Revised Cubs Top 10

[Rob]

Not that anybody is interested, but I'm revising my list...

 

1.) Josh Vitters - Tools are obvious, but his injury history is becoming slightly worrisome.

 

2.) Starlin Castro - I actually considered giving him the top spot. He's done more than just hold his own at such a young age... he's been fantastic. Even his slow start at Tennessee is nothing to be concerned with, as he hasn't struck out yet in 33 AB.

 

3.) Jay Jackson - There's nothing not to like.

 

4.) Andrew Cashner - I'm coming along slowly on him. I question his ultimate ceiling still simply because the organization doesn't seem to see him in the rotation down the road.

 

5.) Hak-ju Lee - I heard Tim Wilken refer to him as a first round talent, and he's certainly playing like one. His power may never materialize, but he has all the makings of an excellent player with a high average, plenty of walks, plenty of SB, and fantastic defense.

 

6.) Chris Carpenter - First round talent with injury problems. The performance is about what I expected... but he's got a ways to go before the injuries don't scare me.

 

7.) Kyler Burke - I've been higher on him than most in the past, and I'm continuing the trend now. He's starting to hit for average, and some of those doubles are going over the fence. I'm starting to see a lot of Jeremy Hermida in him.

 

8.) Dae-Eun Rhee - His stock drops slightly on account of the injuries... but I am in love with his arm. Something tells me he could take an Angel Guzman path to the majors... but he'll pay off at some point.

 

9.) Brett Jackson - I still think he was a mistake of a pick, but he's doing his best to prove me wrong.

 

10.) Junior Lake - Hasn't produced this year, but he's got tools out the wazoo. Plus, this pick should piss off Truffle.

[TruffleShuffle]

7.) Kyler Burke - I've been higher on him than most in the past, and I'm continuing the trend now. He's starting to hit for average, and some of those doubles are going over the fence. I'm starting to see a lot of Jeremy Hermida in him.

 

hopefully you mean in his tools, because hermida was about to make his major league debut at this point.

 

 

10.) Junior Lake - Hasn't produced this year, but he's got tools out the wazoo. Plus, this pick should piss off Truffle.

 

the ronny cedeno is strong in that one.

[Little Slide Rooter]

4.) Andrew Cashner - I'm coming along slowly on him. I question his ultimate ceiling still simply because the organization doesn't seem to see him in the rotation down the road.

 

Actually, I read somewhere that Hendry refered to him as a possible front end starter or a closer, so maybe.

[utkcub]

4.) Andrew Cashner - I'm coming along slowly on him. I question his ultimate ceiling still simply because the organization doesn't seem to see him in the rotation down the road.

 

Actually, I read somewhere that Hendry refered to him as a possible front end starter or a closer, so maybe.

I really don't want to go through another Samardzija debacle with Cashner, either he's going to be a starter or he's going to be a closer; set him on one path and let it be.

[Outshined_One]

4.) Andrew Cashner - I'm coming along slowly on him. I question his ultimate ceiling still simply because the organization doesn't seem to see him in the rotation down the road.

 

Actually, I read somewhere that Hendry refered to him as a possible front end starter or a closer, so maybe.

I really don't want to go through another Samardzija debacle with Cashner, either he's going to be a starter or he's going to be a closer; set him on one path and let it be.

 

Samardzija's problem was development more than anything else. He's needed way more time in the minors to develop his secondary stuff than he's gotten so far. The fact that he's been ping-ponged between starter and reliever hasn't been what has done him in.

 

Cashner's already a much, much, much more advanced pitcher than him. Moreover, it's quite common to see a number of the best relievers in the game go through the minor leagues as starting pitchers.

[TruffleShuffle]

Moreover, it's quite common to see a number of the best relievers in the game go through the minor leagues as starting pitchers.

 

yeah, i know jonathon broxton always was regarded as a reliever, but he started through most of his minor league career.

[UK1679666180]

As far as Hendry making that claim of a front end starter or a closer, that's a very high claim on Cashner's stuff. Right there he's saying that Cashner has two plus pitches (70FB, 60+ SL) with a 50 CH to be considered a top of the rotation guy and at least that 70FB and 60+ SL to be a closer.

[TruffleShuffle]

not sure if this was posted before:

 

valuing the cubs' farm system

 

seems like a nice evaluation and i agree with the overall conclusions - the cubs have leaped from being one of the bottom 5 farm systems in the game to middle of the pack.

 

burke is pretty exciting; next year we'll see if he is jumped to tennessee (he'd play pretty close to home) and how he fares against the more advanced pitching. i remember really liking his inclusion in the walker deal because he was a high-ceiling, high-risk prospect. we haven't had many of those types in the organization the past five years.

