A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request

The last time the Cubs won the World Series was 1908. You probably know that, and you have responded either two ways.

You either laugh… or you cry.

 

Here’s something else to laugh (or cry) about. The last time the Cubs went to the World Series was 1945… the last time they won a playoff game and went to the NLCS… 2003 (and we all know what happened then). The last time they clinched the NL Central? 2008.

Since then, Cub fans have dealt with some of the toughest years, as crazy as that might sound. In the past two years, the Cubs have lost 197 games, and it’s the worst 3-season stance in team history. THEY HAVE BEEN A TEAM SINCE THE 1800’S.

So after firing almost the entire organization in 2011, an organization that had plenty of winning seasons, owner Tom Ricketts hired Theo Epstein as the President of Baseball Operations, and Padres’ GM Jed Hoyer to become GM. Theo Epstein, as you may know, had the same position with the Boston Red Sox, breaking the curse of the Bambino and winning two World Series.

 

Here’s the thing. Lots of baseball fans asked if Theo can do just what he did in Boston to get a title for the Cubs. However, Theo and Jed are taking a different approach.

Can he break another curse? And yes, there is a curse in Chicago. 

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox had veterans. Some of these guys were the best in the business, like Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez. Plus, in 2004 they traded for Curt Schilling and extended his contract. Boston had a miracle run in the playoffs and turned out on top.

This Chicago team… well… they have no big time veterans, no future hall-of-famers (as of now). They instead have prospects, and they have this in order to maintain winning records not for a few years, but for many years. And it’s worked in Chicago; the last time they had a huge prospect was a guy named Mark Prior, who was the x-factor in leading the Cubs to the NLCS in 2003.

The Cubs look to win the division not this year, but in 2015. After the Yankees bought Masahiro Tanaka out, Chicago was crushed. He would have sped up this “rebuilding” program so much. It was a major defeat.

After looking at baseball’s Top 100 Prospects, including my top 10 prospects, you notice guys like Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Albert Almora, the three best prospects in the Cubs system.

Here’s where the hope comes.

Notable stats about these guys? Baez hit 37 home runs in the minors last year… as a shortstop. Bryant was theArizona Fall League MVP, and has shown to have the best all-around power in the minor leagues. He is projected to have 30 home runs and 100 RBI’s each year. Almora has one of the best gloves and arms in baseball.

But there’s more than those three. There’s C.J. Edwards, the Cubs top pitching prospect who posted a sub 1.50 ERA in the minors last year. There’s Jorge Soler, the youngest of three power Cuban hitters that, when healthy, has such amazing raw power. By the way, the other two power Cuban hitters in that class were Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig.

But wait, there's more!. There’s Arimesty Alcantara, a speedy and versatile second baseman. There’s Dan Vogelbach, a first baseman who once hit a 570 foot home run, and there’s Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs’ minor league pitcher of the year.

The Cubs were a major disappointment in the offseason, failing to grab big names, but they did grab guys like Jose Veras, Justin Ruggiano, and former Rookie of the Year winner, Chris Coghlan.

There are lot of talks about how the Cubs don’t have any pitching in that minor league system, another reason why it was such a big blow to lose Tanaka. That’s true. But here are the facts: The Cubs finished 28^th in runs, 27^th in batting average, 28^th in on base percentage, and 17^th in slugging percentage last year. In pitching, they finished 7^th in batting average allowed. 

Also remember that they still have young guys in the majors. Their three rebuilding leaders, Travis Wood, Starlin Castro, and Anthony Rizzo, are only 26, 23, and 24, respectively. We saw Castro and Rizzo have their numbers go down last season, but with a new skipper in Rick Renteria this year, things might change.

Don’t rule out the Cubs on trading for players starting this season, too. Jed and Theo have already stated that they no longer are going to trade their guys before the deadline anymore, as they have traded a boatload of players over the past two years.

There’s also the free agency, too. In 2015, some of the biggest pitchers will be on the market, including David Price, Max Scherzer, and Hisashi Iwakuma. Watch the Cubs make a splash at one of them, especially Price.

This year is going to be real interesting for the Cubs. I think they can pull a .500 record. At the middle of the season last year, the Cubs were only 8 games under. After trading and making a bunch of moves, they finished under 30.

Fans are tired of losing. But as a long-time Cub fan and someone who will forever bleed Cubbie blue, I know there is hope. And the future has not looked this bright since drafting Mark Prior.

