolved from paying a hard throwing pitcher more than he is worth in Jackson.

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

Best current hitter means nothing. It's about what they are going to be in 3-5 years.

It means most of his fastballs are between 88-92. He may pop one or two 94's or 95's early in the game but his fastball "sits" 88-92 during his outing.

Brett Jackson = Alex Jackson.

Are we really comfortable with taking the highest ceiling, "projectable" high school hitting prospect?

High ceiling, low floor. You never know what you're going to get.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

That's a ridiculous comparison. Just because he's a high school player doesn't mean he has a low floor. Jackson has one of the higher floors in the draft because he's going to hit. The only question is where to play him. Personally I would take the time to let him develop as a catcher.

Well, I mean, if you feel so strongly about it it must be true.

No.

Guess what? Countless 'amazing' high school bats picked in the first round have never sniffed the majors. Many more than that have never had 'real success.'

Same with "projectable, high ceiling" college bats and pitchers, etc.

The Cubs and their fans should know this better than anyone.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

So IMU, should we expect the Cubs first pick to to be the best hitter in this years draft? No excuses about how they wanted to sign other players if he proves not to be?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Thanks for the history lesson. Let's file this under "we'll see".

The Cubs could have drafted Jackson, Gordon, Conforto, and Schwarber and I'd still hate it.

I want pitching.

That being said, I can not like the pick AND be a fan of signing as many arms into the organization as possible.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.