Revised Cubs Top 10

[toonsterwu]

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

 

We've got the same 10 players. With Rhee throwing now, I feel more comfortable plopping him in the top 10. I have them in a different order from 3-7 right now, though.

[nick23]

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.

Looks like there's a pretty significant drop off after 12.

[JeffH]

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.

Looks like there's a pretty significant drop off after 12.

 

That's a very good list. I don't care much for Marquez Smith as a Top 25-er. Off the top of my head, I value Berg, Coleman, Maestri, and Beliveau more. Ty Wright probably just as much as Smith.

[Guest]

Marquez Smith's inclusion in top 30 lists would likely hinge on his ability to play second base to become a quality utility guy.

[TruffleShuffle]

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.

 

guys is 23 years old and has only one home run this year. seems like his plate discipline has taken a pretty big step forward this year but it's come at the expense of power. it seems like he was really unlucky on balls in play at tennessee and now has been lucky in daytona. i guess i just have concern that he's a marginal CF with too much of a pull tendency.

 

i like searle's heavy fastball but don't like his K-rate. seems like a decent prospect but someone who needs to throw more strikes if he's going to be this hittable.

[Outshined_One]

i like searle's heavy fastball but don't like his K-rate. seems like a decent prospect but someone who needs to throw more strikes if he's going to be this hittable.

 

I really like him because he has a very good sinker and because he turned 20 two months ago, which is rather young for the Florida State League. He's done an excellent job of keeping the ball in the park (5 HR in 100 IP) and, from the sound of it, his secondary stuff could actually be halfway decent down the road. He still needs to work on his secondary stuff and on his control (39 BBs in 100 IP is kinda meh), plus his attitude might be a concern, but I think he has a good future.

[sandbergcubs]

i like searle's heavy fastball but don't like his K-rate. seems like a decent prospect but someone who needs to throw more strikes if he's going to be this hittable.

 

I really like him because he has a very good sinker and because he turned 20 two months ago, which is rather young for the Florida State League. He's done an excellent job of keeping the ball in the park (5 HR in 100 IP) and, from the sound of it, his secondary stuff could actually be halfway decent down the road. He still needs to work on his secondary stuff and on his control (39 BBs in 100 IP is kinda meh), plus his attitude might be a concern, but I think he has a good future.

 

 

i agree, he does walk a few too many, but his fastball does move so maybe its harder to control? not much pitching experience myself but he mostly misses low in the strike zone..

 

i saw 3 of those HR's at home in daytona (missed one of them) and two of them came in the same game about 5 pitches apart from eachother.

 

2.2 GO/AO is mighty fine and his K rating isnt that bad, as it is much more efficient to pitch to contact especially with a low pitch count.

 

also do not foget, alot of these Base Hits he has given up, are groundball base hits through the holes in the infield.

 

In reference to Guyer, i very much like the kids plate approach, very relaxed and has a very high line drive rate. crushes baseballs, just not overdoing it by trying to hit home runs, Plus speed and solid defence, he is in my top 15.

[toonsterwu]

hey sandberg, when you get a chance, can you give me a thought on Dan McDaniel's 2nd half? Every time I go over to minorleaguesplits to look at his numbers, I'm always baffled, in some respects, and curious to find out what was going on. Big fan of his potential, and I think it's easy to forget that he was also pushed as well, but he struggled some in the 2nd half and there was that move to the pen.

[sandbergcubs]

hey sandberg, when you get a chance, can you give me a thought on Dan McDaniel's 2nd half? Every time I go over to minorleaguesplits to look at his numbers, I'm always baffled, in some respects, and curious to find out what was going on. Big fan of his potential, and I think it's easy to forget that he was also pushed as well, but he struggled some in the 2nd half and there was that move to the pen.

 

 

saw him pitch tonight, after the game i asked how fast, 90-93, which is apparently harder than he was in the rotation.

 

it seems as though his breaking ball struggles to find the strike zone sometimes, fastball seemed as though it is a little elevated...

 

but on the flipsyde, breaking ball seemed half decent, while the fastball seemed to have a little movement.

 

leverton pitched well tonight, but in the 6th imploded, followed by pina and his electric fastball with no command :clapping:

[toonsterwu]

thanks for the update man.

 

Hmm ... I could've sworn I saw somewhere earlier this summer where they said he was touching the mid-90's.

