Cubs’ top 20 picks under contract
It’s pretty much “mission accomplished” for the Cubs as far as this year’s draft goes.
On Friday, they announced that they had come to terms with second-round pick Duane Underwood, a right-handed pitcher out of Pope High School in Georgia.
With the signing of Underwood, the Cubs have agreed with each of their first 20 draft picks. Earlier this week the Cubs and No. 1 pick Albert Almora agreed to terms, with a bonus of $3.9 million. The Cubs signed 29 of their 40 picks as Friday’s deadline for doing so came and went.
Underwood, who turns 18 next Friday, was 6-1 with a 2.36 ERA this past season. He struck out 75 and walked 34 in 50 innings. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder also had a good season at the plate, batting .337 (35-for-104) with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs and 19 RBI. He will report to the Cubs’ spring facility in Mesa, Ariz.
During the last homestand, Underwood threw off the bullpen mound at Wrigley Field.
Long road back: Third baseman Ian Stewart underwent surgery this week on his chronically sore left wrist. He had the procedure done at the Cleveland Clinic.The Cubs said doctors removed a piece of bone, which had been causing an impingement. Doctors also performed a cleanup in the wrist. Stewart will have the wrist immobilized for two weeks. He#146;ll need 4-6 weeks of therapy, and after that, the Cubs will know if he will be able to resume playing this year. Keeping busy:Although the sun was shining around 1 p.m., the Cubs announced the game would not start on time because of rain moving into the area. The game didn#146;t begin until 5 p.m. sharp, leaving the players with a lot of time on their hands. #147;Just kind of hung out,#148; said starting pitcher Paul Maholm, the winning pitcher in the 8-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. #147;Just tried to stay busy. The cable went out for a little while, so it was kind of quiet in the clubhouse.#148;This and that:Alfonso Soriano enjoyed his 30th career multihomer game by hitting 2. It was his second multihomer game this year. He has 149 home runs as a Cub, moving him past Mark Grace and into 13th place on the club#146;s all-time list. Grace, a Diamondbacks broadcaster, sang during the seventh-inning stretch #133; Second baseman Darwin Barney extended his errorless streak to 73 games and 588 innings. His last error was April 17 #133; First baseman Anthony Rizzo has hit safely in 11 of 13 games since being called up from Class AAA Iowa #133; Reliever Shawn Camp has thrown 12 straight scoreless innings, the longest streak by a Cubs reliever this year.