I still think he’s due for a breakout. He was overshadowed in the Braves system because of so many good pitching prospects, and I think the same thing is happening to him with the Cubs.

Jae-Hoon Ha is a sleeper, got ignored a bit because of how stacked the MWL was, but had a very nice season overall except for his BB rate. Alberto Cabrera is the other guy I’d point to, he’s got a great arm.

I love Matt Szczur, he’s got a great hit tool and top-notch speed, plus a good character guy. Hopefully he avoids injury playing football.

And Reggie Golden and Hayden Simpson don’t get much respect for high picks, but they could be big helium guys next year.

years that could be considered stagnant or steps back (Vitters, almost all of the MI prospects, but other players took big steps forward (McNutt, Archer) to help the system out. Those prospects that graduated helped the big league club a lot (Castro, Colvin, Cashner and Coleman). I think that the system has lots of intriguing pitchers, but is short on elite position players, or even position players with power. I think that Tim Wilkien’s draft strategy of drafting up the middle players is showing dividends. I haven’t seen much about their international signings this year, I would be curious to see if the Rickett’s new emphasis on player development is bearing fruit in that arena.

Nick Struck is fairly under the radar. Athletic kid, fb in the low 90’s right now and might add some more to it, solid breaking ball for his age, decent change. Very much in the Wilken-mode for pitchers. To me, he’s a solid Cubs top 30 prospect, but I’m not sure everyone feels that way about him. I think many forget that he actually got a higher bonus than McNutt (not that that means that much, as McNutt is clearly a better prospect right now).

Matt Cerda has a good approach at the plate. He can handle 2nd base. There should be a tad more power as he matures.

Austin Kirk could be primed for a breakout. Lefty with a fb in the low 90’s and solid secondary options.

Frank Batista is very undersized, but has good life on the fastball (tops out 92/93) with a solid slider. That said, from what I understand, change is a work in progress.

I really liked Wesley Darvill a couple years back and he’s being sent to the same strengthening program the Cubs put Guyer and Colvin on, so I’m very curious. That said, I’m not sure my expectations are high for 2011.

I mildly think Marquez Smith might be a tad underrated, but I have him as borderline top 30.

Cam Greathouse might rack up a bunch of K’s in the lower levels.

I mildly would put Jeffry Antigua and Su-min Jung as a bit underrated/sleepers.

Alberto Cabrera, IMO, is still quite underrated. I’d still have him ahead of Robinson Lopez on a top prospect list. Mid-90’s fastball,w ith a solid and improving slider. May end up in the pen, but this is a really intriguing arm who will be in AA next year.

Austin Reed showcased a nice 3-pitch arsenal and has projection to him.

Sort of wishing on a shining star type here, but Justin Bristow was flashing mid-90’s late 2009, and then was hurt in 2010. They used HIPAA to not release what it was, but I’m still hopeful.

More intrigue on the arm side, which is representative of the positional weakness in the low levels. Some international kids still hold intrigue, such as Pin-chieh Chen, but the low levels are fairly thin right now in terms of positional talent.

I know he’s a bit old and hasn’t yet reached AAA, but he just converted to catcher in the last 2 seasons and has showed solid power and patience at the plate since the transition. Reports are very good on his defense behind the plate.

SS. Arismendy Alcantara - switch hitter w/ good speed and some pop. Had a solid season at 18 for SS-A Boise. Small 5’10 160 w/ quick wrists probably ticketed to be Peoria’s starting SS in ’11. I like him and think he has some sleeper potential.

RHP Su-Min Jung - I am higher on him then most. I think is a breakout candidate for the Cubs. Seemed to be turning a corner the 2nd half. I really like his stuff.

OF Kyung-Min Na - not gonna get any top 30 love after he really struggled in SS-A ball. Probably rushed considering that was his 1st taste of pro ball. Very similar in skill set to Lee and plays CF. I’ve heard major league claiber D w/ a great arm. Good bunter and draws walks. Will need to add power. I’d like to see him repeat SS-A.

RHP Ben Wells - Could be a real steal in the 8th. In a better scouted area may have been 2-3 pick. Reminds me a bit of Wade Davis.

Ha and Kirk were already pointed out above and I’m high on both.

Ben Wells - added velocity late in year and ended up getting a good bonus.

Jae-Hoon Ha - as stated earlier, only drawback was he didn’t walk much, but considering he was among the youngest players in the league, I am not worried about it yet.

Alberto Cabrera - improved his ERA in AA the final month after settling down. Great arm.

Jeff Antigua - again very young for midwest league and has good stuff from the LH side.

And one no one has mentioned:

Dallas Beeler - I took McNutt in my fantasy league last offseason due to some interesting info I found on him and that same source says Beeler could be McNutt 2.

However, my opinion on this system is pessimistic, albeit with some intrigue thrown into the mix. My primary problem comes from the perceived lack of spending in the 2010 Draft and in the international FA market. The depth of this system at lower levels leaves something to be desired. Still, there’s some talent in the system.

Still, there are some sleepers I like that haven’t been mentioned yet:

RHP Aaron Kurcz - Wouldn’t be surprised to see him fly through this system with his very good fastball/curve combo. His control leaves something to be desired, but he should be very nice in relief.

RHP Jin-Yeong Kim - Not much of a sleeper for anyone following this system, but he got a big bonus and apparently looked quite advanced in Instructs; he might even start in Peoria.

LHP Brooks Raley - John wrote something about him earlier in the season, but his second half was fantastic. I like the upside a lot.

RHP Brett Wallach - Overlooked piece of the Lilly deal. Like the upside and polish.

RHP Hayden Simpson - I know he’s quite well-known, but the guy is underrated to a staggering degree. I’d like to think he’ll live up to his first round selection.

SS Darwin Barney - Won’t be a world-beater, but I think he’ll be good enough to be a solid starter on a bad to mediocre team.

LHP Brent Ebinger - Toonster took Greathouse (a personal favorite), so I’ll go with his opposite LHP in Boise. Good Ks, good control, might be something worthwhile there.

2B Pierre LePage - High floor, low ceiling, could be quite productive in the minors and a useful bench guy in the majors.

C Micah Gibbs - If he drops the switch hitting, he’ll be fine.

Not sure where you are getting your information about Golden from, but his best tool is his power, both with the bat and with his outfield arm. I guess you are making the B-Jax comparison due to the fact that both of them need some work on making contact. But other than that, the comparisons stop. B-Jax is a much more well-rounded prospect, with solid tools across the board but nothing truly exceptional. Golden has plus raw power and a plus throwing arm in the OF, but his hit tool (i.e. ability to make contact), his plate discipline and his baserunning are all big question marks. He is athletic and has good speed, but he was very poor in the OF defensively in the AZL and Fall Instructs. If Golden makes consistent contact and improves his plate discipline, he is a bona fide superstar. However, he’s just as likely to never even reach AAA ball. Golden is exactly the type of boom/bust pick that Wilken needed to be making a little bit more of. He has succeeded in developing a solid farm system that should be able to provide at least bench players in the bigs. Now he needs to make a few more risky picks in the hope that one or two will reach their potential and be impact players for us.

But despite all of this, you will not hear any arguments from me that Wilken has drafted a little too “safe” in the early rounds. Of course, I’m not convinced that his hand wasn’t forced by the FO to keep the bonuses down, either.