BearClaw

These are facts: Theo and his hires are NO guarantee to break your baseball miseries. Nobody, I mean NOBODY on this website knows what a Prospect is? ---not any geek trying to be a Sabermetrician ---not any troll in Momma's basement ---not any poster who has daily schitzoids about minor league boxscores In the US MLB Draft annually, there are approx 20,000 draft eligible college players from all college levels, and so many more from the high school ranks. On average, 1500 players from this pool get drafted because they are the best of the crop. Add in FA International signings and the talent pool is vast. First thing some of you EXPERTS need to do is relax. RELAX Hearing that players in the minors don't walk enough is irritating, to say the least. RELAX Have you ever played at a high level? Probably NOT, so relax. You have no idea what the Cubs are asking each prospect, from Round 1 to Round 50 what they want from that certain player. All you look at is a daily boxscore, and then comment, Oh, the Cubs hitting philosophy is bad with a bunch of free swingers? RELAX. ALL these kids are super-talented, or they wouldn't be given the chance to chase a dream. THEO and his gang are no sure thing. Most "suits" in the game love baseball, but were never blessed to have the skills, and baaaallllls to play it. Never diss a kid chasing a dream who has the nuggets to step into a box and face a 95 mph projectile that could do damage while you are in Momma's basement being the LUMPY CRITIC, and DO NOT LABEL ANY PLAYER as a non-prospect as you are only proving me right every time you open your trap!!

I am confused. Do I want my favorite player traded or not, for a suit? I can't tell which organization of the three is the worst one? I rather the player be a free agent with these suits, now Mooron, I mean Moorad wanting Comp for girlie suits? What is a Man Purse? Does it contain everything the travelin Exec needs to perform? What makes the carrier of a Man Purse more baseball valuable than a player? I guess that keen eye for talent versus that keen eye to hit a fast moving projectile? NO HELMET REQUIRED!!

Don't equate these forthcoming changes as a guarantee for a Title. Last time I checked, baseball is still baseball, and the baseball gods make the decisions, meaning top players will make outs, prospects will make outs, non-prospects will make outs, and the real difference is the amount one pays for these outs. The difference between winning and losing is skinny, especially in these days of drug testing. Go back and look at hitting and pitching stats in the pre-expansion era when coffee, caffeine, and speed were the drugs of choice, plus hot dogs and beer, and you will see what the standard was. This change is no sure thing, but even if it was, what does it really bring you? Not a paid off mortgage or a vacation home in the Keys, just worthless braggin rights???? Go be productive for your family, they are the only ones who care about YOU!!

Rob, I can handle criticism about my posts. No need for apologies. I understand the AGE thing, and I also understand the roster thing, only so many spots, and any younger player will leapfrog the elder player if warranted by tools and production. I also understand that a player like Rohan hasn't found a true defensive role, and I truly understand that 1B is the 8th stop defensively, from a profile standpoint. In other words, give us Rohan/R JONES offense in a fleet-flooted CF. Those are rare. HITTING: Get the best offensive production from each and every positional profile. But, back in the day, banjo-hitting SS types saved more runs than they could produce at the plate, same as 2B, that is why a Robbie Alomar is a HOF player, a near corner bat in a position that was a huge bonus. Not many teams can field all 8 positions with that type of offensive production, hence HOF. Overlooked is the continuing transition from the ROID era to normal. In my opinion, we are not normal yet, so what is a good BA, OBP, SLGP, and HR total by position these days?

Go to work, earn money, spend time with family or girlfriend, and stop this insanity. This is worse than the daily knee-jerk minor league reports and who is and isn't a prospect. They are all prospects, and Theo Epstein is NO GUARANTEE of the coveted, and meaningless Title!!

Rob, thanks, you are an ACE, maybe apply for the GM job after the Theo gig blows up. You lost me at, "cut them" 100 years of losing? with that mindset, easy to do!!!!

