Cubs Farm System And Prospects Discussion Thread

TC in Mississippi · Jul 20, 2016

Looks like Jack Leathersich is about to begin a stint at AA Tennessee. Leathersich has looked good to the Cubs scouts and could be another interesting lefty arm.

beckdawg · Jul 21, 2016

Cubs promoted Jose Paulino to South Bend. He sure looks legit this year. He's a 21 year old 6'2 lefty with a 9.51 k/9 0.77 b/9 and 0.51/1.83 ERA/FIP. I believe he was one of the two players the cubs got for Camapana but he was SUPER young. He could realistically be a big time name after the offseason similar to how De La Cruz popped up basically out of no where to be one of the top 15 best prospects the cubs have.

beckdawg · Jul 22, 2016

With Vogelbach gone mlb.com updated their top 30. Jose Albertos is now #10 after previously not being ranked.

beckdawg · Jul 26, 2016

Torres + McKinney gone added I believe Jose Rosario(#27) and P.J. Higgins(#28) to the cubs top 30 on mlb.com.

beckdawg · Jul 27, 2016

I haven't been keeping up with the minor league stuff as I usually do but I checked in and saw De La Cruz had another big outing. 4.1 IP, 1 ER(HR), 3 hits, 1 walk, 7 K's in A-. He's probably not on most fans radar but he will be soon. Prior to the season there were some reports that some in the cubs organization think he's their best pitching prospect and given the results he put up it's not hard to see why. He's a converted SS so he's still pretty raw but his numbers are stuff to drool over. In the 8.1 innings he's pitched at A- this year he has 14 k's(15.12 k/9) and 2 walks(2.16 bb/9) to go along with the 1 ER. He's also a big kid at 6-4/200 so there's a lot in his frame to like.

If you live near South Bend, next year might be a treat to go watch them pitch. Right now the arms are at Eugene but presumably they will start in South Bend next year and Eugene's rotation has been sick this year. Besides De La Cruz, they have Dylan Cease(3.32 ERA, 9.55 k/9 3.32 bb/9 and throws upper 90's), Bryan Hudson(former HS with crummy results but has top of the rotation potential) and the recently promoted Jose Paulino(0.51 ERA, 9.51 k/9 0.77 bb/9). I don't know much about Jesus Castillo either but he's put up good results(2.43 ERA, 10.31 k/9 2.73 bb/9).

beckdawg · Jul 27, 2016

Looks like mlb.com has rejiggered their ranks a lot. Top 30 looks like this

#1 Contreras(surprised he still counts since Almora doesn't)
#2 Ian Happ
#3 Eloy Jimenez
#4 Jeimer Candelario
#5 Dylan Cease
#6 Mark Zagunis
#7 Duane Underwood
#8 Oscar De La Cruz
#9 Trevor Clifton(He's WAY up was near the 20's)
#10 Jose Albertos
#11 Bryan Hudson
#12 Donnie Dewees
#13 D.J. Wilson
#14 Eddy Martinez
#15 Carl Edwards(really not sure why he's still a "prospect" given how long he's been with the parent club)
#16 Thomas Hatch(newly added)
#17 Victor Caratini(think he's up 5 or more spots)
#18 Jake Stinnett
#19 Pierce Johnson(think he's fallen off 5 or 10 spots)
#20 Ryan Williams
#21 Jacob Hannemann
#22 Rob Zastryzny
#23 Jose Rosario
#24 PJ Higgins
#25 Justin Steele(fell a lot)
#26 Carson Sands(also fell a lot)
#27 Felix Pena(new comer to list)
#28 Jen-Ho Tseng
#29 Corey Black
#30 Chesney Young(think he's a new addition)

Parade_Rain · Jul 28, 2016

Perhaps they think Contreras will be sent back down when Soler is ready and are also forecasting a trade inviting Almora.

CubsWin · Jul 28, 2016

A lot of movement on that list and several new names. (Seems like Corey Black has been a prospect forever.) Still some nice assets if they want to make a significant trade.

CSF77 · Jul 28, 2016

Parade_Rain said:
Perhaps they think Contreras will be sent back down when Soler is ready and are also forecasting a trade inviting Almora.

Makes little sense. It is well known that Theo brought him up this year to stay. Most likely a time in issue. Almora should also be there.

CSF77 · Jul 28, 2016

beckdawg said:
I haven't been keeping up with the minor league stuff as I usually do but I checked in and saw De La Cruz had another big outing. 4.1 IP, 1 ER(HR), 3 hits, 1 walk, 7 K's in A-. He's probably not on most fans radar but he will be soon. Prior to the season there were some reports that some in the cubs organization think he's their best pitching prospect and given the results he put up it's not hard to see why. He's a converted SS so he's still pretty raw but his numbers are stuff to drool over. In the 8.1 innings he's pitched at A- this year he has 14 k's(15.12 k/9) and 2 walks(2.16 bb/9) to go along with the 1 ER. He's also a big kid at 6-4/200 so there's a lot in his frame to like.

If you live near South Bend, next year might be a treat to go watch them pitch. Right now the arms are at Eugene but presumably they will start in South Bend next year and Eugene's rotation has been sick this year. Besides De La Cruz, they have Dylan Cease(3.32 ERA, 9.55 k/9 3.32 bb/9 and throws upper 90's), Bryan Hudson(former HS with crummy results but has top of the rotation potential) and the recently promoted Jose Paulino(0.51 ERA, 9.51 k/9 0.77 bb/9). I don't know much about Jesus Castillo either but he's put up good results(2.43 ERA, 10.31 k/9 2.73 bb/9).

