Minor League Ball: FanPosts

This Stephen Strasburg guy

2009-11-20T19:41:07Z

So I don't know if you guys have heard about him, but supposedly this Stephen Strasburg person is a good player of baseball. I don't know much but he might be one of the outer people who stand in the grass? No. No he's a thrower. He does the throwing. Not just any throwing but the throwing that other people have to hit, you know the one I'm talking about? Yeah that one, but whats pretty cool about him is his throwing is pretty hard. And he's like accurate or whatever which I guess is good. But yeah like I hear that when he throws most people try swinging and miss. Or like they don't try swinging and then for whatever reason they are supposed to sit down after a few pitches with their other teammates. Which I think is unfair. Like sometimes when people don't swing at a bunch of the throws they get to go to first base and then other times they have to sit down. And it looks like the dude in the black shirt behind him tells him which one to do, which is weird cause he's not even playing in the game, right? But anyway I think these guys in black really like Strasburg, because for him they make all of the other guys sit down. I guess Strasburg's dad must own a black t-shirt and facemask company. Or maybe they don't like him, and that's why he has to stand in the middle on that patch of dirt, to keep him away from all of the other baseballers. Could be that. Anyway I just figured this being a group of enthusiasts of the game of baseball you may want to know about this thrower person because I don't think anybody else has ever talked about him before. So yeah.

Poll

Who do the people who wear black shirts and facemasks like the most?

BP's Indians Top 15

2009-11-20T18:28:28Z

Five-Star Prospects
1. Carlos Santana, C
Four-Star Prospects
2. Lonnie Chisenhall, SS
3. Alex White, RHP
4. Jason Knapp, RHP
5. Nick Hagadone, LHP
Three-Star Prospects
6. Hector Rondon, RHP
7. Lou Marson, C
8. Jason Kipnis, OF/2B
9. Carlos Carrasco, RHP
10. Michael Brantley, OF
11. Zach Putnam, RHP

Four More:
12. Jess Todd, RHP: Todd is a short, squat reliever acquired from the Cardinals, and one who reached the big leagues in short order, but his ceiling is probably as a seventh-, maybe eighth-inning set-up man.
13. Nick Weglarz, OF: Two years of non-performance have dropped him significantly, as a ton of walks can only get you so far. As a first baseman or left fielder, Weglarz needs to show more.
14. T.J. House, LHP: He was an over-slot lefty from 2008 who showed solid stuff in his full-season debut; he’s a good breakout candidate.
15. Jason Donald, SS: He's always been a bit overrated, and profiles best as a nice utility type.

...

The Sleeper: While his full-season debut was cut short by injury, 20-year-old Dominican outfielder Aber Abreu remains a bit raw, but his raw power ranks with nearly anyone in the system.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9784

BA Astros Top 10

2009-11-20T16:47:31Z

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2010/269173.html

TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Jason Castro, c

2. Jiovanni Mier, ss

3. Jordan Lyles, rhp

4. Sammy Gervacio, rhp

5. Chia-Jen Lo, rhp

6. Ross Seaton, rhp

7. Tanner Bushue, rhp

8. Jay Austin, of

9. Jon Gaston, of

10. T.J. Steele, of

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Jason Castro

Best Power Hitter Jon Gaston

Best Strike-Zone Discipline J.B. Shuck

Fastest Baserunner Jay Austin

Best Athlete Jay Austin

Best Fastball Arcenio Leon

Best Curveball Ashton Mowdy

Best Slider Sammy Gervacio

Best Changeup Jordan Lyles

Best Control Fernando Abad

Best Defensive Catcher Jason Castro

Best Defensive Infielder Jiovanni Mier

Best Infield Arm Jiovanni Mier

Best Defensive Outfielder T.J. Steele

Best Outfield Arm Yordanny Ramirez

Poll

Grade the talent level in this top 10

OMG No Strasburg not again..

2009-11-20T06:07:14Z

Stephen Strasburg is hurt while shagging fly balls.

Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from Saturday's game in the AFL Championship. While working out, Strasburg twisted his left knee taking batting practice. Strasburg stepped awkwardly and reported hearing a pop in his knee. He was taken to a nearby hospital for an MRI. The MRI showed inflammation in the Knee. As a precaution, Strasburg is scheduled to fly to LA on Friday to be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum. One ? I have is, why was he shagging fly balls in the first place.

Arizona Fall League 2009 Video Posted

2009-11-16T18:47:05Z

I've uploaded video to Vimeo.com and also embedded links in this site's FanShots.

I was in Phoenix for 8 days and took in 6 games and the Grand Canyon.

I'll update this message as I upload more (names below are links):

As of 2009-11-20 12:11am EDT:

Brandon Hicks

Vinnie Pestano

Josh Rodriguez

As of 2009-11-19 1:59pm EDT:

As of 2009-11-18 11:47pm EDT:

As of 2009-11-18 7:17pm EDT:

As of 2009-11-18 11:03am EDT:

As of 2009-11-18 7:02am EDT:

As of 2009-11-17 9:02pm EDT:

As of 2009-11-17- 3:31pm EDT:

As of 2009-11-17 11:39am EDT:

As of 2009-11-16 11:57pm EDT:

Aaron Crow

Ryan Mount

Mike Moustakas (last three clips are Moustakas fielding)

Scott Moviel

As of 2009-11-16 7:44pm EDT:

Jeff Bianchi

Jarrod Dyson

Josh Stinson

As of 2009-11-16 1:38pm EDT:

Enjoy!

Last year's rookies, top community prospects for future performance #9

2009-11-20T04:24:27Z

Although moderately close, Colby Rasmus by a margin of26% to 21% beats out David Price for the #8 slot. Here is where we are so far:

1. Matt Wieters, C Baltimore

2. Tommy Hanson, P Atlanta

3. Andrew McCutchen, of Pittsburgh

4. Brett Anderson P Oakland

5 Gordon Beckham, 3b CHW

6. Rick Porcello, P Detroit.

7.Elvis Andrus, SS Texas

8. Colby Rasmus, of St. Louis

Trevor Cahill, Andrew Bailey, Kyle Blanks,Gerardo Parra and Chris Coghlan all got less than 5% last round and are temporarily dropped from the voting.

temporarily dropped from the poll (percentage and round in parens) Cameron Maybin, 2% (5), Ricky Romero 0% (5), Mat Gamel 1% (6), Drew Stubbs 2% (7), Nolan Reimold 2% (7), Trevor Cahill 3% (8), Andrew Bailey 3% (8), Kyle Blanks 1% (8), Gerardo Parra 0% (8).

This round we add back Matt Laporta, Derek Holland, and welcome Jeff Niemann for the first time.

I haven't decided yet who to add for the next round after this one, so if you have any suggestion fire away.

Poll

Who is the best prospect for future major league performancence amon the following, who used up their rookie eligibility in 2009

2010 Japanese players

2009-11-19T18:27:46Z

I am interested in finding out what this community knows about possible Japanese players coming to the US. Forget Aroldis Chapman – I really want to see Yu Darvish (2nd MVP award in 3 yrs., and he’s only 23) come to MLB, but frankly I doubt that’ll happen in the next few years, if at all. I’d also love to see Nori Aoki, a fine all-around hitting 27-year-old outfielder, but I also don’t know if he’ll be posting for another couple years.

Ryota Igarashi looks sure to come over. He had Tommy John surgery in 2007, but pitched well in 2008. Supposedly he can throw in the upper-90’s, but he is strictly a reliever. Another reliever I have some interest in is Kyuji Fujikawa, 29, who has posted lights-out numbers the last five years (era’s all under 2.00, with two years under 1.00, and K rates around 13/9), but I don’t know if he’s coming over or not.

Hisanori Takahashi also looks like he’s MLB-bound. He’s a 34-year-old lefty who went 10-6, with a 2.94 era for the NPB champs. Meh.