Couldn't even begin to put a list together. The 2011 college guys need a full wood bat season, but some of them impressed me with vast improvement(getting used to) the weight distribution on a regular basis later in the summer. Same can be said about the high school guys who signed late. Also, huge difference in pitching in AZL, then Boise, and then the MWL Peoria, a pitchers league. Funny, never hear much positive stuff on the guys who actually hit bombs and EBH. Always hear about lack of walks and poor OBP? As much overrating of walks and lack of plate discipline read in posts, much underrating of power. A solid prospect will field his position adequately, possess a strong throwing arm for his position, enough speed to not clog the bases, athletic enough to handle the grind, and hit according to positional profile. A fast, smart runner to leadoff, a good contact guy 2nd, then 3-4-5 is OK to favor some power and average over walks/OBP, the rest follow suit to produce 6-7-8, and a 2nd leadoff type/defensive ace in the 9 hole. Now, every Cub prospect has something to offer along these hitting lines. Rarely does any player have it all. A good read on who is advancing/developing will be midseason 2012 and where they fit in the organization. The 2011 college guys will be interesting to follow because by now, the metal bat conversion is completed. How will Hoilman maintain the power while becoming a better hitter? Will Ben Klafczynski, who is already MLB defensive and fundamentally ready keep advancing as a hitter after hitting .325 in August? Will DeVoss keep getting better with his defense given his speed, contact, and baserunning disruption abilities? Will Taiwan with no more football learn the OF enough to be a true CF? What will the Cubs do with Rohan and R. Jones who had great offensive seasons?

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/10/minor-league-averages-2011-recent-historical-context/ The MLB stats reflect some Roid withdrawal. The MILB stats are interesting

You can add Ben Klafczynski to the athletic OF list, hands down winner of the groups slam dunk contest!

Peoria hitters were 2nd in team BA by a point and struck out the least by total and by percentage of times of all 16 MWL teams

Gonna keep following these players: Richard Jones hits and is adequate defensively at 1B. He needs to be challenged and it will be interesting to see what the Cubs do with him, Hoilman, and Cuneo. I would guess 2/3 of them end up in Daytona depending on Bour and his status. Taiwan Easterling needs Fall instructs defensively, and he hit well enough in Peoria to fill in for Caesar(Szczur) for the playoffs. Lots of reads and routes issues from seeing several games, surprising for a WR, but then again, the ball is smaller.....lol The OBP aspect of DeVoss and speed is leadoff potential. He would be a bonus type at 2B and not CF. I am not concerned with the younger guys like Baez, Vogelsmash, etc. because there is no rush. More into why some hitters who keep hitting are stalled, Rohan comes to mind, probably one of the top hitters in the system where 2012 should be a TENN start, and then see what happens. bet he hits well there also? Burgess has slowly reduced K's and maintained power, but at the expense of BA and has a consistent track record, so what is the conclusion? A .230 hitter with a 25% K rate that may also hit 25 doubles and 25 HR's in a full MLB season? There are several guys in MLB with the same statline as Burgess so who knows what is desired these days. So much emphasis on finding players that do everything above-average that makes people forget that a baseball lineup consists of players who bring something to the table to contribute to success, but in today's game of baseball, 51 HR's from a smidge named Brady is a thing of the past. Ben Klafczynski was hitting .138 in mid July after his promo to Peoria, has hit .320 since to get to .250 and has played 62 college games, 61 pro games so he may be a grinder. A player that needs to keep playing, Fall instructs would have been a good place to keep getting AB's. His athleticism is still professionally untapped, defense ML quality, and could use Camp Colvin to maximize the potential. Tremendous OF throwing arm. Paul Hoilman can be explosive at times, and I wonder what the Cubs will do approach-wise without surrendering the power but reducing the overly aggressive manner. His strength may allow him to pick and choose his spots, and defensively and athletically, he is not a typical 1B hide. Would be neat to continue the sell-out to 2 strikes, then, develop a survival appoach when bad counts happen. Both Hoilman and Klafczynski left college as record holders in many offensive categories for their programs.

