BA PCL Top 20

[CaliforniaRaisin]

11. CF Felix Pie

16. LHP Rich Hill

 

EDIT: Contrary to their schedule on their web site, BA is listing their IL Top 20 (Delmon Young is #1) and doing the PCL Top 20 tomorrow.

[BeerHere]

How do you know the positions of Pie and Hill?

[Laura]

BA apparently put all the league top prospect lists in the print edition, but has paced out posting them online to coincide with chats.

 

Arizona Phil listed the Cubs who made the league top prospect lists at the Cub Reporter.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Sheesh, the top 7 were DBacks, Angels or Dodgers: link.

 

Very promising words about Felix:

 

The Cubs challenged Pie this year by batting him leadoff as a 21-year-old in the PCL. He responded by getting off to a strong start in April before struggling with batting averages of .230 in May and .222 in June. He worked his way through his difficulties by batting .322 over the final two months.

 

"He's not your prototypical on-base guy," Iowa manager Mike Quade said. "He's more productive than typical. We led him off in hopes of improving his basestealing and his ability to get on base, and in his own way he had success. He's raw and has a ways to go, but I like how he responded when things weren't going his way."

 

Pie continued to show all the tools, including enough bat speed to drive the ball, particularly into the gaps. His strike zone discipline also improved considerably as the season progressed. Defensively, he's capable of running down most everything hit between the alleys and shows a strong, accurate arm.

 

16 seems a bit low for Hill:

 

After leading the minors with an average of 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 2005, Hill overmatched PCL hitters again in 2006. Better yet, after getting rocked with the Cubs last year and again this May, he finally established himself as a big leaguer. He went 6-3, 2.58 in the last two months with Chicago, including 78 strikeouts in 77 innings and a two-hit shutout of the Reds in September.

 

Hill's curveball is a legitimate out pitch and ranked as the best breaking ball in the league. He has learned to locate his low-90s fastball, making it tougher to sit on his curveball, and has improved his command and ability to repeat his delivery over the last two seasons. He still needs to continue to improve the depth and fade of his changeup.

 

"He dominated the entire season here and is as fine a lefthanded prospect as you'll see," Quade said. "He still needs to get a little more comfortable and add some confidence. The two pitches he has are outstanding, but he needs that third pitch in order to compete consistently as a starter in the big leagues."

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The chat is at 2 pm ET/1 pm CT/11 am PT.

 

Ask many Cubs-related questions here.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Q: Sweet Lou P from Chicago asks:

Felix Pie and Rich Hill...do they help me out next year, or will I be trotting out Mateo and Pagan on a regular basis?

 

A: Bill Ballew: Didn't your subscription expire, Lou? Oh well, here's the lowdown on Pie and Hill. Pie has as much potential as anyone in the game, but he still has a ways to go before he's ready for you to pen his name in the lineup at the major league level. He actually fits the over-used 5-tool label, and did an excellent job of persevering last year at Iowa. He's still at least a half-season away from the big leagues; a more realistic estimate would be 2008. Hill has nothing left to prove in the PCL, but still has a lot to prove in the big leagues. He needs a third pitch or else he could wind up being a 4-A pitcher. He's in the ravine between the majors and minors. Hopefully he can get better command of his two pitches and add a decent third offering so he can win some games as a fourth or fifth starter.

 

Q: Bill from Chicago asks:

Pie appears to be one of the youngest players on your list. Given this and what happened to Corey Patterson when the Cubs rushed him through the system, do you believe the Cubs should let Pie stay in Iowa in 2007?

 

A: Bill Ballew: Yes, and I think they will. Pie is still a work-in-progress with a huge upside. Some more time at Iowa will enable him to polish his skills.

[Mephistopheles]

I guess he didn't get the memo that Rich Hill turned it on the last two months.

[abuck1220]

seriously. was that answer to the hill question given in july?