BP on the Cubs Minor League System

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Baseball Prospectus is breaking down the minor leagues in each division.

 

They took on the NL Central.

 

Link

 

Under what's not working, they mention injuries to Guzman, Johnson, Ryu, and Brownlie. They also mention Dopirak's disapointing season.

 

This is what they said about 2006 Rookies-

 

Well, Ronny Cedeno should be the starting shortstop, but with Dusty managing, one gets the feeling that he’s just a 2-for-12 start away from being benched for perpetual out machine/wily veteran Neifi Perez. I like Cedeno quite a bit, and feel that if given the opportunity, he’ll hit closer to his PECOTA card’s 75th percentile than his weighted mean, after batting .355/.408/.518 at Triple-A last year and .300/.356/.375 with the Cubs on the rare occasions that Baker would put him in the lineup

 

They really like Veal,

 

..the Cubs took another high-ceiling lefthander in the second round with Donald Veal, a raw high-risk/high-reward guy with plus-plus velocity for a southpaw and plenty of “natural lefty movement.”

 

but don't care so much for Gallagher.

 

Gallagher is another one of the disconnect pitchers who dominate with excellent command and a good breaking ball as opposed to dominating stuff--the kind of formula that doesn’t translate well as one moves up the ladder. With an upper-80s fastball, he’ll have a tough time repeating that kind of success against more advanced hitters.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Deric McKamey on Gallagher:

 

Physically mature and very polished for his age, he was one of the minors' hottest pitchers the first two months. CB is a plus pitch, but relies more on command and mixing his three-pitch repertoire. Strikeout numbers may plummet at higher levels.

 

On Veal:

 

Lively arm, possessing late life to his FB. Raw in a lot of ways, he doesn't have a reliable complementary pitch, but has the arm action to get it done. Doesn't repeat delivery, affecting command, and has had previous labrum surgery.