Cubs Top 20 Prospects
John Sickels of Minor League ball put up his preliminary rankings for the Cubs top 20 prospects on his site. You can see what the comments he made for each player and the system as a whole here. The top 20 looks like this....
1) Josh Vitters, 3B
2) Jeff Samardzija, RHP
3) Ryan Flaherty, SS
4) Andrew Cashner, RHP
5) Hak-Ju Lee, SS
6) Jay Jackson, RHP,
7) Tyler Colvin, OF
8) Welington Castillo, C
9) Dae-Eun Rhee, RHP
10) Aaron Shafer, RHP
11) Starlin Castro, SS
12)
13) Dan McDaniel, RHP
14) Micah Hoffpauir
15) Esmailin Caridad, RHP
16) Don Veal, LHP
17) Josh Kroeger, OF
18) Tony Thomas, 2B
19) Chris Carpenter, RHP
Vitters was the no. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft, and I am a big fan. Reminds me a lot of Aramis Ramirez in the sense that he is a contact hitter with above-average power. Not great plate discipline, but decent enough and will not strike out a ton. I would have put Flaherty lower. Word is that he will not be able to stick at ss, and although he has a decent bat, it does not project as much above-average at a corner position. Cashner was the Cubs first pick in this years draft, which is frustrating because I hate the idea of drafting relievers with your first couple picks. Why draft them when so many relievers are guys who just were not capable of starting, or like Carlos Marmol who would not make it as a catcher, but he had an electric arm, so they put him on the mound. With all that said, Cashner could be a very good reliever with an above-average fastball and a nasty slider.
The Cubs have made quite a few signings from the Pacific Rim the past few seasons. Hak-Ju-Lee and Dae-Eun-Rhee are the two biggest names right now. Lee seemed to be ranked pretty high considering he has not played in the minors at all. The report on him is that he is outstanding defensively at ss, and a strong contact hitter. Definitely a name to keep an eye on next year. Rhee was flashing 3 above-average pitches in the MWL this year before he had to get Tommy John surgery. He is expected to be back in June or July next season and has a lot of upside.
Colvin was the Cubs first pick in the 2006 draft, and the first one by the new scouting director, Tim Wilken. I have hated this pick from day 1, and unfortunately Colvin has proved me right. He hit .256/.312/.424 this season in AA Tennessee. I would have put him lower than 7.
It was nice to see Sickels put Jay Jackson pretty high. He had a great debut, putting up a nearly 6/1 K/BB rate. Jackson has a solid fastball and a very good curveball, and most importantly, good command of both of those pitches. He is another name to keep an eye on next year.
Overall, the Cubs system is very weak right now. Tim Wilken and Oneri Fleita (Director of player development) appear to be largely at fault for that. The only 1st round pick that I liked was Josh Vitters, and the other two have been struggling quite a bit. Then There are guys like Donald Veal, and Mark Pawelek who looked like great picks in the 2005 draft. Both lefties with very high ceilings, Pawelek the 1st round pick, and Veal the 2nd round pick. Their skills have only digressed since they have been in the Cubs system and people like Fleita should be taking some blame there.
There are some positives in the system, unfortunately most of it is in the lower minors and need some time to develop. Vitters, Rhee, Lee and Jackson are the 4 names to keep a good eye on next season. Castillo and Shafer have some solid potential as well.
4 comments:
Its ironic that there's not a single draft from the 03,04,05 listed in Sickles top 10 which you'll see in alot of other clubs Top 10 lists,as a matter of fact, only Atkins came from those drafts of 03 to 05. So I dont think the total blame should be place on Wilken, who's just started in Jan of 06 and surely not Fleita who only receives what he's given.
Sorry I forgot Veal as 03 to 05 draft, he was 17th.
I understand your point on Wilken. My issues with him have been the drafting of Tyler Colvin and Andrew Cashner. As far as Fleita, there have been a lot of talented guys who have done nothing but regress while in the Cub system (Pawelek, Veal, Johnson, Brownlie). With that said, you can argue he has been decent since the Cubs have produced a decent amount of role-players the past few years. He also likely had something to do with Marmol being converted to a pitcher.
how is hoffapauir the 16th ranked prospect when hes already been on the team? the minors and the whole prospect thing confuses me all the time
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