2017 Post-Season Prospect Rankings (BA, Fangraphs, BP, ESPN, MLB Pipeline)

[CubsWin]

MLB.com has their list out.

 

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=chc

 

Still no Amaya in their top 30...

[UMFan83]

It's crazy to see a Cubs prospect list with 8 of the first 10 prospects being pitchers.

[Cubswin11]

It's crazy to see a Cubs prospect list with 8 of the first 10 prospects being pitchers.

If all you have are pitching prospects do your really have any prospects at all?

[CubsWin]

It's crazy to see a Cubs prospect list with 8 of the first 10 prospects being pitchers.

If all you have are pitching prospects do your really have any prospects at all?

I know, right? At least the depth there allows you to hope 1 or 2 of them make good.

 

Volatility is already high amongst pitching prospects in general, but when you look at those 8 guys it's even higher. De La Cruz hasn't even combined to pitch 100 innings over the last 2 seasons. Albertos, while still young and sheltered innings-wise as he should be, has dealt with some injuries and has only 47 IP as a pro. Alzolay ended his season on the DL. Lange and Little didn't look great in their pro debuts. Hatch stayed healthy but was up and down in High-A and had the injury his sophomore year at Oklahoma State. Clifton imploded this year and Steele just had TJS.

 

Good lord.

[CubsWin]

And the Cubs don't have any in the top 100. The Braves have 8.

 

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017/?list=prospects

[Transmogrified Tiger]

They're still gonna stick with Young in the top 20 after his .622 OPS in AAA at 24. This is not a list to remotely take seriously.

[CubsWin]

Ultimately, I disagree with this particular top 30 list and have generally found MLB.com's rankings less informed than others. They still provide scouting information which is helpful to a degree, but the order they place the players in is always off to me. Perhaps they value ceiling differently than I do.

 

For my tastes, Rucker should be a lot higher than 29th and Amaya should've at least made the list. The uncertain nature of a lot of the Cubs prospects right now leads to a ton of valid variance, but if you're going to include Jeremiah Estrada at 19 then Nelson Velazquez has to at least make the top 30.

 

I don't expect MLB.com to have paid the same level of attention as many of us do here, but still...

[CubsWin]

They're still gonna stick with Young in the top 20 after his .622 OPS in AAA at 24. This is not a list to remotely take seriously.

Yeah...

[CaliforniaRaisin]

They're still gonna stick with Young in the top 20 after his .622 OPS in AAA at 24. This is not a list to remotely take seriously.

 

Pierce Johnson has no business on there too.

[davell]

Our system is bad, no doubt. But, that list is pathetic.

[CubsWin]

Our system is bad, no doubt. But, that list is pathetic.

Agreed.

 

Guys that should be on their but aren't: Zack Short, David Bote, Miguel Amaya, Javier Assad, Nelson Velazquez, and maybe Brailyn Marquez.

 

Guys that shouldn't be on their but are: Chesny Young, Pierce Johnson, Rob Zastryzny, Jose Paulino, Carlos Sepulveda and maybe Eddy Martinez.

[CubsWin]

A valid order is basically impossible to justify, but some combo of:

 

Albertos

Alzolay

Ademan

Caratini

Lange

Little

De La Cruz

Rucker

Hatch

Amaya

Maples

Tseng

Zagunis

Bote

DJ Wilson

Abbott

Z. Short

Burks

Mills

Underwood

Clifton

Assad

Galindo

Estrada

Velazquez

Hudson

Moreno

K. Thompson

Vosler

Steele

Marquez

Sierra

Camargo

Mekkes

C. Brooks

Romero

 

...would be in my top 30 (with some of those names not making the list).

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Cubs Top 10 Prospects

1. Aramis Ademan, SS

2. Adbert Alzolay, RHP

3. Jose Albertos, RHP

4. Victor Caratini, C

5. Alex Lange, RHP

6. Oscar De La Cruz, RHP

7. Brendon Little, LHP

8. Thomas Hatch, RHP

9. Jen-Ho Tseng, RHP

10. Nelson Velazquez, OF

 

BEST TOOLS

 

Best Hitter for Average: Victor Caratini.

Best Power Hitter: Nelson Velazquez.

Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Mark Zagunis.

Fastest Baserunner: D.J. Wilson.

Best Athlete: D.J. Wilson.

Best Fastball: Dillon Maples.

Best Curveball: Alex Lange.

Best Slider: Dillon Maples.

Best Changeup: Jose Albertos.

Best Control: Jen-Ho Tseng.

Best Defensive Catcher: P.J. Higgins.

Best Defensive INF: Luis Vazquez.

Best INF Arm: Luis Vazquez.

Best Defensive OF: D.J. Wilson.

Best OF Arm: Eddy Martinez.

