2010 BA Hot Sheet / BP Monday Ten Pack

[jersey cubs fan]

 

Once you're in AA majors is on the radar

 

But he had one week of low A ball at the time, and the closer he got to AA the further his MLB ETA became. So that still doesn't make any sense.

 

Because a year later he hadn't progressed as quickly as they thought. They were probably thinking late season callup to Daytona in '09, midseason to Tennesee in '10, September to majors

 

That's still strangely aggressive for an ETA for a guy that had plenty of questions about his game.

[Outshined_One]

Two Cubs were mentioned in this week's Hot Sheet.

 

NOT-SO HOT SHEET

 

• Tony Thomas, 2b, Cubs: Though his prospect stock had fallen from when the Cubs made him a third-round pick in 2007, Thomas has had a mostly positive year as he repeats Double-A. His .276/.351/.477 line in 304 at-bats was undermined by a miserable month of May, when he hit .153/.268/.186 in 59 at-bats. Thomas has hit over .300 in every other month. That is, until this week. The 24-year-old went just 2-for-20 with one RBI and nine strikeouts, good for a .100/.100/.100 line.

 

MAN AMONG BOYS

 

• Ideally, you'd like to see a 2008 supplemental first-rounder out of the Southeastern Conference playing in Double-A by now. The Cubs sent 2B/3B Ryan Flaherty to Double-A Tennessee to start the season, but they demoted him to high Class A Daytona after he struggled in April. If you are going to be demoted, the least you can do is hit, and Flaherty is doing a good job of that. Flarherty hit .345/.387/.862 this week (10-for-29) with five home runs, more than doubling his homer total for the season.

[Outshined_One]

Hot Sheet chat

 

Patrick (Fort Wayne, IN): Ben, Robinson Chirinos is having an outstanding year in AA. Since he took to catching last year, he has becoming a late blooming prospect for the Cubs. Do you think he will play ML baseball? If so, does he have the ability to start?

 

Ben Badler: I don't see him as a starter, but I do see him as a major leaguer at some point, probably as a reserve. I thought someone would Rule 5 him last year.

[Guest]

Ben Badler never answers my questions. :(

[Outshined_One]

In this week's Hot Sheet, Chris Archer gets a spot.

 

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 19

Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.29, 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 SO

The Scoop: We all know that wins aren't really the true measure of a pitcher's effectiveness, and minor league wins have as much value as a batch of sub-prime loans. But what Archer has done since being promoted to Double-A is still worth noting. In eight starts, he's 7-1, having recorded a decision in each outing. His one loss came in a game where he gave up one unearned run. Archer's peripheral numbers (27 hits, 25 walks, 44 strikeouts in 47 innings) aren't as impressive as his 0.58 ERA, but there's no doubting his stuff. At has best, Archer has two plus-plus pitches—a fastball that will touch 96-97 mph and a nasty slider.

 

It's worth pointing out that Chris Archer was born 9/26/1988 and is not 19.

[Guest]

Chris Archer makes the final BA Hot Sheet of the year which is basically a prospect all-star team:

 

Baseball America[/url]"]SP CHRIS ARCHER, RHP CUBS

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 21

Why He's Here: 15-3, 2.34, 142 IP, 102 H, 46 R, 6 HR, 65 BB, 149 SO

The Scoop: A fifth-rounder out of high school in 2006, Archer was just okay during his first three years with the Indians, but turned a corner after being traded to the Cubs last year for Mark DeRosa and was one of this year's biggest breakouts. He's always had the potential, but his pitches improved a tick this year and the results finally matched the stuff. Archer has a loose, athletic delivery and a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and touches 97 mph. He mixes in one of the hardest sliders in the minor leagues at 89 mph, a changeup and a curveball. Archer will pitch with USA Baseball's Pan American Qualifying team this fall.

 

OF Brett Jackson and SP Trey McNutt made the second team.

[CUBZ99]

Chris Archer makes the final BA Hot Sheet of the year which is basically a prospect all-star team:

 

Baseball America[/url]"]SP CHRIS ARCHER, RHP CUBS

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 21

Why He's Here: 15-3, 2.34, 142 IP, 102 H, 46 R, 6 HR, 65 BB, 149 SO

The Scoop: A fifth-rounder out of high school in 2006, Archer was just okay during his first three years with the Indians, but turned a corner after being traded to the Cubs last year for Mark DeRosa and was one of this year's biggest breakouts. He's always had the potential, but his pitches improved a tick this year and the results finally matched the stuff. Archer has a loose, athletic delivery and a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and touches 97 mph. He mixes in one of the hardest sliders in the minor leagues at 89 mph, a changeup and a curveball. Archer will pitch with USA Baseball's Pan American Qualifying team this fall.

 

OF Brett Jackson and SP Trey McNutt made the second team.

 

So Archer will be BA's #1 prospect for the Cubs? Would be easy to argue that #1 could be any one of Archer, Jackson, McNutt.

[Guest]

Chris Archer makes the final BA Hot Sheet of the year which is basically a prospect all-star team:

 

Baseball America[/url]"]SP CHRIS ARCHER, RHP CUBS

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 21

Why He's Here: 15-3, 2.34, 142 IP, 102 H, 46 R, 6 HR, 65 BB, 149 SO

The Scoop: A fifth-rounder out of high school in 2006, Archer was just okay during his first three years with the Indians, but turned a corner after being traded to the Cubs last year for Mark DeRosa and was one of this year's biggest breakouts. He's always had the potential, but his pitches improved a tick this year and the results finally matched the stuff. Archer has a loose, athletic delivery and a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and touches 97 mph. He mixes in one of the hardest sliders in the minor leagues at 89 mph, a changeup and a curveball. Archer will pitch with USA Baseball's Pan American Qualifying team this fall.

 

OF Brett Jackson and SP Trey McNutt made the second team.

 

So Archer will be BA's #1 prospect for the Cubs? Would be easy to argue that #1 could be any one of Archer, Jackson, McNutt.

 

Not necessarily as a) that list is for this season only and that should never be the only factor when considering a prospect and b) Archer was one of 5 pitchers to make the first team while only 3 outfielders made the first team so Jackson had stiffer competition to make the first team.

 

But I can definitely see a good argument for Archer and/or McNutt being rated ahead of Brett Jackson.