The Oakland A’s could select outfielder J.D. Drew with the No. 2 pick in Tuesday’s amateur draft, which would save the Cubs from making a difficult decision with their No. 3 pick.
The Cubs’ minor-league system is woefully short on top outfield prospects and Drew, who re-enters the draft after holding out an entire year for a $10 million bonus from Philadelphia, is expected to be ready for the majors quickly.
If the Cubs picked Drew and couldn’t sign him, they would waste their highest pick since Shawon Dunston was the No. 1 selection in 1982. But if they were able to sign him, the Cubs would have their best outfield prospect since Joe Carter was the No. 2 pick in ’81.
From the tone of Cubs scouting director Jim Hendry, the Cubs aren’t all that interested in Drew, even if Oakland leaves him available at No. 3.
“He turned down a lot of money,” Hendry said. “And there comes a time where you have to come out and play. Really, I think it would have been in his best interests to sign with the Phillies. I was kind of disappointed for the industry and for the Phillies that it didn’t get done.”
Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, has threatened to sue to get the courts to overrule the amateur draft. Would that threat enter the Cubs’ decision on whether to take Drew?
“I haven’t given that any thought,” Hendry said. “Honestly, I just go around the country looking at players. I don’t know about the litigation part of that.”
If the Cubs go for pitching, they’ll likely take Arizona State left-hander Ryan Mills. They have chosen a pitcher with their first-round pick in each of the three years of the Ed Lynch regime. If the Cubs go for a position player, they could solve the black hole at third base by picking Long Beach State’s Sean Burroughs, the consensus choice as the best hitter available in the draft.
Draft fever: How have the Cubs fared in the first-round since Lynch became general manager in ’95 and made Hendry his director of scouting? Here are the three first-rounders selected by Lynch and Hendry and their current teams and stats:
– 1995: Kerry Wood, Cubs–5-2, 3.04 ERA, 85 strikeouts and 27 walks in 53 1/3 innings.
– 1996: Todd Noel, Rockford (Class A)–2-3, 4.11 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 11 walks in 35 innings.
– 1997: Jon Garland, Rockford (Class A)–1-2, 3.77 ERA, 27 strikeouts and 16 walks in 45 1/3 innings.
All the other first-round draft picks in the pre-Lynch portion of the 1990s are out of the Cubs’ system: Lance Dickson (’90), Doug Glanville (’91), Derek Wallace (’92), Brooks Kieschnick and Jon Ratliff (’93) and Jayson Peterson (’94).
No Nomo: The Cubs are not interested in obtaining Los Angeles starter Hideo Nomo, who was designated for assignment Monday after demanding a trade. “I can’t say he’s a tougher starter than the five we put out there,” manager Jim Riggleman said.
Cub files: In his first two games at Triple-A Iowa, Kevin Orie is 4 for 7 with three doubles. . . . White Sox Assistant General Manager Dan Evans has been scouting the Cubs this week in preparation for the Cubs-Sox series. Asked if he was scouting Cubs players for a possible Robin Ventura trade, Evans laughed and withheld comment. . . . Mickey Morandini extended his hitting streak to 12 games, a career high. Morandini batted .367 in May, second on the club to Mark Grace’s .369.