There are a couple young guys, a la Junichi Tazawa who could come over. 18-year-old Yusei Kikuchi was entertaining thoughts about it, but I think he signed in Japan. Yuki Saito, 21, nicknamed the Handkerchief Prince, could come over. He’s said to have Koji Uehara type stuff. I don’t know if he has the same control as Uehara. Also I hear Shota Ichinoseki, 20, is looking to try out for major league scouts, but I think his fastball tops out around 90, and I don’t know how great a prospect he is.

All in all, it doesn’t look like there’s anyone’s bandwagon to jump on. Any other thoughts or comments from the peanut gallery?

Last year's rookies-top community prospects for future performance #8

2009-11-19T06:25:43Z

After a runoff, and a lot of interesting discussion, Elvis Andrus's supporters narrowly but decisively (54% to 45%)prevail in choosing him as the 7th best prospect among last year's rookies over Colby Rasmus. While there certainly is an argument to be made for simply naming Rasmus #8, I am convinced in situations like this that you never know what will happen once the Andrus vote gets distributed so the best thing to do is just let it play itself out. Here is where we are so far:

1. Matt Wieters, C Baltimore

2. Tommy Hanson, P Atlanta

3. Andrew McCutchen, of Pittsburgh

4. Brett Anderson, P Oakland

5. Gordon Beckham, 3b CHW

6. Rick Porcello, P Detroit

7. Elvis Andrus, ss Texas

Drew Stubbs and Nolan Reimold receive less than 5% of the vote and are temporarily dropped from the voting.

temporarliy dropped from the poll (percentage and round in parens) Matt Laporta 2% (5), Derek Holland 2% (5), Ricky Romero 0% (5), Cameron Maybin 2% (5), Mat Gamel 1% (6), Drew Stubbs 2% (7), Nolan Reimold 2% (7)

This round we'll add back last year's NL rookie of the year Chris Coghlan and give a first chance to last year's AL rookie of the year, Andrew Bailey. We'll also give another shot to Kyle Blanks and a first look to Gerardo Parra.

Next round I will definitely give Jeff Niemann a first look and get Derek Holland back in the poll. I'll probably also give Matt Laporta another shot. Please suggest others.

random evaluation

2009-11-18T18:32:07Z

Hello,

I wonder if you have any comments / opinions on any one or all of the following seemingly random list of players in terms of their upside potential and value. Any thoughts are welcome - thank you!

Carrasco, Felix	INF	SD
Edwards, Jon	OF	STL
Hynick, Brandon	RHP	COL
King, Blake	RHP	STL
Orr, Kyle	INF	LA
Easley, Ed	CA	ARI
Green, Taylor	INF	MIL
DeLome, Collin	OF	HOU
Kulbacki, Kellen	OF	SD
Aristy, Alvaro	MI	SD
Castillos, Richard	RHP	STL
Galloway, Isaac	OF	FLA
Perez, Nelson	OF	CHI
Samuel, Francisco	RHP	STL
Greenwalt, Jeff	RHP	HOU
Russell, Kyle	OF	LA

BA Reds Top 10

2009-11-18T16:18:47Z

TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Todd Frazier, of/2b/3b

2. Yonder Alonso, 1b

3. Mike Leake, rhp

4. Chris Heisey, of

5. Juan Francisco, 3b

6. Yorman Rodriguez, of

7. Travis Wood, lhp

8. Matt Maloney, lhp

9. Brad Boxberger, rhp

10. Zack Cozart, ss

BEST TOOLS

Best Hitter for Average Yonder Alonso

Best Power Hitter Juan Francisco

Best Strike-Zone Discipline Yonder Alonso

Fastest Baserunner Theodis Bowe

Best Athlete Yorman Rodriguez

Best Fastball Brad Boxberger

Best Curveball Mike Leake

Best Slider Mark Serrano

Best Changeup Travis Wood

Best Control Matt Maloney

Best Defensive Catcher Chris McMurray

Best Defensive Infielder Miguel Rojas

Best Infield Arm Juan Francisco

Best Defensive Outfielder David Sappelt

Best Outfield Arm Yorman Rodriguez

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2010/269167.html

Poll

Who's your #1?

