Cubs stick with pitchers in draft
Club selects 11 hurlers in first 18 rounds
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- You can never have enough pitching, and that was the Chicago Cubs' primary focus in the First-Year Player Draft.
The Cubs chose Utah high school left-handed pitcher Mark Pawelek in the first round, 20th overall, and then selected 10 more pitchers in the first day. After Wednesday's final round -- No. 50 -- the Cubs had taken 25 pitchers (18 right-handers and seven lefties), nine outfielders, eight catchers, four shortstops, four third basemen and one first baseman.

Among the catchers selected was Michael Brenly, son of former Arizona Diamondbacks manager and current Cubs television analyst Bob Brenly.

"We were very excited to hear the news," Bob Brenly said Wednesday.

Michael, who prepped at Notre Dame High (Ariz.) School, was picked No. 1,296 in the 43rd round on Wednesday. He has committed to University of Nevada-Las Vegas and was expected to attend classes in the fall. Bob Brenly said the Cubs brass planned to keep an eye on the young catcher.

The younger Brenly served as the Diamondbacks bat boy for all seven games of the 2001 World Series, which Arizona won, beating the New York Yankees. During his junior season at Notre Dame, Brenly batted .481 with four homers and 29 RBIs.

According to a scouting report, Brenly is a "good defensive catcher with a strong arm and consistent release. He keeps his body quiet when setting up and receiving pitches."

On Tuesday, left-hander Donald Veal was chosen in the second round, followed by right-hander Mark Holliman and right-hander Mike Billek in the third.

Veal was 8-5 with a 3.65 ERA for Pima (Ariz.) Community College. He struck out 119 over 74 innings, threw three shutouts, and held opponents to a .207 batting average.

He went to the University of Arizona but injured his labrum. The left-hander never had surgery, and decided to switch to Pima this year. He lost three of his first five starts, and then settled down.

"As a person, he's one of the best," said Pima baseball coach Edgar Soto. "He was either going to be an orthopedic surgeon or a big leaguer. He's a big-time athletic guy and a real focused individual."

Veal also looks like a big leaguer. Soto said during the team's trip to Las Vegas for a tournament, the pitcher was often confused with Florida pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Coincidently, Willis was the Cubs' eighth-round pick in the June 2000 draft.

"[Veal] just doesn't have the leg kick," Soto said.

Complete coverage >In the third round, the Cubs chose Holliman, a junior at the University of Mississippi who was first team all-SEC in 2004 after striking out 101 batters in 16 starts. His 101 K's ranked fourth in the SEC and were tied for fourth on the Ole Miss single-season list.

This season, Holliman threw a six-hit shutout to lead Ole Miss to a 5-0 win over Maine in the NCAA Oxford Regional on June 3, and was named to the regional all-tournament team.

With their supplemental pick in the third round as compensation for Matt Clement, the Cubs selected Billek out of University of Central Florida. He was the 108th selection after going 4-3 with a 4.07 ERA in 2005 for the Golden Knights.

Billek is the fifth player for UCF head coach Jay Bergman to be selected in the top five rounds of the draft since 2001. In his collegiate career, Billek was 6-4 with a 4.52 ERA in 143 1/3 innings. He had 133 strikeouts.

The Cubs then picked two high schoolers -- shortstop Dylan Johnston out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., and right-handed pitcher Scott Taylor of Hermitage (Va.) High School.

Two Baylor ballplayers were tabbed when the Cubs selected shortstop Kyle Reynolds and left-handed pitcher David Taylor. Reynolds batted .270 in 55 games with eight home runs and 33 RBIs, while Taylor, a senior, was 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA in 17 games. The Cubs had drafted Taylor last year in the 20th round.

The Baylor Bears will be hosting the NCAA Super Regional this weekend. Baylor enters the tournament with a 42-21 record.

The Cubs selected North Carolina State catcher Jake Muyco No. 250, and University of Virginia right-handed pitcher Matthew Avery, who is 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, at No. 280. Muyco is considered an outstanding defensive player, and the junior batted .333 this year. Avery was 6-5 with a 4.34 ERA for Virginia, and struck out 71 over 85 innings.

The Cubs also tabbed Nebraska shortstop Joe Simokaitis, who batted .300 with 16 stolen bases for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska was 54-13 this year.


Cool stuff. Only one I have seen play is Simokaitis. He might be the top defensive SS in the country in college. Amazing defender and decent offense. Will be fun to see which of these kids sign and how they turn out.