Cub prospects in the news

[CubsWin]

BA chat 8/25

 

Navin (Pasadena, CA): Ben Wells got 3rd round money from the Cubs. Your scouting report made him sound like a late bloomer but is he worth the over slot?

 

 

Jim Callis: Remember that the slots are bogus to begin with. In the next day or two, I'll do a Draft Blog post that shows how out of touch the slots are with reality. The short version: the top 50 bonuses are 37 percent higher than the top 50 slots . . . Back to Wells: He was a late bloomer, and one scout told me he easily could have been a third-round pick if he had been scouted heavily enough. So I like that investment a lot.

It's always exciting when a late-round high schooler signs like Brian Smith or Dustin Geiger. But it sounds like Wells is more than that, he could've fallen through the cracks and been overlooked. Can't wait to see how he does.

[Guest]

Chris Archer is amongst the candidates for BA's MiLB Player of the Year: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=10183

 

The other candidates appear to be:

 

1B Brandon Belt (Giants)

C Devin Mesoraco (Reds)

C J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays)

1B Jerry Sands (Dodgers)

LHP John Lamb (Royals)

3B Mike Moustakas (Royals)

1B Eric Hosmer (Royals)

C Wil Myers (Royals)

OF Mike Trout (Angels)

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (Rays)

OF Domonic Brown (Phillies)

RHP Julio Teheran (Braves)

RHP Brandon Beachy (Braves)

RHP Michael Pineda (Mariners)

1B Freddie Freeman (Braves)

C Jesus Montero (Yankees)

[NCCubFan]

Chris Archer is amongst the candidates for BA's MiLB Pitcher of the Year: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=10183

 

The other candidates appear to be:

 

1B Brandon Belt (Giants)

C Devin Mesoraco (Reds)

C J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays)

1B Jerry Sands (Dodgers)

LHP John Lamb (Royals)

3B Mike Moustakas (Royals)

1B Eric Hosmer (Royals)

C Wil Myers (Royals)

OF Mike Trout (Angels)

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (Rays)

OF Domonic Brown (Phillies)

RHP Julio Teheran (Braves)

RHP Brandon Beachy (Braves)

RHP Michael Pineda (Mariners)

1B Freddie Freeman (Braves)

C Jesus Montero (Yankees)

Interesting candidates for Pitcher of the Year. :D

[Guest]

Whoops. I thought I had meant to correct that. Guess I'll fix that.

[TruffleShuffle]

shouldn't brandon guyer win minor league player of the year for the cubs? 2nd in BA, 7th in OBP, 1st in SLG, 2nd in OPS in the southern league. he and chirinos have been better than brett jackson (but chirinos is 3 years older and has been around forever)

[Wrigley Rat]

“Now I’m kind of in a tough spot,” says Szczur, who was also drafted in the 38th round out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I absolutely love the minor leagues, but if I have a good football season I’ll probably go the football route if I have a chance to get drafted, because you make it faster. I love football too. It’s not like I like one better than the other.”

 

Wilken believes Szczur could be a starting center fielder and an above-average hitter in the majors. He says he has emphasized to Szczur the NFL's high risk of injury and lack of longevity.

Matt Szczur piece - some quotes from Wilken...

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Villanova-Wildcat-Matt-Szczur-090210

[TruffleShuffle]

if he gets drafted early then more power to him, go for the nfl... but if he's a 7th round draft pick, he's more likely to make a career in baseball, even if he ends up just being a AAAA-type guy. a lot of late round draft picks don't even make an nfl roster, and if they do they just hang around on the practice squad for a year or two andn then disappear.

[jersey cubs fan]

if he gets drafted early then more power to him, go for the nfl... but if he's a 7th round draft pick, he's more likely to make a career in baseball, even if he ends up just being a AAAA-type guy. a lot of late round draft picks don't even make an nfl roster, and if they do they just hang around on the practice squad for a year or two andn then disappear.

 

Even if he's a 5/6 round pick he's probably much better off with baseball. Yes, it takes you longer to make the big team in baseball. If all he wants to do is step on a pro sports field in uniform, football is probably the best way. Just play some special teams for a couple year and maybe catch a couple balls. But when he's 33 he's probably got very little chance of being paid to play football and could have a good chance of at least being paid by somebody to play baseball.

[ScrubMD]

“Now I’m kind of in a tough spot,” says Szczur, who was also drafted in the 38th round out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I absolutely love the minor leagues, but if I have a good football season I’ll probably go the football route if I have a chance to get drafted, because you make it faster. I love football too. It’s not like I like one better than the other.”