Last year's rookies- #7 RUNOFF!

2009-11-18T03:03:13Z

Well, we managed to make it through 6 rounds without a runoff. But not 7. Andrus and Rasmus are exactly tied with 24% of the vote, and nobody else is especially close, so we are going to have a runoff for the #7 slot.

I'll express my opinion here which is that Andrus hit as well last year as Rasmus, was younger than Rasmus and played a much more premium position and played it better than Rasmus. While it would be possible for all that to be true, yet for Rasmus to still be the better prospect I don't see enough to outweigh all those factors working for Andrus.

If you also want to use this thread to also express opinions on who the next few adds should be that would be helpful. I think I will get the ROYs on the ballot (back on the ballot in Coghlan's case) for round 8, but other than that I am open to suggestion.

Poll

Who is the better prospect for future major league performance?

Elvis Andrus, ss Texas

118 votes

Colby Rasmus, of St. Louis.

98 votes

216 votes | Poll has closed

Coughlan NL Rookie?

2009-11-17T17:49:27Z

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091115&content_id=7669422&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Am I the only one left scratching their head with this one? I was sure that it would have come down to either Hanson or McCutchen and no one else would even be close.

Not saying Coughlan didn't have a solid rookie campaign or to slight him, but I thought the consensus was Hanson and McCutchen ran away from the crowd

BP's Top 15 White Sox Prospects

2009-11-17T17:14:19Z

Four-Star Prospects
1. Daniel Hudson, RHP
2. Jared Mitchell, OF
3. Tyler Flowers, C
Three-Star Prospects
4. Jordan Danks, CF
5. Dayan Viciedo, 3B
6. Brent Morel, 3B
7. Clevelan Santeliz, RHP
8. Trayce Thompson, OF
Two-Star Prospects
9. Santos Rodriguez, LHP
10. David Holmberg, LHP
11. C.J. Retherford, 2B

Four More:

12. Jhonny Nunez, RHP: Nunez has a 93-95 mph fastball and a very good slider, both of which should fit in a big-league bullpen, though he falls short of being the late-inning type.
13. Josh Phegley, C: The 2009 draftee is the rare college catcher with power and patience, but there are way too many questions about his defensive prowess.
14. John Ely, RHP: Ely has consistently gotten minor league hitters out, but on a pure scouting level, he has merely average stuff and command.
15. Nathan Jones, RHP: Standing 6-foot-5, he's projectable as all get out and dialed up heat clocked up to 97 mph this year; he'll also be 24 in January while having yet to get out of A-ball.
...
The Sleeper: While the White Sox are rarely big players on the international scene, they might have found something in 18-year-old Venezuelan catcher Miguel Gonzalez, who combines a good bat with power potential and impressive catch-and-throw skills.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9776

Last year's rookies-top community prospects for future performance #7

2009-11-17T05:34:15Z

With the lowest percentage for a winner so far, Rick Porcello edges out Elvis Andrus and Colby Rasmus with 26% of the vote (to 20% for Andrus and 17% for Rasmus) to earn the #6 ranking among last year's rookies.

1. Matt Wieters, C Baltimore

2. Tommy Hanson, P Atlanta

3. Andrew McCutchen, of Pittsburgh

4. Brett Anderson, P Oakland

5. Gordon Beckham, 3b CHW

6. Rick Porcello, P Detroit

Cameron Maybin and Mat Gamel drop this round.

temporarily dropped from the poll (percentages and round in parens): Chris Coghlan 1% (3), Kyle Blanks 3% (4), Matt Laporta 2% (5), Derek Holland 2% (5), Ricky Romero 0% (5), Cameron Maybin 2% (6), Mat Gamel 1% (6)

This round we'll add back David Price, and give Trevor Cahill, Drew Stubbs, and Nolan Reimold a first try.

