Cub prospects in the news

[jersey cubs fan]

Fangraphs' Top 10 list: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2014-top-10-prospects-chicago-cubs/

 

There's nothing particularly interesting here, aside from the lunacy of putting Edwards 7th.

The Career Outlook: Like Baez, Bryant projects to develop into a power-hitting, all-star-caliber infielder on the left side of the infield.

 

I guess I understand he wants to maintain the narrative, but Bryant is either going to play third or corner OF. The "left side of the infield" is for guys who can play short but may move to third.

[Guest]

So, in terms of progressing through the levels, is it safe to say we're hoping Almora does what Javy did last year and is then conceivably ready to start in CF at Iowa opening day 2015?

[Guest]

"I'm excited for spring training," Olt said Wednesday. "I've worked hard. ... I feel really good. A little break was something I needed. The body feels good. The mental break feels great."

 

The former No. 1 pick from 2010 struggled throughout 2013, hitting .213 at Triple-A Round Rock for the Rangers and then just .168 at Iowa after being traded to the Cubs in the Matt Garza deal in July. Last spring training he began to suffer from vision problems in his right eye and it affected his season.

 

"It was a freak accident," Olt said. "It happens in baseball. Last year I had to deal with a couple of things from it."

 

Olt's eye wasn't producing enough fluids, causing him to blink as the ball was coming. He was given special eye drops and now he believes the struggles are behind him.

 

"I don't feel like I have anything to prove," he said. "Last year was good for me dealing with a lot of adversity making me a better player."

 

Olt hit 28 home runs in 2012 at Double-A, so the power is there. Last season he still hit 15 home runs despite all the struggles.

 

"I did have some problems with that," he said. "I think it's definitely in the past."

 

 

So, I guess he's back to the drops (or maybe different drops, who knows?)

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/20920/cubs-3b-olt-hoping-for-a-healthy-2014

[wekim81]

He doesnt feel like he has anything to prove? ohhhhhhhkay then.

[UMFan83]

I don't read into fluff but am hopeful at least. If Olt can get back on track to where he was in 2011-2012, things are suddenly looking really good.

[SABR Gamer]

I don't read into fluff but am hopeful at least. If Olt can get back on track to where he was in 2011-2012, things are suddenly looking really good.

 

That would add a great deal of flexibility. It's going to be so nice when the Cubs can start trading from the stockpile. I'm not very optimistic about Olt in particular, but I'd love to be wrong.

[MWV]

So, I guess he's back to the drops (or maybe different drops, who knows?)

 

I assumed that was just Jesse Rogers not knowing what he's talking about.

[Guest]

So, I guess he's back to the drops (or maybe different drops, who knows?)

 

I assumed that was just Jesse Rogers not knowing what he's talking about.

 

Considering it's a completely unsurprising outcome, I didn't.

 

They didn't know what do about it and had to send him to extra special specialists. It's pretty likely they didn't find much else to do about it.

[Guest]

The wording plus what we heard last season makes me think he's not on the drops any more. It'd be nice if he had been asked a pointed question about how he's picking up the ball or if he's faced any live pitching to test how he's picking up the ball, but considering this is maybe the best thing Rogers has ever written, I won't complain.

[Guest]

The wording plus what we heard last season makes me think he's not on the drops any more. It'd be nice if he had been asked a pointed question about how he's picking up the ball or if he's faced any live pitching to test how he's picking up the ball, but considering this is maybe the best thing Rogers has ever written, I won't complain.

 

Olt's eye wasn't producing enough fluids, causing him to blink as the ball was coming. He was given special eye drops and now he believes the struggles are behind him.

 

To me, that wording (along with what we heard last season) reads like he's back to using eye drops because the seeming very unlikely (considering he had seen multiple doctors to no avail) scenario in which his tear ducts would be fixed didn't happen.

 

However you slice it up, I can't interpret that to mean anything other than right now he's using eye drops.

[Guest]

Especially given the knowledge we have(or assumed to have) before reading that, which is that Olt was on the drops but stopped taking them because they're bad to use long term, that can be read as both "Olt took drops and that presumably fixed it so he stopped" or "Olt took drops and continues to take them". Quite frankly I don't trust Rogers enough not to try to read that in a way that corroborates what we knew prior to yesterday.

[craig]

Rodgers is going off of what Olt said, and players are neither doctors nor always very honest with or objective about themselves. So, we'll see.

 

But certainly the article seems to reflect that Rodgers thinks that Olt is saying he's fine.

"now that vision problems that plagued him are in the past…"

"The body feels good."

""It was a freak accident," Olt said. "It happens in baseball."

"now he believes the struggles are behind him"

"I did have some problems with that," he said. "I think it's definitely in the past."

