After selecting three pitchers in the first two rounds Monday night, the Cubs continued their run on arms on the second day of the MLB Draft Tuesday.
Southpaw Brendon Little was the Cubs' first pick (27th overall) before a run that saw Theo Epstein's front office nab four straight right-handed pitchers. Alex Lange (30th overall) and Cory Abbott (67th) headline that group.
The Cubs have spent their last five first-round picks on hitters and have had no issue developing talent in that regard, watching as Javy Baez, Albert Almora Jr., Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber helped end a 108-year championship drought while 2015 first-rounder Ian Happ is now up in the big leagues playing almost every day.
But Epstein and Co. have yet to find an impact pitcher in any of their five drafts under the Cubs umbrella and hoped to change that with a "volume game" mentality, which continued with the selections of Auburn right-hander Keegan Thompson (105th overall) and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo pitcher Erich Uelmen (135th) in the third and fourth rounds Tuesday.
Thompson is 6-foot-2, 210 pounds and boasts a good curveball. The 22-year-old missed all of 2016 due to injury but started 15 games for Auburn this spring, going 7-4 with a 2.41 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 75 strikeouts in 93.1 innings.
He surrendered just 12 homers in 253 career collegiate innings.
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Uelmen — 6-foot-3, 195 pounds — enjoyed a dominant season at Cal Poly despite a poor record (4-8), posting a 2.98 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and striking out 100 batters and allowed only one homer in 98.1 innings.
Round 5: OF Nelson Velazquez
The Cubs took their first position player with the 165th overal pick — a 6-foot, 190-pound outfielder out of PJ Education School in Puerto Rico. Velazquez, 18, is known as an impact defender with good bat speed.
Round 6: RHP Jeremy Estrada
After taking five straight collegiate players, the Cubs have gone two straight picks with preps players. Estrada is the latest, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound pitcher who throws his fastball up to 92 mph, but has seen a dip in performance and effectiveness this spring after a strong showing in his summer showcase last year.
Round 7: LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas
The Cubs select their seventh pitcher of the draft in the college left-hander from Fresno State. Thomas threw 104 innings for the Bulldogs, compiling a 2.16 ERA with 108 strikeouts and just 16 walks.
Round 8: 3B Austin Filiere
The Cubs spent the No. 255 overall pick on someone who went to school in Epstein's old neck of the woods. Filiere is a power-hitting third baseman out of MIT. He smashed 39 homers in three years with the Engineers, posting a jaw-dropping .414/.543/.809 slash line, driving in 151 runs and swiping 44 bases in his collegiate career.
Round 9: OF Chris Carrier
Taking just their third position player of this draft, the Cubs went with their second straight college hitter in Carrier, who hit .330 for the Memphis Tigers in his senior season with 16 homers and 50 RBIs. Carrier had a frightening situation a couple years back that led to surgery, a removed rib and a collapsed lung. But he played better than ever as a senior, his numbers taking huge leaps from his junior season. He reached base at a 43.8-percent clip and slugged .641 this year.
Round 10: RHP Brian Glowicki
A Downers Grove native, Glowicki's selection marked the sixth time in the first 10 rounds the Cubs chose a college pitcher. Glowicki worked as a reliever during his senior season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, picking up 16 saves, posting a 2.20 ERA and striking out 39 hitters in 32.2 innings of work.