mb21 recently had a blog post about fangraphs Cubs top 10 prospects. As the season has progressed, I’ve become increasingly interested in the farm and less with the ML club. I wanted to give updates and some subjective analysis to those who don’t know much about the farm, but are interested enough to read an overview of their seasons so far. I’ll do my own “top 10” with some notes about players I don’t consider part of the top 10.
Note: after the top 2 prospects, every single prospect and their respective position in the top 10 is very debatable.
1. Brett Jackson (OF) AA Tennessee Smokies – mb did a pretty good write up on him. He has been walking to the tune of a 17.3% walk rate, stealing bases efficiently (85% success rate), playing solid defense, and hitting for some power (.223 ISO). Basically doing it all before he jammed his pinky finger while getting picked off of 2B recently. Make no doubt about it, unless he completely falls off, he will be in CF for Cubs no later than July 31st.
2. Trey McNutt (RHP) AA Tennessee Smokies – When not battling blisters, McNutt has been just as effective as last year except at a higher level. So far, he has a 2.29 ERA and 2.44 FIP. He’s not striking out as many batters this year, but that may have to do with the blisters. He’s yet to give up a HR in 19+ innings. I assume he’ll receive some kind of Josh Beckett treatment to stop the blisters eventually. Hopefully it won’t take away too many starts this year.
3. Austin Kirk (LHP) A Peoria Chiefs – Kirk was a 3rd round pick in the 2009 draft out of high school. This year he broke camp with Peoria. Since then, he’s been lights out. FIP doesn’t like him (3.06) but his ERA is a mere 1.80 thanks to a 0.86 WHIP and .207 BABIP. He has a mid-90s fastball with above average secondary pitches. He is supposedly a great character kid. He’ll be in Daytona sometime in June.
UPDATE (5/18): Kirk pitched 5.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 Ks
4. Ryan Flaherty (IF/OF) AA Tennessee Smokies – See the trend at AA? If you get a chance, I would go see them play. Flaherty is hitting with all kinds of power this year. His slash: .299/.364/.575. 9 doubles, 1 triple, and 8 HRs gives him a .273 ISO. That will likely regress as the season goes on. However, it’s not out of the realm of possibility he maintains a .230+ ISO. He has Derosa-like versatility as he’s played 6 positions already for Tennessee. He’s cooled a bit since May, but if he can even have a .800 OPS at the ML-level he would be extremely valuable next year.
5. Robert Whitenack (RHP) AA Tennessee Smokies – Whitenack started at A+ Daytona and just owned hitters. He had 11 K 0 BB game at Daytona. At Daytona he had a laughable 25:1 K to BB ratio. He was promoted at the end of April. He’s been solid at AA so far. His walks are up and Ks are down likely because of the increase in talent. The biggest reason I have him here is because his sinker has apparently become plus-plus. He’s 6’5” and his sinker has heavy sink at 89-93 mph. He ditched his knuckle-curve that was supposedly his best pitch coming out of high school (graded 80 on 80-20 scale). It’s always nice to have groundball pitchers in the minors. He’s a little old, but he’s made large strides and AZ Phil called he would perform like this in ST.
UPDATE (5/18): Whitenack threw 7 innings, 3 hits, 2 BB, 0 R, 5 K.
6. Jae-Hoon Ha (OF) AA Tennessee Smokies – Ha just got promoted to AA where he’s playing CF while Brett Jackson in on the DL. He’ll remain at AA when Jackson gets back. At Daytona, Ha hit for a ton of power and good average. His patience needs work to say the least (heard that before). He walked 7 times in 160 plate appearances at Daytona (4.4% BB%). His slash of .311/.344/.523 keeps his OPS at good levels. Like many in the Cubs system, if he doesn’t hit for a high average he’s not good. He plays all the OF spots. His power potential is uncertain as I’ve heard anywhere from 15-30+ HRs.