 

How did his sinker (or was it a 2-seamer) look? I'm assuming the elevated pitch was his 4-seamer? Do you know if he was still throwing curve and slider, or has he junked one of them on moving to the pen?

 

________

 

do you know what Pina was registering? I thought I read 92-94 in the past, but wasn't certain right now.

[bubblesdachimp]

Does anyone else think that Castro might very easily be our best prospect. I think this season has been nothing short of spectacular. His BB/K ratio @ Tennessee is astonishing. I also think we could see him drive the ball more when he fills out better. I see a lot of Elvis Andrus in him.. Where do people think Baseball America will rank him? Do yall see them making him a top 100 list? Maybe top 50?

 

My updated top 10

 

1. Vitters

2. Castro

3. J Jax

4. Ca$hner

5. B Jax

6. H lee

7. Carpenter

8. Burke

9. Flaherty

10. Lemaheiu

[jersey cubs fan]

Does anyone else think that Castro might very easily be our best prospect. I think this season has been nothing short of spectacular. His BB/K ratio @ Tennessee is astonishing. I also think we could see him drive the ball more when he fills out better. I see a lot of Elvis Andrus in him.. Where do people think Baseball America will rank him? Do yall see them making him a top 100 list? Maybe top 50?

 

My updated top 10

 

1. Vitters

2. Castro

3. J Jax

4. Ca$hner

5. B Jax

6. H lee

7. Carpenter

8. Burke

9. Flaherty

10. Lemaheiu

 

I don't know about very easily, but he may be. All of them have their flaws. Castro is the youngest at the highest level and holding his own. Vitters hasn't handled the move to FSL well and apparently has some health issues. Jackson and Cashner have shown some brilliant flashes but each have had issues. And the new guy is too low on the totem pole. I'm going to guess Vitters is going to be given the benefit of the doubt as the best of the bunch for now.

[Outshined_One]

Does anyone else think that Castro might very easily be our best prospect. I think this season has been nothing short of spectacular. His BB/K ratio @ Tennessee is astonishing.

 

Having a 38/24 K/BB in 45.3 IP is not astonishing. While he has had some very nice outings with Tennessee, he's also had his share of clunkers and hasn't had a dominating start since August 3rd. I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a bump in the road or if this is indicative of something else.

[Mephistopheles]

Does anyone else think that Castro might very easily be our best prospect. I think this season has been nothing short of spectacular. His BB/K ratio @ Tennessee is astonishing.

 

Having a 38/24 K/BB in 45.3 IP is not astonishing. While he has had some very nice outings with Tennessee, he's also had his share of clunkers and hasn't had a dominating start since August 3rd. I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a bump in the road or if this is indicative of something else.

not making the same mistake twice with you....

[jersey cubs fan]

Does anyone else think that Castro might very easily be our best prospect. I think this season has been nothing short of spectacular. His BB/K ratio @ Tennessee is astonishing.

 

Having a 38/24 K/BB in 45.3 IP is not astonishing. While he has had some very nice outings with Tennessee, he's also had his share of clunkers and hasn't had a dominating start since August 3rd. I'm beginning to wonder if this is just a bump in the road or if this is indicative of something else.

 

I'm confused. Are you discussing Cashner instead of Castro?

[Outshined_One]

Whoops. I read that as Cashner.

[Mephistopheles]

O_O's busy making love to a burrito. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Outshined_One]

O_O's busy making love to a burrito. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

It's been nice knowing you.

[Keener98]

O_O's busy making love to a burrito. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

It's been nice knowing you.

 

=D>

[ctcf]

O_O's busy making love to a burrito. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

It's been nice knowing you.

 

Oh snap

[bubblesdachimp]

O_O's busy making love to a burrito. mmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

who is this? and why does he hate starlin so much? :flame:

[toonsterwu]

Working through my new list, and I'm now going

 

1. Starlin Castro, B+/B. I don't really want to do this, but ... well, I mean, with Vitters, we're talking upside to be a potential All-Star bat with iffy defense. With Castro, we're talking about the potential of an All-Star caliber shortstop. I'd take the latter over the former, and Castro is a level higher.

 

2. Josh Vitters, B+/B. I'll defend Vitters, but he has some key adjustments to make.

 

3. Jay Jackson, B/B+. I've decided to stick with Jackson as the top arm. He has the best combination of upside/readiness, IMO, of our top 3.

