Who is the Cubs #17 Prospect?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The poll will be open for 48 hours.

 

Results so far:

 

1. Javier Baez

2. Kris Bryant

3. Albert Almora

4. Jorge Soler

5. CJ Edwards

6. Arismendy Alcantara

7. Pierce Johnson

8. Daniel Vogelbach

9. Christian Villanueva

10. Jeimer Candelario

11. Mike Olt

12. Kyle Hendricks

13. Arodys Vizcaino

14. Paul Blackburn

15. Rob Zastryzny

16. Corey Black

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Vitters, Ramirez, Rivero

 

edit: Crap, forgot Rivero was still being horribly underrated and isn't on the list yet.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Hairyducked Idiot

[Guest]

I've been voting for Vitters so long I forgot who's supposed to come after him.

[Cubswin11]

Vitters

Dunston JR

Maples

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Pineyro, Ramirez, Skulina.

[JeffH]

Hannemann, Tseng, Ramirez.

[Rob]

Dunston, Vitters, and Ramirez. Same as last time.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Man, Pineyro is seriously overlooked.

[toonsterwu]

Ramirez, and then I'm not sure who.

 

Thought process:

 

Neil Ramirez - This one's fairly easy for me. His AAA run with the Rangers two seasons ago wasn't ... out of the world horrendous. He showed an ability to get guys out in the upper levels. Worst case, he should get opportunities to be a pen arm. There's still a chance that he could be a starter if things tighten up just a touch. Age 25 for AAA, which is where he should start, is a touch old, but not so much to really bother me.

 

__________

 

Josh Vitters - He's in the mix, as he should rake in AAA. Working against him right now, in my mind, is whether or not I buy his power for LF. That said, at the 18th-20th spots in the system, and only 24/25 (I forget, we use July 1st for the age designation right, so it'd be his age 24 season), well, any negatives are countered by the fact that it's this low in the rankings. After all, physically, he "looks" to have the power for LF.

 

Dillon Maples/Duane Underwood - Not really in the mix for me. SNTS gave hope to these guys in past seasons, but as of now, they are raw, high upside arms that you hope on. There's simply too many guys for me to really put them in the mix.

 

Jen-Ho Tseng/Eloy Jimenez/Gleyber Torres - Sort of in the mix, but I have always been wary of guys that haven't done anything stateside. The reports are nice, and I can buy people going for the upside, but for me, this upside is just too far away. (Furthermore, I wasn't all that impressed with Tseng in action, although he might've been pitching for the scouts and trying to amp the velocity up).

 

Alberto Cabrera - In the mix for me. The gap from Ramirez to Cabrera simply isn't that much. We hope the young upside arms in the lower levels become better than Cabrera, but if they simply become Cabrera, an intriguing enough guy in the upper levels, that would be a small win. Is Corey Black that much better than Alberto Cabrera? There's a bit more to hope on, but both guys have plus velocity, inconsistent command, and inconsistent secondary offerings that flash at times. I don't view Cabrera as a starter.

 

Armando Rivero - If I'm going to buy Cabrera in the mix, then Rivero is sort of in the mix. Cabrera simply has more work for me to be intrigued with, so Rivero is a slot behind for me.

 

Ivan Pineyro - In the mix, but ceiling is average enough and he's at least a couple years away that I am uncertain. That said, like Vitters, at this juncture, the concerns are countered by the fact that this is inching towards the bottom third of a top 30.

 

Hanneman/Frazier/Skulina - Of the trio, Skulina is the one that I would lean towards, but I just don't know if I buy all three as having high enough ceiling/polish combination to counter the lack of work to judge off of.

 

Dunston Jr./Balaguert - Short of it is, I feel like they are too far away to go with here. I want to see Dunston Jr.'s approach hold in the upper levels before really getting intrigued. Side note: I'm sort of curious where Trey Martin starts. Guessing XST if healthy enough.

 

Contreras/Amaya - Definitely in the mix. I went from thinking Contreras was eh last year, to thinking he's a bit under-appreciated this year. He's got intriguing enough potential behind the plate, and had a solid offensive season (had he qualified, he would've had the third highest OPS in the MWL for a catcher (granted, that doesn't say that much, but it would've been top 50 in the MWL, had he qualified).) Amaya will be in his age 21 season in A+ (I'm assuming), and had a decent enough year with enough offensive upside for an up-the-middle guy. I really think there's going to be an "Alcantara" like breakout in Daytona from at least one of the starting players in KC last year.

