Bleacher Report - Articles by Anthony Rescan

Top Prospect Run Down: Chicago Cubs Edition

Anthony Rescan — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:01:21 -0500

Part One of my inside look at your favorite team's top prospects.

We're starting out with my favorite team, the Chicago Cubs.

#1. Josh Vitters 3B

Strength: Hitting

Weakness: Defense

Josh Vitters was the third overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft. Vitters' strength is definitely his hitting skills—he is a very polished hitter, and has the ability to hit for both power and average effectively. Vitters is not very fast and is not a very good defender at 3B, but that could always translate into a move to a corner outfield spot. All in all, his ability to hit should bring him up through the minors fairly quickly.

#2 Geovany Soto C

Strength: Good, patient hitter

Weakness: Likes to hit for power

Geovany Soto is the new catcher for the Chicago Cubs in 2008, but he is still considered a rookie. Soto is a good hitter to all fields, hits for power, and calls a good game. Soto played 110 games with the Iowa Cubs (triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs), and ended the season with a .353 batting average, 26 home runs, 109 RBIs, 53 walks, .424 OBP, and a 1.076 OPS.

Soto does strike out a lot. He K'd 94 times last year, that is why his eagerness to hit for power is a weakness. Once Soto hits the majors, he should rank among the top catchers in the National League.

#3 Tyler Colvin CF

Strength: Hitting for average

Weakness: Felix Pie

Another Cubs first-rounder has made the list—Tyler Colvin, who was the 13th pick in the 2006 MLB Draft.

Colvin has a great ability to hit for average and is developing his ability to hit for power. He is solid defensively but isn't anything special with the glove. Colvin's speed is above average—he has the ability to stretch a hit into the gap, but is not a huge threat to steal. The only thing that is keeping Colvin out of the majors is Felix Pie.

#4 Sean Gallagher P

Strength: Smart pitching

Weakness: His stuff isn't that great

Sean Gallagher, drafted in the 12th round of the 2004 MLB Draft, is taking advantage of every opportunity he gets. Gallagher knows how to pitch, he mixes his pitches well, effectively changes speeds, and is not afraid to pitch inside. But Gallagher does not have over-powering heat or breaking pitches. Only his sinker and his curve rank above average.

#5 Jose Ceda P

Strength: Fastball

Weakness: Control

Jose Ceda was acquired in the deal that sent Todd Walker to the San Diego Padres, and it looks like the Cubs made a steal. Jose has an electric fastball and is very effective coming out of the bullpen. He does have control problems at times and his fastball does not move very much. Ceda can be a the closer of the future for the Cubs, but he needs some time to develop his raw talent.

#6 Donald Veal P

Strength: Pitches

Weakness: Does not pitch smart

Veal was a top-three prospect with the Cubs before having a sub par year. This does not change the fact that his stuff is still overwhelming. But Veal does not pitch intelligently; he triess to miss bats instead of trying to beat the hitter with a good approach. Veal also sometimes struggles with control.

#7 Eric Patterson 2B/OF

Strength: Complete player

Weakness: Attitude

Eric Patterson has all the tools to make him an everyday major league player, speed, hitting, patience at the plate, and solid power. Only a few things keep him from succeeding.

One is attitude. Patterson does not seem to care at times, and his play suffers visibly. Another is the development of his swing—his swing is not to the point were it should be at this point in his career, and he needs to make strides this year in that respect.

#8 Jeff Samardzija

Strength: Powerful arsenal

Weakness: Lack of experience

Samardzija was the Cubs' fifth-round pick in the 2006 MLB Draft, dropping that far because of speculation that he would enter the NFL. Samardzija has great stuff, a power sinker that ranges from 91-94, a power fastball, a good slider, a loopy curve, a changeup that is steadily getting better, and a newly acquired splitter.

But Samardzija does not have much experience. He is now 23, and just completed his first season of professional baseball.

#9 Kevin Hart

Strength: Classic power pitcher

Weakness: Ability to repeat his numbers

Hart was acquired from Baltimore for Freddy Bynum, and it looks like the Cubs once again got the better end of the deal. Hart, now 26, is progressing as a pitcher and looks to be in the mix for the fifth spot in the Cubs rotation. Hart combines his great fastball with a good sinker, a solid slider, and his cutter. But he is aging, and has generated speculation about whether he can keep up his stats at the Major League level.