Other players being considered for first time addition to the poll over the next couple of rounds are Jeff Niemann, Andrew Bailey, and Gerardo Parra. Please suggest others.

Hot Stove Talks

2009-11-17T01:13:00Z

It's that time of year again. I'm in a 20 team keeper league and have been offered the following trade.

I would receive:

Kazuo Matsui ( $1.00 for 3 yrs)

Carlos Zambrano ($1.00 for 1yr)

Brando Wood ($1.00 for 5 yrs)

I'd rather have Scott Elbert ($1.00 for 5 yrs) instead of Matsui.

for

Torii Hunter ($59.00 for 1yr)

Dustin Pedroia ($1.00 for 6 years)

Please give me your input. I think I might be placcing too much value on Pedroia( there are other good SS in the draft in 2010). Plus this allows me extra cap room to add a front line player at the draft.

thanks as always,

Millerhugs

Community Prospect List - Cubs

2009-11-16T20:47:34Z

Onto the cubs for Toonster. I've been very behind with things, even with my spreadsheet losing data, so I kinda slacked off a bit. I"ll put the cubs up, but the finalized list won't be for a while, if ever, for the entire NL Central. If a team is request I will be more than happy to post that list. 130 AB, 50 IP Limits

1. Starlin Castro

2. Josh Vitters

3. Brett Jackson

4. Jay Jackson

5. Kyler Burke (He performed extremely well, he's still young, he was a high draft pick, and he finally turned his tools into skills. it wasn't out of no where)

Other names are Cashner, Carpenter, Lee, LeMahieu, Flaherty, and Colvin.

Cubs System: Reason for Optimism?

2009-11-16T19:39:22Z

01) Josh Vitters 3B-- 1 of the most controversial prospects in baseball right now. Most in the community seem to be down on him. Yes his Shawn Dunston like 12 BB in 458 AB is appaling but what gets overlooked is he SO a respectable 65 times or 14.2% of the time. He's got a smooth RH swing which I've read is 1 of the prettiest in the minors. He is still the 1 player in the system who could be an elite player. He will have to improve on his walk rate but he's still just turned 20 and has struggled at each level initially but has made the adjustments which leads me to believe he will improve.

02) Starlin Castro SS-- Huge riser in the system who offers a lot to like. Once he fills out his frame he will add power to go w/ above average speed. Good defender who's PD is improving. I normally don't do much comparing to current ML players but I can see something along the lines of Yunel Escobar offensive profile w/ maybe a few more SB. .280ish 15 hr 15-20 sb if everything comes together (in a perfect world).

03) Brett Jackson CF-- Power/Speed combo guy who BA seemed to imply he may have been a better prospect in the Midwest League then Vitters. Matt Swain at chicagonow.com called him Grady Sizemore lite. Not outta the question but that's setting our sites pretty high. He's gonna K a lot but he draws walks. How much he strikes out will ultimately control his offensive ceiling.

04) Andrew Cashner RHP-- Not sold on him as a starter just yet. All depends on if he can develop his CU to ML average. Electric FB/Slider combo. At the least he should become a dominant reliever. His high 90's FB and wipe out slider could play much the same as Broxton's imho if he ends up in the pen.

05) Hak Ju-Lee SS-- Had an outstanding debut in SS-A ball ranking as the Northwest League #1 prospect. I think the Derek Jeter comp was just plain stupid but he could be a high average/lots of SB top of the order type hitter w/ good D. While his debut went great I'm holding off on getting to excited untill I see more. Has a real nice skill set. Could end up better then Castro if he fills out his wiry frame.

06) Jay Jackson RHP-- Sleeper from the '08 draft is paying off nice on the Cubs $90,000 investment. Has a nice mix of pitches 92-94 FB, late biting SL, CU, and CB. Could be a #2 starter. 1 concern for me is overall he had a 3.25 bb/9 over 127 ip but take out his stellar 4 bb in 38.33 ip in the FSL and his 42 bb in 88.67 ip and his bb/9 rises to 4.26. So it will be interesting to see how that plays next year at AA/AAA.

