You played catcher for Stanford last year?!
They could definitely use a guy like that. Someone with ++ power who can regularly drive the ball out of that park.
At the MLB level the only "core" guys the Cubs really have are Castro, Rizzo, and Samardzija (I assume they'll sign Samardzija to an extension at the end of the season). Not a lot. Even Castro, who is someone the current regime inherited, has a lot of things about his game they do not like. In the minors they have a primo SS prospect in Baez (could move to 3B or Castro could move to 2B down the road) and two primo OF prospects in Almora and Soler.
It is a shame...Tejada is not hitting and he was fielding horribly before the DL, Davis has regressed, Duda kinda is what he is, we don't really have a CF, Valdespin is a head case, and D'Arnaud has got to stay healthy. D'Arnaud is already 24, so he needs to get on it. Nimmo is an OF in our system I really like and Gavin Cecchini might have a shot at SS, but we need an infusion of offensive players. I think Syndergaard my have to go for some bats, but I am leery of dealing a guy I think might be on par with Wheeler.
Dioner Navarro is deeply offended, though I guess he didn't actually come up through the Rays system. Still, having a HOF talent like that and just parting ways with him? Going to set that organization back a few years.
Where are you getting this?
I heard Keith Law say that he thinks that's where they're leaning. Apparently it has something to do with money. I have almost no understanding of the MLB draft slotting/salary system but from what I've heard it would somehow be cheaper to sign him at #1 overall than a pitcher like Appel or Gray in the same spot. Not sure why.
This is going to turn into a real mess. I don't see how in the hell they're going to start handing out suspensions to guys who have not failed tests. Obviously there will an appeal process and I'm assuming the player's union and probably individual players who get suspended will file lawsuits against MLB. Guys like Braun and Robinson Cano are huge stars in the league and there are tons of others who could get suspensions as well. It can't end well.
I think Appel is a Boras client and its why he fell to 9 last year. As for slotting, there really isn't much of one. Players say what they want and cheap teams decide to go with talent that fits their budget. It's how the A's do it and its a reason the Astros took Correa last year.
The Astros, by virtue of selecting first in each round of the draft, have the largest draft budget at $11,698,800. Of that total, $7,790,400 is assigned to the first-overall pick. By selecting someone like Moran with the first pick, they can offer him more money than he would make with say, the Indians, who select fifth and have $3,787,400 to spend on their first pick, but much, much less than they would have if they selected Gray, who is likely going to sign at least at the slot recommendation as he's a junior who can leverage his senior year of college into negotiations, like Mark Appel did with the Pirates last year.
So my question is, if Appel is at worst the 2nd best player in this draft and he can no longer leverage going back to school than why isn't he the hands down pick?