Hudson has a knee buckling hammer. He gains full command of it he will be nasty. Not up on De La Cruz and his stuff.

But those 3 are guys to watch. Underwood peaked in value last year but has been injured. He may bounce back next year. Not sure if he starts in Iowa or not.

Parade_Rain · Jul 28, 2016

CSF77 said:
Makes little sense. It is well known that Theo brought him up this year to stay. Most likely a time in issue. Almora should also be there.

You did see the smiley, right?

CSF77 · Jul 28, 2016

Parade_Rain said:
You did see the smiley, right?

Had me worried for a second.

beckdawg · Jul 28, 2016

CSF77 said:
Hudson has a knee buckling hammer. He gains full command of it he will be nasty. Not up on De La Cruz and his stuff.

But those 3 are guys to watch. Underwood peaked in value last year but has been injured. He may bounce back next year. Not sure if he starts in Iowa or not.

From what I've read De La Cruz is like 95-97 with an above average curve. He's hard to project though because he's only been pitching a few years. If his change up comes along with reps he could be special.

CSF77 · Jul 28, 2016

beckdawg said:
From what I've read De La Cruz is like 95-97 with an above average curve. He's hard to project though because he's only been pitching a few years. If his change up comes along with reps he could be special.

Seems typical talent wise. Can ramp it up 97-98. 1 solid and a so so.

Nothing dynamic.

I was looking at these guys WHIP's and most of these guys are 1.35 and higher. That is a issue with me. High walks and hittable stuff. SO's are a lesser concern.

beckdawg · Jul 28, 2016

CSF77 said:
Seems typical talent wise. Can ramp it up 97-98. 1 solid and a so so.

Nothing dynamic.

I was looking at these guys WHIP's and most of these guys are 1.35 and higher. That is a issue with me. High walks and hittable stuff. SO's are a lesser concern.

In his 2 starts this year in Eugene he has a 15.12 k/9 and a 2.16 bb/9. Not what I would call "typical." He's a real talent he's just super raw because he was signed as a SS. He very well might be the cubs best pitching prospect. I think you could debate over him and Cease but he's far more projectable from a frame stand point at 6-4/200. Cease is 6-1/175 and relies more on good arm speed to generate his heat.

chibears55 · Jul 30, 2016

@NSidersReport: Eloy Jimenez 4-for-5, 2 doubles (MWL best 30) , grand slam (HR #12), 4 RBI (MWL best 68 RBI), career-high 9 total bases. SB leads 11-7

Can't wait to see this kid in cubs outfield..

Course I said the same about Soler but this kid seems like he got it together a little more..

We shall see

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

beckdawg · Jul 30, 2016

Preston Morrison is doing his best kyle hendricks impression this year. 120.2 IP, 9.0 k/9 2.0 bb/9 2.69 ERA since he was drafted last year. And when I say Kyle Hendricks I actually mean a guy who throws upper 80's with a good sinker. Cubs really seem to like that sort of profile. Last year Ryan Williams and Jeremy Null broke out with similar skills. This year Morrison and obviously Hendricks sorta started their trend that way. Probably a case of baseball undervaluing guys like that because they lack upper tier stuff.

beckdawg · Jul 31, 2016

De La Cruz with another strong outing yesterday this time in south bend. 4.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 ER, 7 K's. On the year that gives him 23 K's, 10 hits, 4 walks, 3 ER in 16 innings for a 1.69 ERA. In his minor league career it's 175.0 IP, 138 hits, 49 ER, 45 walks and 172 K's for a 2.52 ERA. That's an 8.85 k/9 and a 2.31 bb/9 with a 1.04 WHIP for a guy who's just scratching the surface of what he can be right now.

beckdawg · Aug 3, 2016

I'm really excited to see what Eddy Martinez does over the next 1-2 years. Right now he's hitting .272/.351/.415 with 12 HRs and 6 SB in South Bend. However, that's not the whole picture. I believe he missed over a year defecting from Cuba and because of that he was REALLY rusty to start the year. He hit .235/.270/.353 in April. He started to pick it up a little in May hitting .212/.320/.353. Since June however he is hitting .314/.398/.466. Also over that june period is bb/k rate is 12.2%/19.9%

I have been a little confused with him playing in RF however. Previously Dewees was in CF and he's a more polished CF but the cubs have been playing Martinez in RF even after his promotion. Martinez is not slow. I think most give his speed grade a 60 but there's some who think it's plus-plus(ie 70 grade). So presumably he would be able to handle CF. Since Dewees was promoted they have been playing Connor Myers(27th round pick out of Old Dominion) there. Martinez does have a strong arm which you'd typically want in RF graded out as a 60. Martinez has below average power though so RF wouldn't typically be where you'd want that. Additionally, Eloy Jiminez is also on that South Bend team and he's been playing LF.

I suppose we'll see how it goes next year. It could just be that the cubs knew he would be rusty having not played in a year and would rather put him in the less demanding RF to start with and then work with him during instructs in CF. Either way though, the bat is pretty exciting and his overall tools could make him a star with the ability to be a plus defender and plus speed.

TC in Mississippi · Aug 3, 2016

Bijan Rademacher has been promoted to AAA Iowa. He's slashing .313/.395/.484 with a wOBA of .403 at AA Tennessee.

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