7. Matt Szczur (CF) A Peoria Chiefs – Szczur was a two sport athlete at Villanova (football and baseball). He led the Villanova football team to a DI-AA title in 2009. At Peoria this year, he’s hit .320/.398/.369. He’s got great patience and steals bases very efficiently (90% success). I have a hard time believing his ISO will stay sub-.050. He’ll never be a power hitter, but I don’t think his bat will be like Theriot or Juan Pierre either. Oh yeah, he’s pretty good in CF.
8. Josh Vitters (3B) AA Tennessee Smokies – So, basically Vitters has sucked so far. But I’m not ready to give up on him although he’s giving plenty of reasons. He’s still not walking. He’s not hitting for enough power to offset that. Slash: .236/.281/.409. It’s looking more and more that he’s not going to be an everyday player at 3B. His defense has never been good (although reports have him at average this year compared to bad in years past). His bat was supposed to make up for that. His Ks are way down (7.1%). And his BABIP is a low .221. He’s either extremely unlucky or making weak contact. He’ll be better than he is currently, but the future doesn’t look bright. Then consider the fact that I’ve never heard praises about his work ethic. He seems to be trying to get by on talent alone.
9. Chris Carpenter (RHP) AAA Iowa Cubs – Carpenter has been in the pen fulltime since the end of the I-Cubs season. As a starter his fastball was mid-90s. In the pen, he’s been clocked at 100+. However, he’s had his trouble with walks which led to 2 bad outings in relief so far (boosted his ERA up to 6.41). I normally don’t like to put relief pitchers in the top 10 unless they are future closers/set-up men. His stuff makes me believe he can be a set-up/closer. He’s also very close to being in the majors.
10. D.J. LeMahieu (2B/3B) AA Tennessee Smokies – D.J. has split time almost evenly between 2B and 3B. He has seen a jump in his OPS (.882) because of his increase in AVG (.354) and ISO (.143 – thanks to 12 doubles). BA called him the best hitting prospect in the Cubs organization (quite debatable IMO). D.J. attended “Camp Colvin” so they may explain the increased ISO. He only hit 2 HRs last year and has 2 this year. There are scouts who think his lack of quickness limits him to 3B and not 2B. He will have to keep up his current ISO for his bat to play there (especially if Barney and Castro are still here when he comes up).
Other notables:
Hayden Simpson (RHP) A Peoria Chiefs – As mb explained, his velocity is down likely due to his 20 lb weight loss from mono. If his fastball doesn’t get back up to 92-93 he’s not going to have much of a ceiling. He does have 4 average to above average pitches, but with none that stand out he is looking to prove that Wilken got a 3rd round talent in the 1st.
Reggie Golden (COF) EXST – Golden has the most raw power in the system. He came out as a high schooler last year, but got hurt in rookie ball. I expected BIG things from him this year. Unfortunately he showed up to spring training fat and out of shape, hence why he’s at extended spring training. He’ll likely be in Boise when their season starts.
Jay Jackson (RHP) AAA Iowa Cubs – Jay Jackson has 2 strong outings in AAA after recovering from an injury he received in spring training. But since then, he’s pitched very poorly. 26 ER in 16.2 IP. It’d be nice for him to bounce back so Doug Davis and Casey Coleman don’t pitch anymore. Jay spent a whole season at AAA last year so he should be ready, but he clearly has to figure something out.
Rafael Dolis (RHP) AA Tennesee Smokies – Dolis started the season as a starter. The Cubs scrapped that idea after 4 starts. Kind of disappointing to me because he wasn’t terrible. He’s now in relief where he’s been for awhile.
Evan Crawford (CF) A+ Daytona – Before the season, he looked to have a ceiling of 5th OF to be used as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. So far this year he’s hit everything in sight. He is a speedster and steals bases successfully 85% of the time. He was received in the Mike Fontenot trade. He’s only walking 5.5% of the time so with his speed you’d like to see that increase. He actually has an acceptable ISO for his career because of his ability to stretch out 2B and 3B. With the Giants last year he slugged 12 2B and 12 3B. His current slash: .348/.419/.470. Most likely he’s a defensive replacement and pinch runner.
