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Winter League Wrap-up

This year's Winter Leagues saw an increase in the number of players from the organization, but an overall decrease in participation. While 33 players that were affiliated with the Cubs' system for all or part of the off-season were part of winter baseball, 19 ended up playing less than ten games with their temporary clubs. Movement played a prominent role as fans said goodbye to Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Andrew Cashner, Robert Coello, Marwin Gonzalez and Carlos Zambrano while saying hello to Alfredo Amezaga, Juan Apodaca, Anthony Rizzo, Dave Sappelt and Casey Weathers.

Some prospects, such as Junior Lake, Scott Maine, Marcos Mateo, Rebel Ridling, and Chris Rusin were effective in limited appearances. Others, such as Marco Carrillo, Bryan LaHair, Oswaldo Martinez, Blake Parker, Ryan Searle, and Kyle Smit performed well over the course of the season.

The CCO's off-season look at the Cubs' farm system continues with our list of the top 20 prospects in the Cubs' system.

The Cubs' minor league system is coming off a good and bad season. Like the big league team, several of the top prospects down on the farm dealt with injuries ... and those injuries might have kept players like Brett Jackson, Trey McNutt and Rob Whitenack from getting a call to the Show.

The Cubs' system has a much different look than a year ago. The commitment made to the draft added quality players to what was already considered a deep system. The big knock on the organization is the lack of impact talent, both on the mound and in the field.

For the second year in a row, Brett Jackson tops the CCO's list of the top prospects in the Cubs' system with Anthony Rizzo, Trey McNutt, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters rounding out the top five.

Baseball America updated their top 10 prospects lists for all 30 big league teams. With all of the movement throughout baseball this winter, BA's lists were already dated by the time they shipped their 2012 Prospect Handbook.

The top 10 prospects in the Cubs' system shifted just slightly with the addition of Anthony Rizzo. Brett Jackson is still tops in the system with Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo rounding out the top three.

Congratulations to both the Yaquis de Obregon and the Indios de Mayaguez for securing spots in the Caribbean World Series. In Mexico, Obregon rode the bat of Alfredo Amezaga and the pitching of Marco Carrillo, while Kyle Smit did his best to help the Indians claim the crown in Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela are still looking to award a championship.

For a recap of this week's contests, along with news from the Australian Baseball League, check out this week's Down on the Farm Report.

The CCO's off-season look at the Cubs' farm system continues with the top 31 prospects in the Cubs organization according to Baseball America.

Baseball America's 2012 Prospect Handbook arrived with the Angels' Mike Trout on the cover. For the second straight year, the Cubs made changes to the system after Baseball America went to the presses with their prospect book.

Baseball America ranked the Cubs' system 14th in baseball prior to the additions of Anthony Rizzo, Ronald Torreyes, Dave Sappelt and Zach Cates. The four prospects Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer added in the Sean Marshall and Andrew Cashner trades all ranked among the top prospects in the Reds and Padres system with Anthony Rizzo topping the Padres' organization rankings prior to the trade.

Baseball America is scheduled to update their organizational rankings in February.

Brett Jackson is the top prospect in the Cubs' system even with the addition of Anthony Rizzo. The former top prospect in the Padres' system slots in behind Jackson in a majority of the rankings after he was acquired from San Diego.

According to Baseball America, the Cubs' system is more notable for solid depth than top-tier talent. But one good season down on the farm, another solid draft and a few international signings could make a difference for what is currently ranked as a middle-of-the-road organization.

As we near the Caribbean World Series, Obregon continued its drive to defend their title with the help of Marco Carrillo, Oswaldo Martinez, and Alfredo Amezaga. Kyle Smit may have pitched the game of his life as Mayaguez inched closer to the series, while Juan Apodaca and former Cubs' farmhand Austin Bibens-Dirkx tried to keep Zulia's hopes afloat.

In Australia, the Brisbane Bandits made a desperate last minute push for the playoffs with Ryan Searle leading the way.

To find out how your favorites fared, look inside this week's Down on the Farm Report.

Before looking ahead to the upcoming season, it is time to take a look back at the CCO's Top Cubs Prospects prior to the 2011 season.

The Cubs' system had its ups and downs a year ago mainly due to injuries to several of the Cubs' top prospects, especially on the pitching side.

Brett Jackson, Trey McNutt and Chris Carpenter topped the CCO's list of the top prospects in the Cubs system last February ... let's see how the top names down on the farm performed in 2011.

The CCO's look at the Cubs' farm system this off-season continues with Minor League Ball's ranking of the Cubs' top prospects.

Minor League Ball released their list soon after the Anthony Rizzo-Andrew Cashner trade was announced and also includes what the Cubs received from the Reds in the Sean Marshall deal.

John Sickels pointed out that even before the Marshall and Cashner trades, the Cubs' system had some good things happening and he thought the system as a whole was underrated. Sickels said the weakness in the system is the lack of impact players (position players and starting pitching) close to the big league level ... same as Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.

Brett Jackson topped Minor League Ball's list with Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Matt Szczur and Trey McNutt rounding out the top five.

As the playoff season winds down, Caribbean Champion Obregon continued to make a push toward defending their crown, thanks to Oswaldo Martinez and a new member of the Cubs' family, Alfredo Amezaga. Kyle Smit advanced to the finals in Puerto Rico, while the struggles continue for Austin Bibens-Dirkx in Venezuela. And, upon further review, Nelson Perez wasn't needed by Escogido in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, Ryan Searle gave his native Australia a rare treat as he and his Brisbane teammates fight for their playoff lives.

For more details, check out this week's Down on the Farm Report.

With the Puerto Rico Baseball League concluding their regular season this past Wednesday, the winter leagues enter the playoffs to determine the participants in the Caribbean World Series.

Pitching dominated the past week, as pitchers Marco Carrillo and Austin Bibens-Dirkx tried to lead their respective teams further. Meanwhile Kyle Smit helped his team move on, while Ryan Searle baffled batters "down under".

For more on these and other performances, take a look at this week's Down on the Farm Report.