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Please vote for the Cubs #2 prospect (serious votes only, please!). Since this should involve a bit more discussion than the #1 choice, please post your rationale below.

If someone convinces you that someone else should be higher, please feel free to change your vote anytime between now and Thursday.

Also, since the overall discussion thread points towards there being three realistic candidates for each of the next three spots, I'm only allowing one vote at a time right now. As we get to #5 and later, I'll allow multiple choices per vote.

Results so far:

#1: Javier Baez

I went with Soler for the upside and the fact that Almora only drew 2 walks all year. I could make a case for either, but Soler is my choice for now.

I agree, it's Soler over Almora for me too. Soler has the higher ceiling and I'm concerned about the lack of a standout tool for Almora. Soler definitely has better plate discipline.

Close to a toss up between Albert and Soler, but I went with Soler, because, of the two, I think he is more likely to be an upper echelon player. Has the power. Seems to have the plate discipline.

Wow - Soler with the early lead.

I went with him due to a variety of factors. I feel he has more upside, given the power potential there. Almora walking twice in 145 PA certainly didn't help matters, either.

Well, I guess now all 5 people who've voted for Soler have commented here.

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[The sound of fastballs] was one of those things that told me my pitches were fast....because I've never heard pitches as loud as mine.

I voted for Almora mostly because of the fact that his floor seems to be so high as well as a pretty good ceiling. While it would be great obviously to see him walk more, I think he has all the tools to put together a long career

Vizcaino. Three levels ahead of Soler and 15 months older, 4 levels ahead of Almora and < 4 years older, and with dynamite results. 3-4 levels is a lot.

Potential to play above average CF + thinking Almora's plate discipline was an aberration this year = Almora over Soler for me.

Almora could be quite good but should at the very least be not bad for a while.

Soler could be significantly better but could be a massive bust.

Vizcaino is an already been injured pitcher.

I'd have to go with Almora on this if there's any value in being an average major leaguer.

I went Almora because while he doesn't have Soler's extreme upside, I do believe he's a much safer play to be an everyday MLB regular given tools are solid across the board and at a premium position.

I went with Vizcaino, because even though he's a pitcher coming off TJ surgery and nobody's sure he'll be able to start, he's still a safer bet to contribute to the major league roster than an 18-year-old with one month out of rookie ball.

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The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist.

As with the #1 prospect poll, I voted Soler for the simple fact that Baez has apparently been dubbed #1 and not an option.

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Chicago Club has gone back on us. Please Send Expenses. Am Broke

Soler's plate discipline puts him at 2 for me. No knock on Almora, although as was mentioned, the lack of a standout tool hurts him a tad with me.

This

All the scouting reports said Almora had good discipline so I'm not going to worry much about a fairly limited amount of plate appearances this year.

My vote is Almora, because his floor seems higher than Soler's. Both have a very high ceiling to me, but I'm not sure if Soler projects to stay in RF, while Almora is a near lock for CF and also seems to be a team leader in the making. That's usually not a big deal to me, but when a player has it inately, as is reported with Almora, I see it as a plus.

I voted Soler for many of the reasons listed. He's at a higher level, but still young. He has potential for at least two plus tools, in SLG% and OBP while Almora only looks to be about average in everything (which isn't bad but I value upside more than safety/floors still being acceptable).

Don't take "no tools that standout" to mean "average in everything". Almora looks to be ABOVE average everywhere, with potential to be great defensively. This isn't Ronny Cedeno we're talking about here. While he projects as a ML regular, he has the upside to be a top 50 player in baseball, if you ask me.

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http://www.mr-irrelevantpgh-chi.blogspot.com/

Almora and Soler are largely tied for me, but I gave Soler the edge mostly due to his being a bit closer to the bigs and for having displayed more patience so far, so in sum: nothing that hasn't already been said here.

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10/21/11 - In Logic We Trust

The legend of 80/40 shall never die.

Really great up-the-middle defense may not be a "tool," but it's enough for me to prefer him over Soler.

Side note: I know it doesn't change his prospect rating, but it irks me how much we paid for Soler. It really takes away from the excess value if he pans out.

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Team Theo.

soler, because there's no such thing as a prospect with a high floor

I voted for Soler, but thats a great summation of Almora. We're very lucky to have our big 3, is all I really care about. Won't surprise me at all if all 3 are top 20 prospects at this time next year.

I went with Arodys for the same reasons that were listed above.

Almora. It's really close between him and Soler for me, but I have a better feeling about Almora than Soler for some reason. Can't quite put my finger on why, though.