07) Kyler Burke RF-- 21 and in his 2nd go around in the Midwest League leaves me cautious about this breakout season. But from what I've read about his PD taking a huge step forward combined w/ BA ranking him as the best strike zone discipline in the Cubs system (which for the Cubs system that might not be saying a whole lot LOL) leaves me optimistic. I think if this step forward is for real he could end up being better then Brett Jackson and filling in as a prototypical RF. Great arm should hit for more power and savvy on the base paths.

08) Chris Carpenter RHP-- 92-95 FB that can hit 97. Good hard curve. Like w/ Cashner it's the CU that will ultimately determine if he can start or has to move to the pen. He gets good reviews from scouts. Fell on draft day in 08' due to TJ surgery. Could be a real steal.

09) Dae-Eun Rhee RHP-- Coming off TJ surgery. Has good FB 90-92 touching 94 and not outta the question he could add some velocity after the TJ surgery. Solid-average curve and plus CU. Could end up w/ 3 plus pitches. It all depends on how he comes back from surgery but could be a riser if he's OK. A persoanl favorite of mine.

10) Logan Watkins 2B-- Thought I would take a lot of flack for putting him in my top 10 but I applaud BA for putting him in their top 10. Not sure he's #7 but still pleasantley surprised at the aggresive ranking. Great athlete who can hit for average w/ plus speed. Could fill out and hit for more power in the future but still just projection at this point. Another favorite.

11) Ryan Flaherty 2B-- 22/23 in Low A takes some shine off his season but if he can carry it to higher levels will move up on prospect lists. 20 HR shows that his power is for real.

12) Jeffrey Antigua LHP-- Low 90's FB solid CB. I don't have a whole lot of info on the young lefty but his numbers are nice and has good control displaying good pitching IQ.

13) Chris Archer RHP-- 21 at Low A and ranked in the top 20 in the Midwest League. Mid 90's FB may end up in the pen. Put up great numbers will reserve a higher ranking after I see what he does at higher levels.

14) D.J. LeMieu IF-- Had disapointing season at LSU and didn't show much power in his debut but had good hit tool and OBP. Need to see more but if he can hit for power like his 6'4 frame suggests he could move up.

15) Brooks Raley LHP-- Cubs paid $500,000 to buy him away from returning to college. Could be a real sleeper. FB sits at 88-91 (can dial it up to 93) but now that he will be a fulltime pitcher could add 20 lbs. to his frame and a few ticks to his FB. Solid SL and CU w/ great control. Could end up being a bargain. Profiles as a middle of the rotation starter. Maybe better w/ improved FB.

16) Chris Huseby RHP-- Put together an outstanding year out of the pen. Could be a usefull arm.

17) Junior Lake SS-- Horrible 18/138 bb/k ratio. But at 6'2 200 and still young (19 gonna be 20) I still hold out some hope for him. Could develop plus power and has good speed under way as evident by his 7 3B. MUST improve PD to ever hope of fullfilling his potential.

18) Wellington Castillo C-- Another guy who had horrible PD. 15/71 bb/k ratio. BA said last year that he could be a Yadier Molina type but more dangerous hitter. LOL not looking good on that comp but still could be a usefull back up C w/ good defensive skills.

19) Brandon Guyer OF-- Not real sure what to make of him. Plus-plus speed w/ raw power though hit only 3 hr after hitting 14 at Perioa the year before. Old for High A (23) but had great season but then hit 190 the rest of the way at AA.

20) Su-Min Jung RHP-- Another product of the Cubs aggresive pacific rim scouting. Threw 27.67 IP in his debut this year. Still all projection at this point. FB sits in the high 80's touching the low 90's w/ room to add velocity and clean arm actions. Can spin the ball better then most international players w/ such limited expierence. CU is a work in progress.

