Chicago Cubs 2009 First Year Player Draft Bios
Round 1 (31) Name Brett Jackson Pos. OF B/T L/R Ht. 6-2
st
Wt. 210
B-Day 08/02/88
Hometown Orinda, CA
School U. of California
st
.321 8 HR 41 RBI, 17 2B, 6 3B…had 18-game hitting streak…1 Team All-Pac 10, 2009 Baseball America Preseason 1 Team AllAmerican…strong arm, above-average speed, second-best all-around athlete in Draft (Baseball America)…two-time HM Academic All-Pac 10…on Golden Spikes watch list…just completed his junior season.
2 (79)
D.J. LeMahieu
SS
R/R
6-4
196
07/13/88
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Louisiana State U.
.340 4 HR 39 RBI, 12 2B 10 SB…only nine errors in 66 games at SS…led LSU to back-to-back College World Series st appearances…previously drafted in 41 Round in 2007 by Detroit…two-time Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year
3 (109)
Austin Kirk
LHP
L/L
6-1
200
05/22/90
Owasso, OK
Owasso (Okla.) HS
th
9-1 0.45 ERA in 11 games, 111 K in 61.2 IP…89-94 FB with good change-up…helped Owasso HS to its 11 state championship in the last 13 years…Oklahoma 6A Player of the Year…signed to play at Oklahoma
4 (140) Chris Rusin LHP L/L 6-2 190 10/22/86 Canton, MI U. of Kentucky st 7-4 4.20 ERA in 13 starts, 108 K in 94.1 IP…second on UK’s all-time list for wins and strikeouts…2008 All-SEC 1 Team selection…
5 (170) Wes Darvill SS L/R 6-2 175 09/10/91 Langley, BC 6.87 speed in 60, outstanding speed and line-drive hitter…signed at Bossier Parrish (La.) CC
Langley Blaze
6 (200) Brooks Raley LHP L/L 6-3 180 06/29/88 Uvalde, TX Texas A&M U. nd 7-3 3.76 ERA in 15 starts, 95 K in 93 IP…also hit .321 with 23 SB…one of nation’s top two-way players…2 Team All-America (Baseball st nd America), All Big-12 1 Team…2 Team Freshman All-America in 2008 (Baseball America) and Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2008
7 (230) Blair Springfield IF R/R 5-11 190 02/18/91 Decatur, IL MacArthur (Ill.) HS #5 prospect in IL, three-time All-Conference selection in HS, Signed at Illinois State…cousin of White Sox outfielder, Jermaine Dye
8 (260) Robert Whitenack RHP R/R 6-5 185 11/20/88 N. Massapequa, NY SUNY-Old Westbury 5-2 2.81 ERA, 79 K in 61.1 IP…NCAA Division III school…named Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Year and Eastern College Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year
9 (290) Richard Jones C L/R 6-0 210 01/31/88 Sumter, SC The Citadel st nd .378 17 HR 69 RBI, tied school record for HR in a season…2009 All-Southern Conference 1 Team, 2 Team All-America (Louisville Slugger)…2007 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American (Baseball America)
10 (320) Charles Thomas 3B R/R 6-4 225 07/02/88 Jacksonville, FL .336 8 HR 30 RBI, All-Sun Conference honors – same school Negro League star Buck O’Neill attended
Edward Waters (Fla.) Coll.