 

Seems that Olt thinks the eye issues are in the past. "Freak" and "definitely in the past" certainly communicates that from Olt, and "now that vision problems that plagued him are in the past" certainly communicates that Rodgers understood him to be saying it's all good and is not going to be an ongoing issue.

 

We'll see. Personally I'm not sure that just "getting back to" 2012 is either sure or sufficient. Yes, he hit a bunch of HR's and was projected as a good prospect, and was highly regarded. But lots of highly regarded prospects don't work out if they don't improve; I think he needed to improve, and his prolific K-rate marked him as an uncertain prospect well before the eye issue. I think it's also possible that the eye business was a factor, but may have been too convenient an explain-everything excuse for his problems last year. He's a very interesting prospect for sure, and it would be awesome if he'd emerge as a quality major leaguer. But I'm cautious about his chances even if his eyes really are fine.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Can't they just give him HGH for his eyes or something.

[Guest]

100 Wheels (on the road): Can you provide an appetizer on Kris Bryant before the main course is served on Wednesday?

 

Jason Parks: The playable power is obviously legit; could play to plus-plus, which means he could hit 35 bombs. But I think the swing and miss will be a bigger issue than some are suggesting, and that could limit some of the power. At the end of the day, I think he's a first-division right fielder with several all-star level seasons on the resume. I expect a lot of power but not a high average.

 

Tim (Wrigleyville): Will Kyle Hendricks be a GUY for the Cubs in the future?

 

Jason Parks: Not really. He will contribute, which is a developmental win. But he's not a top ten talent in their system and his long term future is more of a back-end type at best.

 

Kevin (Florida): How good can Javier Baez be in his prime and do you think he gets called up at some point this year?

 

Jason Parks: One front office source told me that thinks Baez has hall of fame potential. No don't go crazy with one projection, but if you really believe in the bat--meaning you think he will reach his offensive projections--35+ home runs is possible, all from a left-side of the diamond home. This is an extreme opinion, but not all that crazy when it comes to potential. Javier Baez could have a very special bat; the hand/eye, the bat speed, the raw strength are elite. If he puts it all together, he could be one of the best players in the game. If he stays healthy and consistent once he achieves that level, the hyperbole and hype of the present won't seem so crazy.

 

steve g (CA): Will Arismendy Alcantara crack your top 101? Is the power he showed last year real or more a product of the league he played in?

 

Jason Parks: Alcantara was ranked 83 on the BP 101 ( I think). I don't think he's going to be a big power bat at the major league level, but you can't sleep on his pop. Getting to watch his BP behind the cage really turned me on to his raw pop; quick path to the ball but excellent extension through it, which created loud contact. I was impressed with the player. It's been said before, but he really does remind me (and others) of Jose Reyes-light.

 

LanceR (Dallas, TX): Alright Jason. You're at a scientific lab (a cloning facility) and you're given the opportunity to splice DNA together of two different ball players to make the perfect player. Which two players' DNA do you choose?

 

Jason Parks: Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez. It would create a highly instinctual shortstop with a plus-plus arm, plus-plus glove, elite power potential in combination with a mature approach from both sides of the plate. JF Lindor-Baez

 

Mark (Nashville): If you did not assess position scarcity, base-running or defense, and were ranking prospect purely on their bat, would Dan Vogelbach be a top 10?

 

Jason Parks: Above Soler. Vogelbach can [expletive] hit.

[imb]

I keep coming back to Jay Bruce as a comp for Kris Bryant, bat-wise. The numbers don't line up exactly, but Bruce was out of HS. He struck out a lot, walked a little below average, but put up .300 batting averages in the minors because he was just too talented. In the majors though, he's a .260 guy

[mul21]

I keep coming back to Jay Bruce as a comp for Kris Bryant, bat-wise. The numbers don't line up exactly, but Bruce was out of HS. He struck out a lot, walked a little below average, but put up .300 batting averages in the minors because he was just too talented. In the majors though, he's a .260 guy

 

Bryant has a lot more power than Bruce though doesn't he?

 

Edit: Never mind, didn't realize Bruce had progressed to a 30+ HR guy.

[Guest]

Paul (Chicago): You're an admitted "ceiling" #slut, so does that mean Baez is the #2 prospect in the game right now?

 

Jason Parks: He's number four on my list, behind Buxton, Bogaerts, and Taveras.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Paul (Chicago): You're an admitted "ceiling" #slut, so does that mean Baez is the #2 prospect in the game right now?

 

Jason Parks: He's number four on my list, behind Buxton, Bogaerts, and Taveras.

 

Glad he finally did his off-season catchup.

[Guest]

Paul (Chicago): You're an admitted "ceiling" #slut, so does that mean Baez is the #2 prospect in the game right now?

