BA's SL Top 20

Go Rays...

 

Big deal, 3 out of the top 6.

 

How accurate are these things? Who did they predict 3 to 5 years ago to be the top guys?

FIVE YEARS AGO

1. *Jake Peavey, rhp, Mobile (Padres)

2. *Aaron Cook, rhp, Carolina (Rockies)

3. *Frank Beltran, rhp, West Tenn (Cubs)

4. *Jason Young, rhp, Carolina (Rockies)

5. *Ricardo Rodriguez, rhp, Jacksonville (Dodgers)

6. *Miguel Olivio, c, Birmingham (White Sox)

7. *Choo Freeman, of, Carolina (Rockies)

8. *Vinny Chulk, rhp, Tennessee (Blue Jays)

9. *Ben Henrickson, rhp, Huntsville (Brewers)

10. *Dennis Tankersley, rhp, Mobile (Padres)

*Has played in major leagues

So in total so far the Cubs have

 

1 MWL

Jose Ceda

 

1 AZL

Larry Suarez

 

2 FSL

Jeff Samardzjia

Tyler Colvin

 

1 SL

Tyler Colvin

 

I am I pessimistic or is this a bad showing for our minor league prospects. I looks real bad to me.

You missed the big one:

4 NWL

Josh Donaldson

Tony Thomas

Kyler Burke

Chris Huseby

It's not a big deal when you don't get too many at the higher levels considering more teams are involved in leagues at AA and higher. Also more players pass through and qualify at these levels vs. lower levels where the players tend to stay longer since they are younger.

The Cubs system is what it was a year or 2 ago, kind of deep, average but limited on the superstars. The turnover in depth is good given how many players have been promoted recently, hopefully the guys with superstar potential start showing it (Vitters, Samardzija, Suarez).

Thanks Raisin, have any of them made an impact other than Peavey?

I'm pretty sure Peavy is it with that class. When you get up to AA, it's not hard to get a few stars right from anywhere in 1-20 since they're all so close to the big leagues and you have so many teams involved. Looks like the SL was kind of weak 5 years ago. Here are the 5 years ago from the other leagues the Cubs are in:

Rookie - AZL:

FIVE YEARS AGO

1. *Felix Pie, of, Cubs

2. Micah Schnurstein, 3b, White Sox

3. Justin Jones, lhp, Cubs

4. Jesse English, lhp, Giants

5. Carlos Sosa, of, Giants

6. Daniel Haigwood, lhp, White Sox

7. *Matt Brown, 3b, Angels

8. *Travis Ishikawa, 1b, Giants

9. *Billy Petrick, rhp, Cubs

10. Ryan Rodriguez, lhp, White Sox

*Has played in major leagues

Short-season A-ball - NWL:

FIVE YEARS AGO

1. *Andy Sisco, lhp, Boise (Cubs)

2. *Freddie Lewis, of, Salem-Keizer (Giants)

3. Ismael Castro, 2b, Everett (Mariners)

4. Luke Hagerty, lhp, Boise (Cubs)

5. *Jae-Kuk Ryu, rhp, Boise (Cubs)

6. Ben Fritz, rhp, Vancouver (Athletics)

7. Steven Obenchain, rhp, Vancouver (Athletics)

8. *Jerry Gil, ss, Yakima (Diamondbacks)

9. John McCurdy, ss, Vancouver (Athletics)

10. *Travis Ishikawa, 1b, Salem-Keizer (Giants)

*Has played in major leagues

Low-A - MWL:

FIVE YEARS AGO

1. *Joe Mauer, c, Quad Cities (Twins)

2. Jason Stokes, 1b, Kane County (Marlins)

3. *Dontrelle Willis, lhp, Kane County (Marlins)

4. Donald Levinski, rhp, Clinton (Expos)

5. Brad Nelson, 1b, Beloit (Brewers)

6. *Casey Kotchman, 1b, Cedar Rapids (Angels)

7. *Scott Hairston, 2b, South Bend (Diamondbacks)

8. *Shin-Soo Choo, of, Wisconsin (Mariners)

9. *Jeff Mathis, c, Cedar Rapids (Angels)

10. Mike Jones, rhp, Beloit (Brewers)

*Has played in major leagues

High-A - FSL:

FIVE YEARS AGO

1. *Mark Teixeira, 3b, Charlotte (Rangers)

2. *Jose Reyes, ss, St. Lucie (Mets)

3. *Francisco Rosario, rhp, Dunedin (Blue Jays)

4. *Taylor Buchholz, rhp, Clearwater (Phillies)

5. *Miguel Cabrera, 3b, Jupiter (Marlins)

6. *Laynce Nix, of, Charlotte (Rangers)

7. *Alexis Rios, of, Dunedin (Blue Jays)

8. *Joel Hanrahan, rhp, Vero Beach (Dodgers)

9. *Ben Kozlowski, lhp, Charlotte (Rangers)

10. *Reggie Abercrombie, of, Vero Beach (Dodgers)

*Has played in major leagues

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/chat/chat.php?id=2007100901&rnd=4

Chat has started, but ask questions if you have a BA account!

Always nice to have a Chip Caray shot to open up the chat:

Alan Matthews: Welcome back to another League Top 20 chat. Perhaps it was in my haste to scramble for the mute button on my remote in an effort to escape Chip Caray last night, but I managed to slice open my index finger while peeling shrimp last night. A 30 typist to begin with, chatting might be a little slower than usual, so hang in there . . . This league was really strong this year. There was a lot of very nice high-end talent, plenty of guys who would have ranked in the list had they qualified, and a deep group of guys who we had to cut that certainly fit in the mix as prospects, nonetheless.

Q: Ben from Leland Grove asks:

Is Veal still considered one of Chicago's top arms? What are your opinions on him?

 

A: Alan Matthews: I am in the minority here in the BA offices, but I like Veal, and considered him for the list despite the fact that he continues to have bouts where he has no feel for the strike zone. He doesn't repeat his delivery and he seems to have a hard time with the mental approach to pitching--when things go bad, they can really unravel on him. But he has a huge arm, has been up to 95 mph this season from the left side, and there are some ingredients there to work with. There were times when Dontrelle Willis looked like a trainwreck in the minors, and the Cubs let him go before he established himself in the big leagues. Veal won't likely slide out of their grasp until they're convinced he can't master his mechanics.

Q: Gary from NJ asks:

How good can Tyler Colvin become? Where in the lineup can you see him hitting in the big leagues?

 

A: Alan Matthews: At this point, it would be a risk to say he's bat in the middle or top of a lineup, based on his lack of plate discipline, so No. 6 might be a more reasonable estimation. The key for Colvin is his position. He plays an adequate center field presently, and shows some aptitude and feel for the position, so as long as he can make it to the majors as a center fielder, he's got to be considered a premium prospect, because he's got a chance to be a run-producer.

Q: Joe R. from Newport News VA asks:

There are two ringers on the list -- Justin Upton, with 140 major league at bats, and Mark Reynolds, with over 350. You've already said that Upton bumped Chris Mason, but who would Reynolds have bumped?

 

A: Alan Matthews: Tennessee righthander Sean Gallagher, Carolina righthander Rick VandenHurk, Braves relievers Joey Devine and Jose Ascanio, Dodgers outfielder Xavier Paul and Tennessee's Donald Veal were in a group that was in the mix for the last few spots, as was Emilio Bonafacio, 2b, Mobile and since-traded lefthander Matt Harrison of Mississippi. This league was very difficult to trim to 20. There were easily 30 guys I would have enjoyed writing up and had no problem mentioning as prospects.