Farm System

[funkster]

Law has Cubs system ranked fifth. Good to see.

[chshdsck]

Much like last year, I think I'm looking forward more to the 2013 farm system (Soler, Baez, Almora, Vogel, ect..) than the Cubs' season.

[Coldneck]

Yup. Wish Iowa was in the International League because their stats would be so skewed with the hitting friendly parks in the PCL and I'd get to see them on occasion. 

[funkster]

I really want to see if some of that young pitching starts stepping it up (Maples, Johnson, Blackburn, Underwood etc..)

[chshdsck]

I really want to see if some of that young pitching starts stepping it up (Maples, Johnson, Blackburn, Underwood etc..)

 

Oh, for sure. We are seeing a handful of run producers emerging in the minors.

 

It would be nice to see some pitching that's worth getting excited about.

[Scarey]

So, not only did the Cubs get something tangible for Campana, they got two somethings... and they're both human beings... and at least one of them is apparently pretty good at playing baseball.

 

Stolen from a poster at NSBB who cited Ben Badler's writeup of the international signings of last year:

<div>
<div>The prize of Arizona's July 2 class was Venezuelan righthander Jesus Castillo (video), who signed for $250,000 when he turned 16 on Aug. 27. He may end up being the youngest player in the Dominican Summer League in 2012, but he's already come on quickly. A gangly 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Castillo is from Valencia (though he also briefly lived in Spain) and trained with Oswaldo Camacho. Castillo is athletic (he used to also play soccer), has a good delivery, a long stride and gets out front well. When he signed, Castillo was throwing in the mid-80s with a loose arm and projection, and now he sits around 88-90 mph. His arm action can get long, but with his looseness and projection, his fastball should be at least a plus pitch and eventually reach the mid-90s. He has an advanced changeup for his age and it's his No. 2 pitch right now ahead of his breaking ball.
</div>

 

</div>

[Scarey]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="funkster" data-cid="202007" data-time="1360859820">
I really want to see if some of that young pitching starts stepping it up (Maples, Johnson, Blackburn, Underwood etc..)

 

Oh, for sure. We are seeing a handful of run producers emerging in the minors.

 

It would be nice to see some pitching that's worth getting excited about.
</blockquote>
 

10 minor league pitchers most likely to see MLB time:

 

Arodys Vizcaino RP/SP

Alberto Cabrera RP

Barrett Loux SP

Hector Rondon SP

Tony Zych RP

Dae Eun Rhee SP

Trey McNutt RP

Nick Struck SP

Chris Rusin SP

Brooks Raley SP

 

10 minor league pitchers to keep an eye on in the Cubs minor league system:

 

Juan Paniagua

Dillon Maples

Pierce Johnson

Duane Underwood

Paul Blackburn

Michael Jensen

Jose Arias

Taylor Scott

Josh Conway

Ryan McNeil

[rok]

I kinda liked what I saw from Chapman last season, albeit briefly, as well. He's still in the system correct?

[Coach]

Jae Hoon Ha is an OF, unless he's been converted to pitching.

[funkster]

I kinda liked what I saw from Chapman last season, albeit briefly, as well. He's still in the system correct?

I think so.  

 

Really looking forward to seeing what Tony Zych can do.  Seems like he's gonna make a solid back end of the bullpen type.

[Scarey]

Jae Hoon Ha is an OF, unless he's been converted to pitching.

 

Whoops, go my Koreans mixed up.

[Scarey]

I kinda liked what I saw from Chapman last season, albeit briefly, as well. He's still in the system correct?

 

Completely zoned on Chapman and the other late season acquisitions like Hendricks. Yeah, I think he could be a pretty decent bullpen arm.

[bz]

No Whitenack?

[Scarey]

No Whitenack?

 

Whitenack I would not expect to see the majors this year. The "pitchers to watch" list are more like guys that haven't really logged a ton of innings and are getting to the point where they could be blips on the radar.

 

I am still excited for guys like Whitenack, Hendricks, Rhoderick, Loosen, Rosario, and Hatley. They just don't really fall into either category.

[chshdsck]

Anyone up for doing a daily recap of the farm system this year?