The Cubs have invited 16 non-roster players to spring training that begins this week. Of those 16 players, you might think that all will have the chance to compete for a spot with the big club, but that isn't the case. Adam Harben is going to be at camp but he won't be pitching. That is because he had Tommy John surgery a few months ago and with that comes with 10 to 12 months of rehab, which is what Harben will be doing at camp.
Harben was on the Cubs' 40-man roster but after he went down, the Cubs didn't tender him a contract and removed him. With that move, he signed a minor league contract and the Cubs promised he would still get an invite to camp. That explains why someone that can't help in 2007 will still be at camp. Cubs Farm Director Oneri Flieta admits, "It doesn't happen often." It is a reward for what he would have earned if he were healthy.
For those that don't remember where Harben came from, he was the player to be named later in the Phil Nevin trade last year with Minnesota. While still with the Twins in 2006 he pitched for New Britain, in the Eastern League, and ended with a 4-9 record and a promising 3.96 ERA. His 74/67 K/BB ratio was discouraging so they decided to send him to the Arizona Fall League to work them out. He didn't get much chance to work things out when he was shut down with the elbow soreness before having surgery in November.
Harben did display some promise before the injury, mostly with the Twins but he could be a strong pitcher once he returns from his injury. He showed real promise in 2004 and 2005 with ERA's of 3.09 and 2.66, respectively. Over the two seasons, he had a record of 19-12, with 290 strikeouts and 130 walks. He is a sinkerball pitcher and was able induce twice as many groundouts as fly outs while he was pitching for New Britain last year. That would work well at Wrigley Field if he makes it there.
Now Harben won't be someone you have to worry about this year, but since the Cubs invited him to camp I wanted to make sure and cover him in case some of you hadn't heard the news about his injury. Now he isn't on the list of the Cubs top prospects currently because of his injured elbow but for those that like to see lists I have one you might find interesting.
2005 Top 20 Prospects - Florida State League
- Andy LaRoche, 3b, Vero Beach
- Justin Verlander, rhp, Lakeland
- Lastings Milledge, of, Port St. Lucie
- Jason Vargas, lhp, Jupiter
- Matt Kemp, of, Vero Beach
- Matt Moses, 3b, Fort Myers
- Denard Span, of, Fort Myers
- Justin Orenduff, rhp, Vero Beach
- David Purcey, lhp, Dunedin
- Jordan Tata, rhp, Lakeland
- Tony Abreu, 2b, Vero Beach
- Chin-Lung Hu, ss, Vero Beach
- Adam Lind, of, Dunedin
- Brent Clevlen, of, Lakeland
- Scott Moore, 3b, Daytona
- Adam Harben, rhp, Fort Myers
- Chuck Tiffany, lhp, Vero Beach
- Brian Dopirak, 1b, Daytona
- Tim Moss, 2b, Clearwater
- Philip Humber, rhp, Port St. Lucie
As you can see, Baseball America listed Harben as the 16th best prospect in the league. Granted, this was in 2005 but it does show his potential. Lists do not mean much because you can go back, look at top prospects lists from years ago, and see players you have never heard of.
This year John Sickels of MinorLeagueBall.com had him rated 12th, but that was before his injury.
Cubs' Top Prospects from John Sickels at Minorleagueball.com:
- Felix Pie, OF
- Donald Veal, LHP
- Eric Patterson, 2B
- Sean Gallagher, RHP
- Mark Pawelek, LHP
- Jeff Samardzija, RHP
- Tyler Colvin, OF
- Jae-Kuk Ryu, RHP
- Scott Moore, 3B
- Ryan Theriot, INF
- Juan Mateo, RHP
- Adam Harben, RHP
- Mitch Atkins, RHP
- Jake Fox, C
- Chris Huesby, RHP
- Jose Ceda, RHP
- Ryan Harvey, OF
- Clay Rapada, LHP
- Rocky Cherry, RHP
- Chris Shaver, LHP
It is up to the player to take the potential and turn it into something worthwhile that can get them to the major leagues. Harben has hit a bump in the road on his trip and will have to wait before continuing. Like most of the players I have talked about, Harben has the talent. The question is how will he come back from this injury and does he have the drive to succeed at all levels. By being at camp this year and seeing some major league players it could give him a taste of what that holy grail of baseball is like and make him work that much harder to get back their permanently.
Adam Harben's Baseball Cube Page
Coming next- Down on the Farm: Tyler Colvin
I love the blog that you have. I was wondering if you would link my blog to yours and in return I would do the same for your blog. If you want to, my site name is American Legends and the URL is:
http://www.americanlegends.blogspot.com
If you want to do this just go to my blog and in one of the comments just write your blog name and the URL and I will add it to my site.
Thanks,
Mark
Talking about prospects, I was at Iowa visiting AAA Cubs, and I heard a lot of good things about Eric Patterson. For one thing: this guy LOVES baseball and LOVES his team; he shows so much passion for the game and for the organization, his teammates, and so we are looking at a guy with character, loyal and cheering, a future Mr. Cubs.
While Patterson is still working through his plate discipline, in my view, this is easily adjustable, plus his great defense and speed, he might turn to be a great second baseman or even a leftfielder when time needs him.
Work hard, young Cubbies!