Chicago Cubs 2013 draft recap

Many experts anticipated the Chicago Cubs would take Stanford’s RHP Mark Appel or Oklahoma’s RHP Jonathan Gray with the second overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, but they opted for University of San Diego slugger Kris Bryant. This was a surprise to many because of the obvious lack of top-end pitching in the Cubs farm system, but the Chicago front office made it clear it was not going to draft to fill needs. Instead, the Cubs went with a position player in the first round for the third consecutive year and addressed the need for pitching in the later rounds. Bryant terrorized college pitchers all year, finishing the season with a .329 average and NCAA leading 31 home runs and 80 runs scored. Bryant’s raw power is his biggest asset, and at six-foot-five he has the frame to mature into an elite power hitter at the major league level. Bryant will join fellow top prospects Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Albert Almora in the ever-improving Cubs farm system. By now all Cubs fans know about ...