 

Wilken believes Szczur could be a starting center fielder and an above-average hitter in the majors. He says he has emphasized to Szczur the NFL's high risk of injury and lack of longevity.

Matt Szczur piece - some quotes from Wilken...

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Villanova-Wildcat-Matt-Szczur-090210

 

Holy crap, he sounds like an awesome guy. And it's pronounced "SEE-zer"? There's way too much going on in that name for such a simple pronounciation. I don't like wishing anything bad for him, but I kind of hope he sucks as football this year.

[sneakypower]

Chris Archer is amongst the candidates for BA's MiLB Pitcher of the Year: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=10183

 

The other candidates appear to be:

 

1B Brandon Belt (Giants)

C Devin Mesoraco (Reds)

C J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays)

1B Jerry Sands (Dodgers)

LHP John Lamb (Royals)

3B Mike Moustakas (Royals)

1B Eric Hosmer (Royals)

C Wil Myers (Royals)

OF Mike Trout (Angels)

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (Rays)

OF Domonic Brown (Phillies)

RHP Julio Teheran (Braves)

RHP Brandon Beachy (Braves)

RHP Michael Pineda (Mariners)

1B Freddie Freeman (Braves)

C Jesus Montero (Yankees)

i think it's gotta be Moustakas

[javy knows my name]

Chris Archer is amongst the candidates for BA's MiLB Pitcher of the Year: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=10183

 

The other candidates appear to be:

 

1B Brandon Belt (Giants)

C Devin Mesoraco (Reds)

C J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays)

1B Jerry Sands (Dodgers)

LHP John Lamb (Royals)

3B Mike Moustakas (Royals)

1B Eric Hosmer (Royals)

C Wil Myers (Royals)

OF Mike Trout (Angels)

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (Rays)

OF Domonic Brown (Phillies)

RHP Julio Teheran (Braves)

RHP Brandon Beachy (Braves)

RHP Michael Pineda (Mariners)

1B Freddie Freeman (Braves)

C Jesus Montero (Yankees)

i think it's gotta be Moustakas

Is he expected to stick at 3rd in the majors? He's a big dude

[sneakypower]

i don't think they have much of a choice, with Butler sticking at 1B and Myers probably slotted for DH

[Guest]

i don't think they have much of a choice, with Butler sticking at 1B and Myers probably slotted for DH

 

Myers could easily end up at RF. Moose has to stay at 3B though with Butler and Hosmer around.

[Guest]

Trey Hickman (West Blocton, Alabama): What's the ETA for Cubs super-prospect Josh Vitters, and what kind of annual stat line do you see him putting up once he gets acclimated to Major League pitching?

 

J.J. Cooper: I'm sorry, but I'm not slapping a super-prospect tag on a guy hitting .223/.292/.383 in Double-A after hitting .238/.260/.344 in high Class A last year. I want to see him show he can stay locked in for longer stretches and lay off pitcher's pitches more often.

 

JAYPERS (IL): When do your League Top 20 prospect lists start up?

 

J.J. Cooper: We are all working on them right now. They will go to press for the magazine on Sept. 17 and we will have them going up on the Website (I believe) beginning Sept. 21.

[Outshined_One]

Jin-Yeong Kim had a bullpen session at Wrigley yesterday.

 

The right-hander played at Duksoo High School in Seoul, and was one of the top prep pitchers in the country. In 38 innings, he struck out 51 and gave up eight earned runs for a 1.89 ERA. Kim has pitched in Australia and was in Chicago for a peek at Wrigley before going to Mesa, Ariz., where he will take part in the Cubs' instructional league, which begins Sept. 15.

[TruffleShuffle]

Chris Archer is amongst the candidates for BA's MiLB Pitcher of the Year: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=10183

 

The other candidates appear to be:

 

1B Brandon Belt (Giants)

C Devin Mesoraco (Reds)

C J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays)

1B Jerry Sands (Dodgers)

LHP John Lamb (Royals)

3B Mike Moustakas (Royals)

1B Eric Hosmer (Royals)

C Wil Myers (Royals)

OF Mike Trout (Angels)

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (Rays)

OF Domonic Brown (Phillies)

RHP Julio Teheran (Braves)

RHP Brandon Beachy (Braves)

RHP Michael Pineda (Mariners)

1B Freddie Freeman (Braves)

C Jesus Montero (Yankees)

i think it's gotta be Moustakas

 

hellickson won. in the prospect chat they noted that NW arkansas played as a bandbox this year, with a number of their hitters putting up much better home stats than road stats. moustakas was an extreme example, hitting .437/.485/.894 at home and .222/.318/.398 on the road.

