Outshined_One

Also, this is all my opinion. I may post on NSBB, but I am in no way speaking for the rest of the site, including some of the great minor league contributors (T2E, Bob's Keeper, UK, craig, Tim, Raisin, etc...). I'm doing this for fun and to give people an easier read on the top guys in this organization. I get the feeling that a number of people on this site would really like to know more about the prospects in the Cubs' system, but don't have much in the way of access to scouting reports, statistical compilations, and so on. Along with hitters and relievers, I'll also be listing guys whose prospect statuses have been skyrocketing, sleepers for the second half/next year, guys who need to rebound, a quick breakdown of the 2006 draftees & their performances so far, a top ten list, and possibly a statistical breakdown of the guys on that list along with comments and a summary based on what I've seen and heard. I'm looking forward to this. :D

Not a bad deal for the D-Rays. Huff gets a bit too streaky for my tastes. Remember when they were asking for a lot more for Huff?

Yep, that's how I did mine. As well as Gallagher did, Hill just mowed down the competition. Although, I do have Hill above Gallagher on my prospect list. :D

I hate to say this, but I see Jason Schmidt going to the Mets. Sabean has a recent history of STUPID trades (AJP for Nathan/Bonser/Liriano, Williams/Aardsma for Hawkins, and Hawkins for Kline), and I could see Sabean trading Schmidt for Bannister (or Heilman) and Fernando Martinez, BASED on his recent history. I am saying based on Sabean's RECENT history, not what the Giants. My guess is...Sabean will NOT get enough for Schmidt, if he trades. As boneheaded as Sabean is, most of the time he's the one receiving the older player and giving way prospects. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Mets do nothing in terms of trading this year. Their farm system is absolutely abysmal and Pelfrey can't be traded since he signed back in January. They might be able to pull off a three way trade, but I don't think Sabean is dumb enough to pull the trigger on a trade like that. Bannister is damaged goods as it is. Besides, the man doesn't care about his farm system. The fact that the Giants have been notoriously cheap with their draft picks (they've signed FAs for the express purpose of not having to take a first rounder for crying out loud) should speak volumes for that organization.

Link

BEST STARTING PITCHER OF THE FIRST HALF For those of you wondering, I'm using the MLB ROY eligibility rules to determine who gets these spots and who doesn't. Hill and Marmol are indeed eligible. Kudos to Raisin for the BAA stats. Candidates LHP Rich Hill (13 GS, 6-1, 84.2 IP, 1.81 ERA, 54 H, 107/19 K/BB, 2 HR, .86 WHIP, .175 BAA at AAA) LHP Donald Veal (18 GS, 7-3, 98 IP, 2.11 ERA, 60 H, 103/51 K/BB, 4 HR, 1.13 WHIP, .204 BAA between Low A and High A) RHP Sean Gallagher (18 GS, 8-1, 108 IP, 2.33 ERA, 99 H, 111/38 K/BB, 5 HR, 1.27 WHIP, .234 BAA between High A and AA) RHP Mitch Atkins (17 GS, 7-3, 92.2 IP, 2.72 ERA, 75 H, 80/39 K/BB, 7 HR, 1.23 WHIP, .212 BAA at Low A) LHP Chris Shaver (18 G, 16 GS, 5-5, 102.2 IP, 2.02 ERA, 85 H, 95/34 K/BB, 3 HR, 1.16 WHIP, .216 BAA between High A and AA) RHP Randy Wells (16 G, 15 GS, 7-3, 84 IP, 2.25 ERA, 66 H, 72/17 K/BB, 4 HR, .99 WHIP, .208 BAA between AA and AAA) RHP Juan Mateo (15 G, 14 GS, 6-4, 75.2 IP, 2.50 ERA, 63 H, 54/22 K/BB, 6 HR, 1.12 WHIP, .217 BAA at AA) RHP Carlos Marmol (11 GS, 3-2, 58 IP, 2.33 ERA, 42 H, 67/25 K/BB, 1 HR, 1.16 WHIP, .217 BAA at AA) It's my thread, I can nominate as many guys as I want. :P Analysis Well, once again, the Cubs system has the great fortune of having a number of good pitching prospects emerge this season. Marmol's and Hill's numbers are a bit smaller than everyone else due to their stint in the majors thus far, but as you can plainly see, these guys have done quite a bit to earn their spots thus far into the season. Granted, this list is not all-encompassing, but these guys are among the best at their respective levels. As you can see, each full season class is represented among these pitchers. After a bit of a down year last season, it's great to see the pitching once again back up on its feet. However, among all of these guys, one stands out head and shoulders above the rest. This is no slight to any of the other guys, who have all done an incredible job in their own right. I'm giving my award to: LHP Rich Hill It's hard to argue with the results he's gotten at AAA. In fact, his numbers are outright insane. Major league struggles aside, this guy has absolutely nothing left to prove at the minor league level. Between his sub-.90 WHIP (1) and his 11.43 K/9, this man has completely dominated some of the best hitters in the minor leagues. Tomorrow I'll get to the hitters and possibly the relievers.

