I thought they were having this on tv?

CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs tonight selected right-handed pitcher Hayden Simpson out of Southern Arkansas University with the 16th overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Simpson was recommended by area scout Jim Crawford.

Simpson, 21, concluded the 2010 season with a 13-1 record and a 1.81 ERA (20 ER/99.1 IP) in 15 starts, including six complete game efforts and three shutouts for Southern Arkansas. He led the club in wins, ERA, opposing batting average (.201), innings pitched and starts. He also led the team with 131 strikeouts in 99.1 innings pitched, good for an average of 11.9 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched that ranks third-highest in school history.

“I feel Hayden is a potential starter who has four average-to-plus pitches and is very athletic with a good feel for pitching,” said Tim Wilken, director of amateur and professional scouting for the Cubs. “I think we’re fortunate to have received really good coverage from our scouts with this selection.”

The six-foot, 175-pound Simpson recorded a 42.2-consecutive scoreless innings streak this season, second-longest in Gulf South Conference history. His 13 victories rank second-most in a single-season in school history. Simpson was named runner-up for the inaugural Tino Martinez Division II National Player of the Year award among a field of over 100 players from across the country.

“I’m so thrilled right now, and I’m extremely excited to be a Chicago Cub,” said Simpson. “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I’m definitely ready to get started.”

Additional honors for Simpson this season include Daktronics National Pitcher of the Year honors and his second-consecutive nod to the First-Team NCAA Division II All-America baseball squad. He was also named the Gulf South Conference West Division Player of the Year and was a unanimous First-Team Gulf South Conference selection.

Simpson preceded his 2010 campaign by going 12-1 with a 2.32 ERA (28 ER/108.2 IP) in 16 starts during his sophomore year in 2009. He limited hitters to a .182 batting average, striking out 132 batters compared to 44 walks. Simpson spun six complete game efforts, including four shutouts.

In three seasons at Southern Arkansas University, Simpson compiled a 35-2 record with a 2.39 ERA (72 ER/271.0 IP) in 48 career games, 39 starts. His 323 career strikeouts are a school record, and in 271.0 career innings translates to 10.7 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched. He tallied 12 complete games while his seven career shutouts tie the Gulf South Conference record.

Additionally, his seven Conference Pitcher of the Week awards are a league record.

Simpson graduated from Magnolia ( Ark.) High School in 2007.

The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continues tomorrow with rounds two-through-30 and concludes Wednesday with rounds 31-through-50.

My cousin just got drafted in the 5th round by the Nationals.

Awesome.

My cousin just got drafted in the 5th round by the Nationals.

The Cards took Zack Cox. You should be a very happy man, Lipid. This guy can flat out rake.

Holy shit! Foltynewicz went #19 to Houston. Most had him going in the sandwich round. I saw this kid pitch twice. One scout told me he hit 96 on the gun. He's not stepping foot on Texas' campus.

My cousin just got drafted in the 5th round by the Nationals.

He just surpassed 100 runs and 100 RBIs for the season last night - to go with 22 HRs and 30 SBs in the Nationals system.

Unfortunately, he's got a bit of Brett Jackson in him - the Adam Dunn Brett Jackson not the Mike Trout Brett Jackson. But, still pretty awesome.

He's in high A right now and will be 24 in October, though, so I'm not sure how much of a prospect he is. But, the kid's got some pop in his bat.

I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.

Randy Johnson was pretty good throwing from 3/4's.

He just surpassed 100 runs and 100 RBIs for the season last night - to go with 22 HRs and 30 SBs in the Nationals system.

Unfortunately, he's got a bit of Brett Jackson in him - the Adam Dunn Brett Jackson not the Mike Trout Brett Jackson. But, still pretty awesome.

He's in high A right now and will be 24 in October, though, so I'm not sure how much of a prospect he is. But, the kid's got some pop in his bat.

Haden Simpson?? I got nothin.

When Cubs President Theo Epstein talks about building a "scouting and player development machine,'' he could look to the Andy MacPhail-Ed Lynch-Jim Hendry era Cubs as the way not to do business.

Consider Hayden Simpson as Exhibit A.

Simpson, the Cubs' first-round pick in the 2010 draft, was the most notable in a group of players released from the minor league camp on Friday. He leaves with a 5-17 record and 6.42 ERA after only 161 1/3 innings, never showing the fastball that earned him a $1,050,000 bonus after pitching for low-level Southern Arkansas University.

If Florida Gulf Coast's Chris Sale had dropped to the 15th spot, the Cubs would have selected him. But after the White Sox claimed Sale at No. 12, the Cubs selected Simpson, who had agreed to a pre-draft deal.

Among the prospects selected after Simpson: the Braves' Andrelton Simmons, the Tigers' Drew Smyly and Nick Castellanos, the Marlins' Christian Yelich, the Giants' Gary Brown, the Mariners' Taijuan Walker, the Rangers' Mike Olt, the Dodgers' Zach Lee (whose signing cost more than the Cubs' entire draft) and the Astros' Mike Foltynewicz.

Scouting director Tim Wilken was working with a tight budget, which team sources have said then-baseball president Crane Kenney slashed the budget at the last minute. The Cubs spent $4.7 million on their signings in 2010, which ranked 20th in the majors. They spent a total of $14.3 million in 2008-10, which ranked 25th in the majors, and left the cupboard bare for Epstein.