Part 1: Cubs Top 30 Honorable Mention

by cubsfan1 on Feb 15, 2012 8:59 AM CST

This is the first in a 3 part series I'll be posting over the next 2 weeks. 1st is the honorable mention portion of my Cubs Top 30, next will be the Cubs Top 30, then finally a draft preview for potential players we could draft with our top 4 picks in the 2012 draft. BA has the Cubs system coming in 14th before the addition of 1B. Anthony Rizzo. In the Cubs top 10 chat Jim Callis said the system is middle of the pack but with outstanding depth.

The system is extremely deep but most of it resides in the DSL/R/lower minors. We have a ton of intriguing prospects and have explored just about every avenue in finding prospects known to man. These players are more likely to bust then even become a role player at the ML level. Even with those odds we have a lot of lottery tickets but the sheer volume of players we have stockpiled we should find some good players.

This HM list is not a slight on any of these players and you can very much make a case for many of them coming in somewhere at the back end of our top 30 list. A few of these players will vault up the top 30 list I'm sure if for nothing else the gratuations that will occur this year. The list in alphabetical order and even here there are some ommisions.

SS. Luis Acosta - Came in 9th on BA's top 30 IFA's for the July 2nd signing this past year. Short swing with power potential.Probably moves to 3B or a corner OF. Got 1.1M and Matt Garrioch said "Acosta has star potential. He runs hard out of the box as he finishes his strong swing." Should start 2012 in the DSL.

OF. Jeffrey Baez - Plus speed and power potential. Struggled in instructs and should start 2012 in AZL.

RHP. Zach Cates - Power arm aquired from S.D. w/ Rizzo. I like his potential and is a sleeper imo.

CF. Pin-Chieh Chen - Good speed slap hitter. Will have to stick in CF for lack of power.

C. Steve Clevenger - Puts good wood on the ball and has good PD. Lacks power but could make a good back up C.

CF. Taiwan Easterling - Debated on him for the top 30. Was my last cut and made BAs top 30 @28. Just 128 college ABs because of football. Barrels the ball well and it jumps off his bat. Looked good in instructs and in pro debut. Could really move up the charts in 2012. Lot's to like and should start 2012 in high A.

1B/3B. Trevor Gretzky - Raw but has good hand eye cordination and above average power potential.

RHP. Micheal Jansen - Got well above average slot money for a 26th rounder for $225,000. Power arm with some projection. Cubs realy like this kid.

LHP. Austin Kirk - Faded late in the year. Fringy FB but solid CB/CU.

RHP. Aaron Kurcz - Another guy I went back and forth on for the top 30. Stuff played up after move to the pen. 12.1 k/9 v. 8.2 as starter. 90-94 FB with deceptive delievery. Solid CB and great CU for a bullpen arm. With the move should move fast and start 2012 in AA.

RHP. Luis Lira

C. Justin Marra - Was considered a tough sign and looked good in instructs.

OF. Trey Martin - Plus Speed and good hand eye cordination. Very projectable player.

RHP. Starlin Peralta - Good FB but needs work on command/control.

RHP. Austin Reed - Awfull numbers in 1st proball taste. Looked much improved in instructs. Gets GB.

C. Neftali Rosario - Good arm and power. Needs work on PD. Looked good in 1st taste of proball but really struggled in instructs.

LF. Garrett Schlecht - A guy i really like. Outstanding eye and good hand eye cordination. Has some potential to add some power. Will be relagated to LF which hurts his overall prospect status. Took 9 BB in 33 PA in instructs. Sleeper.

2B/OF. Rubi Silva - For his skill set his PD is atrocious (16/95 BB/K). 6/6 sb/cs. Plus speed and has some dynamic ability.

RHP. Nick Struck - Good FB but well below average secondary stuff will hold him back.

RHP. Robert Whitenack - Ranked 19th on BAs top 30 even with TJS. Was really opening eyes before injury. A case could be made for top 30 consideration but he will not pitch until late 2012 and could take until mid 2013 for stuff to return.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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BCB is fortunate to have so many who contribute to the prospect side of things.

Looking forward to the rest.

