I guess Micah Hoffpauir is so low because of his age? He's done pretty well in the bigs when he's had the chance. Can't wait to see how Welington Castillo does in camp. No wonder the Cubs have a a "win now" mentality with a 27th ranked farm system...

Whatever happend to:

Ryan Harvey, Mark Pawelak,Papelbon's little brtoher and Carney Lansford's kid?

Lansford was like 25 or 26 if i remember right. Pawelak and Harvey i think had injuries.

Where is Vitters going to play this year Boise, Peoria, or Tenn?

72 today and back to my hobbies: Cubs baseball, CCO, Younger women, Faster horses and Older Whiskey. That would be thinking about 'em and talking about 'em--but just enough to stay in the good graces of my trophy wife of 49 years. The grandkids called, and I told them it's good that they are growing up so fast--becasue grandpas only have so many horsey-back rides in them.

Prospect takes: The Top 30 are mostly very young, but we have moved some up and traded others. Some of the very young will likely elevate our system from 27th after this season. My guesses are that our Top 15 will rank around 15th after this season and that 4 or 5 will reach 4 star or better status.

As most of us know, we have made some choices that have been huge disappointments. Two are asked about by Jim C (T.P.) Ryan Harvey (24), the 6th overall pick in the first round a few years ago was .224-13-46 with 114 SO's in 313 AB's at Hi A and AA last year. He is a $2 mil mistake and a poster boy for "having multiple tools" not being enough. Mark Pawelek (22), the 20th overall pick in the first round was 2-2, 6.20 with 19 walks in 24 IP at low A Boise. Another weird lefty, he broke his right arm tripping over a play station (or something like that) and missed most all of '07.

Josh Lansford (24), a 6th rounder, was .243-2-33 in 378 AB's as a third baseman at A and AA last year. Maybe he will hit for more power when he bulks up from his current 6'2"-220 lb. Jeremy Paplebon (25), a 19th round selection did OK as a lefty reliever at Hi A, Daytona with a line of 2-1, 2.57, 74 IP, 64 H, 25 W and 51 SO's.

The Cubs' site story on Bobby Scales (31) is a reminder that guys like him, Cintron and Hoffpauir deserve to be in the right place at the right time to show what are likely solid big league skills. Scales is likely adequate as a versatile fielder and bat, including 3B, if we need him.

Feliz Cumpleanos Jaime K!!!

what ever happened to bobby brownlie as well? i hope that the cubs have finally figured out how to draft. if you go back to when kerry wood was drafted in 95 i think you only have 4 first round picks to make it to the majors. wood, corey patterson, jon garland and mark prior i believe are it. wood and prior were the only ones that worked out for us really. we traded garland when he was in the minors still and we all know patterson never fully reached his true potential. it sounds as though maybe vitters is the real deal and cashner seems to be on track but both are a couple of years away. as for tyler colvin it is already looking as though he'll likely be another bust, it sounds as if his season is likely lost to shoulder surgery. this to me is a sad case as if i remember correctly colvin was the "safe" choice in that draft rather than a player with a higher ceiling. the player picked immediately after colvin was a left handed power hitting outfielder out of high school. that was travis snider of the blue jays who looks like he'll be a starter for them this year. couldn't we have used a player like that in our system? we did get the steal of the draft in samarzdija in the 5th round but it still shows wasted 1st round picks. oh yeah and the player picked right after ryan harvey in 2003 was some guy named nick markakis, i heard he's pretty good. i'm sure we wouldn't be ranked 27th in minor league talent if we actually made good 1st/ early round picks with what's considered the top talent in a draft. but from what i've been hearing it sounds as though we are getting on track now as far as drafting is concerned. talent level is going up in the lower levels which gives hope to the future. anyway just a few thoughts and just waiting to see this years team on the field and see how it sorts itself out.

i did forget about luis montanez who never did anything in the cubs system but did play pretty decent last year w/ the orioles in part time action. but i guess the real point should be no one since 2001 when prior was picked has even sniffed the majors. sad but true

There's too much for one topic today, but I thought this was informative and interesting. Maury Brown has a guest article on MLB Trade Rumors today about the use/importance of free agents. The Cubs have added 11 FA Contract Years for this season (so far). In the last 3 years, the Cubs have added 42 FA Contract Years, with contracts valued at $394 mil. Those FA contracts represent 10.4% of the Payroll and average $9.4 mil per player per year.

What's interesting is a review of what the 7 biggest spenders and 6 smallest spenders (oops on 7) have done. It speaks to: big markets vs. small markets, buy significant pieces or grow your own, quality of farm system vs problems of farm system, etc. Here's a summary from Brown's report. The breakouts are: Contract Years Added (for 3 Yrs); Total Value of CYA's in $mils; % of total payroll for Contracts Added; and Average Yearly FA Player Contract.

Top 7 Teams:

Yanks.......55; $898; 23.7%; $16.3
Cubs........42; $394; 10.4%; $ 9.4
Giants......34; $306; 8.0%; $ 9.0
Red Sox.....34; $232; 6,1%; $ 6.8
Dodgers.....28; $222; 5.8%; $ 7.9
Angels......23; $205; 5.4%; $ 8.9
Mets........30; $164; 4.3%; $ 5.5

Bottom 6 Teams:

Padres......14; $ 32; .83%; $ 2.3
Twins....... 9; $ 30; .80%; $ 3.4
Tigers...... 5; $ 20; .52%; $ 4.0
Pirates......9; $ 13; .34%; $ 1.4
D-Backs......6; $ 12; .32%; $ 2.0
Marlins......5; $ 6; .15%; $ 1.1

I would say the Cubs have been willing to spend big to be an elite, big market team. They have also grown a several of their own--but not as many as they should have. The Cubs have drafted later in rounds than a lot of teams the last few years--which is a factor in grow-your-own success. (That's an (unacceptable) excuse too.)

There is a good write-up in the Community Blog on the Cubs' Top 5 Prospects....

http://chicagocubsonline.com/community_blog/2009/02/top-5-chicago-cubs-prospects.php

You guys should check it out.

What happen to Cub minor league prospect 3rd baseman / catcher Casey McGeehe?