Cubs First-Rounders Show Little Promise

Many Cubs fans know of the names Ben Christensen, Luis Montanez, Bobby Brownlie, Ryan Harvey, Mark Pawelek, and Tyler Colvin, but most can’t put their finger on why the names sound so familiar.

What all of these players have in common is that each was the first pick in the MLB amateur draft by the Cubs between 1999 and 2006, with one name missing: 2001 first rounder (and second overall pick) Mark Prior.

As of now, none of the Cubs’ first round picks are on the big-league club, and only four of their first round picks EVER are currently on big-league 40-man rosters (Montanez, Corey Patterson [1998], Jon Garland [1997], and Kerry Wood [1995] ).

Now, first round picks aren’t always where you find the best talent. The Cubs have built a fairly successful farm system using their other picks, and gaining young talent through trades.

You have to ask yourself though, have the Cubs even been trying in the first round? I mean, this is the round where the best talent supposedly is.

So why haven’t the Cubs had successful first-round picks?

You have to look at the effort put forth by scouts and general managers of the past.  Before this year’s draft, current GM Jim Hendry was noted as saying that the first round didn’t really matter, and that the best players in their farm system were found as gems in later rounds (making sure to note such guys as Geovanny Soto and Ryan Theriot).

So is that all these GM’s are trying to do? Are they just trying to slack off for the first few rounds so they can pick who they really want in later rounds, so they’ll be known as great drafters?

All I know is that it’s about time to start drafting some real talent in the first round, instead of sandbagging for later rounds.

On the brink of the 2009 MLB amateur draft, you have to look at the Cubs’ draft and just shrug your shoulders. First-round pick Brett Jackson out of the University of California-Berkeley is a left-handed outfielder with speed, but little power.

His 61 strikeouts against only 29 walks proves that he needs to mature a lot to become a successful big-league hitter.

The Jackson pick follows a familiar path of past Cubs first-rounders: he’s immature and will not be ready to play for a big-league organization for at least five years.

So, unless Jackson surprises everyone and rises through the ranks quickly, expect his name to be another that you hear about for the near future, but whom you won’t actually see until he’s on the brink of his 30th birthday.