 

mike trout was also crazy good for an 18/19 year old.

 

more fun numbers:

matt moore's first half: 1-7, 6.08 ERA, 60.2 IP, 62 H, 37 BB, 78 K, .274 BAA

second half: 5-4, 1.39 ERA, 84.0 IP, 47 H, 24 BB, 130 K, .161 BAA

[Guest]

Jin-Yeong Kim had a bullpen session at Wrigley yesterday.

 

The right-hander played at Duksoo High School in Seoul, and was one of the top prep pitchers in the country. In 38 innings, he struck out 51 and gave up eight earned runs for a 1.89 ERA. Kim has pitched in Australia and was in Chicago for a peek at Wrigley before going to Mesa, Ariz., where he will take part in the Cubs' instructional league, which begins Sept. 15.

 

FYI, I've looked all over the MLBAAP web site and can't find any mention of Jin-Yeong Kim.

[Outshined_One]

In today's Ask BA, Jim Callis is asked to redo the first round of the 2007 Draft. No Cubs are listed. Ouch.

[Guest]

Chris Archer was named the Cubs minor league pitcher of the year and Brandon Guyer the player of the year.

[Outshined_One]

Callis' weekly chat.

 

Dino (Bartlett): What is your opinion on Brandon Guyer? He has had a heck of a season!

 

Jim Callis: Nice year for Guyer, who has some of the best all-around tools in the Cubs system. He's more of a fourth outfielder than a big league regular, though. He's just not consistent enough offensively to project as an everyday guy.

 

. . .

 

Vince (Chicago IL): Starlin Castro has been great as a 20 year old in he majors. Do you expect him do develop any more power and will he swipe more bases in years to come?

 

Jim Callis: The scary thing is that he's probably five years away from showing us how good he really can be. I do think he'll develop at least 15-homer power, but he's an average runner who won't steal a lot of bases.

[CubsWin]

Callis' weekly chat.

 

Dino (Bartlett): What is your opinion on Brandon Guyer? He has had a heck of a season!

 

Jim Callis: Nice year for Guyer, who has some of the best all-around tools in the Cubs system. He's more of a fourth outfielder than a big league regular, though. He's just not consistent enough offensively to project as an everyday guy.

 

. . .

 

Vince (Chicago IL): Starlin Castro has been great as a 20 year old in he majors. Do you expect him do develop any more power and will he swipe more bases in years to come?

 

Jim Callis: The scary thing is that he's probably five years away from showing us how good he really can be. I do think he'll develop at least 15-homer power, but he's an average runner who won't steal a lot of bases.

Guyer was pretty darn consistent this year. He started off solid in April going .283/.427/.467 then he got hurt and missed almost all of May, spent June getting his swing back and went .415/.437/.622 in July, .404/.433/.711 in August and .500/.565/.850 in September. Last year while in High-A he hit .347/.407/.453 and this year in AA he hit .344/.398/.588. Can't get much more consistent than that. Whoops, he added some power. Sorry about that Jim.

 

Callis may be right about him being a 4th OFer, but if his last two seasons (minus his failed adjustment to AA after a mid-season promotion) are any indication, the guy can hit, and if Callis is accurate that Guyer has some of the best all-around tools in the Cubs organization, then he might be able to carry decent production forward into the bigs. I'm not expecting Guyer to win Rookie of the Year when he comes up, I'm just saying his ceiling may be a bit higher than a reserve OFer.

 

I also like the fact that he stole 30 bases in 37 attempts in '09 and was 30 for 33 this year. The Cubs could sure use that in their line-up...

[Outshined_One]

Callis' weekly chat:

 

Betty (Joliet): Jim, I am a big Cubs fan. Any chance they move Aram over to first and promote Marquez Smith?

 

 

Jim Callis: I don't see that. Smith had a nice year in Triple-A, but he's better suited to be a utility guy than a regular.

 

Side note: Ugh.

 

tony (albuquerque): What do you make of Josh Vitters season?

 

 

Jim Callis: It was disappointing. I expected to see more out of a guy who's supposed to have an elite-level bat. But he's still just 20, and there's plenty of time for him to figure things out. I wouldn't give up on him, but he hasn't lived up to expectations so far.

