Major League Baseball

Epstein, Cubs preparing for draft

Published May. 9, 2012 2:16 a.m. ET

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Theo Epstein's background in player development was one reason Cubs owner Tom Ricketts sought him out when he was searching for someone to run his team last year.

Now Epstein gets his first chance to prove his worth in that department.

The Cubs have the No. 6 pick in their first amateur draft since Epstein became president of baseball operations in October, and the former Red Sox general manager said they have narrowed the pool for that first selection to about 10 players.

''It's probably the most important thing that we're doing right now, to be honest, and so therefore it takes up the vast majority of our time,'' Epstein said before the Cubs hosted the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. ''The draft day is the most important day of the year for every organization.

''It's a year-long process and right now we're right in the sweet spot, finishing up evaluations, going back and getting final looks and then we'll get together and dissect all the information.''

Epstein talked extensively about player development after he joined the Cubs, so there's pressure on him to come away with a bumper group of prospects from the June 4-6 draft. He played a role in drafting Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz while he was with the Red Sox.

This is also the first amateur draft since the players and owners reached a new bargaining agreement that includes luxury taxes on the draft and the ability to trade some selections. Epstein said the new rules are definitely part of their preparations, but he didn't want to get into specifics.

''I think every team is setting aside some time to think through how the draft might play differently now,'' he said. ''It affects how we approach signability, signability information, how we allocate our resources in terms of who we'll scout and how often, that type of thing.

''That's the same for all 30 clubs so it's a level playing field, just go do our best.''

The Cubs got off to a rough start this season, dropping 11 of their first 14 games, but they have played better of late. They won two of three in a weekend series against NL West-leading Los Angeles, then beat Atlanta 5-1 on Monday night in the opener of a three-game set.

''I think the effort's been there all year,'' Epstein said. ''We've been playing hard and trying to play the game the right way. It's hard to see sometimes when you're losing close games and when breaks are going against you like they were early. I think everyone can appreciate it when the results come with it as they have lately, so it's been really nice to see.''

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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

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