 

Jason Parks: He's number four on my list, behind Buxton, Bogaerts, and Taveras.

 

Glad he finally did his off-season catchup.

 

Can we get a recap on that and what his position was on Baez a few months ago?

[rawaction]

I keep coming back to Jay Bruce as a comp for Kris Bryant, bat-wise. The numbers don't line up exactly, but Bruce was out of HS. He struck out a lot, walked a little below average, but put up .300 batting averages in the minors because he was just too talented. In the majors though, he's a .260 guy

 

Because Bryant is RH, I always go to Pat "The Bat" Burrell. Similar career path too. I think Burrell was a 3B. Big time power prospect out of college. 700 minor league ABs in 1 1/2 before he was in the majors. Debuted as the #17 overall prospect.

 

I think he's a better fielder and faster than Burrell, so hopefully Bryant's peak is better and longer.

[Guest]

tjco1006 (Up n In Rehab Center): Who are a couple pitchers set to explode onto the prospect scene this season? Tirado and Edwin Diaz seem to be close, any others you are banking on?

 

Jason Parks: Jose Martinez for the DBacks; Alex Reyes for the Cards; Paul Blackburn with the Cubs is ready to take a big step forward; Lucas Sims is still highly underrated as a prospect; Tyler Danish is an out-of-the-box candidate. Its unorthodox but don't write him off.

 

Wrigleyvillenat (Chicago): What do you project for C.J. Edwards? Can he overcome "frame" and become top-of-rotation starter?

 

Jason Parks: I don't see a top-of-the-rotation starter, and that would be true even if he weighed more than 160 pounds. I like the arm; I really do. I know the kid. I've been around him since he signed, and I've seen him pitch countless times. I get it. I do. Its very loose and easy, and the fastball has serious pop to it. I like the CB, but its a better minor league pitch than it projects to be at the major league level, and I think his CH will be his best weapon to play off the fastball. He pitches with length and can maintain the stuff pretty well, but I don't see the type of physicality necessary for a heavy major league workload. That's the rub. He could be a very good late-innings reliever with a deep arsenal, and perhaps even a mid-rotation arm that just makes it work despite the physical concerns. But the top of the rotation talk is a dream that is based more on the stats than the scouting.

 

Chad R. (Elgin): Seeing your feelings on Vogelbach got me wondering. Does the fact that he's a prospect for a NL team hurt his ranking because he can't be a DH?

 

Jason Parks: I think he ends up in the AL as a DH. He gives the Cubs a nice chip to include in a deal when they make their move in the next few seasons. Its all currency.

 

Kevin (Houston): In your opinion, who has OFP 8 in th minors? Baez and Giolito?

 

Jason Parks: Buxton and Giolito. Baez in that mix as well because of the ridiculous projections on the bat.

 

: A duder on ESPN recently put Eloy Jimenez at 10 on a Cubs prospect list. 10! So does that mean people have got to see him more since he signed? What do you know about him?

 

Jason Parks: I know a lot about him; I've seen him in workouts and game action. I wouldn't rank him in the Cubs top ten right now, though. That ranking has to be based on his signing bonus and pre-J2 hype, which is mostly the result of his power potential. He could/should get to that level, but he doesn't belong on that list now.

 

Wrigleyvillenat (Chicago): Have you seen Eloy Jimenez? Has anybody seen Eloy Jimenez? He is a tantalizing 17-year-old propsect at 6'4" 200 lbs. What is the word on EJ?

 

Jason Parks: yes; I've seen him. Big power; right field profile; strong arm; I think he sells out for power, so I question the hit tool and it could limit his playable power. I'm hesitant about the bat right now.

 

Aaron (WI): Safe to say that you would disagree with the the Kris Bryant and Ryan Braun comps?

 

Jason Parks: I do. I don't see the same hit tool for Bryant.

[Guest]

OFP 8?

[Guest]

Think overall rating on the 20-80 scale, except 2-8 instead. I think it stands for Overall Future Potential.

[Guest]

Think overall rating on the 20-80 scale, except 2-8 instead. I think it stands for Overall Future Potential.

 

Ah. That makes sense.

[jumbo]

 

steve g (CA): Will Arismendy Alcantara crack your top 101? Is the power he showed last year real or more a product of the league he played in?

 

Jason Parks: Alcantara was ranked 83 on the BP 101 ( I think). I don't think he's going to be a big power bat at the major league level, but you can't sleep on his pop. Getting to watch his BP behind the cage really turned me on to his raw pop; quick path to the ball but excellent extension through it, which created loud contact. I was impressed with the player. It's been said before, but he really does remind me (and others) of Jose Reyes-light.

 

 

How do you guys interpret Jose Reyes light? 3 war player with a couple years touching 4? Reyes was consistently around 6 barring injuries