Cubs Farm System And Prospects Discussion Thread

SilenceS

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Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 44m44 minutes ago

Cubs outfielder Eloy Jimenez is the No. 1 overall pick in the Dominican League winter ball draft. He's going to the Gigantes.
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beckdawg

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MLB.com updated their top 100 a bit with some promotions. Candelario is now #100 and Cease is #98.
 

DanTown

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Tweet from Cubs Den on Thomas Hatch (5th round pick)

Thomas Hatch continues to impress. 91-94, frequently at the top of that range. Touched 95, Low 80s SL, threw at least one nice CH.

https://twitter.com/CubsDen/status/783429627318374400

Obviously a fifth round pick isn't likely to shoot up the organization but if he sits in the mid 90s, might be a potential 3/4 in two years when the Cubs need for cheap arms will come in to play.
 

Ari Bear

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beckdawg

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Chesny Young, 3b, Cubs. A 14th-round pick out of Mercer in 2014, the Cubs feel like they got a steal in the righthanded hitter. He’s playing for Escogido in the Dominican Republic and on Friday had two hits and two RBIs in a 4-3 loss to Licey. Young is off to a fast start in the D.R., going 8-for-18 in five games. Young, a .314 hitter through 1,160 pro at-bats, has “elite bat-to-ball skills,” according to Cubs president Theo Epstein, and controls the strike zone. He’s an average runner and average defender, primarily playing second base.
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/baseball-america-prospect-report/#zUXZXveBYpt3u0As.99
 

DanTown

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You know I've driven the Chesney Young bandwagon forever and he wouldn't surprise me if hes a utility guy come 2018. Prrobaly headed to Iowa for 2017. Like a righty LaStella with slightly better speed.
 

CSF77

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• Corey Black, RHP, Cubs' No. 27 -- Control problems plagued Black once again in 2016 as he issued 36 free passes against 62 strikeouts in 53 innings (48 appearances) between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs were hopeful that Black might get back on track this offseason in Puerto Rico, and, so far, the 25-year-old right-hander has done just that, posting a 0.45 ERA with a league-leading 12 saves in 20 innings (19 appearances) for Cangrejeros de Santurce.

• Chesny Young, 2B/3B, Cubs' No. 28 -- Young has done nothing but hit to begin his career, winning the Carolina League batting title (.321 average) in 2015 and then hitting .303 this past season in his first taste of Double-A. Unsurprisingly, Young is currently raking in the Dominican, where he's opened his offseason with a 10-game hitting streak and a .457/.537/.486 slash line for Leones del Escogido.
 

JP Hochbaum

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The question is does Chesny Young make Happ very tradeable or does Happ make Young very tradeable?

I really like holding onto these high contact rate guys like Young.
 

CSF77

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The question is does Chesny Young make Happ very tradeable or does Happ make Young very tradeable?

I really like holding onto these high contact rate guys like Young.

Hard to say. All things equal they pick the one that fits better in the line up.
 

beckdawg

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The question is does Chesny Young make Happ very tradeable or does Happ make Young very tradeable?

I really like holding onto these high contact rate guys like Young.

Don't think Young really changes the math on Happ. Young is still a fringe starter on a playoff team and is better off the bench. Plus ya know there's still Baez.
 

CSF77

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Weak arm. Light bat. Strong bat. Strong OBA.

He played like 6 positions so far. He has sub written all over him.

Happ has more power. Strong arm. Not too fluid of a defender.

Seems both could lead off. But there is a reason why 1 is the top prospect vs the 28th.
 

DanTown

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Chesney Young is probably your starting 2B at Iowa and a guy who's potentially a September call-up if you want him because he has some if not great speed and good ability to make contact so he profiles as a great guy off the bench. He doesn't have a good glove (more just fair) and does have some flexibility so Iowa makes some sense.

Long term though, he's no where near Happ in terms of future bat. Happ projects as a high value, switch hitting, with decent power 2B and slight SB potential. Could totally see the 2019 lineup being something like

Happ / Russell / Rizzo / Bryant / Schwarber / Jimenez / Contreras / Almora
 

beckdawg

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Random stats of "the next IFA wave" from the cubs most recent splurge

Non-stateside

OF - Jonathan Sierra - Hit .264/.384/.341 in DSL with 14.1%/18.3% bb/k rates and also stole 12 bases in 263 PAs

Scouts compare him to Darryl Strawberry. Scouting on him prior to signing was below average defender but apparently scouts view him as a RF in the future. Power's not there yet with a .077 ISO. And keep in mind he was only 17 so while he's 6'3 he's only like 190 lbs right now. He's a lefty and wth that pretty impressive walk rate could move quickly. Not entirely sure what the super low minor OF depth is right now but he might have a shot to start in A ball. Of the top of my head, DJ Wilson and Kevonte Mitchel are both likely to be in A ball which might leave them with a shot for a LF. Cubs gave him $2.5 mil.

