My List of Cubs Top Prospects Mid-Season

Top Five

1. Brett Jackson: Jackson is on the fast track to the majors. He was the Cubs top pick in the 2009 draft. He has had a few injuries this season so far, but is still having a great year. He is considered a 5-tool prospect.  For AA, he is batting .273, 10 homeruns, and 32 runs bated in. ETA 2012

2. Matt Szczur: For more on Szczur read, Cubs Prospect, Matt Szczur. ETA 2014

3. Josh Vitters: Vitters was the Cubs top pick in the 2007 draft. He has been a late bloomer, but it seems this year he is starting to figure it out. Scouts believe he can hit in the majors, but he needs to work on his plate discipline and defense.  Vitters is batting .275, with 7 homeruns, and 38 runs batted in. ETA late 2013

4. Ryan Flaherty: Flaherty has been the biggest surprise in the Cubs farm system and is on the fast track to the majors also. In 2008, he was chosen in the compensation first round. He is a utility man for the AA team as he has played in the outfield and infield. He is batting, .302, with 14 homeruns and 65 runs batted in. Look for him in a Cub uniform in September. ETA 2011

5. Chris Carpenter: Carpenter has been up and down between the majors and the minors. He used to be a starter, but now is a reliever. He is a flamethrower throwing over 100MPH. The only knock on him is is control. If he can improve on his control, look for him to be a set up guy or closer for the Cubs in the future. ETA 2011

Other Cubs Top Prospects

Trey McNutt

Austin Kirk

Junior Lake

Robert Whitenack

Wellington Castillo

Trade Candidate, Maron Byrd

Marlon Byrd is currently playing center field for the Cubs, but by the time August rolls around that could change. In Byrd’s first year as a Cubs he hit .293, with 12 homeruns, and 66 run batted in and was a fan favorite for how hard he played. Many fans feel that he was cheated out of the gold glove for center fielde because of how many spectacular plays he made almost every game and only had three errors.

Byrd was off to a great start to his season until he was hit in the face with a pitch against the Boston Red Sox’s. On May 21, Alfredo Aceves hit Byrd in the face with a fastball and caused multiple fractures in his face. Byrd was put on the 15-day disabled list and was out for a little but over a month.

Now Byrd is back facing the challenge of standing back in the batters box and try and not worry about getting hit in the face. He is wearing a new batting helmet that protects his left side of his face. Byrd has not shown any fear of batting and could be trade bait later this month. If he can prove to other teams that he has no effects from his injury, he could be on the move. Teams that are looking for outfield help include the: Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians. San Francisco Giants, and the Atlanta Braves. Byrd is still relative young and should be fresh after spending time on the disabled list. I do not think the Cubs will be trying to move him, but if the right trade comes along, look for the cubs to listen.

Cubs Prospect, Matt Szczur

Matt Szczur played college football and baseball at Villanova University. He was an outstanding wide receiver for the Wildcats.  His best game for the Wildcats was when he gained 270 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in a winning effort in the 2009 FCS National Championship. He would have been drafted in the NLF draft if he decided to go the football route; instead he decided to play professional baseball.  Szczur signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs organization, which drafted him in the fifth-round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. After the 2010 season, Szczur committed to baseball and signed a $1.5 million deal with the Cubs in January 2011.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Szczur is batting .317 with 5 homers, 27 runs batted in and 17 stolen bases. He plays center field for the Cubs minor league affiliated, Class-A Peoria Chiefs. Szczur was elected to play in the 2011 All-Star weekend Future Game, where all the best prospects in baseball get a chance to show the world what they can do; he will play for the USA team. Szczur is considered one of the best outfield prospects in baseball and is the Cubs 8^th best overall prospect coming into the 2011 season. We do not know how long it will take for him to develop, 2-3 more years, but we can be sure that one day, if he is not traded, he will be playing for the Chicago Cubs. Look for him to get some playing time in the Future Game All-Star weekend; he is the lone Cubs prospect to be elected to the game.

Will Castro Start the 2011 All-Star Game?

Starling Castro is having a magnificent season and is one of the youngest all stars on the NL team this year. Some people even consider him a franchise player. Since both Jose Reyes and Troy Tulowitzki will not be able to play in the All-Star game, Bruce Bochy must give him a look.  Bochy is the manager for the National League team and he picked Mike Quade as one of his coaches, so that cannot hurt Castro’s chance. Castro is batting .307, with 2 homeruns, 38 runs batted in, and 10 stolen bases on the season so far. His numbers are outstanding and should get a look.