Now that the All Star Game is over and done with, I figured it was time to start a thread looking back on the first half of minor league baseball in the Cubs organization. In this thread and in ensuing posts, I'll be going over a variety of happenings in the Cubs' farm system, good and bad. I will hand out random awards, make up various lists, summarize players, and basically provide the analysis you've come to know and love from this site. :D I'll begin momentarily with my first award...feel free to join in the fun!

Box Scores Iowa is off until the 13th. West Tenn lost 3-2 in the 12th Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4, K 2B E. Patterson 2/4, BB, R, RBI, SB (29), CS (8) LF N. Jackson 0/5, RBI, K 1B B. Dopirak 1/5, K RF M. Negron 0/5 3B S. Moore 0/5, 3 K C J. Fox 2/4, BB PH B. Sing 0/1 PH R. Lewis 0/1 SP F. Baez 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HBP, 2-8 GO-FO RP E. Campusano 2.2 scoreless, 1 H, 1/1 K/BB, HBP, 3-4 GO-FO Daytona won 5-1 Box Score CF S. Fuld 0/4, BB SS J. Simokaitis 1/5, 2 RBI, K 1B M. Craig 1/4 RF R. Harvey 1/3, R, RBI, HBP SP C. Perez 5.2 scoreless, 4 H, 7/2 K/BB, 5-4 GO-FO RP A. Mendez 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1/1 K/BB, E (1, throw), 0-2 GO-FO Peoria lost 15-2 Box Score C M. Reed 1/4, K 2B R. Chirinos 0/3 RF J. Valdez 0/4, K 1B R. Norwood 1/3, BB, R, K CF Y. Carter 1/4, RBI, K SS K. Reynolds 0/4, RBI, K LF A. Garcia 1/3, BB, K, E (2, fielding) 3B R. Malone 1/3, 3B (1), K SP T. Blackford 3.1 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 1/2 K/BB, HR, WP, HBP, 4-5 GO-FO Boise won 4-2 Box Score CF M. Camp 2/4, RBI, CS (3) SS S. Baez 0/4, K LF T. Colvni 1/3, BB, RBI, 2B (1) 1B R. Canzler 0/4, 3 K DH J. Lansford 1/4, R RF A. Joseph 2/3, BB, R 3B E. Puello 2/4, RBI SP J. Samardzija 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3/2 K/BB, WP, 8-4 GO-FO Mesa lost 11-1 Box Score 2B V. Heredia 0/4, 2 K, E (4, fielding) CF D. Rundle 0/4, 3 K 1B L. Murphy 0/3, BB, R, K 3B M. Gonzalez 1/3, RBI LF W. Inoa 1/3, SB (1) DH C. Gilbert 1/3, 2B (2), 2 K SS C. Valentin 0/3, 2 E (3, throw x2) SP T. Parker 5 scoreless, 1 H, 3/1 K/BB, 6-5 GO-FO RP L. Holdzkom 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 2-3

So you're saying Zambrano will wake up tomorrow with Dum-Dum Fever?

Good point. Unfortunately this is the Cubs. He'll be fine until his next outing. Then his arm from the elbow down, will fall off. And he'll STILL pitch 220 innings this season with that arm! With a 3.30 ERA! :shock:

On the upside, if this were Prior, his arm would have exploded on contact with the bat.

I say we let Gene Clines get a free swing at Jose Contreras.

WHY.

That Holiday Inn commercial is going to give me nightmares. :shock: :shock: :shock: :evil: :evil:

Seriously, do ESPN and Fox ever give any thought to bringing in announcers who actually know a thing or two about baseball? I mean, can't we have guys call the game who aren't mugging for camera and microphone time? Wouldn't it be nice if they let the game do the talking? It'd be awesome if MLB would start a channel that shows baseball games with no announcers; just the sounds of the game and the crowd.

Bay looks like JI JIM THOME in the face.

I enjoy the fact that this crowd booed Jeter and A-Rod.

Ozzie gets booed, hahahahaha.

Dan Uggla is NOT 5'11.

Not enough, according to Ozzie.

You mean playoff viewers might be stuck with Chippy? Hoo boy.

Kenny Rogers is starting? Sweet, I can post this sucker again: http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/2546/kennyrogers6kn.gif

It's so exciting in the clubhouse that Lance Berkman was napping in a leather chair.

Derek Jeter apparently is one foot tall. Oh god. I forgot this was on Fox. I'm going to be muting this thing throughout the course of the night.

Holy cheesy intro with lots of cleavage Batman!