Cubs grab Illinois HS lefty to begin Day 2 of Draft
CHICAGO -- The Cubs continued to add to their farm system on Tuesday in Day 2 of the 2015 Draft.
After adding a pair of bats on Day 1 with college outfielders Ian Happ (No. 9 out of Cincinnati) and Donnie Dewees (No. 47, North Florida), the Cubs changed things up by selecting Illinois prep left-hander Bryan Hudson out of Alton High School in the third round.
Draft Tracker: Follow every Cubs pick
The Draft concludes on Wednesday, with exclusive coverage of Rounds 11-40 beginning on MLB.com at 11 a.m. CT.
Here's a breakdown of Chicago's early Tuesday selections:
Third round (No. 82): Left-hander Bryan Hudson, Alton (Ill.) High School
Hudson's 6-foot-8, 220-pound frame attracted scouts from across the nation, but he ended up going to his home-state Cubs. He was 10-2 with a 0.50 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings as a senior.
His best pitch is a curveball that sits at 75-78 mph, while his fastball rests at 86-90 mph, topping out at 92. It's thought he'll be able to add velocity as he fills out.
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein watched Hudson earlier this year, unbeknownst to the young lefty.
"It's an exciting possibility, but at the same time, nothing's promised," Hudson told RiverBender.com of potentially being drafted by the Cubs. "Having Theo Epstein at one of my games was pretty interesting; I only found out about it after the game he came to, but for him to come out was nice."
Fourth round (No. 113): Outfielder D.J. Wilson, Canton South (Ohio) High SchoolVideo: Draft Report: D.J. Wilson, HS Outfielder
A left-handed-hitting center fielder, Wilson is viewed by scouts as a Ben Revere-type player thanks to his above-average speed. His 5-foot-8, 177-pound frame doesn't project for much power, but he has a compact left-handed swing and can cover plenty of ground in center field, where he has flashed average arm strength.
Wilson hit .486 with 93 RBIs in his four-year high school career and is committed to Vanderbilt, which has earned a reputation for keeping its high school verbal commitments, but the Cubs must believe they have a good shot to sign him.
Fifth round (No. 143): Left-hander Ryan Kellogg, Arizona StateVideo: Draft Report: Ryan Kellogg, College Pitcher
Kellogg burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2013, going 11-1 with a 3.15 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). Although he didn't post as dominant of numbers in his last two years at Arizona State, Kellogg is just one of eight players in school history to be a three-time First-Team All-Pac 12 selection.
Kellogg's fastball sits in the low 90s with some solid life when he keeps it down in the zone. He can also spin a decent breaking ball and mixes in a changeup that will be at least Major League average.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound lefty projects as a backend starter, but he won't hurt himself: He issued just 62 walks in 321 career innings, lowest in school history among pitchers who have thrown at least 300 innings.