 

So, realistically, I'm thinking, as of now, Contreras/Amaya/Pineyro/Cabrera/Vitters (not in order) after Ramirez, and I'm just not sure enough outside of Ramirez to vote on them for now.

[Tryptamine]

Jimenez, Frasier and Ramirez.

[craig]

Jiminez Tseng Rivero

 

I'm going for some talent-upside guys.

 

toonster, where did you watch Tseng pitch? What did he look like to your scouting eyes?

[wekim81]

Jimenez, Pineyro, N.Ramirez

[toonsterwu]

Jiminez Tseng Rivero

 

I'm going for some talent-upside guys.

 

toonster, where did you watch Tseng pitch? What did he look like to your scouting eyes?

 

WBC and an Asian competition. He didn't pitch much in the WBC, iirc, and when he was in (I want to say it was only one outing?), he just pumping the fastball hard. I mean, he performed well enough (I don't recall anything happening in the game, just recall my pops and I commenting on how average he looked for that inning). Velocity, IIRC, was mid-90's at least, but felt the fastball was flat and I recall wondering whether or not that would be usable against Japan or Korea. That said, considering it was a big showcase for him, wouldn't surprise me if he was simply pumping velocity to get attention. There's a reason that a guy the Indians (I think, or maybe Pirates) just signed, Yao-Hsun Yang (I think that's the name), had a lot more PT for Taiwan than Tseng, because Tseng simply wasn't polished.

 

The Asian competition was hard to judge, but my recollection of it was that the opponents made contact against him. It was a few years ago, so my recollection is a bit shady, as I only recall where I was watching the game (friends house for a party).

[davell]

Jimenez, Pineyro, N.Ramirez

 

Swap Ramirez and Pineyro, but same 3. As far as Pineyro's lack of upside goes- it's as a starter. Even if it's a 5, that's better than a non-closer or non-elite set up guy, in my mind. If I'm looking at trying to find someone other than Vizcaino, that has those capabilities, I'd take Dillon Maples over Cabrera or Rivero as a future elite set up/closer type.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Pineyro is undersold, man. I think he could at least be a Kyle Hendricks-type. Really excited to see what he does in Tenn.

[WrigleyField 22]

Vitters followed by Cabrera and Ramirez (in either order) for me. Odd since Cabreras Cub career has a real good shot of ending soon, but if he stays this area seems appropriate. Couple of others I could consider but at this point 5 spots or so don't represent as big of talent swings.

 

 

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[craig]

Man, another tight vote. Interesting. Two competitors on the extreme ends of the prospect spectrum, age-wise, level wise, health-wise, pitcher vs position. Fun contrast.

 

Hopefully they'll both work out. I'm an optimist, but I think they are pretty nice candidates, each with much in their favor. Nice to have that still left at 17/18 in the system.

[A New Era]

When I look back at the list it makes me think, boy do we have a pretty strong top 20 and a nice deep farm with a mix of elite ceiling guys and more steady good floor type guys.

 

Even when you get into the late teens you've got guys like Jimminez (high risk / elite ceiling) and Ramirez (moderate/high risk average ceiling)

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Still refusing to vote for 16-year-olds that haven't played professional baseball in the United States.

[A New Era]

I voted for Elloy and I hope he makes the list first. I just prefer the young guys who haven't shown anything yet but still have that elite ceiling to dream on. IE: guys who could (rarely I know but still a chance) show up in the top 10 of baseball a few years down the road. I'd rather have a guy like that than a Vitters, who at this point his upside is a really good bench bat and 4th OF.

 

Being a Cubs fan and a dreamer kind of go hand in hand.

[Guest]

I went with Vitters, Ramirez and Contreras again. Completely different reasons for each.

 

I do think that Vitters is going to be able to hit enough to be at least a good reserve and likely a guy that doesn't kill you if you have to give him extended at bats. That's hardly a ringing endorsement, but it is valuable to have that kind of player in the system, too.

 

Ramirez has a good enough arsenal and has enough of an injury excuse to say that he still has a shot at being a plus starter at the major league level. His most realistic outcome is middle relief, but he's definitely got the potential for more. That puts him above the Cabrera and Rivero class of prospect for me.

 

Contreras is solid enough on D to stay behind the plate. As a catcher, the bar is pretty low on offense. I think he's a guy that looks like a really good bet to be at least a bench contributor and possible decent starter with okay pop from the catcher position.

[sneakypower]

this is about where i'd start thinking Szczur, if he were listed

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

this is about where i'd start thinking Szczur, if he were listed

 

Really? Why not just vote Andreoli?