All I ask is this – can you please make the playoffs? Let’s just try to cross that bridge.

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd

Finishing Up My Top 10 Prospects

The Top 100 2014 Prospects was announced yesterday, with some new guys and some old guys entering and remaining in the top 10. My top 10 looks a little bit different, mostly because I did not include players that will most likely be starting in the MLB on Opening Day. However, the biggest jump was Jonathan Singleton, who MLB ranked as the 50^th best prospect, and I ranked him as the 6^th best.

Looks like we’re not getting along that much.

But here are the top 10 prospects, just posted yesterday, according to the MLB:

10. Francisco Lindor

9. Kris Bryant

8. Carlos Correa

7. Javier Baez

6. Taijuan Walker

5. Archie Bradley

4. Miguel Sano

3. Oscar Taveras

2. Xander Bogaerts

1. Byron Buxton

Minus Singleton and the MLB players, our lists look pretty even. That being said, let’s look at my #2 and #1 prospects of 2014.

2. Archie Bradley, RHP, Diamondbacks

When you question which pitcher to take among prospects, it’s always between Archie Bradley and Taijuan Walker. Honestly it’s a toss-up. If the team needs to win now, they would most likely take Walker. If not, probably Bradley. Either way, Bradley has tremendous stuff. The difference between Walker and Bradley is that Bradley has a better changeup.

Bradley, drafted in the first round (7^th overall) in the 2011 draft, a draft stacked with young talent, but Bradley emerged as one of the best pitchers there. He’s more of a fastball-curveball pitcher, but it’s his ability to get groundballs and use a variety of pitches that makes him a good pitcher.

 

In 2013, Bradley went 14-5 with a 1.84 ERA, allowing players to a .215 average and striking out 162 in 152 innings pitched. After such a great minor league season, the Diamondbacks might call him up sooner than expected. Once estimated to come in in 2015, Bradley might just come this summer.

He’s a high school state champion with other prospect Dylan Bundy, and might just be the next great in Arizona. The D-Backs had the chance to grab Masahiro Tanaka, but unfortunately came up short. It might not hurt them too much; Bradley soon might be the ace for Arizona. When you already have a guy like Patrick Corbin in the system, it’s a very good sign for Arizona.

1.   Byron Buxton, OF, Twins

The choice is almost unanimous. Byron Buxton is the best prospect in baseball. Who do scouts compare him to? Try Mike Trout. In fact, both put up almost identical stats when they were in single-A ball.

Buxton was drafted in the first round (2^nd pick) of the 2012 draft to the Minnesota Twins, and at only 20 years old, Buxton is ranked number one for the second straight year in a row. Here’s why.

Buxton has all around hitting, power, speed, plus has a great arm and is a talented outfielder. Last season, he batted a combined .334/.424/.520 with 12 home runs, 77 RBI’s, 18 triples, and 55 steals. He only had 19 doubles, but that’s because he is so fast and can stretch things into triples.

Buxton ranks top 5 in almost every category in the minor leagues, especially in speed and in the field. You look at all of the great potential players in this class, and Buxton combines all of them. Scouts consider Buxton as even better than Trout, or at least Trout with a little more power.

The Twins are playing Buxton conservatively, and we won’t see him until 2015. But he is only 20 years old, so entering the MLB at 21 is still very good. I like comparing him to a young Vladimir Guerrero, an MVP who remains as one of the greatest Cuban hitters of all time. Plus, like Buxton, Guerrero has a cannon for an arm.

The Twins’ future looks bright. Buxton and Sano is a great combo, and, with Joe Mauer and others, they could have the best hitting in baseball soon. Unfortunately, their problems last year were with pitching, but we’ll talk about that later.

Overall, nine Boston Red Sox were on the top 100, with the Astros and Cubs tied in second with seven. The Astros, Red Sox, Cubs, Pirates, and Twins are ranked as the top five farm systems, in order.

Breaking it down, here are my top 10 prospects:

10. Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs

9. Gregory Polanco, OF, Pirates

8. Carlos Correa, SS, Astros

7. Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Mets

6. Jonathan Singelton, 1B, Astros

5. Andrew Heaney, LHP, Marlins

4. Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins

3. Javier Baez, SS, Cubs

2. Archie Bradley, RHP, Diamondbacks

1. Byron Buxton, OF, Twins

Think someone else should have been on the list? Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com to let me know, I’d love to hear the feedback.

-Evan Boyd