Kyler Burke (LHP) EXST – You may know Burke as the former 1st round pick of the Padres. He has a great 2009, but fell off the map last year. In the OF he had the best arm in the system. He was both a pitcher and OF in high school and some scouts had him higher as pitcher. After Burke’s flop last year (.607 OPS in 567 PA) the Cubs have convinced him to try pitching. Keep an eye on him when Boise’s season starts. He’s still only 22, throws very hard, and is skilled with his secondary pitches according to AZ Phil.
The Cubs minor league system has gotten off to a fast start. If this keeps up we’re probably top 12-15 in the MLB. Now just imagine if the Cubs still had HJ Lee, Brandon Guyer, and Chris Archer still. We’d probably be top 10.
Comments
Well, I’ll be excited for July 31st then.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
It’s really nice to see Flaherty off to such a great start after struggling last year. He’s basically a DeRosa clone except he has a better eye at the plate.
Can’t wait for the second part.
mb21Quote Reply
I love how the top 10 is only 6 players (dying laughing). It’s so Cubs,
BerseliusQuote Reply
I’m assuming he’s doing the top 4 plus the two others he mentioned in another post. If not, it would be hilarious.
mb21Quote Reply
I am in interested in RC’s question – why does Wilken have such a good rep? I’m not particularly enamored with any of his high draft picks. I do get the Cubs had a good farm for about 10 – 14 months or so, but is that it?
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]I am in interested in RC’s question – why does Wilken have such a good rep? I’m not particularly enamored with any of his high draft picks. I do get the Cubs had a good farm for about 10 – 14 months or so, but is that it?[/quote]
The Hayden Simpson pick was a major WTF and made me wonder if someone in the organization had completely lost their marbles. I originally thought that Wilken was overridden because of his reputation, but at that time I didn’t even know why he had such a good rep, other than the part where he snagged Roy Halladay for the Jays.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
so why would whitenack ditch the knuckle curve if it was rated 80?
dylanjQuote Reply
i dont get how wilken is overrated. Cashner was a great pick who got hurt, Jackson was a steal late in the 1st round. Our farm isn’t all world but I really believe the Simpson pick was about $ not about who the Cubs wanted to get.
dylanjQuote Reply
How long has Wilken been running things?
MishQuote Reply
Wilken has been in charge of the draft now for 5 years. Exactly who has come to the big leagues and done anything? Tyler Colvin. Brett Jackson will easily prove to be the best player he’s drafted for the Cubs, but all he has to do to accomplish that is stay alive.
mb21Quote Reply
since 06.
Vitters hasnt worked but he was highly regarded at the time. Cashner was a good pick, Jackson was a great one and Simpson was terrible.
dylanjQuote Reply
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]How long has Wilken been running things?[/quote]Since 2006 when they drafted Colvin (157th ranked player) in the 1st round and then gave Samardzija a boatload of money. I’m not upset they gave Samardzija the money. I hope they keep signing players like that because sooner or later it does pay off.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]since 06.
Vitters hasnt worked but he was highly regarded at the time. Cashner was a good pick, Jackson was a great one and Simpson was terrible.[/quote]Agreed, but only if they used Cashner as a reliever. Drafting a guy who had been a reliever and converting him to starter was stupid. There were better starting pitchers available so why take a reliever and make him a lesser starter than you could have drafted?
mb21Quote Reply
by the end of this year 3 of his top 5 will have made the majors. plus outside of 07 we havent been drafting that high up. Its easy to build a system in TB or KC when you have top 5 picks over and over and ownership willing to spend $ on talent. The cubs dont.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]so why would whitenack ditch the knuckle curve if it was rated 80?[/quote]
That’s what makes me laugh. Scrap a plus-plus pitch…see what happens.
