BA's AZL Top 20

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Sadly, only one Cub made the top 20. :(

 

1. Angel Villalona, 3b, Giants

2. Engel Beltre, of, Rangers

3. Nick Noonan, 2b, Giants

4. Danny Duffy, lhp, Royals

5. Wilmer Font, rhp, Giants

6. Wilber Bucardo, rhp, Giants

7. Drew Cumberland, ss, Padres

8. Danny Carroll, of, Mariners

9. Cristian Santana, c, Rangers

10. Mario Martinez, ss/3b, Mariners

11. Mason Tobin, rhp, Angels

12. Michael Anton, lhp, Angels

13. Matt Mitchell, rhp, Royals

14. Yefri Carvajal, of, Padres

15. Charlie Culberson, 2b/ss, Giants

16. Larry Suarez, rhp, Cubs

17. Clay Fuller, of, Angels

18. Sam Runion, rhp, Royals

19. Ivan Contreras, 2b, Angels

20. Jacob Wild, rhp, Mariners

 

Baseball America[/url]"]16. Larry Suarez, rhp, Cubs

B-T: R-R Ht: 6-4 Wt: 245 Age: 18 Signed: Cubs FA '06

 

Suarez signed out of Venezuela for $850,000, the second-largest bonus for a pitcher on the international free-agent market in the summer of 2006. The only pitcher to get more was Korean righthander Young-Il Jung, who signed with the Angels for $1 million.

 

Suarez gets compared to Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano because he's a big and burly and from Venezuela. His 6-foot-4, 245-pound frame is softer than Zambrano's, as is his stuff—but not by a whole lot.

 

Suarez was one of the league's harder throwers, regularly peaking at 95 mph with his fastball while sitting at 89-91, though he tends to work up in the strike zone too often. He made significant improvement with his curveball this summer, tightening the pitch and improving his control of it. While he has flashed a solid changeup, he was hit hard by lefthanders (.344) and needs to improve his arm speed on the pitch.

 

I'm really disappointed no one else, like Carlos Perez or Oswaldo Martinez, made it.

[Guest]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/chat/chat.php?id=2007092101

 

John Manuel Chat at 2 pm EDT, ask questions!!

[Guest]

Q: Navin from Pasadena, CA asks:

I was kind of surprised only one Cub made the list. Was anyone else on Mesa close to sneaking in to top 20? I figured C Carlos Perez (19 years old, .888 OPS) or P Oswaldo Martinez (18 years old, 22 K2 BB) had a chance.

 

A: John Manuel: Navin, sorry, only one Cub. Carlos Perez definitely came close, in the 21-25 range, he made strides from extended through to the AZL of having a more consistent approach at the plate and not giving at-bats away. He was solid defensively as well, handled pitchers pretty well. The sense I got was his offensive upside is considered somewhat limited, and that he's more of a backup profile than a starter profile. But he was probably the No. 2 Cub who qualified. For what it's worth, I spoke with the Cubs pitching coach, who I believe I quoted in the story, and Martinez didn't come up. I think he's a bit shy of qualifying as well.

 

Q: Navin from Pasadena, CA asks:

What are your thought on a couple of draft-and-follows who spent the season with Mesa, third baseman Jovan Rosa and pitcher Cedric Redmond?

 

A: John Manuel: Lots of Cubs questions today, I'll try to get to them all without too many repeats. Jovan Rosa would rank third among Cubs prospects, he's not much of a runner but he has some gap power and good hands, both at the plate and defensively. He moved up to Boise at season's end and wasn't a disaster, a good sign, so he might be ready for low A next year. Redmond also attracted some attention, the ball comes out of his hand pretty well and he touched 92-93 mph at times, he likes to work up in the zone and then try to put hitters away with a curveball down in the zone, it sounds like he's interesting but didn't have enough all-around support for the 20.

 

Q: JAYPERS from IL asks:

Had Vitters, Main and Alderson qualified for this list, where would you have ranked them, and why?

 

A: John Manuel: Alderson probably would have ranked No. 2; he would have given Villalona a run for No. 1. Tim Alderson is one of my favorite prospects, because he has plus control (not command yet) of two plus pitches, a 92-93 mph fastball and a hard breaking ball. I'll even throw out a prediction--I think Alderson will be the first HS player from the '07 draft to reach the major leagues. He's the Giants' next closer, and he could reach the majors NEXT YEAR if he stays healthy. He's that good, IMO. Main would have checked in next at No. 3, I love the athletic ability and quick arm, and it sounds like despite his 70 speed, the Rangers made the right choice to draft him as a pitcher, it's good stuff and he repeats his delivery. He also could move quickly thanks to that premium athletic ability, and because he's quite skinny (almost thin-boned), there's probably not a ton of projection left. As for Vitters . . . I had a scout tell me in the spring that he liked Vitters, liked him more than he liked Moustakas, but he predicted Vitters would struggle out of the gate because of how he relies on his hands in his swing and that with a little rust, his timing would be off and he'd need an adjustment period in the low minors. This is exactly what seems to have happened. That scout moved way up my list (well, he was fairly high to begin with), but the other part I heard about Vitters was that he didn't panic, didn't get flustered by his poor start and handled it like a pro. So I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not sure where he would have ranked, because if he had qualified and had the kind of numbers he had . . . I'm not sure where I would have ranked a guy with an .050 average over 100 ABs. That would have concerned me more than 40-45 ABs do.

