Day 2 MLB Draft Recap

A look at the Cubs day 2 draft

The first day of the MLB Amateur Draft saw the Cubs select three college starters. Brendon Little, Alex Lange, and Cory Abbott were they guys that heard their names called on Monday evening. The Cubs front office seemed to be going along with the plan to focus on pitching that Jason McLeod said they would before the draft began.

While day two of the draft was more than just college arms, the game plan seemed to carry into Tuesday. In total, five pitchers were selected while just three bats were called upon to represent the system by the Cubs.

While we are not going to cover these eight picks with the descriptions and detail like we did with Monday’s picks, we are going to give you a brief introduction to each of the draftees from Tuesday.

Name: Keegan Thompson

Position: Right-handed Pitcher

Round: 3

Pick: 105

School: Auburn University

Height/Weight: 6’2”, 210

Notes: About as polished as a pitcher can get. High pitch-ability to go along with a low 90s fastball and a plus curveball. Expect him to move quickly through the minors.

Name: Erich Uelmen

Position: Right-handed Pitcher

Round: 4

Pick: 135

School: Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo

Height/Weight: 6’3”, 195

Notes: Sits low 90s with his fastball with a bunch of running action. Ground ball specialist and a 3/4 arm slot. Future may be in the bullpen.

Name: Nelson Velazquez

Position: Outfield

Round: 5

Pick: 165

School: PJ Education School, Puerto Rico

Height/Weight: 6’0”, 190

Notes: Very raw but still very young. Has a plus arm to go with very good speed. A little bit of an unknown at this point.

Name: Jeremy Estrada

Position: Right-Handed Pitcher

Round: 6

Pick: 195

School: Palm Desert High School

Height/Weight: 6’1’, 180

Notes: Had a very good season last summer followed by a questionable spring in 2017. Low to mid-90s fastball and iffy off-speed. Risky pick could pay off, but first the Cubs will need to sign him away from UCLA, where he seems pretty determined to attend in the fall.

Name: Ricky Tyler Thomas

Position: Left-Handed Pitcher

Round: 7

Pick: 225

School: Fresno State University

Height/Weight: 6’1”, 175

Notes: Slender lefty has a fastball that sits around 90 MPH to go along with a curve and changeup in the high 70s. Move to bullpen seems likely.

Name: Austin Filiere

Position: 3B

Round: 8

Pick: 255

School: MIT

Height/Weight: 6’1”, 190

Notes: A shortstop in college, showed a good amount of pop in the Cape Cod League with 8 homers. Can also play the outfield.

Name: Chris Carrier

Position: Outfield

Round: 9

Pick: 285

School: University of Memphis

Height/Weight: 6’2”, 225

Notes: Big fan of this pick. Flat out hit this season with .330 average and 16 homers to go along with a .438 OBP. Pretty decent defensively as well.

Name: Brian Glowicki

Position: Right-Handed Pitcher

Round: 10

Pick: 315

School: University of Minnesota

Height/Weight: 5’11”, 190

Notes: Downers Grove kid was a closer all year for the Gophers. 2.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. Will continue to be a reliever and will be assigned to the Emeralds as soon as he signs.

The draft will come to a close tomorrow with rounds 11 through 40. We will see if Theo & Co. continue to follow the same game plan that they have laid out for the first 10 rounds of the festivities. The very long day is set to begin at 11 AM Central.

Greg Huss is currently a student at Ball State University in Indiana. Born and raised in Central Illinois, he spends far too much of his free time following the entire Cubs organization. You can follow him on Twitter here.