BA’s Cubs Top Prospects
Baseball America has released it's post-2006 "Top 10 Prospects," listing the top twenty prospects from each minor league.
Here's how the Cubs fared...
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (AAA):
CF Felix Pie rated #11
LHP Rich Hill rated #16
SOUTHERN LEAGUE (AA):
RHP Sean Gallagher rated #12
2B Eric Patterson rated #17
FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE (A+)
LHP Donald Veal rated #5
RHP Sean Gallagher rated #11
MIDWEST LEAGUE (A)
LHP Donald Veal rated #9
NORTHWEST LEAGUE (SS-A)
OF Tyler Colvin rated #1
LHP Mark Pawelek rated #9
ARIZONA LEAGUE (R)
RHP Jose Ceda rated #14
LHP Rich Hill (AAA), C Jake Fox (A+), and OF Tyler Colvin (SS-A) were named to the All-Star team from their respective levels.
WHAT THIS MEANS:
BA compiles its ratings by interviewing managers (both the player's manager and opposing managers) from each league as well as scouts who have actually seen the players. BA writers and editors then get together and give a subjective arbitrary ranking to the various players in each league.
BA ranked Felix Pie as the #11 prospect in the Pacific Coast League, but also the #5 OF prospect in the PCL behind Matt Kemp (LAD), Chris Young (AZ), Adam Jones (SEA), and Carlos Quentin (AZ). Outfield prospects ranked in the Top 10 of the International League (the other AAA league) were Delmon Young (TB), Lastings Milledge (NYM), and Ryan Sweeney (CHW), so it would probably be somewhat likely that BA would rate Pie as the #8 OF prospect in AAA as of right now, and the #5 AAA CF prospect (behind Milledge, Young, Sweeney, and Jones), and the #2 AAA left-handed hitting OF prospect (behind only Sweeney).
Although he was rated the #16 best prospect in the Pacific Coast League overall, Rich Hill was the 6th-highest rated pitcher in the PCL, behind Jered Weaver (LAA), Chad Billingsley (LAD), Jason Hirsh (HOU), Anthony Reyes (STL), and John Danks (TEX), and the #2 rated LHP prospect in the PCL (behind only Danks). Pitchers rated by BA in the Top 15 of the International League (AAA) are LHP Jeremy Sowers (CLE), LHP Tom Gorzelanny (PIT), RHP Hayden Penn (BAL), RHP Humberto Sanchez (DET), RHP Jamie Shields (TB), RHP Brandon League (TOR), RHP Jason Hammel (TB), and RHP Dustin McGowan (TOR), which would probably make Hill the #15-rated pitching prospect--and the #4-rated LHP prospect--in AAA (both leagues combined).
Donald Veal had a higher ranking at A+ Daytona than he did at Class-A Peoria, and although he may well have improved during the course of the year and pitched somewhat better at a higher level (Daytona) than he did at one level lower (Peoria), the ranking was probably more a matter of the number of teams and prospects in each league. At Daytona, Veal was rated behind Homer Bailey (CIN), Yovanni Gallardo (MIL), and Scott Elbert (LAD), while at Peoria Veal was ranked behind four different pitchers--Nick Adenhart (LAA), Jacob McGee (TB), Jaime Garcia (STL), and Wade Davis (TB).
Likewise, Sean Gallagher was ranked in the Top 20 in two different leagues, #11 in the Florida State League (FSL) and #12 in the Southern League (SL). The five pitchers rated ahead of Gallagher in the AA SL included three who were also rated ahead of Veal in the FSL--Bailey, Gallardo, and Elbert (each got a mid-season promotion to AA), plus also Jeff Niemann (TB) and Anibal Sanchez (FLA). In addition to Bailey, Gallardo, Elbert, and Veal, Mark Rogers (MIL) and Kevin Slowey (MIN) were the pitchers rated ahead of Gallagher in the FSL.
Eric Patterson was rated the #17 prospect in the Southern League, but was also the #1 2B prospect in AA (all three leagues).
Mark Pawelek was the #4 rated pitcher in the Northwest League, and Jose Ceda was the 4th-highest rated pitcher in the AZL.
BA will not be releasing its individual club Top 10 lists until later in the year and early next year, but I think it's likely the BA Cubs Top 10 will look something like this:
1. Donald Veal, LHP
2. Felix Pie, CF
3. Sean Gallagher, RHP
4. Tyler Colvin, OF
5. Jeff Samardzija, RHP
6. Eric Patterson, 2B
7. Mark Pawelek, LHP
8. Scott Moore, 3B
9. Jae-kuk Ryu, RHP
10. Jake Fox, C
Angel Guzman, Rich Hill, and Sean Marshall (who were on the BA Cubs Top 10 Prospects list last year) have pitched too many MLB innings to qualify for the new Cubs Top 10 Prospects list (BA has a 50 IP limit). NOTE: BA's Cubs post-2005 Top 10 Prospects were (1-10): Pie, Pawelek, Ronny Cedeno, Guzman, Hill, Marshall, Ricky Nolasco (traded to FLA in the Juan Pierre deal), Ryan Harvey, Brian Dopirak, and Eric Patterson.
I would expect Veal, Pie, Gallagher, and Colvin to be among BA's 2007 pre-season Top 100 Prospects (which will be released during Spring Training).
Comments