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Cubs make pitching a priority in Draft

CHICAGO -- The Cubs wrapped up the three-day First-Year Player Draft on Saturday, taking 22 college players, seven junior college players and 11 high school players.

Jason McLeod, vice president, scouting and player development, said the emphasis was on adding more pitchers, and they did that, taking 19 (16 right-handers and three lefties). He and Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations, presided over the Draft.

"After the day, Theo and I were sitting there looking at the board and I felt really good about it because it was college pitchers that we really liked and guys that performed and guys that we evaluated to have stuff," McLeod said. "It really fit a lot of the criteria that we like, from a mechanical standpoint, performance standpoint."

Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings, and you can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat.
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