In just a few hours, day two of the MLB Draft will begin. The Cubs will make 8 picks today and you can expect a lot of variety in the type of picks they make. There will be some young prep players mixed with experienced college players and maybe a couple of senior signs to free up some money to help sign Jackson Ferris. Expect those types of selections in rounds 5 or 6 through 10.

I will be live blogging beginning at 1 PM in a new post. Just keep updating or refreshing that post throughout the day.

Today’s slot values
Round 3 – (86) $735,200
Round 4 – (113) $538,400
Round 5 – (143) $402,100
Round 6 – (173) $303,700
Round 7 – (203) $237,300
Round 8 – (233) $188,900
Round 9 – (263) $164,500
Round 10 – (293) $154,200

There is still a lot of talent out there and the Cubs should get two or three very good players out of today. Whether they will crack a top 30 prospect list is a different story. 

Who are some of the top players still out there for today?

Two Clemson Commits

Both of these guys are still on the board but they both come with a hefty price. The fact that Porter is still left tells me he’s set a mighty high price the Cubs likely can’t match. 

Brock Porter, RHP, St. Mary’s Prep, Orchard Lake, Mich.
Tristan Smith, LHP, Boiling Springs (SC) HS, 

College Bats

Colby Thomas – OF, Mercer – Sign me up!
Matt Wood – C – Penn State – Oh, I like this kid!
Silas Ardoin – C – Texas – Zumach loves him!

College Arms – I would take any and all of these players.

Jonathan Cannon, RHP, Georgia 
Trystan Vrieling, RHP, Gonzaga 
Bryce Hubbart, LHP, Florida State
Nate Savino, LHP, Virginia
Brandon Birdsell, RHP, Texas Tech
Andrew Walters, RHP, Miami
Troy Melton, RHP, San Diego State.
Marcus Johnson, RHP, Duke – Took him in my mock draft. Love the athleticism!

The Big Risk

Ben Joyce – RHP, Tennessee 

Joyce pops here because 103-105 draws attention. That number doesn’t tell you the whole story of how he was and was not used down the stretch this year. There are concerns about durability, command, and offspeed stuff. Still, 103-105.

Other Prep Guys

They might cost a little extra, but Martin might be out of reach. If the Cubs get him, it would be quite the coup! I could see Neal signing and possibly Guidry, but the Cubs would have to get them early.

Cade Obermueller – OF, Iowa City
Max Martin, SS, Moorestown, NJ – Rutgers commit
Brady Neal, C, IMG Academy – Stick him with Gray and Ferris and it would be like old times!
Gavin Guidry, SS, Lake Charles – Would be a fun sign!
Jacob Reimer 3B – Like this kid
Sam Horn, RHP/SS, Suwanee, Ga.
Gavin Turley, OF, Chandler, Az
Jackson Humphries, RHP, Fuquay-Varina HS, NC
Malcolm Moore, C – The bat is fine. Not too sure about the defense
Nicolas Perez, SS, Puerto Rico – Could be a steal

I better stop or this list will have 200 names, which is close to how many players will be drafted today.