{"id":19264,"date":"2022-07-19T15:55:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T15:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cubs-go-pitching-heavy-in-the-draft-soto-wins-the-derby-mlb-has-to-answer-questions-and-other-cubs-bullets\/"},"modified":"2022-07-19T15:55:42","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T15:55:42","slug":"cubs-go-pitching-heavy-in-the-draft-soto-wins-the-derby-mlb-has-to-answer-questions-and-other-cubs-bullets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cubs-go-pitching-heavy-in-the-draft-soto-wins-the-derby-mlb-has-to-answer-questions-and-other-cubs-bullets\/","title":{"rendered":"Cubs Go Pitching-Heavy in the Draft, Soto Wins the Derby, MLB Has to Answer Questions, and Other Cubs Bullets"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>I know that holding the MLB Draft at the same time as the All-Star festivities was one of those ideas that sounded good on paper, but it turns out that, in practice, it forces you to choose to miss one thing or the other.  And since I am heavily focused on the Draft, that means I barely have any sense at all of what happened yesterday with all the player interviews among the All-Stars.  I have some catching up to do, like this morning with Willson Contreras&#8217;s comments on the Cubs and his future.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Speaking of the Draft, we&#8217;ll see rounds 11 through 20 here on Day Three, starting at 1pm CT. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Yesterday, the Cubs took seven pitchers and one position player, making it a total of nine and one for the draft so far.  I wouldn&#8217;t take much more away from that than the Cubs felt like the pitchers at those spots were the best picks to create a successful draft overall (keep in mind, it seems like their senior\/under-slot signings are ALWAYS pitchers), and maybe a tiny bit of wanting to take some swings on pitcher upside right now (there is more positional upside in the system at the moment). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Cubs will add some positional guys today \u2013 probably (in their view) underrated college bats, and it&#8217;s possible they have some pool space available to go overslot on a guy or two (remember, anything for an individual player over $125,000 today counts against the pool, and you can definitely get some really interesting prospects to sign for $200,000 or so).  The Cubs probably also figure they&#8217;ll be active in the undrafted free agent market (where you can now once again spend up to $125,000 on a player without it counting against the pool (the terrible $20,000 limit is gone)).  There&#8217;s also the Trade Deadline looming, where the Cubs might wind up picking up some additional young bats.  Who knows.  But it goes, I don&#8217;t really have much of a reaction to the pick balance at the moment.  I just don&#8217;t think it means much.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Instead, where I see meaning in the draft so far is in how RISK-HEAVY the Cubs have been.  Almost every single pick so far this year \u2013 other than the pure slot-savings picks \u2013 has been on the very extreme end of high-risk, high-reward.  That&#8217;s not an accident.  Clearly the Cubs felt they had a lot of quality depth in the farm system already, and were in a position to be able to go for those extreme risk types to try to land a future superstar.  Some years, you can&#8217;t really afford to do that, because you look down the road and feel like you don&#8217;t have enough \u201clikely contributors\u201d in your farm system.  So you need to take a lot of shots at high floor.  The Cubs DO have a ton of \u201clikely contributors\u201d in the farm system right now.  But they don&#8217;t have a ton of \u201cyou know, if everything breaks right, this guy could be an ace\u201d types.  This was the draft to take those swings, especially in the earlier rounds, and especially if the Cubs felt about this draft \u2013 apparently they did \u2013 that the pitching side was undervalued. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Anyway, stay tuned for today&#8217;s picks.  I&#8217;ll bet we see a lot of college bats, and a lot of lower-risk arms.  It&#8217;s harder to get those higher-risk, higher-upside guys to sign on Day Three unless you have a TON of pool space leftover, and my mental math suggests the Cubs might only have a small bit of overage left.  If you missed any of yesterday&#8217;s picks, see the round-up here. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Home Run Derby last night was fun as always, with Julio Rodriguez stealing the show early (he was just hitting monster homer after monster homer), Albert Pujols shocking everyone (including himself) by beating Kyle Schwarber in the first round, and Juan Soto ultimately taking the crown. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<ul>\n<li>It&#8217;s a Home Run Derby so whatever, but still, pretty impressive for Soto to do what he did amidst the swirl of all the rumors.  He&#8217;s just good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/about:blank\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-rocket-lazyload=\"fitvidscompatible\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/streamable.com\/m\/juan-soto-wins-2022-hr-derby\"><\/iframe><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/streamable.com\/m\/juan-soto-wins-2022-hr-derby\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">News: The US Senate Judiciary Committee has sent a letter to commissioner Rob Manfred asking for information about Major League Baseball&#8217;s antitrust exemption, the latest step in the committee&#8217;s inquiry into the exemption.  