I send in occasional questions to BA because Jim Callis does a superb job of responding to people, for which I am grateful for.  I thought this might be interesting.  I was tempted to do a pure "minor league discussion thread" but it would have to be constantly updated to stay up top, so I didn't know about that, and I figured Josh would have first rights to doing something like that.

I don't know what SB Nation's rules are in regards to private correspondance.  I imagine email that I send out can be posted.  Now, I didn't ask Jim Callis for permission to post his reply, but it is quick and short right now.  If this is something SB Nation does not allow, then please delete this, and my sincerest apologies.

So, why send an email about Nate Samson?  .308/.368/.375 in the MWL for a 20 year old (almost 21).  That's awfully good.  17 doubles - a bit of pop in the bat, which, admittedly, isn't that important.  42/30 K/BB is fine.  Another thing - he plays shortstop.  What's the problem?  Can he stick at short?

Again, this isn't the most interesting discussion, but I figured I'd share.

My email:

"To whom it may concern:
 
Sorry, another question on Cubs A ball prospects if you have time.  Could I get some quick thoughts on Nate Samson of the Cubs in Peoria?  His bat has played well this year, and it seems like there's a bit more power that might develop as he moves forward (not much, a bit more), along with the fact that his frame could probably get bigger.  That said, like Jovan Rosa, he seems like a guy that might move to the other side of the diamond, and in this case, 2nd base.  Is there hope for his glove to stick at short?  Can his bat play enough at 2nd?  Is it fair to say that he might be somewhat similar to recent Cubs draft pick Ryan Flaherty?  How does he compare?  I am hopeful that either Nate or Ryan can stick at short because 2nd is arguably the deepest position in this somewhat thin system.  Thank you.
 
Sincerely
Tony Wu"

Jim Callis' response (again, please delete if this is inappropriate as I did not ask for permission in the original email):

"Tony:
 
All that is fair. Not sure either guy is a SS. Maybe they stick there, but you'd probably be looking for a better defender if either was your big league SS.

--Jim Callis"

This is both a really positive, and really negative, reply.  Samson getting compared to Flaherty shows good development and scouting within the system.  It shows that the system has more value.  Samson and his defensive flaws?  Big problem, and if Ryan and Nate end up at 2nd ... that's a shame as we have enough 2nd base options in the system, and 2nd base is a position that can be found.  Right now, our top shortstop guy is probably Darwin Barney, and right now, the outlook isn't so bright there, showing some defensive flaws despite his athleticism, along with showing the offensive concerns people had.  Other than that, the next guy that might show some ability at short, if you don't count Nate and Ryan, is in AZL, whether it's Starlin Castro (not sure yet if the bat will play well enough) or Junior Lake (feels, and this is just based on a gut feel) like another 2nd baseman.  There's Lee Hak-Ju in Korea, but to be fair, he's a kid, so expectations shouldn't be high.  There's a couple DSL guys, but they are all raw right now.

C/2nd are, relatively, strong areas in the system right now.  1st/3rd have upside, but not depth.  SS is a big hole.  OF is somewhat in the middle, mild intrigue.  Everyone's hoping the pitching heavy draft this past year will restock a system that had gotten a bit thin on that front.