21&22) Austin Kirk LHP @ Chris Rusin-- 2 lefties I admit I don't know much about.

OVERVIEW-- The Cubs system ranked 26th according to BA last year. Looks like they will move up to middle of the pack. Hard to say exactly where w/o seeing how every other system stacks up right now. I'm very cautiously optimistic right now. Lots of guys performed well at lower levels so I'm holding out hope they will carry it over to next season. I could see this system moving up to top 10 next year or falling back to bottom 5 that is how volitile this system can be.

The ML roster is full of over priced, aging injury prone veterans. Soriano's contract is so unfavorable that we couldn't move him even if we ate half of it and got next to nothing in return. We are stuck w/ him. I would like to see an attempt to move Z while he has any value left even if we have to eat some of his contract. Same w/ Lee. Aramis Ramirez is probably the only player on our roster we could get anything decent in return for. I think it's time to stop spending and start rebuilding through our farm system. Now I know it's easy for Joe Blow fan like me to get on and say lets move the old guys w/ bloated contracts but I think we should at least make an attempt to. If we let Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, and Z's contracts run their corase we will end up w/ 3/4 of our payroll tied up in 4 players who will not be contributing anywhere near what they are being paid in just a couple years.

I've heard Chone Figgins linked to the Cubs but imo that dosn't make much sense. We are more then 1 or 2 players from being a legitimate title contender. Why saddle ourselves w/ another long term contract on a guy who is gonna be turning 32? I'm from the Detriot area and read an article that the Cubs were talking to the Tigers about Granderson. I'd be shocked to see the Tigers move him as well as a bad idea for the Cubs to trade prospects for a guy who isn't gonna put us over the top. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-granderson-rumor . Here's a good article on why it's probably not a sensible rumor at least from the Tigers side.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-cubs-wrigley-bound/2009/11/the-easiest-decision-tom-ricketts-will-ever-make.html

The above is an excelent article by Matt Swain @ chicagonow.com. I'll paraphrase it for everyone who dosn't want to read it. Basically what he's saying is the Cubs ranked 26th in draft money spent at just about 4 mil. The 4 teams that ranked below them 3 didn't have 1st rounders and the other didn't sign their 1st rounder. For a big markett team if we took the money we spent on any 1 of the busts like Gregg, Miles, Gathright, and Hielman we could spend an extra 2-3 mil on the draft and let Tim Wilken go crazy. We could take some chances and get high end talent like the Pirates and Phillies did this year and like the Angels and Red Sox do regularly and turn our system into an elite 1.

BA CUBS TOP 10

2009-11-16T16:28:40Z

See BA story here

1. Starlin Castro, ss

2. Brett Jackson, of

3. Josh Vitters, 3b

4. Andrew Cashner, rhp

5. Jay Jackson, rhp

6. Hak-Ju Lee, ss

7. Logan Watkins, 2b

8. Chris Carpenter, rhp

9. Ryan Flaherty, ss/2b/3b

10. D.J. LeMahieu, ss/2b

Not surprised Castro is #1, though I figured they'd stick Vitters at #2 after ranking him #1 the past two winters. But B.Jackson looked impressive in his debut and Vitters is still immune to taking a walk. Also somewhat surprised Cashner and J.Jackson aren't flipped. When we look back on this list in a year, we'll wonder why Kyler Burke wasn't on it.

Any thoughts on this list?

Poll

Brett Jackson or Josh Vitters?

Last year's rookies-top community prospects for future performance #6

2009-11-16T05:16:30Z

With a solid 38% of the vote Gordon Beckham clearly outpolls the other candidates and is the fifth best prospect among last year's rookies.

1. Matt Wieters, C Baltimore

2. Tommy Hanson, P Atlanta

3. Andrew McCutchen, OF Pittsburgh

4. Brett Anderson, P Oakland

5. Gordon Beckham, 3b CHW

That also leaves Elvis Andrus as the only player who has been on continuously since the first round and is yet to win.

