Cub prospects in the news

[sneakypower]

BleacherNation (Luke Blaize) did their own top 40:

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/07/29/the-2014-bleacher-nation-top-40-prospects-midseason-update/

 

Tseng over Contra is pretty indefensible and seeing Russell 4th is pretty funny, but nothing else there really offends my sensibilities too much

[ScrubMD]

BleacherNation (Luke Blaize) did their own top 40:

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/07/29/the-2014-bleacher-nation-top-40-prospects-midseason-update/

 

Tseng over Contra is pretty indefensible and seeing Russell 4th is pretty funny, but nothing else there really offends my sensibilities too much

 

The rankings of Tseng, Vogelbach, Amaya, Clifton, and Jokisch all seem pretty dumb to me.

[A New Era]

yeah couple weird choices but oh well. Vogelbach over Mckinney? Just don't get it. Mckinney same level, much younger, ability to play adequate LF at least, and an apparent better bat.

[SouthSideRyan]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

[A New Era]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

 

Yeah, that's kinda similar to some dumbass ranking Soler 54th overall prospect.

[rawaction]

BleacherNation (Luke Blaize) did their own top 40:

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/07/29/the-2014-bleacher-nation-top-40-prospects-midseason-update/

 

Tseng over Contra is pretty indefensible and seeing Russell 4th is pretty funny, but nothing else there really offends my sensibilities too much

 

The rankings of Tseng, Vogelbach, Amaya, Clifton, and Jokisch all seem pretty dumb to me.

 

I'm just going to assume for Amaya, he meant a completely different player and his typo caused him to write that scouting report for Amaya.

[davell]

His rankings are no different than one of us posting something like this. Like Brett a lot obviously, but never been a fan of this guy. I'd love to know what his "flashes of very goodness" on Ryan McNeil is, for instance. I've seen no reports on him at all. There's plenty more to question as well. Just not a fan.

[Guest]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

 

Yeah, that's kinda similar to some dumbass ranking Soler 54th overall prospect.

 

so far, that's not really that different

[sneakypower]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

eh, he still could have done that while listing them in a more justifiable order:

 

Russell

Bryant

Soler

Baez

Alcantara

 

Almora

McKinney

Schwarber

Tseng

Edwards

[ScrubMD]

His rankings are no different than one of us posting something like this. Like Brett a lot obviously, but never been a fan of this guy. I'd love to know what his "flashes of very goodness" on Ryan McNeil is, for instance. I've seen no reports on him at all. There's plenty more to question as well. Just not a fan.

 

McNeil has had a couple outings where he completely dominates, so I'm guessing there's some decent upside there, but that's definitely higher than I would rank him.

[SouthSideRyan]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

eh, he still could have done that while listing them in a more justifiable order:

 

Russell

Bryant

Soler

Baez

Alcantara

 

Almora

McKinney

Schwarber

Tseng

Edwards

 

Yeah, that wasn't to defend him. Doing something to make your list stand out just makes it a bad list. Tseng at 5 is pants on head.

[Guest]

His rankings are no different than one of us posting something like this. Like Brett a lot obviously, but never been a fan of this guy. I'd love to know what his "flashes of very goodness" on Ryan McNeil is, for instance. I've seen no reports on him at all. There's plenty more to question as well. Just not a fan.

 

McNeil has had a couple outings where he completely dominates, so I'm guessing there's some decent upside there, but that's definitely higher than I would rank him.

 

I've gotten some McNeil velo readings up to the mid 90s in his first inning of work before losing velocity. In this current system, that's not a top 40 prospect.

[sneakypower]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

eh, he still could have done that while listing them in a more justifiable order:

 

Russell

Bryant

Soler

Baez

Alcantara

 

Almora

McKinney

Schwarber

Tseng

Edwards

 

Yeah, that wasn't to defend him. Doing something to make your list stand out just makes it a bad list. Tseng at 5 is pants on head.

btw that might roughly be my current list; i put Alcantara & Baez next to each other for alphabetical convenience, mostly

[Guest]

I'm assuming he just wanted to be different.

eh, he still could have done that while listing them in a more justifiable order:

 

Russell

Bryant

Soler

Baez

Alcantara

 

Almora

McKinney

Schwarber

Tseng

Edwards

 

Yeah, that wasn't to defend him. Doing something to make your list stand out just makes it a bad list. Tseng at 5 is pants on head.

 

Has a lower ceiling than Bryant, Russell, Baez, Soler and Alcántara. Is at a much lower level than those five. Has already missed time this season with injury and had velocity fluctuations last year before he signed. Talk about crazy pants.

[Vinestal]

Nice little article on Schwarber : http://atmilb.com/1kmBrLi

[TruffleShuffle]

from BP:

 

Kyle Schwarber, C

Thick, broad shoulders with strong upper body, solid build; forceful swinger, starts with hands low and away from his body; starts open and squats into stance; short swing path with a slight uppercut and plus bat speed; swing can get rotational when he gets too pull conscious; wants to pull the ball, rarely goes the other way; ball jumps off his bat on hard contact; wants the ball on outer half even though he’s a pull hitter, gets hands extended and drives the ball; wants the ball elevated, balls down result in weak groundballs; has a good idea of the strike zone and does not expand it frequently; defensively player will be below average as a catcher but could handle the position if called upon; limited lateral movement on balls side to side in the dirt; drops straight to knees on balls in front in dirt instead of replacing feet; receiving skills are adequate, not an elite pitch framer but not sloppy either; adequate arm strength and footwork but is not quick out of his stance, arm is accurate to second base; development of glove behind plate lags behind his bat, will slow down ascent to majors if organization chooses to go that route; could catch 2-3 days a week without being a major liability; potential middle-of-the-order bat wherever he plays.