#10 Tony Thomas Jr.

Strength: Great offensively

Weakness: Terrible defensively

Thomas has a great bat, he walks a lot, and can steal bases. The only thing standing in his way is his defense. He can't find his glove anywhere on the field. But coming back to his hitting skills—Thomas ended his last year with the Florida State Seminoles with a .430 batting average, 31 stolen bases, 11 home runs, 33 doubles, 91 runs scored, and a 1.255 OPS.

Chicago Cubs: Pre-Spring Training Grade

Anthony Rescan — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:42:29 -0500

We're nearing the long-awaited day when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Mesa.

Rosters look to be set at this point, so why not grade the team?

Let's start with the lineup.

Projected Starters:

1. Alfonso Soriano LF

2. Koskue Fukudome RF

3. Derrek Lee 1B

4. Aramis Ramirez 3B

5. Mark DeRosa 2B

6. Ryan Theriot SS

7. Felix Pie CF

8. Geovany Soto C

9. -Pitcher-

Raw Grade: B-

One Word Comment: Dysfunctional

Analysis:

First of all, Alfonso Soriano is not a leadoff hitter! He had an OBP of .337, 130 strikeouts, and led the team in home runs. In the four hole, he could have possibly doubled his RBI totals (70), increased his walks, thus decreasing his strikeouts and increased his OBP.

Second, I'm not too comfortable with Mark DeRosa in the five hole. He needs to increase his RBI totals and his extra base hits, then again he did not start all season.

Finally, there are possibly four easy outs at the bottom of our lineup. Soto showed that he can hit well at the Major League level in September, but September isn't a great month to base any predictions on, Pie did not hit well for the better part of his stay with the Cubs, Ryan Theriot did not show up at the end of the year, I still have to say that September isn't a great prediction month, and obviously the pitcher is an easy out.

Ballpark Boost: Yes

Division Boost: Yes

Overall Grade: B

Bench:

Probable Players:

Henry Blanco C

Daryle Ward 1B

Mike Fontenot 2B

Ronny Cedeno SS/CF

Matt Murton OF

Raw Grade: B+

One Word Comment: Experienced

Analysis:

Daryle Ward has been one of the best pinch hitters in the Major Leagues over the past three years, but every other player on the bench seems to lack the ability to pinch hit. Mike Fontenot had an amazing June, but once the calendar hit July he went into the hole. Blanco is notorious for not being able to hit, but he is great defensively and calls a good game (4.97 CERA on limited time). Murton is spotty at best. Cedeno has all the talent in the world and fails to show it. Spot starting is definitely the strength of our bench.

Ballpark Boost: Yes

Division Boost: Yes

Overall Grade: A-

Rotation:

(I can't really decide, it's too wide open.)

Carlos Zambrano RHP

Ted Lilly LHP

Rich Hill LHP

Jon Lieber RHP/ Jason Marquis RHP/ Ryan Dempster RHP/ Sean Gallagher RHP/ Kevin Hart RHP

Raw Grade: A-

One Word Comment: Strong

Analysis:

The spots aren't set in stone as of now, but it has at least been narrowed down to a few options at the end of the rotation. I'm not to ecstatic about maybe seeing Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis in the rotation, nor am I about seeing Gallagher in the rotation because... Well, he doesn't throw strikes consistently. The top three starters should be solid, just as long as they get run support.

Ballpark Boost: No

Division Boost: Yes

Overall Grade: A

Bullpen

Jose Ascanio RHP

Scott Eyre LHP

Bob Howry RHP

Carmen Pignatiello LHP

Kerry Wood RHP

Michael Wuertz RHP

Raw Grade: A

One Word Comment: Consistency

Analysis:

We don't really know what we're getting out of these guys. Can Eyre rebound? Can Ascanio keep the walks down? etc... If everything goes right we're in a great position with our bullpen.

Ballpark Boost: No

Division Boost: Yes

Overall Grade: A-

Closer:

Carlos Marmol RHP

Raw Grade: A

One Word Comment: Conserve

Analysis:

This kid is great. He gets K's, doesn't walk too many people, and doesn't give up hits. The only thing that we have to watch is how much we work this kid. At the end of the year he was noticeably overworked, and he couldn't preform to the best of his abilities.

Ballpark Boost: No

Division Boost: Yes

Overall Grade: A

Team Grade: A-