When Vice President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, and General Manager, Jed Hoyer, assumed control of the Cubs in the Fall of 2011, they promised to exponentially improve the organization’s player drafting and development departments. They pushed for better scouting, they promised to mine the entire world for International prospects and they demanded upgraded player training facilities and enhanced coaching and player development in the minor leagues.
It has been just over one year since Epstein’s and Hoyer’s and head of player scouting Jason McLeod’s first draft with the Cubs and a perfect time for us to chart the progress of many of the 40 players selected (some opted not to sign with the Cubs and to attend or return to college instead). It should be noted that the true value of this draft will not be known for a few more years–no player from the 2012 draft has advanced beyond Daytona, the Cubs’ Advanced A Affiliate in the Florida State League. We will first focus on players whose stock is rising based on their 2013 performance and then, in a separate post, feature those players whose stock is sliding. Then we will draw some final conclusions.