SB Nation User Blog: toonsterwu

Prospect Insider (Jason Churchill) Quick Blurb and Vid on Starlin Castro

toonsterwu — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:48:12 -0000

Prospect Insider (Jason Churchill) Quick Blurb and Vid on Starlin Castro

Really not that much, a short vid clip of Castro fielding in AFL and a quick comment on him as a potential top 25-40 prospect in all of baseball. Churchill's lavished high praise on Castro. Just something to look at.

mlbtr, cubs, aroldis chapman

toonsterwu — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:09:21 -0000

mlbtr, cubs, aroldis chapman

on the mlbtr front page, they are saying that they've heard that the Cubs are involved with Chapman. the Cubs weren't one of the initial teams rumored to be in the mix. This isn't something they've linked - it's something Tim is claiming that he's heard (or someone associated with Tim). I've got no clue on how much veracity to put with mlbtr's non-linked sources, but it caught my eye. in the far past, they were a bit iffy on their own stuff (like pft for football), but mlbtr has gotten a bit more development/stature in recent years, so I'm not sure.

That said ... if we landed Chapman, I'd be ecstatic. Consdering the rumored salary demands, though, I'm not expecting it.

BA's PCL Top 20

toonsterwu — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:31:11 -0000

BA's PCL Top 20

Only 1 Cub made it, which isn't that surprising. What was is who it was, and the fact that Samardzija made it at 16 slightly surprises me, so I'll be curious on the chat comments, if any. In general, Iowa was more of a dumping/stopgap stop this year, with some older guys, average guys, and so forth. A bit surprised Jake Fox didn't get some "number 20" love for his season, but again, his talent level was never high enough to forcefully really crack these lists (unless he missed the cutoff, which I don't think he did, but I'm not sure).

gordo's loose plan

toonsterwu — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:19:25 -0000

gordo's loose plan

nothing really new or intriguing, but it is an article on the cubs. basically,

1. move bradley quickly and don't worry about an extra million or landing the perfect return.

2. move fukudome to rf and add a cf that can catch the ball (he suggests cameron).

3. sign figgins (he makes the point that I've repeatedly made - the idea that figgins blocks anyone is flawed. I'm not saying you sell the house on Chone, just saying that the argument that Figgins blocks people is flawed).

4. Avoid long term deals. Self-explanatory.

5. listen on Z.

BA FSL Top 20 Prospects

toonsterwu — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:56:15 -0000

BA FSL Top 20 Prospects

Starlin Castro ranked 6th and Josh Vitters ranked 14th. Both seem fair. I was a bit surprised Vitters ranked that high, I guess, but it's an upside nod, which BA has a tendency to follow.

BA Southern League Top 20 Prospects

toonsterwu — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:49:18 -0000

BA Southern League Top 20 prospects.

At first glance, I think I like the list moreso than most of their other league lists this year. I'm mildly surprised that Jay Jackson ranked 11th for them, because every time BA responded on Jay, it seemed like they weren't that high. I think he's been underrated on this board, though. That said, he did have a really bad month and the demotion, but he was real good for quite awhile. Let's hope he learned his lesson.

Loaded list. Very curious what the chat will be like. At 2nd glance, I guess I was mildly surprised at the placement of some of the names at the back 10, such as Danks, maybe Frazier. Overall, still doesn't seem bad, though.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE
TOP 20 PROSPECTS

1. Jason Heyward, of, Mississippi (Braves)
2. Gordon Beckham, ss, Birmingham (White Sox)
3. Desmond Jennings, of, Montgomery (Rays)
4. Mike Stanton, of, Jacksonville (Marlins)
5. Jarrod Parker, rhp, Mobile (Diamondbacks)
6. Tyler Flowers, c, Birmingham (White Sox)
7. Logan Morrison, 1b, Jacksonville (Marlins)
8. Freddie Freeman, 1b, Misssissippi (Braves)
9. Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, Montgomery (Rays)
10. Josh Bell, 3b, Chattanooga (Dodgers)
11. Jay Jackson, rhp, Tennessee (Cubs)
12. Todd Frazier, of/2b/1b, Carolina (Reds)
13. Jonathan Lucroy, c, Huntsville (Brewers)
14. Chris Heisey, of, Carolina (Reds)
15. Dan Hudson, rhp, Birmingham (White Sox)
16. Jordan Danks, of, Birmingham (White Sox)
17. Sean West, lhp, Jacksonville (Marlins)
18. Andrew Lambo, of, Chattanooga (Dodgers)
19. Daniel Schlereth, lhp, Mobile (Diamondbacks)
20. Travis Wood, lhp, Carolina (Reds)

BA's MWL Top 20

toonsterwu — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:22:15 -0000

BA's MWL Top 20

3 Cubs - Vitters at 3, Archer at 16, Carpenter at 20.

I'm fairly ... stunned with this list, tbh. Vitters not at 1 doesn't bother me ... Hicks there does surprise. I can buy Gordon if you buy him as an elite shortstop, so I'm okay with that. Castro seems a bit low - he's a very, very exciting arm, and Jaff Decker, IMO, should be higher - he can hit, but isn't in the best shape, but that bat is good. I think Scarpetta and Pollock are both a tad high for my tastes and Desme seems a bit low.

Very surprised that Kyler Burke didn't make it. Very surprised that Archer was safely in at 16. Very surprised Carpenter barely made it in. I'll try to add other thoughts later, but a fairly stunning list right now.

BA's Northwest League Top 20 Prospects

toonsterwu — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:21:46 -0000

BA's Northwest League Top 20 Prospects

3 Cubs made it, with top prospect Hak-Ju Lee, number 3 prospect Brett Jackson, and 2nd baseman Logan Watkins ranking 19th. Thoughts? Boise squad was a bit weaker than last year in terms of value, so not surprised that there were only 3 Cubs. Mildly surprised Watkins was that low. I thought he'd be a couple slots higher.

BA's Top 20 Prospects in AZL this year

toonsterwu — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:59:30 -0000

BA's Top 20 Prospects in AZL this year

Not surprisingly, no Cubs listed. They did note that Austin Kirk would've ranked high had he stayed in AZL longer.

BP (Goldstein's) Improved NL Prospects

toonsterwu — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:33:04 -0000

BP (Goldstein's) Improved NL Prospects

Nothing too shocking here, as he notes Burke/Carpenter in taking steps forward.

As a personal note, he does bring up an arm that I am intrigued with in Bradley Meyers of the Nats.