 

Q: Matt from Navy Recruiting Office asks:

Thanks for the chat what is the highest upside of Larry Suarez does he possibly have ace or #2 starter in him? and does he have room to grow into that huge frame and add more velocity? Also are the cubs projecting him as a starter or reliever? thanks.

 

A: John Manuel: Suarez sounds like a guy who has more velo in him, as he cleans up his body and delivery, but I think he will be a power reliever. You don't want to write off a guy from starting, but he's already got a huge body, and with his power stuff, it would be tempting to turn him into a reliever. The Cubs have plenty of time to decide.

[NCCubFan]

Who's this "Navin" guy who keeps asking questions? :wink:

[Mephistopheles]

Stupid Wilken. Look who's number one in the GCL.

[Guest]

Who's this "Navin" guy who keeps asking questions? :wink:

 

I rarely get 1 question answered, let alone 2!

 

Stupid Wilken. Look who's number one in the GCL.

 

Burgess sure looks good (now), but I can't complain about Donaldson in the sandwich round.

[UK1679666180]

And a question about Ced gets answered.

[Guest]

And a question about Ced gets answered.

 

You're welcome. :)

[UK1679666180]

Yeah, I knew nothing about him. Thanks.

[Mephistopheles]

Who's this "Navin" guy who keeps asking questions? :wink:

 

I rarely get 1 question answered, let alone 2!

 

Stupid Wilken. Look who's number one in the GCL.

 

Burgess sure looks good (now), but I can't complain about Donaldson in the sandwich round.

 

Burgess looked good then. This isn't case of wait and see.

[UK1679666180]

Who's this "Navin" guy who keeps asking questions? :wink:

 

I rarely get 1 question answered, let alone 2!

 

Stupid Wilken. Look who's number one in the GCL.

 

Burgess sure looks good (now), but I can't complain about Donaldson in the sandwich round.

 

Burgess looked good then. This isn't case of wait and see.

 

They had a nice early run with their 1st 5 picks.

[Outshined_One]

The Giants actually have a really strong crop of prospects in their low levels, especially considering their 2007 draft was pretty darn good. Bumgarner has really good upside, Alderson has been a terrific pickup, Fairley actually was a great budget pick, and Noonan has good potential.

 

They also have a bunch of Latin American pickups who have paid good dividends down there. We'll see where they are a few years from now, but still, damn, I'm jealous.

[TruffleShuffle]

The Giants actually have a really strong crop of prospects in their low levels, especially considering their 2007 draft was pretty darn good. Bumgarner has really good upside, Alderson has been a terrific pickup, Fairley actually was a great budget pick, and Noonan has good potential.

 

They also have a bunch of Latin American pickups who have paid good dividends down there. We'll see where they are a few years from now, but still, damn, I'm jealous.

 

they sure as crap need it... the average age of the position players on that team is about 85

[Guest]

The Giants actually have a really strong crop of prospects in their low levels, especially considering their 2007 draft was pretty darn good. Bumgarner has really good upside, Alderson has been a terrific pickup, Fairley actually was a great budget pick, and Noonan has good potential.

 

They also have a bunch of Latin American pickups who have paid good dividends down there. We'll see where they are a few years from now, but still, damn, I'm jealous.

 

they sure as crap need it... the average age of the position players on that team is about 85

 

Their problem is that they produce position players about as well as the Cubs do.

[the splendid splinter]

Stupid Wilken. Look who's number one in the GCL.

Sounds like you and Wilken are really tight?

[Mephistopheles]

we are. im chip and hes dale.

[UBlink]

we are. im chimp and hes dale.

 

I like it better this way.

[badnews]

To sell me on Wilken friends of mine told us he would bring the Cubs another Jacob McGee and so far I don't see any damn Jacob McGee!

 

I'm not happy with Donaldson if he can't stay at catcher. Because you give away the positional value and he wasn't the best pure bat available.

[Guest]

Jake McGees are kind of rare.

[badnews]

All I heard about was the 2004 draft and I've realized we are not going to have anything like that because the D-Rays draft the high schoolers and we don't.

 

You're not going to find the Jacob McGees drafting the Barney Darwins and Joe Simokaitis. We're still on the "Blue Jays lite" plan, when we get to the 4th round we're drafting for the future utility infielders and 6th inning bullpen guys instead of the Joel Zumayas, Matt Kemps, Curtis Grandersons, and Jacob McGees.

 

So that's why I don't have a particular amount of faith in Wilken, because these drafts don't look like Wilken drafts, they still look like Hendry drafts, and I've seen enough of those.