Farm System

[MickKelleherWasMyHero]

 

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At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if Baez will need to remain at SS to replace Castro and Vogelbach will play 1B and replace Rizzo. Both Castro and Rizzo have had terrible seasons and have regressed significantly. Two years from now I could see this awesome offensive and terrible defensive lineup taking the field.

 

2 - Castillo

3 - Vogelbach

4 - Alcantara

5 - Bryant

6 - Baez

7 - Some awesome FA like Giancarlo Stanton

8 - Lake

9 - Soler

 

And no, that's not the batting order. Rizzo could turn into the LH side of a platoon (I wonder if he could play LF). Castro could be traded or used as a utility IF. Maybe I'm overreacting, but both have been quite bad this year. 

 

Would be ecstatic if 3 of those prospects make meaningful contributions as Cubs for 2015 or if 5 for 2016.

 

Sorry to be Debbie Downer but Cubs have a history of overhyping prospects and minimal success with developing prospects.  Yeah, that was the Tribune era and the minor leagues have been revamped but I've heard that approach before with MacPhail and Hendry so I'll believe it when I see prospects regularly develop to productive MLB players.

 

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This time around is a little different. The FO cares about depth in the minors leagues. In the past, the hype has been over 1 or 2 prospects, and that's all you'd hear about, and they'd bomb out or just be average players. I think the system is deeper now than it's ever been, at least in my lifetime. If 3 of those prospects pan out, that's going to be something that hasn't happened with the Cubs in a long time--(maybe the late 80s with Maddux, Palmeiro, etc. or the 60s with Santo and Williams, et al.)