Matt Laporta, Derek Holland, and Rick Romero are all easy calls to drop this round.

temporarily dropped from the poll (percentages and round in parens): Chris Coghlan 1% (3), David Price 3% (4), Kyle Blanks 3% (4), Matt Laporta 2% (5), Derek Holland 2% (5), Rick Romero 0% (5)

This round we'll add back Cameron Maybin and Dexter Fowler, and give Matt Latos and Mat Gamel their first try.

Jeff Neimann and Trevor Cahill are on the top of the list to get first tries next round. As always, other suggestions aappreciated.

Poll

Who is the best prospect for future major league performance among the following, who used up their rookie eligiblity in 2009.

Elvis Andrus, ss Texas

41 votes

Rick Porcello, P Detroit

48 votes

Colby Rasmus, of St. Louis

32 votes

Travis Snider, of Toronto

19 votes

Chris Tillman, P Baltimore

12 votes

Cameron Maybin, of Florida

5 votes

Dexter Fowler, of Colorado

15 votes

Mat Latos, P San Diego

13 votes

Mat Gamel, 3b Milwaukee

2 votes

other (please specify below)

1 votes

188 votes | Poll has closed

Last year's rookies-top community prospects for future performance #5

2009-11-15T04:43:27Z

With 50% for Brett Anderson earning him placement as the #4 rookie from last year, that may mark something of an end point for the first tier, as Anderson, along with the first three monopolized 80% of the vote in the first round, and with the exception of Beckham, no one else could muster up more than 6% in comparison to Anderson.

1. Matt Wieters, C Baltimore

2. Tommy Hanson, P Atlanta

3. Andrew McCutchen, OF Pittsburgh

4. Brett Anderson, P Oakland.

Its kind of hard to tell who to drop here. I think what makes the most sense is to drop Fowler, Price and Blanks who each got 3% and leave the others, even if they only got 4%, and just chalk it up as a strange round.

temporarily dropped from the poll (percentage and round in parens) Cameron Maybin 0% (2), Chris Coghlan 1% (3), Dexter Fowler 3% (4), David Price 3% (4), Kyle Blanks 3% (4),

This round we'll add back Travis Snider, Chris Tillman, and Matt Laporta, and, based on several requests, give Derek Holland and Ricky Romero a try.

That means that Matt Latos, Jeff Niemann and Trevor Cahill will wait another round. I'd like to get two of those three (preferences?) and a new hitter on the poll next round. I was thinking maybe Gamel, but other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Poll

Who is the best prospect for future major league performance among the following who used up their rookie eligibility in 2009?

Gordon Beckham, 3b CHW

79 votes

Elvis Andrus, ss Texas

34 votes

Rick Porcello, P Detroit

24 votes

Colby Rasmus, of St. Louis

25 votes

Travis Snider, of Toronto

11 votes

Chris Tillman, P Baltimore

14 votes

Matt Laporta, of/1b Cleveland

5 votes

Derek Holland, P Texas

6 votes

Ricky Romero, P Toronto

1 votes

other (please specify below)

4 votes

203 votes | Poll has closed

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Elvis Andrus, ss Texas

Rick Porcello, P Detroit

Colby Rasmus, of St. Louis

Travis Snider, of Toronto

Chris Tillman, P Baltimore

Cameron Maybin, of Florida

Dexter Fowler, of Colorado

Mat Latos, P San Diego

Mat Gamel, 3b Milwaukee

other (please specify below)

Last year's rookies-top community prospects for future performance #5

Who is the best prospect for future major league performance among the following who used up their rookie eligibility in 2009?

Gordon Beckham, 3b CHW

Elvis Andrus, ss Texas

Rick Porcello, P Detroit

Colby Rasmus, of St. Louis

Travis Snider, of Toronto

Chris Tillman, P Baltimore

Matt Laporta, of/1b Cleveland

Derek Holland, P Texas

Ricky Romero, P Toronto

other (please specify below)