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Wrigley Field fans got their first glimpse of top draft pick Josh Vitters in a Cub uniform on Friday — but only the earliest arrivals before the game with the Cardinals got to see him, and they probably didn’t even realize what they were looking at. Vitters, the 17-year-old third baseman chosen third overall by the Cubs in the June draft out of Cypress, California, was still in town after signing his contract earlier this week and took batting practice with the scrubeenies in the Cubs’ last group Friday morning just as the gates were opening. Appropriately enough, Vitters wore uniform No. 1, with shoes borrowed from Cliff Floyd and a leftover black bat from Rob Bowen. He displayed a loose, fluid, almost slappy swing, but as advertised by scouts — Baseball America proclaimed him the best pure hitter in the draft and the high school player closest to being ready for the majors — the ball leapt off his bat with line-drive power. As one might expect with a teenager taking his first batting practice in a big league park, he didn’t let many pitches go by, at one point taking an eye-high fastball and lashing it into left field.