11 (350) John Mincone LHP L/L 6-1 215 07/23/89 Dix Hills, NY Suffolk West (N.Y.) CC 6-1 0.95 ERA in 27 appearances, 91 K in 59 IP; pitched at James Madison as a freshman before being injured
12 (380) Runey Davis OF R/R 6-0 185 01/02/89 Georgetown, TX Howard (Texas) CC .404 8 HR 48 RBI, 22 2B, 9 3B…helped squad to the NJCAA Division I National Championship…team won 56-straight games
13 (410) Chad Taylor SS R/R 6-1 175 08/29/90 Tampa, FL .342 6 HR 24 RBI, 6 2B…Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star…signed with South Florida
Jefferson (Fla.) HS
14 (440) Danny Keefe 4-5 4.13 ERA, 70 K in 65.1 IP
RHP
R/R
6-4
185
08/15/87
North Port, FL
U. of Tampa
15 (470) Cody Shields OF R/R 6-4 190 08/03/87 Panama City, FL Auburn U. at Montgomery nd .461 7 HR 43 RBI, 13 2B, 9 3B, 25-29 SB…Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year…2 Team NAIA All-American 16 (500) Keenyn Walker OF S/R 6-2 08/12/90 Salt Lake City, UT Judge Memorial (Utah) HS .460, 18 SB as a senior, led team to the 3A state championship game…signed at Central Arizona CC…also a very good football player 17 (530) B.J. Dail RHP R/R 6-2 205 09/30/87 7-0 2.97 ERA, 64 K in 63.2 IP...All-Conference Carolinas Team member Raleigh, NC Mount Olive (N.C.) Coll.
18 (560) Matt Williams C R/R 5-11 220 02/23/87 Northville, MI Duke U. .345 5 HR 47 RBI, 12 2B, threw out 16 of 30 base stealers…Johnny Bench Award semifinalist…three-time All-ACC Academic Team
19 (590) Sergio Burruel C L/R 07/22/91 Phoenix, AZ .512 15 HR 55 RBI, 12 2B…All-Arizona High School Team…signed at Central Arizona CC
Browne (Ariz.) HS
20 (620) Eric Erickson LHP R/L 6-0 174 02/17/88 Sarasota, FL U. of Miami (Fla.) nd rd st Missed all of 2009 due to elbow surgery…2008 All-CCC 2 Team, NCBWA Preseason 3 Team All-America, 2007 All-ACC 1 rd Team…drafted by Yankees in 43 Round of 2006 draft
21 (650) Greg Rohan 1B R/R 6-0 205 05/11/86 North Lima, OH Kent State U. nd .349 15 HR 63 RBI, 11 2B…2 Team All-Mid America Conference, 2008 MAC Player of the Year – hitting 20 HR
22 (680) D.J. Fitzgerald .331 8 HR 42 RBI
2B
R/R
5-11
195
12/20/88
Virginia Beach, VA
Dyersburg State (Va.) CC
23 (710) Jeffrey Pruitt .212 0 HR 9 RBI, 2 2B, 4 3B, 24-28 SB
OF
R/R
6-5
220
01/21/88
Granada Hills, CA
Cal State U.-Northridge
24 (740) Gerardo Esquivel Signed with Kansas State
RHP
R/R
6-1
170
04/28/91
Chicago, IL
De La Salle (Ill.) Inst.
25 (770) Justin Bour 1B L/R 6-4 250 05/28/88 Centreville, VA George Mason U. .339 17 HR 66 RBI, 14 2B…two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection…hit 46 home runs in college career
26 (800) Steve Grife RHP R/R 6-0 177 11/04/86 Sheffield Lake, OH Mercyhurst Coll. nd nd 5-1 3.24 ERA, 73 K in 66.2 IP…Rawlings/ABCA All-Atlantic 2 Team…All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference 2 Team
27 (830) Corey Martin RHP R/R 6-3 195 7-4 5.56 ERA, 55 K in 68 IP…four-year member for the Catamounts
05/01/87
Yadkinville, NC
Western Carolina U.
28 (860) Jordan Petraitis 3B R/R 6-3 225 08/30/86 Canal Fulton, OH Miami (Ohio) U. nd st .364 8 HR 54 RBI, 14 2B…2 Team All-Mid America Conference in 2008…Drafted in 41 Round by Cubs in 2008
29 (890) Tim Clubb RHP R/R 6-2 195 09/04/86 Eureka, MO 4-5 5.11 ERA, 74 K in 88 IP…2008 Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year (went 11-0)
Missouri State U.
30 (920) Daniel Sheppard C R/R 6-0 180 02/25/91 .406 41 R, 8 HR…top-ranked prep catcher in Illinois…Signed at U. of Iowa
Downers Grove, IL
Downers Grove North (Ill.) HS