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Jimenez is on course to be the next Jorge Soler.
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Maybe we can raise money for a Canada Goose coat for him to play in.
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Quote:Jimenez is on course to be the next Jorge Soler.
That's some serious Wishful Thinking Juice you're pounding.
One dick can poke an eye out. A hundred dicks can move mountains.
--Veryzer
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Quote:Maybe we can raise money for a Canada Goose coat for him to play in.
Don’t forget the neoprene face mask and neck warmer!
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Quote:Jimenez is on course to be the next Jorge Soler.
I hope you're right.
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Quote:Cubs system ranked only #25 by Keith Law.
http://insider.espn.com/mlb/insider/stor...rm-systems
Not surprising. It's been pretty much gutted the last couple of years. And 100% worth it.
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I'm right there with you. Plus, the system still has a ton of depth, regardless of how we rank. I'm sure the Luke Blaizes of the world are losing their minds though.
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Quote:
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rok" data-cid="327759" data-time="1517006500">
<div>
Cubs system ranked only #25 by Keith Law.
http://insider.espn.com/mlb/insider/stor...rm-systems
And 100% worth it.
</div>
</blockquote>
Yes.
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Here's Keith Law's writeup on the Cubs system:
Quote:Winning is a tough business, as the Cubs have strip-mined their system for three straight NLCS appearances and a world championship, leaving a system that's shallower than it has been since the new regime took over and also lacks any prospects in the global top 50.
1. Aramis Ademan, SS/2B (ranked No. 78)
2. Adbert Alzolay, RHP (ranked No. 84)
3. Jose Albertos, RHP (Just missed)
4. Brendon Little, LHP
5. Thomas Hatch, RHP
6. Oscar de la Cruz, RHP
7. Alex Lange, RHP
8. Victor Caratini, C/1B
9. Jen-Ho Tseng, RHP
10. Miguel Amaya, C/1B
Non-top 100 prospects
Brendon Little and Alex Lange were the Cubs' two first-round picks last year, boasting two of the best breaking balls in the draft class but also bringing questions about whether they will be starters long-term. Little, the lefty, is up to 96 with some feel for a changeup, but he is only 6 feet tall without plane or life to the fastball, and his stride is probably on the short side for a starter. Lange had three years of success for LSU and his curveball misses bats in the zone, but the delivery is going to be very tough for him to repeat as a starter. He's the more likely of the two to end up a reliever.
Thomas Hatch was the Cubs' first pick in the 2016 draft, coming in the third round, and held his stuff all year after injury problems in college. He'll pitch at 92-95, using a sinker and now a four-seamer, and while his slider regressed, he did show an above-average changeup that will flash plus. He can get ground balls and miss enough bats to profile as a fourth starter. Oscar de la Cruz would be a top-100 prospect if he could stay healthy for a full year, but he's thrown just 96 innings the past two years around elbow and pectoral injuries. When healthy, the nearly 6-foot-6 right-hander is 92-94 with heavy life, average command and off-speed stuff that varies from average to plus. He was pulled from the Arizona Fall League before it began, but is expected to be healthy(ish) for spring training.
Victor Caratini is a bench player but a valuable one because he can hit with some pop, control the zone, and also can back up at catcher, first base and possibly third (which he played more as an amateur) or a corner-outfield spot. Few reserves can match his versatility and ability to get on base, so while he's probably not a good enough defensive catcher to start there, he's an asset in this era of three-to-four-man benches. Jen-Ho Tseng added a cutter last year to help him against left-handed batters, and that could help keep him a back-of-the-rotation starter rather than pushing him to the bullpen.