Yeah, he’s pitching well, but I doubt it’s because he stopped throwing his best pitch.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
actually converting him to a starter was pretty smart. The guy was a really good starter in the minors. He looked dominant for about 5 innings in the majors and got hurt. That happens.
dylanjQuote Reply
It doesn’t matter who was a good pick and who wasn’t at this point. He’s been running things for a long time now and the Cubs have literally nothing to show for it. Tyler fucking Colvin has been the only productive draft pick and he’s back in AAA now. The Cubs farm system is ranked as poorly now as it was when he took over. The Cubs have made only a few trades in that time so it’s not like they’ve gone all out and traded everything away. They’ve made a few trades that brought talent in too.
mb21Quote Reply
the best two names after Cashner are Mike Montgomery and Casey Kelly. So its not like we passed on a ton of SP talent to get Cashner.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]actually converting him to a starter was pretty smart. The guy was a really good starter in the minors. He looked dominant for about 5 innings in the majors and got hurt. That happens.[/quote]It’s smart to draft a reliever and covert him to a starter when there were better starters available? That’s like saying it’s smart to convert to Darwin Barney to back-up catcher when there are better back-up catchers available. If they wanted a starter, draft a better one. As far as relievers went, he was one of the best. Great pick if they wanted to get him to the big leagues in 2008. Terrible pick when you consider he wasn’t even as good as others available.
mb21Quote Reply
who are the better starters?
dylanjQuote Reply
Odorizzi? Cashner is better than him. Casey Kelly? I would take Cashner over him. Who are these awesome starters we passed over at # 19?
dylanjQuote Reply
Don’t forget that Wilken was the scouting director when Castro was signed.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Why are we just looking at starters anyway? It’s like Cashner converted to something he failed at in college was the best player available at the time they drafted. And 5 good innings doesn’t make a good pitcher. He was below replacement level last year as a reliever.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]Don’t forget that Wilken was the scouting director when Castro was signed.[/quote]
I assume that Darwin Barney was drafted and signed during Wilken’s tenure as well. And HJ-Lee.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Sorry for the incomplete blog post everyone. I was working on it periodically yesterday then stopped when I left work at 5. All done now if you want to re-read.
Also regarding Whitenack, he throws a slider now which has been the Cubs MO (not you MO) for pitchers in the minors. A thing about the knucklecurve is that it’s difficult to control. It’s popular in high school because of its low stress on the arm and simplistic teach-ability.
jtsunamiQuote Reply
his minor league track record is great. pretending otherwise is silly. The Cubs were right to try him as a starter. They knew something that baseball america, you, me & everyone else didnt.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=jtsunami] A thing about the knucklecurve is that it’s difficult to control. It’s popular in high school because of its low stress on the arm and simplistic teach-ability.[/quote]
If it’s rated that well it seems like he’s able to control it. And if it’s low-stress then I wonder what the issue was; obviously they didn’t want him to drop it to prevent injury then, right?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]Don’t forget that Wilken was the scouting director when Castro was signed.[/quote]He wasn’t signed by Wilken. I think Jose Serra signed him after scouting him. Wilken had nothing to do with it.
Tyler Colvin is the best player drafted by Tim Wilken for the Cubs so far (at the MLB level of course). The Cubs farm system was ranked 19th or 20th entering the season. I don’t know if Wilken sucks or if the Cubs just won’t let him do his thing, but the drafts so far under him for the Cubs have blown.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=jtsunami]Sorry for the incomplete blog post everyone. I was working on it periodically yesterday then stopped when I left work at 5. All done now if you want to re-read.
Also regarding Whitenack, he throws a slider now which has been the Cubs MO (not you MO) for pitchers in the minors. A thing about the knucklecurve is that it’s difficult to control. It’s popular in high school because of its low stress on the arm and simplistic teach-ability.[/quote]I’d just like to see the knuckle curve. I love that pitch.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Mish]I am in interested in RC’s question – why does Wilken have such a good rep? I’m not particularly enamored with any of his high draft picks. I do get the Cubs had a good farm for about 10 – 14 months or so, but is that it?[/quote]Wilken’s 2010 draft looks pretty bad right now. But 2008 and 2009 look to have produced some pretty valuable players.
jtsunamiQuote Reply
bubba starling seems to be moving up to a top 5 pick. KC should snag the local boy.
