Baseball America | Blog | Baseball America Draft Blog | Biggest Shocker So Far: Hayden Simpson to Chicago Cubs

Biggest Shocker So Far: Hayden Simpson to Chicago Cubs

Posted Jun. 7, 2010 7:35 pm by John Manuel
Filed under: Draft Day

We were on Hayden Simpson in the preseason. But no one was on him at No. 17 overall.

Simpson, our No. 191 prospect on our Top 200, was our preseason Division II pitcher of the year, and he was the pitcher of the year at Division II. But Simpson is a big surprise as a 6-foot, 170-pound righthander whose velocity parks at 92-94 mph, and he lost just two games in three seasons.

Still, many scouts had Simpson in as a middle reliever. We knew this was a volatile first round, but we didn't think Simpson could go No. 16 overall. This is reminiscent of the Cubs' 2006 first-rounder in Tyler Colvin. Colvin was toward the back of the top 200 that year as well, and he's in the big leagues now. More to come on Simpson.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 7:35 pm by John Manuel and is filed under Draft Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Comments

Comments will be monitored prior to being added to the site. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be rejected. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed.

We have chosen to open up commenting to everyone, so comment away! We want to hear from each and every one of you! Leave a comment.

9 Comments

Great draft pick. Another reason the Cubbies haven't won a world series in over a 100 years. They could have gotten him in a later round.

Posted by Cubs Fan | June 7, 2010 at 9:08 pm | Shortcut

Typical Cubs..Hendry is an idiot..when he's not drafting his buddies players..he's doing this..Of course this is the same fool that gave the contects to Soriano,Zambrano ,Ramirez…and on and on and on

Posted by Bob Zelenka | June 7, 2010 at 11:16 pm | Shortcut

This guy is as ligit as they come. Dont buy into the scouting reports, i was in the stands when he struck out 13 against Florida Southern in the regional. First pitch was 97-98 on some of the stalkers.
He can throw 4 pitches for strikes when ever he pleases. He didn't throw a pitch under 93-94 the whole night and touched 96-7 many times. Hammer curve. bulldog and athletic. looks like lincecum and could be.

Posted by andrew | June 8, 2010 at 1:37 am | Shortcut

"Simpson was not ranked highly in Baseball America's projections of the top 200 prospects. But Wilken said one other major league team drafting right after the Cubs was showing major interest in him."

FWIW, Wilkin was worried that he wouldnt be there later on. Doesnt excuse the pick but offers some comfort.

Posted by OQ | June 8, 2010 at 10:38 am | Shortcut

if another team was showing "major interest" in simpson who drafted after the cubs, they either have a just as stupidly run franchise as Chicago does, or they were genius's and took thye cubs off a first round gem by faking interest in this guy Hendry wanted.
….I don't believe any other team out there is ran as dumbly as the Cubs….great pick Hendry…too bad you will be out of a job before he even ever has a chance to hit the majors!

Posted by nathan | June 8, 2010 at 12:41 pm | Shortcut

Dont buy into the scouting reports…??? ITS DIVSION 2 FOR GOD 'S SAKE If this guy was any good he'd be pitching at a school someone has heard from!! He was facing division 2 competition ..COME ON!!

Posted by Bob Zelenka | June 8, 2010 at 9:21 pm | Shortcut

the guy threw 88 out of high school and never really played baseball. gained 10 mphand learned how to pitch
was a QB in high school

Posted by andrew | June 10, 2010 at 12:36 am | Shortcut

[...] don't see any problem with me signing.'" Let's hope that wasn't a factor here. Baseball America: Biggest shocker so far: Hayden Simpson to Chicago Cubs Another Cubs Blog: Cubs select fifth rounder in first round Goat Riders of the Apocalypse: Draft [...]

Posted by Super Silva Wins Again; Cubs’ Draft Pick a “Shocker” | Cubs Fan Report | August 4, 2010 at 6:50 pm | Shortcut

[...] expect to be writing a lot on this guy, and not just because he is a controversial pick. So let’s get that controversy off the table right [...]

Posted by Hayden Simpson: Part 1 | Cubbies Crib | A Chicago Cubs Blog | November 19, 2010 at 8:01 am | Shortcut

What Are Your Thoughts?

• Line and paragraph breaks are automatic
• Your e-mail address will never be displayed

About This Blog

The Draft Blog is a source of frequent updates about the draft and the top prospects eligible for the draft. If you have questions or comments you can e-mail them to draftblog@baseballamerica.com.