"Enough foreplay- let's get crackin'"- Fred Garvin

by davidalanu on Feb 15, 2012 10:19 AM CST reply actions

+1

Numbers may not lie, but they don’t tell the whole truth (and nothing but the truth), either. -- Doug Glanville

by leothelip on Feb 15, 2012 1:15 PM CST up reply actions

Whitenack

Actually Oneri Fleita has been quoted saying that he will begin camp on time and be Daytona’s opening day rotation

by WiscoCubbie on Feb 15, 2012 11:06 AM CST reply actions

REALLY?

That’s good to hear. There still will be a period of time until the stuff/command comes back.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 15, 2012 11:07 AM CST up reply actions

yes

and i think there showing that by putting him at Daytona but now i think that period of time to both recover and get the pitchers original or even better stuff is getting shorter and shorter what with new technology and whatnot

by WiscoCubbie on Feb 15, 2012 11:14 AM CST up reply actions

Fingers crossed!

Hopefully that’s the case. In Rhee’s case I had been just about to give up on the guy.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 15, 2012 11:25 AM CST up reply actions

Rhee

But now it seems like he’s all the better for it

by WiscoCubbie on Feb 15, 2012 11:26 AM CST up reply actions

I'm curious about Schlecht.

I thought as a high school pitcher his arm was good enough for RF. Has it not shown that way in his limited professional play?

by cubzfan on Feb 15, 2012 11:47 AM CST reply actions

RE:

His pre-draft scouting report says he had fringy arm and speed. I never seen his SR as a pitcher but would have to think this means he was of the soft tossing variety. I still really like the guy though.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 15, 2012 12:42 PM CST up reply actions

Here's one quote I found

Schlecht was both a star pitcher and hitter with Waterloo, HS in Illinois but his potential is much greater as a hitter. Schlecht stands 6’2" with broad shoulders and room to fill out and get stronger. He has a smooth swing with which he makes consistent, hard contact and projects to hit for power. He has the athleticism to be an OF’er but may also play some 1b. Wherever he plays, there is no question that his ticket to the majors will be his bat.

by bdlugz on Feb 19, 2012 10:17 AM CST up reply actions

There will always be

disagreements on players here and there… and perhaps this should be paused until your top 30 comes out, but I think you’ve got Cates, Kurcz, and Whitenack too low.

Whitenack is more or less covered above.

I like Kurcz as a low to mid 20s prospect because I think he could be a fast mover in a bullpen role (much like Zych, who I assume is in your top 30). He had a pretty solid season at Daytona last year. He has averaged over a K per inning in the minors and his BB rates are fine (2.67 K/BB last year… and not to mention his 2010 numbers when he dominated at Boise after signing). I would think Kurcz could be with the big club as early as late this year or at some point next season.

And Cates I’ll admit to not knowing all that much about and his stats from last year don’t jump out… but he did come in at 21 on the aggregate list (rec’d fan shot) accumulated by Chris St. John… and I believe he’s been ranked as high as 5th or 6th by at least one of the major “experts”.

So those are three that jumped out to me, but like I said… lists are lists and everyone is certainly free to evaluate players differently. It will be interesting to see your top 30 and I’m definitely looking forward to the draft post.

"Stuff like this is why they should shut off the internet."

by Orval Overall on Dec 17, 2010 1:19 PM CST

by fsuapollo on Feb 15, 2012 12:09 PM CST reply actions

RE:

Your absolutely right. I like both guys a lot and called Cates a sleeper. Basically just about every HM guy on this list could realistically be switched out w/ guys who came in 24-30 on my top 30 list.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 15, 2012 12:49 PM CST up reply actions

At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid,

I really don’t know what most of your acronyms stand for. I had to look up DSL and AZL, so maybe I’m just dumb. I think I figured out a couple. Is PD-plate discipline? TJS-Tommy John surgery? But HM, FB, CB, CU, GB…I’m sorry, I’d like to understand what you are saying but I don’t get the shorthand.

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by katie casey on Feb 15, 2012 2:45 PM CST reply actions

You got them so far

PD – plate discipline
TJS – Tommy John surgery
HM – Honorable Mention
FB – fast ball
CB – curve ball
CU – change up
GB – ground balls

by CJK on Feb 15, 2012 3:11 PM CST up reply actions

Thank you.