One of the crazy things about Wilken/Cubs is you have no fucking clue who we will pick at 9.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]I assume that Darwin Barney was drafted and signed during Wilken’s tenure as well. And HJ-Lee.[/quote]
Yeah, but I’ll wait before annointing Barney. I think he’s more of a .280/.330/.390 guy myself.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
the cubs system was ranked 8th before the Garza trade. You are really stretching this argument MB.
dylanjQuote Reply
He had a down year last year, but was awfully young. It’s nice to see him and Flaherty turn it around.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]He wasn’t signed by Wilken. I think Jose Serra signed him after scouting him. Wilken had nothing to do with it. .[/quote]
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
i hated the reggie golden pick from last year. and he seems pretty terrible so far. But whats the deal with Ben Wells? I thought he was a nice pick but havent seen him pitching anywhere yet
dylanjQuote Reply
This is an interview with the guy who wrote “The Beauty of Short Hops”.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/qa-alan-hirsch/
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]bubba starling seems to be moving up to a top 5 pick. KC should snag the local boy.
One of the crazy things about Wilken/Cubs is you have no fucking clue who we will pick at 9.[/quote]
Is Starling looking for big signing $$?
BerseliusQuote Reply
Is it bad that I’d rather watch the Smokies than the Cubs? (dying laughing)
jtsunamiQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]the cubs system was ranked 8th before the Garza trade. You are really stretching this argument MB.[/quote]Yeah, they traded Chris Archer (Cubs got him in a trade), Robinson Chirinos (signed by Cubs long before Wilken), and Guyer who was drafted by Wilken. So the players making the Cubs farm system that high weren’t even his pick (except for Guyer).
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=jtsunami]Is it bad that I’d rather watch the Smokies than the Cubs? (dying laughing)[/quote]Not at all. I’d much rather watch them as well, but I can’t watch that MiLB feed. It’s too annoying. If it was televised I’d definitely choose to watch that over the Cubs.
mb21Quote Reply
i read somewhere that Starling wants Harper $. He wont get it but there seems to be a lot of buzz about him growing.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Is Starling looking for big signing $$?[/quote]Probably. I think DJ is right that the Royals will draft him. Makes too much sense for them.
mb21Quote Reply
you do know MD that Wilken does more than just draft. His input on who we trade for & how to develop people counts.
And Guyer & Lee will probably be the best players in that group we gave up
dylanjQuote Reply
i know the D backs GM was scouting him personally a few weeks back
dylanjQuote Reply
If he wants Harper money he won’t be drafted in the 1st round. Trying to negotiate with someone who wants that much money and is already committed to playing football at Nebraska will make any team run away.
mb21Quote Reply
mb, my post was pretty long and the entire post shows up on the main page. You might want to shorten it with the “continue reading” option.
jtsunamiQuote Reply
Michael Young, Alex Rios, Chris Carpenter (the good one), Roy Halladay, Orlando Hudson, Casey Blake, Vernon Wells, Felipe Lopez.
I don’t know if those are all Wilken picks, but that’s the beginning of a list of good names he’s drafted.
Maybe his best days are behind him.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
although with the new draft rules you can take him, offer him your best deal and if he walks you still have a high pick next year. I bet he signs for 8-10 mill. Which is too much imo.
dylanjQuote Reply
speaking of Chris Carpenter I dont get wtf happened to our version. I remember Harry P doing a report of him in the AFL and the guy was throwing near 100 with an 84 mph curve. And now he sucks in AAA.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]you do know MD that Wilken does more than just draft. His input on who we trade for & how to develop people counts.
And Guyer & Lee will probably be the best players in that group we gave up[/quote]Of course, but the draft is the one thing we know he puts most of his work into. Guessing at what others he’s been a part of is just a guess. We know the players drafted were drafted by Tim Wilken. If you want to argue about this guy or this guy who may or may not have been scouted by Wilken go ahead, but you won’t find any other person who evaluates a scouting director doing the same. Their baby is the draft.
I agree on Guyer. Great pick and the Cubs were stupid to trade him. Darwin Barney is looking like a really good player as well. If Brett Jackson can be the impact player that we think he can be things look a little differently, but the picks overall have confused far too many people. My thought is that Wilken is the same as he’s always been, but the Cubs have been fucking him over and making him do stupid shit.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]i read somewhere that Starling wants Harper $. He wont get it but there seems to be a lot of buzz about him growing.[/quote]
This is Zach Lee part II. How much money will it take to keep him from becoming the QB at a big school? Same with Archie Bradley (OU).
