Cubs Midseason Top Prospects: Consensus Rankings

In Commentary And Analysis, News And Rumors by myles33 Comments

MLB: Spring Training-Chicago White Sox at Chicago CubsAll of the major scouting outlets have published their midseason top prospects updates by now, which is good since the season is well over halfway through. I rounded up a bunch of them (from Baseball America, Bullpen Banter, Baseball Prospectus's Jason Parks, ESPN's Keith Law, and minorleagueball's John Sickels) and pulled the rankings for Cub prospects, including newly acquired 'spects Mike Olt and C.J. Edwards

Cubs Midseason Top Prospects

  BA (50) BB (75) BP (50) KL (50) Sickels (75) Consensus
Javier Baez 10 19 17 27 14 17
Albert Almora 16 16 15 25 18 18
Jorge Soler 18 18 31 20 23 22
Kris Bryant NA 26 ~25 15 ~20  
Arismendy Alcantara NR NR ~100 ~57 57  
Mike Olt 44 NA NR NR ~80  
C.J. Edwards NR 70 NR NR 73  
Pierce Johnson NR NR NR NR ~85  

It's not entirely fair to use a straight average of the ranks as a consensus, since different lists have varying criteria for inclusion (how to deal with guys who have played in the majors, draftees, etc…). Nonetheless, I think this a fairly accurate, if rough idea of how the players are perceived by the scouting industry at-large. On lists where a particular prospect was not included, I looked in chats and comment sections on each site to see if the rankers gave a specific indication as to where a particular prospect would have landed. I pulled these quickly, so please let me know if you spot any errors or there is a particular list you would like to see added.

In the aggregate, four Cub prospects are in the neighborhood of the top 20: Baez, Almora, Soler, and Bryant, but none are generally considered top 10. Two to four others: Alcantara, Edwards, Johnson, and Olt are decent bets to be in the back half of top 100 rankings in the coming offseason. Of the "Big 8," six have joined the system since Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have taken over.

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  1. WaLi

    The Cubs are on the verge of losing a protected pick. They are currently 9th with a 45-54 record as far as total losses go and lose % (.545). What hasn’t helped them is that in the last 10, they are 5-5. Junior lake has to go! They need to go on a streak like the Blue Jays have done. The BJs 9-1 in the last 10, and have lost 7 in a row. They clearly have the Will to Lose.

    In all seriousness, although it is fun watching the Cubs win, I am concerned that if they don’t get a protected pick they may not be as agressive in the free agent market as they would otherwise be. Is that a fair concern?

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  2. Bill Clay

    Mucker wrote:

    Was the reason it wasn’t used because QBs for the most part weren’t as athletic as they are know? Having that dual threat run and pass QB?

    I don’t think so, because a QB just has to be athletic enough to run out of bounds 5 yards down the field. Of the starting QBs today, there are probably 6 that shouldn’t run it. (IIRC, CHI will install a few read option plays this season)

    I think the reason it wasn’t used in the NFL is mainly the arrogance of NFL coaches. Combine that with the fact that most coaches are retreads or “pro-style” college coaches, and it just didn’t have a chance.

    Old schoolers say what detractors say now: “We’ll just hit the QB on every play.” If a QB gets hit hard enough to injure him, you’re doing it wrong. A DE that crashes quickly enough to put that kind of hit on the QB is going to get burned by the RB.

    The QB doesn’t have to run well to make the read option boost an offense. Just well enough to slow the pass rush.

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  3. Bill Clay

    The NFL isn’t like college where someone like Vince Young (who’s bigger than most teams’ linebackers and faster than their DBs) can run wild. What Kaepernick did to GB completely misrepresents what the read option does for an offense.

    For a better indicator, watch WAS v DAL last season. DeMarcus Ware disappeared.

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  4. Suburban kid

    I’m pretty sure Adolfo has played his last game at Wrigley Field (as a Cub). He doesn’t really need two or three days to think about whether to accept a trade to the Yankees, he already said he would. If he was traded today, he’d have to go all the way to New York for the weekend and then back to LA on Monday.He probably just wants to let it sink in and talk to his family, and, because he’s on the road, it’s probably a little unsettling thinking about changing jobs. Maybe he’d want to go “home” to Chicago for one last series next week, but seeing as NYY is in Anaheim from Tuesday, if I were him I’d approve the trade for after the game on Sunday. He’d get Monday off (travel day for NYY) and could stay out west without the long haul back and forth to Chicago or New York.

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  5. Suburban kid

    Also the NYY stop to play CHW on the south side on their way back from the coast, so Sosi can get some stuff taken care of during that series.

    I’m strangely concerned about Soriano’s laundry situation.

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  6. Suburban kid

    @ josh:
    That’s debatable. Depends how many of us there are.

    For us to make more in our lifetimes combined than he is making on his current contract, all we’d have to do if there were, say, 70 of us, is make an average lifetime income of $2 million. That would be an average of 45K per year for 44 years. That seems a bit high I guess, since not everyone is going to work full time (or even at all) for every year from age 21 to 65. Still, maybe there’s 100 of us.

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  7. Suburban kid

    @ josh:
    I like humanizing these guys when I like them. I like to think we share some of the same problems. Back in a minute, I have to empty the dryer.

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  8. Suburban kid

    @ dmick89:
    Yeah, Theo made a crack about NYY being the only team that leaks shit, so I guess there could be other deals on the table. But Soriano is clearly pretty picky about where he would play, and having given the green light on this one team it seems they would be the favorite by a mile. I’ll be shocked if he isn’t a Yankee by the deadline.

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  9. Suburban kid

    @ dmick89:
    What I remember hearing was that SF was too cold.

    The guy is picky, and I think he is seeking a comfortable situation. He proved last year that comfort is more important than a pennant race, too. Despite what he says about the Yankees being a perennial contender, they have an excellent chance of missing the playoffs just like the Cubs this year. But he would find it comfortable, just like the north side. Not sure if he would find a brand new organization so comfortable.

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