Mets Beat Arrieta, Cubs for 2-0 NLCS Lead, The Cubs passed up opportunities to draft Jon Gray, Aaron Nola and Kyle Finnegan — who all reached the majors within a year after leaving college.
They have been reminded of the value of power pitching during the National League Championship Series with the Mets sending fireballers Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom at them.
But their belief in selecting the best impact player available hasn't wavered.
"We all know you need pitching, power pitching," said Jason McLeod, Cubs senior vice president of scouting and player development. "You see what the Mets are rolling out every night. Not many staffs have that.
"We have a club that believes in our pitching as well, but we have a lot of firepower in our lineup. A lot of it is young. I consider Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro young still, along with the other guys who came up recently."
Thanks to deep pockets (a six-year, $155 million contract for Jon Lester) and keen trades (acquiring 22-game winner Jake Arrieta and setup man Pedro Strop from the Orioles two years ago), the Cubs were able to supplement their offense with top pitching.
Meanwhile, the Mets had enough depth to trade four pitching prospects to acquire slugger Yoenis Cespedes and infielders Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to strengthen a feeble offense that was leaning heavily on its rotation.Despite speculation that the Cubs and Mets were a perfect fit — heightened by a comment by Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer that a trade "would happen at some point" — Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said a trade never was close at the deadline this year.
"They're probably happy they didn't make a trade, and we're happy we didn't make a trade," Alderson said.
And both teams have a right to be content with their draft strategy.
"That's what it's all about — finding talented guys who want to play the game the right way and care about their teammates more than themselves and understanding that everyone is here to win," McLeod said. "In our case, be a part of making history."
Javier Baez's late-season contribution further validates his selection as the ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft under then-GM Jim Hendry and adds to a collection of homegrown talent that includes fellow first-round picks Kris Bryant (2013) and Kyle Schwarber (2014) and Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, signed as an amateur free agent.Cubs officials scouted Schwarber and Mets 2014 first-round pick Michael Conforto during a college tournament in Surprise, Ariz. More intrigued by Schwarber's power, the Cubs chose him fourth overall, six picks before the Mets took Conforto.
The Mets' 2010 draft produced two starting pitchers — first-round pick Harvey and seventh-round choice deGrom — and reliever Erik Goeddel. That threesome arrived sooner than left-hander Steven Matz, a second-round pick in the 2009 draft who was 4-0 in six starts this season.
Interestingly, the Mets' last four first-round picks have been position players — outfielder Brandon Nimmo, shortstop Gavin Cecchini, first baseman Dominic Smith and Conforto.
It's one thing to identify talent. But the greatest reward for the organization is when those high picks polish their skills in the minors and make the leap to the majors. That's why the Cubs honored their scouts and player development staffers before Game 3 of the NL Division Series.
"I remember all the ground balls that (infield coordinator) Jose Flores worked with Kris Bryant on, to (special assistant) Anthony Iapoce spending hours in the batting cage with Soler and Baez, and all these guys to all the scouts who signed them and identified them, it makes you feel that much greater and makes you feel our process is working," McLeod said.
They have been reminded of the value of power pitching during the National League Championship Series with the Mets sending fireballers Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom at them.
But their belief in selecting the best impact player available hasn't wavered.
"We all know you need pitching, power pitching," said Jason McLeod, Cubs senior vice president of scouting and player development. "You see what the Mets are rolling out every night. Not many staffs have that.
"We have a club that believes in our pitching as well, but we have a lot of firepower in our lineup. A lot of it is young. I consider Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro young still, along with the other guys who came up recently."
Thanks to deep pockets (a six-year, $155 million contract for Jon Lester) and keen trades (acquiring 22-game winner Jake Arrieta and setup man Pedro Strop from the Orioles two years ago), the Cubs were able to supplement their offense with top pitching.
Meanwhile, the Mets had enough depth to trade four pitching prospects to acquire slugger Yoenis Cespedes and infielders Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to strengthen a feeble offense that was leaning heavily on its rotation.Despite speculation that the Cubs and Mets were a perfect fit — heightened by a comment by Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer that a trade "would happen at some point" — Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said a trade never was close at the deadline this year.
"They're probably happy they didn't make a trade, and we're happy we didn't make a trade," Alderson said.
And both teams have a right to be content with their draft strategy.
"That's what it's all about — finding talented guys who want to play the game the right way and care about their teammates more than themselves and understanding that everyone is here to win," McLeod said. "In our case, be a part of making history."
Javier Baez's late-season contribution further validates his selection as the ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft under then-GM Jim Hendry and adds to a collection of homegrown talent that includes fellow first-round picks Kris Bryant (2013) and Kyle Schwarber (2014) and Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, signed as an amateur free agent.Cubs officials scouted Schwarber and Mets 2014 first-round pick Michael Conforto during a college tournament in Surprise, Ariz. More intrigued by Schwarber's power, the Cubs chose him fourth overall, six picks before the Mets took Conforto.
The Mets' 2010 draft produced two starting pitchers — first-round pick Harvey and seventh-round choice deGrom — and reliever Erik Goeddel. That threesome arrived sooner than left-hander Steven Matz, a second-round pick in the 2009 draft who was 4-0 in six starts this season.
Interestingly, the Mets' last four first-round picks have been position players — outfielder Brandon Nimmo, shortstop Gavin Cecchini, first baseman Dominic Smith and Conforto.
It's one thing to identify talent. But the greatest reward for the organization is when those high picks polish their skills in the minors and make the leap to the majors. That's why the Cubs honored their scouts and player development staffers before Game 3 of the NL Division Series.
"I remember all the ground balls that (infield coordinator) Jose Flores worked with Kris Bryant on, to (special assistant) Anthony Iapoce spending hours in the batting cage with Soler and Baez, and all these guys to all the scouts who signed them and identified them, it makes you feel that much greater and makes you feel our process is working," McLeod said.
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