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
The Cubs will draft some third rounder to save a few hundred bucks under slot. They need that money to pay Carlos Silva
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=jtsunami]mb, my post was pretty long and the entire post shows up on the main page. You might want to shorten it with the “continue reading” option.[/quote]Done. It’s usually not a big deal, but since you brought it up I figured I’d add it. Thanks for the great writeup. I really enjoyed it.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]My thought is that Wilken is the same as he’s always been, but the Cubs have been fucking him over and making him do stupid shit.[/quote]
I agree, and that might be part of the problem. He definitely has a template for his choices, and I’m not so sure that makes for a successful position player these days.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I could see the Cubs drafting Starling and then low-balling him so they don’t have to pay a first rounder anything.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I could see the Cubs drafting Starling and then low-balling him so they don’t have to pay a first rounder anything.[/quote]
They’re just stockpiling picks for next year….when teh draft pool isn’t as good.
BerseliusQuote Reply
My thought is that Wilken is the same as he’s always been, but the Cubs have been fucking him over and making him do stupid shit.
maybe, and I tend to agree based on the simpson pick but then we go out and give big $ to guys like F7 or Szuzuzuzur. Wilken has a rep for pick who he wants and maybe the FO isnt fucking with him that much. But there is no doubt we ran a cheap draft last year.
dylanjQuote Reply
Also, Aaron Kurcz was Bryce Harper’s teammate at whatever prep school they went to. He was lights out last year in relief. They tried him as a starter this year, I believe he did at least decent, but the Cubs put him back in relief. It’s really confusing to me that they gave up on Kurcz and Dolis after only a handful of starts. Anyway, I’ve heard Marmol comparisons to Kurcz. His K rate last year was ridiculous.
jtsunamiQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]True, but I think he does enough with not relying on RBIs and Wins to evaluate and discuss players. My only real frame of reference is previous Cubs booths, the White Sox booth (I HATE THEM), and the national media, which has mostly consisted of Joe Morgan, Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, Joe Buck, Joe Morgan, Aaron Boone, Mark Grace, Dick Stockton, Rick Sutcliffe, etc. Len’s the first I can actually listen to without punching myself.
Tho I really do like Drew Staats for the Rays, tho.[/quote]
Len refers to Fangraphs and other fagety websites (he likes websites) and will often point out OBP, OPS, UZR, and point out the flaws of some of the traditional stats that still hold sway. By no means does that make him saberish, just not as ignorant as those who dismiss such things or completely ignore them.
My enjoyment of Len has lessened in recent seasons because of some of things MB mentions (he doesn’t describe stuff enough, i.e., stuff that isn’t obvious), and because he seems to be a bit bored and just following the same script day after day. I think he’s as fed up with this team as use and it comes across as bored/boring.
BTW isn’t that Dwaayne Staaaaats down in Tampa and didn’t he used to be a Cubs broadcaster????
Suburban kidQuote Reply
kurcz is starting tonight
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=Suburban kid]Len refers to Fangraphs and other fagety websites (he likes websites)[/quote]
Mark that under “Who gives a shit?”.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Jame Gumb]Mark that under “Who gives a shit?”.[/quote]
I put it under “Cool story, bro”.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj] My thought is that Wilken is the same as he’s always been, but the Cubs have been fucking him over and making him do stupid shit.
maybe, and I tend to agree based on the simpson pick but then we go out and give big $ to guys like F7 or Szuzuzuzur. Wilken has a rep for pick who he wants and maybe the FO isnt fucking with him that much. But there is no doubt we ran a cheap draft last year.[/quote]I thought the same thing for a long time, but it isn’t true. They didn’t spend as much as we’d like, but they spent more than the average team.
mb21Quote Reply
i thought we were bottom 3rd in terms of $ spent? Maybe that was before the Szuzuzuzur deal
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]i thought we were bottom 3rd in terms of $ spent? Maybe that was before the Szuzuzuzur deal[/quote]
Close. They’re in the bottom 3
rdof smart money spent.Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Haha, second to last.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi/_/sort/sos
ZappBranniganQuote Reply
It really annoys me the Cubs broadcast can’t tell me a few simple things like where the fielders are positioned and whether or not someone is warming up. Last night during the Reds broadcast, they mentioned the positioning at least four different times. Even when Carlos Pena is up, Len doesn’t even mention the shift half the time. When Chip was the Cubs announcer we knew who was pitching the next inning every single time. We’d get regular shots into the bullpen to see who was up. Late in a game now it’s a fucking mystery.