[Vanilla Ice]

not sure if this was posted before:

 

valuing the cubs' farm system

 

seems like a nice evaluation and i agree with the overall conclusions - the cubs have leaped from being one of the bottom 5 farm systems in the game to middle of the pack.

 

burke is pretty exciting; next year we'll see if he is jumped to tennessee (he'd play pretty close to home) and how he fares against the more advanced pitching. i remember really liking his inclusion in the walker deal because he was a high-ceiling, high-risk prospect. we haven't had many of those types in the organization the past five years.

I thought he came over for Barrett

 

EDIT: I'm pretty sure Ceda came for Walker and Burke for Barrett

[Vanilla Ice]

If I had to rank them right now, I would go.

 

1- Vitters

2- Cashner

3- Castro

4- Jay Jackson

5- Lee

6- Brett Jackson

7- Carpenter

8- LeMahieu

9- Burke

10- Rhee

[TruffleShuffle]

1. vitters

2. castro

3. jay jax

4. cashner (could be #2 though... i'm pretty fluid on those three)

5. carpenter

6. brett jackson

7. h-j lee

8. kyler burke

9. dae eun rhee

10. flaherty

11. antigua

12. lemahieu

13. clevenger

14. barney

15. blake parker

16. archer

17. gaub

18. colvin

19. w. castillo

20. watkins

21. raley

22. m. smith

23. huseby

24. lake

25. searle

 

i'm leaving off a lot of the newer foreign signings because i just don't know much about them or have any performance to base a ranking on.

[NCCubFan]

not sure if this was posted before:

 

valuing the cubs' farm system

 

seems like a nice evaluation and i agree with the overall conclusions - the cubs have leaped from being one of the bottom 5 farm systems in the game to middle of the pack.

 

burke is pretty exciting; next year we'll see if he is jumped to tennessee (he'd play pretty close to home) and how he fares against the more advanced pitching. i remember really liking his inclusion in the walker deal because he was a high-ceiling, high-risk prospect. we haven't had many of those types in the organization the past five years.

I thought he came over for Barrett

 

EDIT: I'm pretty sure Ceda came for Walker and Burke for Barrett

Correct. The Cubs also got Rob Bowen in the Barrett trade.

[toonsterwu]

Truffle, no Brandon Guyer? I agree that he's fallen, as the adjusted lines have to be really worrisome, but out of the top 25? Also curious why Searle is so low for you.

 

As for everyone going Kyler Burke in the top 10, I'm on board now. Took me awhile, probably because of his late spring/early summer swoon, but yeah, I'm buying him top 10.

[Outshined_One]

The only thing that bugs me about Burke is that he hasn't hit a lot of HRs. For a corner OF, I'd like to see more power from him than just a ton of doubles.

[toonsterwu]

Good point O_O. I guess, if you asked me, would I bet on Kyler Burke right now (to reach the bigs), my gut instinct would still probably be no. That said, even adjusted, he's posted excellent lines and repeated his hot July. He's also shown excellent discipline in August. Certainly, part of the improvement has to be acknowledged as a factor of being there for awhile, but I think there's some real improvement, and coupled with his upside and performance, I think it works for a top 10 ranking ... as of now.

 

I'll say this - I don't think this is a case of Andrew Rundle last year. A lot of Cubs fans sure got excited over basically a hot couple weeks. Burke may very well falter as he moves up, but I think he's shown enough to buy that some improvement has been made.

[Guest]

Good point O_O. I guess, if you asked me, would I bet on Kyler Burke right now (to reach the bigs), my gut instinct would still probably be no. That said, even adjusted, he's posted excellent lines and repeated his hot July. He's also shown excellent discipline in August. Certainly, part of the improvement has to be acknowledged as a factor of being there for awhile, but I think there's some real improvement, and coupled with his upside and performance, I think it works for a top 10 ranking ... as of now.

 

I'll say this - I don't think this is a case of Andrew Rundle last year. A lot of Cubs fans sure got excited over basically a hot couple weeks. Burke may very well falter as he moves up, but I think he's shown enough to buy that some improvement has been made.

 

Burke has always shown better discipline than Rundle.

[TruffleShuffle]

The only thing that bugs me about Burke is that he hasn't hit a lot of HRs. For a corner OF, I'd like to see more power from him than just a ton of doubles.

 

adam dunn hit only 16 home runs in his second full season in the MWL. jim thome didn't show much power until age 22. gary sheffield moved quickly but didn't show big home run power until age 23. burke has good size has the potential to add power down the road; it may just be a matter of a raw player learning to drive mistake pitches. even if he ends up as a 20 HR guy with 30-40 doubles and good defense and OBP, that's still a good corner outfielder.

