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New Cubs Draft Strategy/Player Development

The Cubs front office has been almost totally made over, with the notable exceptions of Oneri Fleita and Tim Wilken. There has been a lot of hype about how the new group of Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod will be doing things differently and building up the farm system, but how will they actually change the draft strategy for the Cubs?

I haven't been able to find many specifics on what types of players McLeod likes to target in the draft, but here are two pieces that highlight McLeod/Epstein's tenure in Boston:

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/7027/mcleod-to-change-cubs-draft-philosophy

http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2011/10/jason-mcleod-would-bring-sterling-scouting-record-to-the-cubs/:

I'm curious what the Minorleagueball community expects will change in Chicago on draft day, now that McLeod is there. What type of players will be targeted? Will we see more high school pitchers taken early? Will there continue to be a big emphasis on "up-the-middle" type players like under Hendry/Wilken, or will we see more corner OF/1B slugger types selected?

I'm just curious on what a McLeod/Epstein type player is vs. a Hendry/Wilken player. Thanks for any insight.

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To put it more succinctly..

What are player attributes are they going to look for so they draft the next Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury instead of Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu?

by neifiisgreat on Feb 11, 2026 8:33 AM EST reply actions  

Nothing to add just want to babble:
McLeod said Buchholz was a touchy topic at one point between he and Epstein. Epstein liked him, but wasn’t convinced that he was over some off-field issues, while McLeod felt otherwise. The two apparently had an ‘epic’ fight, ending with Epstein throwing something at their draft board and storming out of the room.

= Ode to MoneyBall and that fight was not epic nor was anything thrown.

by SenorGato on Feb 13, 2026 12:12 AM EST reply actions  


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