I don’t really care about the stats stuff. Vin Scully isn’t as good as he once was, but he’s still the best around. He uses batting average and other silly small sample stats, but he provides so much information. Some of it isn’t the least bit useful, but much of it is.
Last night during the Reds broadcast, they pointed out 3 different times where the Cubs failed because of positioning alone. One of them Castro was literally standing on 2nd base with his arms down. I don’t even have to watch that part of the game to know Len and Bob didn’t say a single word about it.
I look at announcers like beat writers. I want to read something that I can’t find elsewhere. I don’t care what their opinions are. I don’t care about anything other than a recap of what happened (if I didn’t watch) or quotes. Everything else I ignore. I’m the same way with announcers. Tell me something I don’t know or shut up.
mb21Quote Reply
i see that Juan Serrano is in Daytona now. I still cant believe we signed that guy. Then yesterday I see we signed a 27 year old Cuban middle infielder who is playing at extended spring training. He is now on track to reach the bigs by age 35.
We should never be allowed to sign someone from Cuba. Ever.
dylanjQuote Reply
FWIW, I’d say that has far more to do with the producers than with Len.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]i thought we were bottom 3rd in terms of $ spent? Maybe that was before the Szuzuzuzur deal[/quote]I think that’s largely what tipped the balance, but I’d have to look into it again. Either way, we’d expect the Cubs to be in the top 5 and they weren’t. I don’t care about the international signings either. You can and should spend in the MLB Draft as well as spending more than most on international signings. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. We’re not the Pirates. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]FWIW, I’d say that has far more to do with the producers than with Len.[/quote]Maybe, but the producers show shots of what Len is interested in. If he wanted to talk about the bullpen the producers would give us some shots. I doubt they’ve told him not to discuss it. Maybe they did. Maybe they don’t want us to see Grabow/Samardzija double barrel action in the pen.
mb21Quote Reply
This is an excellent article. I wish I remembered writing it.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]i see that Juan Serrano is in Daytona now. I still cant believe we signed that guy. Then yesterday I see we signed a 27 year old Cuban middle infielder who is playing at extended spring training. He is now on track to reach the bigs by age 35.
We should never be allowed to sign someone from Cuba. Ever.[/quote]We gave Serrano like $250,000 as well.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]This is an excellent article. I wish I remembered writing it.[/quote](dying laughing) I forgot if you edit it from the backend it changes authors.
mb21Quote Reply
i will always remember that guy who blogs about Cuban baseball just shredding the Cubs for getting him. He sucked in Cuba so naturally we had to have him.
dylanjQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]We’re not the Pirates. (dying laughing)[/quote]
Too bad. They’ve done a great job of bringing in amateur talent in the last couple of years.
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]This is an excellent article. I wish I remembered writing it.[/quote]It’s fixed now. I have a few settings I need to change so this doesn’t happen again. We don’t want to credit you with writing something above your talent level. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=dylanj]i will always remember that guy who blogs about Cuban baseball just shredding the Cubs for getting him. He sucked in Cuba so naturally we had to have him.[/quote]Yeah, WGC posted that info and here’s the quote again:
.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]It’s fixed now. I have a few settings I need to change so this doesn’t happen again. We don’t want to credit you with writing something above your talent level. (dying laughing)[/quote]
I already screencapped it and added it to my portfolio.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I already screencapped it and added it to my portfolio.[/quote]Well done.
mb21Quote Reply
Aisle424, are you making another Bulls Open Thread?
jtsunamiQuote Reply
http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2011/05/playbook-in-han.html
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
Don’t worry. They’ll fix that.
