Cubs continue to load up on arms on Day 2

June 13th, 2017

CHICAGO -- After selecting three pitchers on the first day of the Draft, the Cubs continued that trend into Day 2. The club selected Keegan Thompson, a right-hander from Auburn, in the third round (105th overall pick).
Thompson is seen as a high-upside selection after undergoing Tommy John surgery in his junior season and is the 134th-ranked Draft prospect according to MLBpipeline.com.
Competitive spirit drives Thompson
The Draft concludes on Wednesday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at noon ET.
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Thompson can touch 95 with his fastball and actually had scouts more impressed with him after his surgery than before. Thompson reportedly threw better with less of an emphasis on velocity after undergoing the surgery, and it showed in his redshirt-junior campaign, when he posted a 2.41 ERA through 93 1/3 innings.
Like a couple of the other Cubs' selections, Thompson has a good curveball and a track record of success. He won gold medals with Team USA's 16-and-under and 18-and-under squads and was a high prospect when he was first Draft-eligible in 2013 -- though he wasn't taken because of his commitment to play at Auburn. He was drafted in the 33rd round last year, but bet on himself and it paid off.
Tuesday consisted of selections from Rounds 3-10. Here is a pick-by-pick look at the Cubs' Day 2 Draft selections:
Round 4 (135th overall): RHP Erich Uelmen, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
Uelmen's college journey began in the bullpen. He's come a long way since then.

Like Brendon Little, the Cubs' top selection in the Draft, Uelmen really boosted his stock with a solid showing over the summer in Cape Cod. There, he showed off a fastball that touched 95 mph -- compared with his usual low-90s stuff -- along with some solid movement on his two-seamer that continued into his college season. As a freshman, Uelmen's ERA was over 7.00. As a junior he's kept it under 3.00.
Uelmen may be best suited for the bullpen given how much movement he does get on his fastball in addition to his increased velocity in shorter stints. The 160th-ranked prospect, according MLBpipeline.com, is described by some as a "ground-ball machine," which should suit him well for that role.
Round 5 (165th overall): OF Nelson Velazquez, PJ Education School (Lake Worth, Fla.)
It took awhile, but the Cubs finally added a non-pitcher in the Draft.
Velazquez is a power-hitting outfielder, a position the Cubs have had some success picking in the past. Notable outfielders selected by the Cubs since 2012, when president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was hired, include Ian Happ (2015), (2014) -- who was originally a catcher but has since moved to left -- and Albert Almora (2012).

Round 6 (195th overall): RHP Jeremiah Estrada, Palm Desert (Calif.) High School
If the Draft were held eight months ago, Estrada's name probably would've been called a lot sooner.
One of the hottest names at the time, the right-hander was dominant in the summer circuit, flashing a mid-90s fastball and a strong changeup. However, he showed some regression in the spring, topping out at 92 with his fastball and losing some sharpness with his off-speed stuff.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound righty still did enough to be the 93rd-ranked Draft prospect, according to MLBpipeline.com and to get selected in the sixth round, but that may not be enough to keep him from heading to UCLA for college.
Round 7 (225th overall): LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas, Fresno State
Like Estrada, there were times when Thomas was considered a fringe top-200 and even top-100 prospect. Specifically, it was after a sophomore campaign that saw him go 9-4 with a 2.16 ERA in 15 starts -- three of which were complete games -- when his stock was at its highest.
However, the Fresno State pitcher struggled some in his junior season, leading to some questions about if he was pitching completely healthy. His fastball velocity, for example, touched around 90 mph but reportedly only stayed in the mid 80s for several of his outings. He does have a really good changeup but struggled with walking batters as the season progressed.
Round 8 (255th overall): 3B Austin Filiere, MIT
If baseball doesn't work out for Filiere, the business analytics major from MIT will probably be just fine. That said, that doesn't mean the Cubs can't get excited about the third baseman.
Filiere slashed .414/.543/.809 in three seasons at MIT and got his college career started off on the right foot. As a freshman, he was named National Division III Rookie of the Year by D3Baseball.com and set school single-season records in plate appearances, runs, hits, home runs, RBIs and on-base percentage. His hitting numbers dropped a little during his final season, but he took a career-best 41 walks (in 36 games) to make up for it.
Round 9 (285th overall): OF Chris Carrier, University of Memphis
Carrier was originally a walk-on but began to show flashes of his talent pretty quickly. He missed much of his sophomore year after undergoing surgery because of a blood-flow issue, but he returned for his junior year and thrived, leading the team in both RBIs and runs.
Then came his monster senior year, in which Carrier found his name on some Draft boards. Carrier slashed .330/.438/.641 as a senior while drawing more walks (30) than he had in his previous three years combined (24).
Round 10 (315th overall): RHP Brian Glowicki, University of Minnesota
Glowicki, a closer, posted a sharp 2.20 ERA in 28 appearances and was named second-team All-Big 10 for his work. The right-hander set a school record with 16 saves last season, with six of them coming in Big 10 play.
While at Downers Grove High School in Illinois, Glowicki was teammates with Zack Burdi, a pitcher now with Triple-A Charlotte (White Sox). Burdi was a first-round pick by the White Sox in last year's Draft.