Cubs haven't neglected pitching in draft

If you're a Cubs fan, you've seen Kris Bryant. And no doubt you like him.

You've also heard of Albert Almora and Kyle Schwarber.

The current Cubs management team took over in the fall of 2011, and beginning with the 2012 amateur draft, the organization's first-round picks have been Almora, Bryant and Schwarber, respectively.

Team president Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and scouting-player-development chief Jason McLeod also made a splash by signing Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, who was a contributor to the big club this season before landing on the disabled list.

The other most-talked-about player in the Cubs system is infielder Javier Baez, taken in the first round of the 2011 draft by the previous management team.

All of these young men are position players, and with the 2015 draft coming up Monday, it would not be surprising to see the Cubs take another bat when they make their first-round selection with the ninth pick overall.

With as much attention as position players have received since that first Epstein-Hoyer-McLeod draft of 2012, one might think the Cubs have neglected pitching.

Not so.

For the fun of it, I looked back at the first 10 picks in each of the Cubs' last three drafts. How many position players and how many pitchers do you think they have taken in these 30 overall picks? The answer might surprise you.

With their top 10 selections in the last three drafts, the Cubs took 23 pitchers and only seven position players. Of their top 39 picks in this same period, 31 were pitchers.

The strategy is plainly apparent. In an era where offense is at a premium, the Cubs have decided to take as many elite or good bats as possible at the top and then stockpile pitchers in subsequent rounds, hoping enough of them pan out.

When the Cubs had the second overall pick in 2013, Mark Appel and Jonathan Gray were considered by many to be the top two pitchers available. The Houston Astros took Appel with the first overall pick, but the Cubs bypassed Gray in favor of Bryant.

This season Appel is at Class AA Corpus Christi, where he entered the weekend 3-1 with a 5.20 ERA. For his minor league career, he is 9-9 with a 5.74 ERA. Gray, who went third to the Rockies, is at Class AAA Albuquerque, where he went into the weekend 2-5 with a 5.40 ERA. He is 16-10 with a 3.93 ERA for his minor league career.

In addition to offense being difficult to come by today, teams also are taking a long look at the injury risk factor for pitchers.

The Cubs appear to have some keepers among their recently drafted pitchers, at least at this early stage of development.

They're still high on right-hander Pierce Johnson, their second overall pick (in the "sandwich" round between the first and second rounds) in 2012 even though Johnson has been slowed by a back ailment that occurred during spring training. He entered this year 16-11 with a 2.68 ERA in 49 minor league games.

The Kane County Cougars, the Cubs' affiliate in the Class A Midwest League in 2013 and 2014, got a good look at Duane Underwood last year as he went 6-4 with a 2.50 ERA for a championship team. Underwood, who doesn't turn 21 until next month, was taken two Cubs picks behind Johnson in 2012, and he entered this season as the Cubs' 10th-best prospect by Baseball America.

Underwood and Paul Blackburn, another sandwich-round pick in 2012, both moved up from Kane County to high Class A Myrtle Beach this season. For the Cougars last year, Blackburn was 9-4 with a 3.23 ERA. At Myrtle Beach, Blackburn is 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA, and Underwood is 5-2 with a 2.15 ERA.

There are other ways to load up on pitching. The Cougars also featured a pair of nondrafted free agents last year in Daury Torrez (Dominican Republic) and Jen-Ho Tseng (Taiwan). Both also have moved up to Myrtle Beach.

"We're always looking to maximize the talent we can bring in," McLeod said recently. "We're always looking to get pitching.

"Unfortunately, there are some injuries at the top of the draft coming into the year for guys who were seen as players who could be up there. We have an inordinate amount of injuries to some of the pitching, especially the college pitching."

The Cubs have repeatedly stated they'll select the "best available player," regardless of position.

Baseball America has them going with outfielder Andrew Benintendi of Arkansas in the first round, while other observers say to keep an eye on D.J. Stewart, an outfielder from Florida State.

At this point, and given the history, the safe bet seems to be on the bat. But after the first round, it could be another feeding frenzy on pitching.

• Follow Bruce on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.