Cubs draft pitching; top pick talks college

MILWAUKEE — The Cubs went for pitching, pitching and more pitching Tuesday on the second day of baseball's amateur draft. They also heard their No. 1 pick talk of going to college.

After taking center fielder Albert Almora and two pitchers in the first and supplemental rounds Monday, the Cubs selected five pitchers in a row from rounds 2-6.

As that was going on, Almora was playing the skilled negotiator, which comes as no surprise considering his adviser is super agent Scott Boras.

The 18-year-old Almora, a high school standout out of Florida, has a scholarship offer to play baseball at the University of Miami. He understandably will use that as leverage in negotiations with the Cubs. The signing deadline is July 13.

“My main priority now is college,” he said during a conference call with the Chicago media. “I just graduated high school right now. I have a full scholarship to the University of Miami.

“In my mind, I trust my abilities, and I know what I can do on the field. That's not the priority right now. The priority right now is we have to let everything in the process play out and let the cards fall where they have to fall.

“I can't control that. That's something that Chicago has to talk to with their organization and come to an agreement.”

Almora batted .603 (44-for-73) in his senior year at Mater Academy Charter.

“The thing I can guarantee you most is I'm going to play the game 120 percent,” he said. “I can't guarantee I'm going to hit 4 home runs in a game. But the way I play the game, the passion I have for the game … is always something I've been appreciated for.”

After taking Almora, the Cubs addressed a critical need by drafting pitchers. They took right-hander Pierce Johnson (Missouri St.) and high school righty Paul Blackburn on Monday.

In the second round, they selected right-hander Duane Underwood out of Pope High School in Georgia, followed by righty Ryan McNeil, righty Josh Conway, lefty Anthony Prieto and righty Trey Lang before drafting University of Virginia third baseman Stephen Bruno.