Miguel Amaya didn't hit at all this summer as an 18-year-old in the advanced short-season Northwest League, posting a .266 OBP but tying for 10th in the league in doubles. He does project to really hit with at least good extra-base power though. He's a catcher now with a plus arm and chance to be at least solid-average in other aspects behind the plate, although if he hits like scouts expect, he could move off the position to get him into the lineup every day. Right-hander Dillon Maples (11) was a forgotten man in this system after years of injuries and ineffectiveness, but last year everything came together. He started working in the upper 90s with a wipeout slider, punched out 36 percent of the batters he faced in the minors, and even got a brief call-up to the big leagues. He's a one-inning reliever but there's the potential here for him to be among the best in that specific role if he can gain even a half-grade of control. Second baseman David Bote (12) opened a lot of eyes in the Arizona Fall League by hitting .333/.395/.536 in 19 games. He makes a lot of hard line-drive contact, projecting more to doubles than homers, and can play adequate defense at the keystone, enough that he might be a second-division regular.
The Cubs took Nelson Velazquez (13) out of Puerto Rico in the sixth round last year, betting on his huge raw power and bat speed despite a crude approach right now. He's a 60 runner but will probably lose a step as he fills out and move to an outfield corner full-time. It's an all-or-nothing sort of bet -- if he gets to enough of a hit tool to get to the power, he's a regular.
Right-hander Erling Moreno (14), who signed for $650K in the same international class as Gleyber Torres and Eloy Jimenez, has continued to be plagued by arm trouble, throwing only 64 innings in 14 starts around shoulder soreness after missing most of 2014-15 due to Tommy John surgery. When healthy, he's 94-97 with huge sink, generating a 60 percent ground-ball rate over the past two seasons. He's one to watch if he can just get on the mound for a full year. Michael Rucker (15) was the Cubs' 11th-round pick in 2016 out of Brigham Young and started 2017 in the low-A South Bend bullpen, but earned a quick promotion to high-A and ended up in Myrtle Beach's rotation, where he posted a 2.49 ERA in 15 starts, with 17 unintentional walks and 76 K's in 83 innings. He's up to 93 with an average breaking ball, getting results with some of the best fastball command in the system. His ceiling is low, but if he passes the Double-A test he's very likely to end up logging some starts in the majors.
The Cubs' sixth-rounder last year, Jeremiah Estrada (16) is an undersized high school right-hander with a quick arm and an advanced feel for pitching, lacking much projection for more velocity. Keegan Thompson (17), a top prospect out of high school, went to Auburn, where he blew out his elbow before coming back last spring as a redshirt junior with average stuff and improved command, occasionally touching the mid-90s or flashing a plus breaking ball. He looks like a back-end starter as well. Lefty Justin Steele (18) is yet another possible back-end starter, with some reliever potential because he shows an above-average breaking ball and has been effective against left-handed hitters. Mark Zagunis (19) is a below-average defender in an outfield corner, but his history of high OBPs should get him time as a major league reserve. The Cubs tried to hit the reset button with outfielder D.J. Wilson (20) last summer, and he was better after an injury and stint in extended spring where coaches tried to rework his swing. He hit .245/.325/.462 after returning to low-A, showing some progress, but is not where he needs to be entering his age-21 season. Outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez (21) has been a huge disappointment, getting over-rotational at the plate to try to hit for power he probably doesn't quite have, resulting in way too many groundouts to the left side when he should be using the whole field. His contact rate is fine, but it's the wrong kind of contact.
2018 impact: Victor Caratini should start the year as the Cubs' backup catcher/first baseman, and Dillon Maples should log some innings in the major league bullpen if his control allows it.
Sleeper: Miguel Amaya's 2017 line doesn't indicate what kind of hitter he is, or at least is expected to be, and a strong 2018 would launch him up the global list given the possibility that he's a catcher too.
The fallen: Trevor Clifton was the Cubs' organizational pitcher of the year in 2016, but his command of average to fringe-average stuff wasn't enough for him in Double-A as the slight right-hander posted a 5.20 ERA as a result of more hard contact.
This is not some silly theory that's unsupported and deserves being mocked by photos of Xena. ![[Image: ITgoyeg.png]](http://i.imgur.com/ITgoyeg.png)
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How does a team in the Cubs position rebuild their farm system?
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I love that every pitching prospect projects as a 4-5 to these evaluators. It's like, we don't really have a clue so we'll go with a back of the rotation ceiling.
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So, is BN going to write a post crying about every single publication and twitter account that ranks the system near the bottom?
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