XoomwaffleQuote Reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_insemination
Is that wrong?
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
[quote name=jtsunami]Aisle424, are you making another Bulls Open Thread?[/quote]
I can. I may not be online as much tonight though. Depends where I watch the game. But I can open a thread.
Aisle424Quote Reply
I don’t know if anyone has linked this already, but this seems like such a Cubs thing to do that I’m shocked it’s not them:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703426004575339013108198050.html
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=ZappBrannigan]Haha, second to last.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi/_/sort/sos[/quote]
I believe the Cubs were around top 5 in rule 4 spending 2006 when they spent the money on Samardzija, Drew Rundle, Cliff Anderson, and Chris Huseby (wtf??) I remember they were chastised by Selig for the Huseby deal especially.
I don’t like the Simpson pick, but its only his first year. Cashner’s first year wasn’t so great either.
BTW what the hell happened to Alex Winners??
ABQuote Reply
The problem with the Simpson pick is that even if Simpson turns out to be the best player in baseball that he was almost certainly going to be available later in the draft. The fact Simpson was shocked to hear he was drafted in the 1st round says a lot. Teams were talking to him as a 3rd through 5th round pick.
Has Wimmers returned to the mound yet? I’m always skeptical of Big Ten players. The conference is such shit compared to some other conferences in baseball that I’d have a hard time drafting anyone from the B1G in the first round. It like drafting a high school lefty from Utah. It may work out, but there are probably better ways to spend money.
mb21Quote Reply
I guess Wimmers walked 4 or 5 in a recent extended spring training start and the Twins say he has a long way to go yet.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I don’t know if anyone has linked this already, but this seems like such a Cubs thing to do that I’m shocked it’s not them:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703426004575339013108198050.html[/quote]I’d forgotten about that. If I had time I’d calculate how much money the Mets were paying him in terms of present value at the time they agreed to that.
mb21Quote Reply
Down by Keith LawQuote Reply
New:
http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/the-cubs-are-who-we-thought-they-were.html
AndCountingQuote Reply
Wilken is and has been a well respected and plus plus scouting director. His record of 12 straight 1st round picks making the MLB team at some point is impressive to a point, however not nearly as impressive as drafting Halladay,Chris Carpenter, Michael Young, Orlando Hudson, Cesar Izturis, Shannon Stewart, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells in Toronto and was in control of the draft in Tampa Bay when the Rays added Delmon Young (dealt for Garza), Jeff Niemann, Reid Brignac, Wade Davis and Andy Sonnanstine. Since taking over here it most definitely hasn’t been ‘Tyler Colvin and not much else’… The 05 draft was still Hendry’s baby as Wilken came in late and didn’t have final say over most- ’06 produced the aforementioned Colvin and then no picks until the infamous Samardzija pick- converting SS Steve Clevenger has proven to be a great call (yes that was Wilken who drafted him as a C) Huseby was also a very good pick who’s shown tremendous upside however unfortunately can’t stay healthy. Drafting and signing Rundle was seen as a major get that year as well. 07 had Vitters- which you cannot blame Wilken for his no development, but also produced Josh Donaldson (traded for Rich Harden), Brandon Guyer (traded for Matt Garza), Darwin Barney, James Russell and Casey Lambert, 08 garnered a slew of guys that have turned into valuable spects for either the Big League team directly or via trade (Cashner, Flaherty, Shafer, Carpenter, Campana, Ridling, Cerda) 09 lands some of the best talent the organization has picked in a single draft in some time- Jackson, LeMahieu, Kirk, Whitenack and McNutt. 2010- everyone harps on Simpson, however Matt Szczur was a fantastic pick and signing, Gibbs was the highest rated C not named Posey, Golden was a pick outside of Wilkens MO yet the upside is undeniable… Point is, over the past 20 years, you’d be extremely hard pressed to find a scouting director with a better record than Wilken and if Hendry is canned at seasons end, we should all hope upon hope that Wilken does NOT go along with him.
ABTY7Quote Reply