No sense arguing about it. Every at bat is unique, so whats a hitter to do? Should he take the first pitch every time and hope for BALL 1 at the risk of starting at 0-1? whatever

current MLB stats show 23 players with an OBP of .375 or greater, and walks aren't the main contributor, as only 3 of the 23 have more walks than K's............. also look at Kotchman with a .385 OBP and only 39 walks in about 460 plate appearances, and Michael Yound, .376 OBP and 38 walks in about a whopping 580 plate appearances..... walks are nice, but don't you think the 2 guys mentioned are categorized as aggressive, but still get on base via contact better than most............they call that a HITTER maybe someone should ask the Cubs minor leaguers what they are asked/told to do? maybe the wish for wanting every prospect to be Bautista-like is unreasonable as he is the outlier! the cry for WALKS make it seem like everyone feels the Cubs kids are ALL from the school of Sanguillen/Vlad School of Bad Ball Hitting.................lol

I still don't understand this odd fascination with WALKS. Isn't something like "stop swinging at bad pitches" really what is desired? Most walks are the result of poor command by the pitcher, not the uncanny eye of the hitter. Most walks are gifts, NOT EARNED

Ridiculous amounts of money spent each season, by all teams in the draft. Why not spend some of it in this manner: A small group of players remain for Fall Instructional for whatever reason, and the others sent home to do their own thing. Why not send every player for more instruction regardless of level, draft slot, or prospect status. A small group of players attend Camp Colvin? Why not everyone? I bet we can agree that each player in the system can use development of tools, fundamentals, and physical conditioning. Each player should be evaluated on all these aspects and work with the organization on the things needing improvement, i.e routing of flyballs, off the line speed, adding muscle, hitting, etc. Run it like the business it is. Keep your employees together, train them, provide resources and guidance, then assign them, see how they perfom and developed, results become more important since you trained them. Then you have a better view of your organization.

Would guess Hoilman and R. Jones will compete for a Daytona 1B spot in 2012, Cuneo is in that mix, and VBach will likely start in Boise.

Maturity at its finest

glad you were inspired, but the post was meant to convey patience over quick judgement of players

This is the time of the year where the Grinders hold Fort and the wear and tear weakens others. Be it Spring training plus short season, 50-70 college games plus A ball, or full season returning players, it is a marathon physically and mentally. This is where physical conditioning, athleticism, solid fundamentals, preparation, natural ability, maturity and focus is called upon to sustain player success.

At Peoria, Ben Klafczynski flashed his athleticism and plusplus arm tracking down a line drive in the gap, back to the plate, spun and threw a seed to the cutoff and doubled the runner at 1B. After a slow start, he is hitting .320 in August for the Chiefs

No Richard Jones love? Not sure why there would be any. He's not a real prospect. What is a Prospect? Can you describe one, and can you tell us what authority you have in those decisions? Do you work in Pro baseball? Do the checkwriters base their decisions on what you tell them? Richard Jones RAKES!! The thousands of hours(in moms basement) he's spent watching and reading about baseball, and more specifically, "prospects", has armed him with the knowledge that power hitting first basemen who are 23 this season are not prospects. I fully understand the need for a savior for Cub fans, but baseball doesn't work that way, and anyone not in a position of authority is merely expressing an opinion. Nobody knows who a prospect is except the guys in charge.

3/4 21st bomb

No Richard Jones love? Not sure why there would be any. He's not a real prospect. What is a Prospect? Can you describe one, and can you tell us what authority you have in those decisions? Do you work in Pro baseball? Do the checkwriters base their decisions on what you tell them? Richard Jones RAKES!!

Rohan needs TENN or Iowa

they don't walk enough, undisciplined hitters, aggressive Cubs minor league hitting philosophy. WALK Walk, please walk, don't score runs.... Crappy prospects because they don't walk I want a walk, but the damn pitcher keeps throwin strikes, but some internet experts keep saying I don't walk enough because I am too aggressive and have no plate discipline. GEEZ, there is no curse, just desperation on their needs. WALK WALK