SS - Aramis Ademan - Hit .254/.366/.311 with 13.7%/11.3% bb/k rates and also stole 17 bases in 248 PAs.

Ademan was supposed to be the best defensive SS in the 2015 class. His .057 ISO shows there's not much power there and there probably isn't going to be more than average. But the fact he held his own in terms of average and OBP was a positive sign for a guy known for his glove. Cubs gave him $2 mil.

SS - Yonathan Perlaza - hit .256/.311/.386 with 7.3%/20.4% and also stole 17 bases in 245 PAs

Scouts compared him to a teenage Martin Prado. He's not the defender Ademan is but there is some hope he sticks at SS apparently. Unlike the first two, he's shown some decent power with a .130 ISO. Cubs gave him $1 mil.

C - Miguel Amaya - hit .245/.344/.322 with 8.7%/11.2% bb/k rates and also stole 9 bases in 242 PAs.

Amaya is sort of similar to Ademan in that when he was signed he was viewed as a glove first C. Of the guys who aren't stateside I personally think he is the most interesting because there's been some reports that his defense is possibly top 3 among all C prospects long term(see: source). Like the rest he didn't hit for much power(.077 ISO) but like Ademan the fact he's holding his own is a big deal. There's just not many good C prospects. Cubs signed him for $1 mil

C - Henderson Perez - hit .226/.320/.284 with 10.1%/25.3% bb/k rates and stole 9 bases in 178 PAs.

I don't have much info on Perez. The guys above were more of the cream according to the typical scouting type places. That being said, money is general a good indicator of potential and Perez got $1.25 mil.

SS - Christopher Morel - didn't play near as I can tell but signed for $800k

RHP - Yunior Perez - 4.13/3.36 ERA/FIP with a 6.67 k/9 and a 2.54 bb/9
Perez signed for $600k. And while I previously mentioned money being a good indicator of talent, it's worth noting that IFA pitchers usually don't get a ton because they are very difficult to project. The top non-cuban pitcher in terms of signing bonus I believe was Jose Albertos(see below) who got $1.5 mil. I believe the #2 behind him was Alvaro Seijas who the cards gave $762,500 to. He apparently can throw 94 but doesn't have much else right now. He also has a good frame(6'4 190 lbs). So there's a lot of projection left.

LHP - Brailyn Marquez - 1.48/3.18 ERA/FIP with a 7.90/3.79 k/9 bb/9
Like Perez signed for $600k and like Perez has a decent frame(6-4/185). Little I dug up on him suggest he doesn't throw quite as hard and is more in the low 90's.

CF - Jose Gutierrez - .241/.291/.372 with 6.0%/15.1% and 12 SB.
Signed for $550k. Don't have much other info

2B - Luis Diaz - .247/.330/.309 with 8.1%/22.7% and 23 SB
Signed for $300k. Looks to have pretty good speed and hit decent enough.

C - Herson Perez - .213/.315/.277 with a 12.0%/21.3% and 9 SB
Signed for $250k

LHP - Faustino Carrera - 1.06/2.53 ERA/FIP 6.48/2.24 k/9 bb/9
Signed for $250k. On the smaller side(5-10/165) which may end up making him a reliever.

2B/3B - Orian Nunez - .278/.344/.394 with 9.3%/8.0% and 12 SB
Signed for $100k. Not much info on him but some what respectable numbers.

OF - Abraham Rodriguez - .255/.289/.355 with 4.2%/10.5% and 12 SB
Signed for $100k

Stateside

CF/RF - Eddy Martinez - At A ball not mesa mind you hit .254/.331/.380 with 9.7%/21.9% and 8 SB
Martinez is already in the cubs top 30 so I wont go on too much about him. He signed for $3 mil making him the highest paid guy and he was generally considered the highest rated. Those numbers don't look amazing but I believe he also basically had sat out an entire year from defecting and probably was a bit rusty. He also hit .266/.348/.379 vs RHP though LHP ate him up at .226/.288/.383. Also from may-july he was quite good hitting .280/.370/.433. I mentioned the rust in April(.235/.270/.353) but he also fell off hard in August(.217/.280/.293). It's possible he might have just been worn out by the end of the season. He played 126 games which his previous high in cuba was 40.

SP - Jose Albertos

Albertos has already popped up on some top 30 lists. Pretty advanced mexican pitcher who's a bit maxed out physically but who can throw upper 90's. Cubs shut him down before he had much action but unlike the first two he was in Mesa already.

