2008 MLB Draft: Be Patient and Don't Expect Players in the MLB in 2009

This article will be the easiest article ever to write.  What do the Chicago Cubs need in the 2008 MLB Players draft?  Uh, youth.

I'll keep this short.  Here are the positions I see the Chicago Cubs having the greatest need:

1. Center Field

2. First Base

3. Starting Pitching

What they need honestly doesn't matter much in the MLB draft.  Baseball is not like basketball or football.  In the NBA or NFL, you can pick a player in the first round and 9 times out of 10 they will be on the starting roster within two years.  This is not the case for baseball.  I have no explanation for it, but the round you are drafted in means squat in baseball.

So, here is my strategy for the draft.  It is also the similar strategy every general manager follows.  First, always take a dominant position player first over a dominant pitcher.  They give you more production on a day by day basis and the probability of them making the big league roster and staying is WAY better.

Second, take the best player available the first few rounds.  Don't worry about position needs.  If you are sitting on the number 19 pick and you have a choice between a short stop that hit .350 and 25 home runs with 40 steals, or a Center Fielder that hit .320 with way less power, and you need a center fielder (the Cubs need one), take the short stop!

This draft is huge for the Cubs.  They need to get young fast.  They have an amazing roster, but almost all starters are in their 30's.  They have at the most 4-5 years left in their prime.  So, get some young guys in the farm to fill in.  Look how well Micah Hoffpauir (probably butchered the name) and Geovany Soto filled in this year!

The most important thing about the baseball draft, and one reason it will never be as watched as the NBA or NFL draft, is that the players drafted don't have star power and won't contribute immediately.  They seep into the MLB over five years.  Proof is being shown by the Tampa Bay Rays. 

So, be patient when watching the draft.  Also, unless you are a professional scout, you won't know a single player the Cubs draft this year.  So, grab an Old Style and hope the players pan out in the minors for the next five years.

The number one factor that determines whether a player makes the MLB is work ethic.  Just hope our new boys in blue spend lots of time at the cages and fielding grounders or pop flies.

Go Cubs!

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