The best husband in the world was on the Championship team at the 2012 Randy Hundley Cubs Fantasy camp!

by katie casey on Feb 15, 2012 3:12 PM CST up reply actions

Curious about Clevenger

Is this list based on potential or how ready they are or both? I have Clevenger higher, I really like his potential at the plate. I don’t know a ton about him but everything I read is positive and that he doesn’t have a ton of weaknesses in his game. Castillo is the more polished guy but Clevenger seems to be a lock to be the starter in AAA if Castillo gets the back up job. Just wondering why he ended up so low

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by Musicdude10 on Feb 16, 2012 3:24 PM CST reply actions

RE:

This list as well as my top 30 list is based on both projection/risk/contributions to the ML club in the very near future. I like Clevenger some but I think he profiles more as a back up then an everyday C. To be honest if Soto rebounds in the 1st half next year I think Castillo (starting) Clevenger (backup/PH) would make a pretty solid C combo that would allow us to deal Soto for hopefully a nice package. Just my thought.

Cates I really like, Kurcz I like a lot, Easterling and Clev. who I like both, could all be on the top 30 list and I would not argue. The thing is imo there are about 30 propsects right now who are very close. So swapping out guys on the back end of my list like Geiger/Scott/Conception/ and more for guys on the HM list is very plausiable.

This is just my list and thoughts. I could actually have profiled about 7-8 more HM guys.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 16, 2012 5:14 PM CST up reply actions

Scott

Taylor Scott actually made it as #30. He easily falls into the HM portion for most guys I would think and i would not argue. Just some of the stuff I saw in instructs leaves me very optimistic. So it’s really just my feel.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 16, 2012 5:17 PM CST up reply actions

Clevenger is the more polished, Castillo has the higher upside.

by Dcr18 on Feb 20, 2012 11:28 AM CST up reply actions

Interesting list

Whitenack’s the only one that I really think should be top 30, but okay, I can understand apprehension there.

Struck was safely on for me (in the early 20’s and a clear cut line ahead of some other guys at the back end) because he held his own for stretches in AAA when it was clear as day that he was rushed. I understand concerns on his secondary stuff, but a lot of kids his age, in the low levels, have high concern on their secondary stuff. Had he been in A+ all year (which would’ve been age appropriate), he probably would’ve continued his dominant run, and I think the view on Struck would be more hopeful because he was strong in an age appropriate lower level. But that’s me and I can understand him barely off a top 30.

Kept Cates on the back end of my top 30 in the final list, but sure, can see him off. Liria was in that 31-35 group for me.

A bit surprise you note Gretzky here, though. Is this list meant to be your “31-X” list, or just a random list of names that you liked that barely missed. Had him outside of my top 50, which is partly a testament to the strength of the depth of the system.

by toonsterwu on Feb 22, 2012 10:42 AM CST reply actions

RE:

I know your a Struck fan but I have heard that his secondary stuff is pretty rudimentary but i would not argue with him making someones top 30 list by any means.

Cates probably should ahve been on my top and now will make it with the loss of CC to the Red Sox. i do like Cates quite a bit and think we got a real steal from SD. Lot’s of good potential.

The list is more just a profile of guys who did not make the top 30 in no particu;lar order. As I said above I could easily have profiled 8-10 guys more but i had to stop at some point. Like you said it speaks to the systems depth. This is a system that could take a HUGE step forward next year depending on how some guys mature. BA and some other scouting services ave the Cubs as a middle of the pack system but there is huge upside potential.

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by cubsfan1 on Feb 22, 2012 5:00 PM CST up reply actions

re: Struck

having seen him a few times, i think one of the issues is that he simply trusts his different fastballs more. He goes to a sinker a bit, and I’m not sold it’s all that great a pitch. I think both his slider have decent potential to be average pitches, but he’s got to work on them.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s still more of an end of the rotation projection that has a ceiling of a 3/4 type arm. I don’t have some sort of ridiculous expectation for Struck. I’m a bit more bothered with his arm action, as there’s a bit of extraneous movement in there (akin to the concerns on Maples), but I’ll let more knowledgeable people on mechanics speak on that.

by toonsterwu on Feb 22, 2012 10:35 PM CST up reply actions