 

4. Andrew Cashner, B. A lot of work to do, but it's certainly been a nice season for him. Is he definitely a starter? I could still see a Papelbon type career for him in that, gets groomed as a starter, gets called up as a pen and is just too good there.

 

5. Chris Carpenter, B-/B. Definitely a breakout year. The simple fact that he stayed healthy would've been good enough for me, particularly after the rain delay incident.

 

6. Brett Jackson, B-/B. Very impressive, but still taking a wait and see on that. Call me cautious for some reason ... and I was fine with the pick.

 

7. Hak-ju Lee, B-. Perhaps overreading the stats on this one. Upside is huge, perhaps one of the top 3 in our system. He'll probably always be a guy that can "create" luck, but it does seem like he's been a bit lucky in Boise. Work in progress that I expect will be slowplayed, but who knows (that is, I'm expecting Watkins/Lee in Peoria, and not Lee in Daytona, to start 2010).

 

8. Dae-Eun Rhee, B-/C+. I've long said I would give him a draft nod if he started throwing this year. There's enough background to be excited about. On ability, he might be one of the top 3 in our system.

 

9. Welington Castillo, C+. Perhaps a mild surprise, but I've been pushing that Castillo's been sort of forgotten. He's had an excellent 2nd half with the bat, and statistically, was a bit unlucky in the first half. If the defense has improved, I still believe this is a potential starting caliber catcher. Potential.

 

10. Kyler Burke, C+. Solid discipline at the plate and loads of tools. Am I going to the bank with Burke right now? No, but gotta give credit where it's due, and he's had a big year.

[davell]

I'll give a top 20, since we actually have guys outside the top 10 that are worth watching for the first time in a long time.

 

1 Castro

2 Vitters

3 Cashner

4 J Jackson

5 Lee

6 B Jackson

7 Carpenter

8 Burke

9 Flaherty

10 Rhee

11 Colvin

12 LeMahieu

13 Antigua

14 Watkins

15 Archer

16 Searle

17 Huseby

18 Castillo

19 Barney

20 Gaub

 

 

It's becoming too hard NOT to put Castro at 1 at this point. He could conceivably be playing in Chicago at this time next season. Vitters will figure out Daytona next year and hopefully make it to Tennessee midway through. I still put Cashner 3rd, even with his late struggles. I see him in Chicago at some point next season, albeit as a reliever most likely. Jay at 4 was hard for me to do, as he has the best shot at joining our rotation as far as I'm concerned. Lee at 5 was an easy choice, as I see him making alot of noise next year in full season ball. Brett at 6 surprises me, but right now he's making a believer out of me. Hopefully he continues it at Daytona next year. Carpenter at 7 was an easy choice for me. He's just too fragile for me to truly get excited over. He may have the best stuff of anyone in our system, I just have serious doubts as to whether he'll stay healthy enough to capitalize fully. Burke has played his ass off this year and if he's truly "gotten it" he's going to go nowhere but up from here. Next year will tell his tale. I'll put Flaherty in here at 9, hopefully he moves to Tennessee next season and succeeds as well as his second half in Peoria. I'm putting Rhee at 10, expecting next year to show he's worth this rank and more.

 

A month ago, I would have had Colvin outside my top 20, but this surge at least gives hope he can be a 4th OFer anyway. DJ is at 12 for me and probably won't get higher until he shows some extra base power. Antigua could easily move into the top 10 next year. It won't shock me to see him start out in Daytona actually. Watkins is quickly moving up the list as well. Lee and him are going to be fun to watch develop. Archer is at 15 for me and if he cuts down more on his walks next year, he could be another guy who vaults up bigtime. Searle was young for his league this year and held his own. I think he's got potential to move higher as well, considering he's not played baseball for all that long to begin with. I'm hoping they move Huseby back to the rotation next year, but he's had a hell of a year for Peoria and deserves to be in the top 20 somewhere. More upside with him too. I've got Castillo at 18 as he has been unlucky earlier in the year and is playing better now. Still don't see him as anything other than a backup though, so I'll keep him down this low for now. Barney is at 19, as I see him playing in Chicago next year at some point, unless he's used in a trade before then. Not a starter for us, but he'll have a long major league career for someone as a backup/fringe starter. Have Gaub at 20, as I think he SHOULD be our LOOGY next year.