[jersey cubs fan]

Does Burke need to be added to the 40-man this offseason? It's his 4th year, right? He's repeating the MWL for the 3rd time and only now really putting up good numbers. I still like to think there's hope for the guy, but I feel like they will inevitably run into problems keeping him on the team.

[Guest]

Does Burke need to be added to the 40-man this offseason? It's his 4th year, right? He's repeating the MWL for the 3rd time and only now really putting up good numbers. I still like to think there's hope for the guy, but I feel like they will inevitably run into problems keeping him on the team.

 

I'm pretty sure he has one more year before he'd be eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

[toonsterwu]

Good point O_O. I guess, if you asked me, would I bet on Kyler Burke right now (to reach the bigs), my gut instinct would still probably be no. That said, even adjusted, he's posted excellent lines and repeated his hot July. He's also shown excellent discipline in August. Certainly, part of the improvement has to be acknowledged as a factor of being there for awhile, but I think there's some real improvement, and coupled with his upside and performance, I think it works for a top 10 ranking ... as of now.

 

I'll say this - I don't think this is a case of Andrew Rundle last year. A lot of Cubs fans sure got excited over basically a hot couple weeks. Burke may very well falter as he moves up, but I think he's shown enough to buy that some improvement has been made.

 

Burke has always shown better discipline than Rundle.

 

agreed. it was pretty ridiculous how some Cubs fans (at other boards) got so giddy over Rundle's SSS at Boise last year.

[Guest]

Good point O_O. I guess, if you asked me, would I bet on Kyler Burke right now (to reach the bigs), my gut instinct would still probably be no. That said, even adjusted, he's posted excellent lines and repeated his hot July. He's also shown excellent discipline in August. Certainly, part of the improvement has to be acknowledged as a factor of being there for awhile, but I think there's some real improvement, and coupled with his upside and performance, I think it works for a top 10 ranking ... as of now.

 

I'll say this - I don't think this is a case of Andrew Rundle last year. A lot of Cubs fans sure got excited over basically a hot couple weeks. Burke may very well falter as he moves up, but I think he's shown enough to buy that some improvement has been made.

 

Burke has always shown better discipline than Rundle.

 

agreed. it was pretty ridiculous how some Cubs fans (at other boards) got so giddy over Rundle's SSS at Boise last year.

 

I wouldn't say I got giddy with Rundle but I was pretty excited over him last season (had him in the back end of my top 20).

[bubblesdachimp]

My new updated...

 

1. Vitters

2. Cashner

3. Castro

4. J Jax

5. B. Jax

6. H Lee

7. Carpenter

8. Flaherty

9. D.Rhee

10. Burke

[chattbaseball]

Does Burke need to be added to the 40-man this offseason? It's his 4th year, right? He's repeating the MWL for the 3rd time and only now really putting up good numbers. I still like to think there's hope for the guy, but I feel like they will inevitably run into problems keeping him on the team.

 

I'm pretty sure he has one more year before he'd be eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

 

Burke has one more year before he's eligible for the Rule 5.

[Outshined_One]

Good point O_O. I guess, if you asked me, would I bet on Kyler Burke right now (to reach the bigs), my gut instinct would still probably be no. That said, even adjusted, he's posted excellent lines and repeated his hot July. He's also shown excellent discipline in August. Certainly, part of the improvement has to be acknowledged as a factor of being there for awhile, but I think there's some real improvement, and coupled with his upside and performance, I think it works for a top 10 ranking ... as of now.

 

I'll say this - I don't think this is a case of Andrew Rundle last year. A lot of Cubs fans sure got excited over basically a hot couple weeks. Burke may very well falter as he moves up, but I think he's shown enough to buy that some improvement has been made.

 

Burke has always shown better discipline than Rundle.

 

agreed. it was pretty ridiculous how some Cubs fans (at other boards) got so giddy over Rundle's SSS at Boise last year.

 

Yeeeeeeeeeeeah...um...

 

*Looks around*

 

I'm going to exit this particular discussion now!

 

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/405/homerandpoprocks.gif

[toonsterwu]

O_O that wasn't meant at you if you were high on Rundle. There was someone on another site that went on and on and on ... and on ... and on about Rundle last year to me. I was cautiously optimistic, but with his guy going on and on ... and on ... and on about Rundle last year, I sort of got annoyed with all the Rundle conversations, and I guess there is still a bit of carryover when I referenced Rundle earlier in the thread. My bad.