Not at all the 2014 draft was 3 deep.... Aiken, Koleck and Rodon after that there was no consensus #4.

BY taking the BEST college hitter and paying him under slot the Cubs saved enough money to sign 2 kids who were ranked higher than where they were drafted because those two kids were going to go to college unless they got TOP dollar. This was how the system worked before slotting when teams would draft high school kids in the mid rounds and pay them like they were drafted in the first few rounds.

The Sox did exactly the right thing by taking Rodon at 3 and the Cubs did the right thing by taking the BEST college hitter who after 1 year is ranked 6th in a deep Cubs system and is ranked 72nd overall. Meanwhile Sands has cracked the Cubs Top 20 at #18.

Both teams did the right thing.

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Shouldn't they have aimed to take the BEST hitter at #4 rather than the BEST college hitter?

But really, you are missing Rick's point. They tanked (and now are finally admitting to doing so) with the mission statement that only by tanking could they get the players to take them out of mediocrity. However, it is clear that they could have been a much better MLB team, still gotten the BEST college hitter in the middle of the draft AND still gotten all those future busters you referenced.

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

Wrong. They wouldn't have had the money to spend on the picks.

The higher your pick, the more money you get for the draft. If they picked 16th, they could not afford to sign those "future busters" because they wouldn't have had all that dough.

BIGCHI you are correct.

The number 3 slot was worth $4.621 mil if the Cubs finished 15th or in the middle they would have had only 2.475.

They paid Schawber 3.125 and saved 1.495
They then drafted Sands who had a slot value of $480,000 and paid him 1.1 mil
Later they drafted Cease who had a slot of $269.500 and paid him 1.0 mil

They never could have signed Sands or Cease if they had paid Schwaber full value or if they had finished 15th and took Schwaber.

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You're assuming Sands and Cease were worth paying all that money rather than trying to get someone better than the 20th best player in the first round. But that's typical Cub fan stuff right there. HOPE. HOPE. HOPE.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Picking 16th had a slot value of $2,338,200.

Schwarber signed for $3,125,000 at the 4th overall slot value of $4,621,200.

So they used the savings to sign:
4. Carson Sands – Signed for $1,100,000 (Slot: $480,600)
5. Justin Steele – Signed for $1,000,000 (Slot: $359,900)
6. Dylan Cease – Signed for $1,000,000 (Slot: $269,500)

The 1.496M in savings was allocated in 1.990M in overslot bonuses.

So they drafted a worse player in the first round where the best players are so they could overpay lesser guys in lower rounds. Theo putting that big brain and Harvard degree to great use!

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Well ya. They missed out on the top 3. So if there's no sure fire player make 10 "equal" bets rather than focusing on a few.

The baseball draft doesn't allow for trading of picks. They loved Schwarber. Lower bonus is essentially "trading down"

Are you saying those lower guys they overpaid are equal to what they could have gotten picking fourth?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Did they?

Yes. THE INQUISITOR laid that out.

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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!

No. You misinterpreted equal

He has been pretty definitive in his use of the term BEST college hitter rather than best hitter.

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

Who was the fourth best player in that draft?

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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!

I don't know. Ask Keyzer.

Schwarber looks pretty good to me.

Will know in about 5 years.

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Keyser had Schwarber in his top 10 list to start the 2014 MLB Draft thread. Good enough for me.

schwarber tore the cover off the ball. he looks pretty good so far!

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

So we should expect him to be as good as Gordon Beckham?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

He might hit as well as Beckham, but I doubt his ability to play middle infield.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

there was no clear cut number 4..... at some point people had Hoffman, Turner, Gordon and Freeman and others ranked as 4.

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Why didn't you just give me the answer from the same group you cited earlier to say how much of a steal the Cubs got on the other picks?

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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!

What list was that?

I said the draft was three deep...Aiken, Koleck and Rodon.... if it was only three deep the implication was and is that there was NOT a consensus four. Hoffman was the considered to be in that group unitl he hirt his arm.

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Who was fourth on this list?

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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!

Ok. I looked it up myself. It is Alex Jackson. Currently the #1 prospect for the Mariners.

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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!

I like Schwarber but he does lose value if moved off catcher. I thought they should have drafted Aaron Nola.

Duke RHP Mike Matuella threw in an inter-squad game over the weekend. He sat 93-95 and topped at 96. Matuella was shut down during the summer and fall because of back issues but looked very good in the two inning appearance. If healthy he will be in the mix for 1-1.

So it is basically Alex Gordon vs. Carson Sands, Dylan Cease, and Kyle Schwarber?

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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!

Close but Alex Gordon plays for the Royals and Alex Jackson who was actually drafted 6th behind #5 Nick Gordon ...Dee's brother and Flash Gordons son.

Nola was a great pick by the Phillies at 7 and he may make it to The Show before any one.

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