Some quick hits, January 31st edition
4 Comments Published by Colin Wyers on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 10:11 AM.
Ever wondered why the Cubs weren't mentioned as contenders for Johann Santana? Why there's little serious talk of us being in on Bedard? Well, Kevin Goldstein's top 100 prospects list is out. Feast your eyes on all two Cubs prospects - Soto and Vitters, if you're wondering. So... that's why. (If you want to argue with Goldstein's rating... not really important in this specific instance. I'd say that Goldstein's ratings are similar, at least, to a lot of organizations' internal rankings. When it comes to trades, players are only worth what someone else is willing to give you for them.)
Keith Law is a bit kindlier to the Cubs in his top 100 list - Gallagher and Donaldson also make the cut. Same story, though.
USA Today previews the Cubs going into camp. Nothing dramatic if you've been keeping up with things this offseason, but a decent summary. Of note: Vitters will start the season in Peoria. Also amusing, at least to me - the Cardinals are ranked above the Astros in the division. Not that I disagree. The Reds are probably better than fifth place, though.
Oh, and maybe today the Orioles trade Bedard to the Mariners. Maybe.
Oh, and Replacement Level Yankees Weblog has another run at the Diamond Mind Baseball simulation, this time with the Mets having Santana. The Cubs have improved since his last run with the CAIRO projections for reasons I don't know. The Mets look pretty good, all told - but I still think their rotation's depth is very questionable.
Labels: Baltimore Orioles, Baseball, Chicago Cubs
Actually, the Cubs have only one tradeable prospect in the top 100 -- Soto, whom I'm sure the Cubs don't want to trade -- because Vitters can't be traded, even as a PTBNL, until Feb. 14.
Pretty tough to get Roberts, let alone Bedard, when the cupboard is that bare. You'll have to trade some useful MLers (Hill, Marshall, Marmol, Soto, Pie, DeRosa) which means just moving dirt -- digging one hole to fill another.
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Good stuff Colin. Do you agree with me that the cubs dont have those "exciting prospects", but have a few guys (Gallagher, DOnaldson, E-Patt, etc) who can be viable pieces?
You don't have to be a top prospect in order to contribute.
Soto and Gallagher are ready to contribute now; I'm bullish on Pie as well. As far as some of the others - Donaldson definately needs more time in the minors. E-Patt at this point, at least to me, needs to be given a shot at the Fontentot/Fuld roles - he's just as lefty as they are, and by all accounts is a very gifted baserunner. He may be defensively deficient, but he can outhit them easily - and has more utility than either of them, because he can play the infield and the outfield.
So, no, you don't have to be a top prospect to contribute. That said, that hampers our ability to go out there and make the "fucking A" trade that a lot of people want us to make.