 

Video of Schwarber’s pitch receiving:

 

Dan Vogelbach, 1B

Bad body, soft, already overweight at age 21; does not move well, bad athlete; value is completely in his bat; starts with hands high above head, keeps them back in his stance; strong bat-to-ball skills, good feel for the barrel; plus bat speed due to tremendously strong, quick wrists; plus-plus to elite raw power that plays best when he stays up the middle; ball carries well to the gaps and center field; has tendency to cast arms and reach for pitches on outer half, but when he stays up the middle he drives those pitches through the gaps or over the fence; will crush fastballs; poor defender, offers no value with glove or legs; DH only; bat will have to produce but should hit for plus power in games with above-average and potentially plus batting average; won’t age well and prime could be over by 30, but could be an impact bat at DH at his best.

 

Billy McKinney, OF

Ideal size and frame, great build, not overly strong but solid and still with room to grow; traditional quiet left-handed stance; smooth, pure left-handed swing; plus bat speed should lead to average power; 20-25 home runs a possibility; ball carries to gaps and center field, good feel for the strike zone; plus defender in right field, above average in center for now, could outgrow center by 30; gets good jumps, very athletic; tracks the ball well in the air, good awareness of the fence; above-average runner; could be a J.D. Drew-type player in his prime.

 

Rob Zastryzny, LHP

Tall, thin frame, should be able to add pounds; three-quarters delivery; foot lands slightly to glove side giving him some cross-body deception; fastball sat mostly 86-89 but hit 91 a few times; pitch featured some cutting action that created poor contact; curveball was inconsistent, sat 76-77 mph but with varying levels of break; some were sharp while others were far too firm; good ones were above average, pitch has potential but is currently below average and he appeared not to trust it; changeup varied from 74-82 with most coming in the 74-78 range, appeared to be trying to add and subtract from pitch but was better off subtracting; softer variations had more bite; pitch featured downward movement with some cutting action similar to fastball; pitch was commanded well and had above-average movement; was his best pitch and kept hitters off balance; very high risk prospect due to lack of experience and poor breaking ball but movement on fastball/changeup and above-average command of an off-speed pitch give him a chance to stick as a back-end starter.

 

Rock Shoulders, OF

Large human being, thick and solidly built; incredibly thick legs, big butt; big stride toward pitcher and wraps bat during load causing him to loop and create a hole on the inner half of the plate; swing can get flat and rotational, plus bat speed with plus raw power but only average game utility; patient approach at plate, looks for fastball to drive; struggles with quality secondary pitches; playing out of place in left field, not an outfielder; struggles with reads off bat; does not run well, looks uncomfortable tracking the ball; below-average arm, left field only in outfield; player has impact power potential and a patient approach but enough pitch recognition issues to potentially keep him from reaching the majors unless adjustments are made.

[rawaction]

Ha! JD Drew was a helluva player in his prime. 4-5 win player and a good defender. And this is what we could expect out of the Cubs' 8th or 9th best prospect?

[Guest]

Callis expands on the Cubs Top 20 at his blog: http://jimcallis.mlblogs.com/2014/07/31/bonus-cubs-prospects-nos-21-25-2/#more-237

 

21. Christian Villanueva, 3b. Part of the Ryan Dempster trade with the Rangers in 2012, Villaneuva is having a so-so season and is hopelessly blocked by Bryant & Co. He’s still a quality defender with average power, though he’ll need to tone down his approach at the plate.

 

22. Jacob Hannemann, of. He took three years off from baseball to go on a Mormon mission and play football at Brigham Young, then returned last spring and earned a $1 million bonus as a third-round pick. While Hannemann is old for Class A at 23, he’s a premium athlete with well above-average speed and good raw power.

 

23. Carson Sands, lhp. As they did in the previous two Drafts, the Cubs took a hitter with an early first-round pick (catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber) and then stocked up on pitching in 2014. They paid Sands $1.1 million in the fourth round, buying into his lively 90-94 mph fastball, solid curveball and feel for pitching.

 

24. Jake Stinnett, rhp. The best college senior available in the 2014 Draft, he went 45th overall (second round) and signed for $1 million after pitching Maryland to the NCAA super-regionals. A former two-way player who saw time at third base earlier in his Terrapins career, Stinnett has a hard sinker that hits 97 mph and flashes a plus slider.

 

25. Dylan Cease, rhp. With a fastball capable of reaching 97 mph, he was one of the hardest throwers in the 2014 high school class and a possible first-rounder. Cease hurt his elbow in March and needed Tommy John surgery, though that didn’t stop Chicago from signing him for $1.5 million as a sixth-rounder.

 

 

Newcomer To Watch: Justin Steele, lhp. The last three guys above were all pitchers who got seven-figure bonuses in the 2014 Draft, and here’s another. Signed for $1 milion in the fifth round, Steele is a southpaw who reaches 95 mph with his fastball and is making rapid progress with his curveball.

[Cubswin11]

Would Villanueva be a candidate to try and convert to catcher?

[Guest]

97mph sinker? wtf

[sneakypower]

the Schwarber writeup was pretty barfy, but seeing a Drew comp slapped on McKinney made me faint on the spot

[weis21]

They were really thorough with the Rock Shoulder's description. I felt like showering after reading it.

[TruffleShuffle]

i forgot that stinnett exists. when's he supposed to debut?

[weis21]

i forgot that stinnett exists. when's he supposed to debut?

He threw a lot of innings this year between the regular season and CWS. I want to say I read they may have him throw a couple innings here and there, but maybe they opted to shut him down completely.

[Guest]

97mph sinker? wtf

Sounds like Shark.