Manfred has been asked to respond by July 26. <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IQKbj3uDZH\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/IQKbj3uDZH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EvanDrellich\/status\/1549130323643887616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">July 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>I tend to think this does not ultimately <em>go<\/em> anywhere paradigm-shifting, especially now that the minor league player suit is settled (though the suit from a handful of minor league teams that lost their affiliation continues \u2026 ), but that doesn&#8217;t mean there won&#8217;t be some fascinating information coming out in the interim.  Those questions from the committee are probably going to be very challenging for MLB and its lawyers to answer.  And the fact that the committee dropped it in the middle of the Draft, and in the middle of MLB trying to negotiate an International Draft?  That is some shot-across-the-bow stuff.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<ul>\n<li>This is just wonderful stuff:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<ul>\n<li>Another rough day in the Blackhawks&#8217; world:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I know that holding the MLB Draft at the same time as the All-Star festivities was one of those ideas that sounded good on paper, but it turns out that, in practice, it forces you to choose to miss one thing or the other. And since I am heavily focused on the Draft, that means &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cubs-go-pitching-heavy-in-the-draft-soto-wins-the-derby-mlb-has-to-answer-questions-and-other-cubs-bullets\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Cubs Go Pitching-Heavy in the Draft, Soto Wins the Derby, MLB Has to Answer Questions, and Other Cubs Bullets<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20373,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/why-the-chicago-cubs-went-so-pitching-heavy-in-the-2022-mlb-draft\/","url_meta":{"origin":19264,"position":0},"title":"Why the Chicago Cubs Went So Pitching-Heavy in the 2022 MLB Draft","date":"July 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By the time the, say, the 14th round of the 2022 MLB Draft rolled around, it was clear that the Chicago Cubs had a specific plan in place to go exceedingly heavy on pitching in this year's draft. After Day Two, even when the Cubs had drafted nine pitchers in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20669,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cubs-expect-to-sign-vast-majority-of-draft-picks-may-have-already-landed-one-of-their-upside-arms\/","url_meta":{"origin":19264,"position":1},"title":"Cubs Expect to Sign Vast Majority of Draft Picks, May Have Already Landed One of Their Upside Arms","date":"July 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After the 2022 MLB Draft wrapped yesterday, Cubs VP of Scouting Dan Kantrovitz said something very interesting. remember, draft selections are just half of the battle \u2013 the other half is actually signing those players into your organization. He dropped a specific number (or two) on how many of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17727,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cubs-select-oklahoma-rhp-cade-horton-with-7th-pick-mlb-draft\/","url_meta":{"origin":19264,"position":2},"title":"Cubs select Oklahoma RHP Cade Horton with 7th pick MLB Draft","date":"July 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In the first round of the MLB Draft, the Chicago Cubs took Oklahoma Sooners right-handed pitcher Cade Horton with the seventh pick. After spending the past two weeks telling you that I was 98% sure that the Cubs would take a position player, the Cubs took a pitcher that had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18926,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mason-mcgwire-son-of-former-st-louis-cardinals-slugger-mark-mcgwire-drafted-in-8th-round-by-chicago-cubs\/","url_meta":{"origin":19264,"position":3},"title":"Mason McGwire, son of former St.  Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, drafted in 8th round by Chicago Cubs","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"LOS ANGELES -- The McGwire family is set to see the other side of things in one of baseball's best rivalries.Mason McGwire, son of 12-time All-Star slugger Mark, was selected in the eighth round of baseball's amateur draft by the Chicago Cubs on Monday.1 RelatedMark spent five of his 16\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17772,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/chicago-cubs-draft-high-school-lefty-jackson-ferris-in-the-second-round-47th-overall\/","url_meta":{"origin":19264,"position":4},"title":"Chicago Cubs Draft High School Lefty Jackson Ferris in the Second Round, 47th Overall","date":"July 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The discussion around the Chicago Cubs' first round pick, Cade Horton, was all about (1) the surprise of it, (2) the high-risk, high-reward in a late breakout like Horton, and (3) what it might mean for later picks. Specifically: was Horton going to come in under slot? Enough under slot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18877,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/cubs-select-mark-mcgwires-last-mason-in-mlb-draft\/","url_meta":{"origin":19264,"position":5},"title":"Cubs select Mark McGwire&#8217;s last Mason in MLB draft","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Imagine Mark McGwire in a Cubs hat.The preposterous proposition came closer to reality on Monday when the Chicago Cubs selected McGwire's last Mason McGwire in the eighth round of the MLB draft. He's not a slugger like his dad, but a pitcher from Capistrano Valley High School in Southern California.Whether\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bleachernation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/jed-hoyer-speaking-thinking.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}