 

 

Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2018-chicago-cubs-top-10-prospects/#FzqEYRKc3TfKizCm.99

 

Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2018-chicago-cubs-top-10-prospects/#kScctYXLA7w8Yr4E.99

[davell]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2018-chicago-cubs-top-10-prospects/?amphtml=1

 

Interesting list from BA....

 

Ademan, Alzolay, Albertos, Caratini, Lange, de la Cruz, Little, Hatch, Tseng, and Velázquez.

[Tim]

Wow - seven pitchers. What a change from past years.

 

I can't believe how early they got this out.

[Guancous]

Strange how the top 2 prospects aren't listed anywhere under Top Tools.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The projected lineup in 2021 is amusing. Between the position players and pitchers, there's one prospect. One position player over 30:

 

PROJECTED 2021 LINEUP

 

(Listed with 2021 season age)

 

C Willson Contreras (29)

1B Anthony Rizzo (31)

2B Javier Baez (28)

3B Kris Bryant (29)

SS Addison Russell (27)

LF Kyle Schwarber 28)

CF Albert Almora (27)

RF Ian Happ (26)

SP Jose Quintana (32)

SP Jon Lester (37)

SP Kyle Hendricks (31)

SP Adbert Alzolay (26)

SP Mike Montgomery (31)

CL Carl Edwards (29)

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Did scouts just not turn up for Rucker's starts? I continue to be confused why he can't get any love while someone like Hatch is cracking Top 10s.

[Hrubes20]

I just can't put De La Cruz that high. I get that he's got good stuff, but he isn't getting many innings at all. He honestly may already be on a reliever trajectory. I thought the great post-DL 2nd half of D.J. Wilson would have put him a bit higher in a depleted system, but I guess not.

 

Also hadn't realized that Vazquez was that highly thought of defensively. That's fun.

[sneakypower]

i have quite frankly never heard of Nelson Velasquez before now

[davell]

i have quite frankly never heard of Nelson Velasquez before now

 

4th or 5th round pick.(5th, I think) Big power, had some hamstring issues during his HS season in Puerto Rico last year, so underperformed a bit. Healthy now, seems like we got a steal. Was over slotted, slot was 285k and we gave him 400k.

[Hrubes20]

Did scouts just not turn up for Rucker's starts? I continue to be confused why he can't get any love while someone like Hatch is cracking Top 10s.

 

Rucker is one of those guys that will probably never appeal to scouts. Short RHP without elite velocity or movement, no wipeout secondary, and is a flyball pitcher. Hatch is also a relatively short RHP, but he has the great movement on all of his stuff, while still having solid velocity. His slider can be plus, and he induces tons of groundballs with all of his pitches. I'm a big fan of Hatch, as long as he stays healthy.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Did scouts just not turn up for Rucker's starts? I continue to be confused why he can't get any love while someone like Hatch is cracking Top 10s.

 

Rucker is one of those guys that will probably never appeal to scouts. Short RHP without elite velocity or movement, no wipeout secondary, and is a flyball pitcher. Hatch is also a relatively short RHP, but he has the great movement on all of his stuff, while still having solid velocity. His slider can be plus, and he induces tons of groundballs with all of his pitches. I'm a big fan of Hatch, as long as he stays healthy.

 

Rucker is sitting in the 92-93 range IIRC, and his GB% at Myrtle Beach was higher than Hatch's.

[Hrubes20]

i have quite frankly never heard of Nelson Velasquez before now

 

4th or 5th round pick.(5th, I think) Big power, had some hamstring issues during his HS season in Puerto Rico last year, so underperformed a bit. Healthy now, seems like we got a steal. Was over slotted, slot was 285k and we gave him 400k.

 

5th round. I can't remember who it was, but one of the national guys was commenting on how legit he was after the season. Went on to compliment the Cubs for being able to look past the injury-plagued HS season to see his talent.

[Hrubes20]

Did scouts just not turn up for Rucker's starts? I continue to be confused why he can't get any love while someone like Hatch is cracking Top 10s.

 

Rucker is one of those guys that will probably never appeal to scouts. Short RHP without elite velocity or movement, no wipeout secondary, and is a flyball pitcher. Hatch is also a relatively short RHP, but he has the great movement on all of his stuff, while still having solid velocity. His slider can be plus, and he induces tons of groundballs with all of his pitches. I'm a big fan of Hatch, as long as he stays healthy.

 

Rucker is sitting in the 92-93 range IIRC, and his GB% at Myrtle Beach was higher than Hatch's.

 

Which is why I said it's not elite. Hatch sits 92-94 as well, but with tons more movement. I do stand corrected on Rucker's GB rate, though. I thought he was a flyball pitcher for some reason. That is a big boon for him, as he doesn't have the secondaries as mentioned before.