Cubs nab six pitchers on second day of draft, including Alton's Bryan Hudson

On the second day of the amateur draft Tuesday the Cubs started filling in the pitching gaps in the farm system they ignored in the first two rounds Monday.

Six of their first seven picks Tuesday – starting with Illinois prep left-hander Bryan Hudson – were pitchers as teams completed the first 10 rounds of the 40-round draft (which concludes Wednesday).

Hudson is a 6-foot-8, 220-pounder from downstate Alton High School, ranked No. 101 on Baseball America’s top-500 list heading into the draft – selected by the Cubs in the third round with the 82nd overall pick.

His velocity has reached 93 mph, and has a curve that helped him strike out 150 in 70 1/3 innings during a 10-2 senior season (0.50 ERA)

Hudson has committed to the University of Missouri.

“It was awesome, but I kind of knew ahead of time and didn’t tell anybody,” Hudson told the Belleville News-Democrat, saying he was in regular contact with the Cubs and got the heads up Tuesday morning. “It means a lot. I worked hard for this.”

Two rounds later, the Cubs took another big-bodied pitcher in 6-6, 230-pound Arizona State lefty Ryan Kellogg (ranked 131 by BA), the first of five straight pitchers selected:

UCLA right-hander Dave Berg (sixth round), Catawba College (N.C.) right-hander Craig Brooks (seventh), TCU right-hander Preston Morrison (eighth) and Cal State-Fullerton lefty Tyler Peitzmeier (ninth).

The Cubs also took prep outfielder Darryl Wilson from Canton, Ohio, with their fourth-round pick; and VCU shortstop Vimael Machin in the 10th.

Their sixth-through-10th-round picks were all college seniors, suggesting possible below-slot deals to allow more resources for over-slot picks.