 

And the coolest thing is, we have guys like Raley, Kirk, Rusin, McNutt, and Cerda ready to have a full season next year. All of them have shots at making the top 30 next year for sure. Raley probably will this year as it is. AND we have the Pac Rim fivesome coming in next year, along with Contreras. We've got lots to look out for. I see us as a top 15ish system right now, but I really think we'll be top 10 at this point next year. The lower end of our minors is pretty damn stacked really, for the first time in a very long time.

[Guest]

I'll give a top 20, since we actually have guys outside the top 10 that are worth watching for the first time in a long time.

 

1 Castro

2 Vitters

3 Cashner

4 J Jackson

5 Lee

6 B Jackson

7 Carpenter

8 Burke

9 Flaherty

10 Rhee

11 Colvin

12 LeMahieu

13 Antigua

14 Watkins

15 Archer

16 Searle

17 Huseby

18 Castillo

19 Barney

20 Gaub

 

 

It's becoming too hard NOT to put Castro at 1 at this point. He could conceivably be playing in Chicago at this time next season. Vitters will figure out Daytona next year and hopefully make it to Tennessee midway through. I still put Cashner 3rd, even with his late struggles. I see him in Chicago at some point next season, albeit as a reliever most likely. Jay at 4 was hard for me to do, as he has the best shot at joining our rotation as far as I'm concerned. Lee at 5 was an easy choice, as I see him making alot of noise next year in full season ball. Brett at 6 surprises me, but right now he's making a believer out of me. Hopefully he continues it at Daytona next year. Carpenter at 7 was an easy choice for me. He's just too fragile for me to truly get excited over. He may have the best stuff of anyone in our system, I just have serious doubts as to whether he'll stay healthy enough to capitalize fully. Burke has played his ass off this year and if he's truly "gotten it" he's going to go nowhere but up from here. Next year will tell his tale. I'll put Flaherty in here at 9, hopefully he moves to Tennessee next season and succeeds as well as his second half in Peoria. I'm putting Rhee at 10, expecting next year to show he's worth this rank and more.

 

A month ago, I would have had Colvin outside my top 20, but this surge at least gives hope he can be a 4th OFer anyway. DJ is at 12 for me and probably won't get higher until he shows some extra base power. Antigua could easily move into the top 10 next year. It won't shock me to see him start out in Daytona actually. Watkins is quickly moving up the list as well. Lee and him are going to be fun to watch develop. Archer is at 15 for me and if he cuts down more on his walks next year, he could be another guy who vaults up bigtime. Searle was young for his league this year and held his own. I think he's got potential to move higher as well, considering he's not played baseball for all that long to begin with. I'm hoping they move Huseby back to the rotation next year, but he's had a hell of a year for Peoria and deserves to be in the top 20 somewhere. More upside with him too. I've got Castillo at 18 as he has been unlucky earlier in the year and is playing better now. Still don't see him as anything other than a backup though, so I'll keep him down this low for now. Barney is at 19, as I see him playing in Chicago next year at some point, unless he's used in a trade before then. Not a starter for us, but he'll have a long major league career for someone as a backup/fringe starter. Have Gaub at 20, as I think he SHOULD be our LOOGY next year.

 

And the coolest thing is, we have guys like Raley, Kirk, Rusin, McNutt, and Cerda ready to have a full season next year. All of them have shots at making the top 30 next year for sure. Raley probably will this year as it is. AND we have the Pac Rim fivesome coming in next year, along with Contreras. We've got lots to look out for. I see us as a top 15ish system right now, but I really think we'll be top 10 at this point next year. The lower end of our minors is pretty damn stacked really, for the first time in a very long time.

 

Some good stuff in there but there is no doubt that Andrew Cashner has the best stuff in the system.

[toonsterwu]

Random thought on rankings:

 

Gut feeling right now is that the Cubs organizational ranking may come in lower than some of us are expecting. I just get the feeling that a lot of people aren't going to rate our arms, or Vitters, highly. Certainly, it can be said that 2010 might be considered an "in-b/w" phase, in the bigs and the minors, so being uneasy on ranking our guys isn't a big surprise, but overall, I look at a lot of the names folks are chatting up these days, and there's very few mention of Cubs players, despite the fact that there's been solid praise for our system's development.