 

MT (SF): Would it make sense for the Cubs to trade Josh Vitters or Bret Jackson for a quality first baseman?

 

 

Jim Callis: Vitters, sure, but I don't think he'd be the cornerstone of a major deal right now. Jackson has a chance to be a center field with five solid or better tools, so I wouldn't deal him for an expensive first baseman. Especially because I don't think the Cubs can realistically contend in 2011.

[TruffleShuffle]

BP did kind of a post-mortem on their cubs top 11 from earlier this year:

 

Chicago Cubs

No. 1 Prospect: Josh Vitters, 3B (31st overall)

What Was Said: “...will be a bigger, stronger version of Howie Kendrick.”

Analysis: While his season was cut short by a broken finger, Vitters hurt his prospect status before the injury by struggling mightily at Double-A due to an inability to hone his approach. He has all the skills to be a star-level hitter, but if he keeps swinging at awful pitches and making weak contact on them, it's not going to matter.

Two Through Eleven: Just six slots below Vitters on the Top 101, shortstop Starlin Castro (second) clearly should have been at the top. He might not be a shortstop long-term, but he's going to compete for batting titles, and there's more power coming. Righty Andrew Cashner (fifth) took a huge step forward and landed in the big leagues, but one hopes that all the work the organization did to make him a starter isn't for naught after a second half spent back in relief. Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee (third) and outfielder Brett Jackson (fourth) both held serve with solid campaigns. Right-hander Chris Archer (eighth) took the biggest step forward by gaining velocity, finding more consistency with his secondary offerings and domination all the way up to Double-A while drawing glowing reports from scouts. Biggest bust? Outfielder Kyler Burke (ninth).

Sleeper: Dominican righty Rafael Dolis was brilliant at times, but on many nights he's reduced to being a one-pitch type, and many project a bullpen conversion down the road.

[Outshined_One]

10/27 Ben Badler Chat

 

Sang (Chicago): How legit are Cubs prospects Chris Carpenter, Trey McNutt and Chris Archer? Ace potential or more back end starters? Do any of them have a standout pitch?

 

 

Ben Badler: As a group, that might be the most underrated (or at least unheralded) group of pitching prospects of any organization in baseball. I don't think any of them is a future ace but they all could be solid, above-average starters in the big leagues. Archer and McNutt especially have knockout stuff at times, anywhere from 60 to 70 grades on their fastballs and breaking stuff.

 

Antoine (Illinois): Who's the better prospect. Brett Jackson Or Eric Hosmer

 

 

Ben Badler: Hosmer, and I'm a big Brett Jackson fan.

[Clem Fandango]

Jason Grey did a profile on Chris Carpenter here:

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/sports/fantasy/blog?name=grey_jason&id=5741778

 

Here's a few snippets:

 

Carpenter is at the AFL to get in a few more innings out of the bullpen, and says from what he's been told, there are no plans to make that move permanent. Yet I'm still intrigued about how his arm can play in the late innings, as when going max-effort he can put a "100" up on the radar gun.

 

His four-seam fastball is tough to elevate, giving him a ground ball profile that can keep the ball in the park. To go with that fastball, Carpenter has two other pitches that both need a little work. He has an 82-85 mph breaking ball that looks like a slider, but that Carpenter actually calls a curveball. It gets a little too soft and loses its break at times, and his command of it is inconsistent. He also throws a straight change that has varied anywhere from 85 all the way up to 90 depending on how his overall velocity has been that day, but it's a fringy pitch at best.

 

Carpenter still needs to repeat his delivery better, and an inability to do that at times causes his control to wander and limits his command potential. More specifically, he needs to stay on-line to the plate more, as he will get out of alignment, keep his front side closed and cut himself off early. That causes him to throw across his body, which also puts a little additional stress on his arm. He has solid athleticism, which will be helpful in trying to repeat his mechanics better. Additionally, Carpenter feels he did a much better job of not just trying to blow the ball by everyone this season.

 

Carpenter has been a starter as a pro and can continue to be a starter with more refinement of his secondary stuff. Additionally, continuing to be a starter gives him more reps to refine those other pitches. However, there is still some skepticism about his long-term durability, and his ability to pitch deep into games. At times he's lost some velocity in the middle innings of his starts, according to other scouts I've talked to. Given that, and the way his stuff seems to play in relief (especially if he could just focus on a fastball/breaking ball combo), I think I'd much prefer to see Carpenter working the ninth inning as a potential shutdown closer. Regardless of future role, this is the kind of power arm to monitor and take a chance on in fantasy play.