However, Castro is very young and his defense at times this year has been shaky. That being said, Bochy might no give chance the chance to start at short  to veteran infielder of the Reds, Brandon Phillips. Phillips is having a really good year, batting .293 with 8 homeruns and 47 runs batted in. Phillips is a gold glove caliber player and can also swing the bat. He is going to be an asset for the NL team.

Even if Castro does not get the start for the NL in the 2011 All-Star game, he is still going to get a chance to play. He is going to  be a big factor in the up coming game. Castro is going to be an all-star for years to come and he will get his chance to start the game. Will it be this year, I do not know, but it will be in the not to distant future.

13 Things I learned From Class

I learned about :
1. Landing pages
2. How to put advertisements on my website using Google AdSense and make money
3. How to create and submit ezine articles to an online database
4. How to set up a Kontactr account to recieve emails so your email address does not get spam
5. How to promote another blog post
6. How to create my own products on cafepress
7. The importance of pillar articles in establishing credibility
8. How key words effects how search engines find your website
9. Importance of other links in your niche area in being discovered by search engines
10. How to track the number of visitors on my website and blog using counters and Google Analytics
11. How to add HTML and Links to my website, such as Buttons and Descriptive and Word Hyper Links
12. How search engines uses an algorithm to find your website by using key word
13. How to submit my website to a search engine

Evergreen Park Native, Tom Gorzelanny

Today the Chicago Cubs will face former Cubs pitcher and Evergreen Park native Tom Gorzelanny. Gorzelanny got traded to the Nationals in the 2010 offseason because the Cubs were trying to cut some payroll. Gorzelanny is have a decent season and would be a solid 5^th starter for the Cubs, who have not been able to solidify that 5^th spot since Andrew Cashner went down in April. Gorzelanny has a 3.77 ERA and is 2 and 6 on the season.

Gorzelanny was traded on July 30, 2009 to the Chicago Cubs along with John Grabow for Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio. Grabow is still with the Cubs. Gorzelanny pitched well for the Cubs in 2010. In 2010, Gorzelanny won a spot in the Cubs starting rotation and compiled a high strikeout rate and an ERA below 4 through September 2010. However, that just was not good enough for the Cubs to keep him around in 2010.

In January 17, 2011, the Washington Nationals acquired the former Evergreen Park, IL native, Gorzelanny from the Cubs for prospects Michael Burgess, A. J. Morris, and Graham Hicks. Gorzelanny became expendable to the Cubs after they traded for Matt Garza ten days earlier. Gorzelanny features three main pitches, including a low 90's four-seam fastball that can occasionally reach the mid-90's, a sharp slider with good movement, and a deceptive mid to low 80's change-up. Gorzelanny will never be a top of the rotation starter, but he is a pitcher who can be a solid end of the rotation or long reliever. Look for Gorzelanny to pitch at least 5-inning against him former team tonight.

International Success Key to Long Term Success

It is no secrete that the Cubs Organization wants to be better as a whole. Tom Ricketts has said that he is going to start to put more money into the farm system and international player development. As recently as this week, Tom Ricketts has started to put his money where is mouth is by signing some highly touted international prospects. Many of these prospects are only 16-years old, so we will not see them for quite some time. However, the Cubs did sign Starling Castro when he was 16 and you cannot argue with the results.

Earlier this week the Cubs signed an international prospect from the Dominican Republic. They signed 16-year-old shortstop Enrique Acosta who they landed for a bonus of $1.1 million. Acosta is a highly regarded hitting prospect that projects as either a third baseman or an outfielder down the road. Today, the Cubs went into Venezuela and landed a much sought after catcher in 16-year-old Mark Malave and a 16-year-old third baseman in Ricardo Marcano. All three players were projected as top international prospects and the Cubs have to be glad that they land all three. This year, the Cubs spending on international players have doubled what they have done in the past.

Championships teams are built from the bottom up. With that being said, the Cubs plan on starting to home grown their own players. Look at an organization like the Tampa Bay Rays, they do not have a lot of money, but they draft well and develop players well and they have started to see results on the field. I believe the Cubs are trying to duplicate the Rays success.