SS - Isaac Paredes - hit .305/.359/.443 with a 7.0%/10.8% bb/k rate in Mesa and earned a 13 PA promotion to South Bend.

Paredes is apparently a bigger bodied guy who may be pushed to 3B but looks a bit like under valued find. Cubs signed him for $800k and making it to A ball before you turn 18 is seriously impressive. With an ISO of .138 in Mesa he's shown decent power so even if he does get pushed to 3B he's likely to be ok there. Like Torres this year he probably starts in A ball a 18. I'm not sure he'll reach quite the same prospect status Torres has so quickly but he's probably one to keep an eye on.

OF - Kwang-Min Kwon - hit .267/.353/.333 with 8.8%/29.4% though it was only over 34 PAs in mesa.

Signed for $1 mil. Won the Mesa HR derby but didn't play much this year.

C - Kevin Zamudio - hit .237/.291/.421 with 6.1%/29.1%

Signed for $150k. Apparently has decent power projection

RHP - Javier Assad - 2.87/3.59 ERA/FIP with a 10.04/3.11 k/9 and bb/9

Signed for $150k. Apparently throws 90-93. Some what decent size at 6-1/200. With that sort of k/bb ratio he's probably worth keeping an eye on. Any time you're hitting 10 k/9 it's worth watching especially considering 3 bb/9 while not amazing isn't terrible. Often you'll see high k rate pitchers have 4-5 bb/9 walk rates and still be considered top prospects at 10 k/9.
 

beckdawg

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To follow the previous post up, the names worth knowing right now are mainly Sierra, Ademan, Perlaza, Amaya on the guys who were in DSL. I'd put maybe's on Yunior Perez and Brailyn Marquez given their size and the decent amount of money they got. Henderson Perez is also probably a maybe but from what I gather he's likely more of just a pure defensive C rather than a bat and defense.

From the state side guys, Albertos and Martinez are obvious as mlb.com already has them as top 30 guys. Paredes will be interesting to see how BA/BP/mlb.com rate him. I could see him breaking the back end of the top 30 once they rerate. Assad could be a bit like Jose Paulino who has started to pop up on the radar. The other two I think need to hit before they are seriously worth talking about though Kwon is supposed to have a decent bat.

Also to give you some sort of idea where these guys theoretically rate, it's doubtful any are going to be as quickly rated highly as Torres/Jiminez. Those two were literally the #1 and #2 guys in that class. The 2015 class was a bit odd given how many cubans suddenly popped up but the guys from the cubs were #5(Martinez), #17(Perlaza), #20(Sierra), #23(Ademan) and #28(Amaya). In a normal class, Martinez might be similar to Torres/Jiminez. To put that into perspective, the 2013 class had Wladimir Galindo as the #25 guy. He's crushed in he minors(.272/.353/.469 over 608 minor league PAs) but most don't yet have him in the cubs top 30 though i wouldn't surprise me to see him show up there once they rerate.
 

beckdawg

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BA put out it's top ten as well as some other prospect chat stuff

Top 10 in order
Eloy Jimenez, OF
Ian Happ, 2B/OF
Albert Almora Jr., OF
Dylan Cease, RHP
Oscar de la Cruz, RHP
Mark Zagunis, OF
Jeimer Candelario, 3B
Trevor Clifton, RHP
D.J. Wilson, OF
Jose Albertos, RHP

One of the intereesting things in the chat was someone asked John Manuel if Jimenez compared to Matt Holiday and he said he really liked that comparison. There was prvious mention in the chat that some had compared him to Stanton but that he hit better with less power so it wasn't a great comp. Another interesting thing was they apparently had Jiminez as having higher top end than Torres but more risk(65-high for Jiminez 60-medium for Torres).

More info here http://www.bleachernation.com/2017/...prospect-list-for-2017-and-takes-a-deep-dive/
 

CSF77

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Is Almora still in prospect status?
 

CSF77

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I would be tempted to bump DJ up to 6. His skill set could put him into a eliete lead off role. Solid D with ++ speed. A strong season it would become a forgone conclusion.

The 3 ahead of him are good roster fillers on a major league roster but you are not seeing any with headliner talent.

Underwood is another I'm a little shocked they cast aside. He is another with the talent to be a head liner vs fill in type.

Pretty questionable rankings.
 

Raskolnikov

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Reading this makes a White Sox fan want to slit their wrists. such an embarrassment of riches.
 

beckdawg

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Is Almora still in prospect status?

I think you have to have like 200 PAs before you count as no longer a "prospect." Though, I think there's no universal cut off point.
 

brett05

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I think you have to have like 200 PAs before you count as no longer a "prospect." Though, I think there's no universal cut off point.

I lean toward losing your Rookie Eligibility as losing your prospect status
 

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