Chicago Cubs Top 20 Prospects for 2011 by John Sickels on Dec 6, 2010 7:00 AM EST 1) Brett Jackson, OF, Grade B+: Love the broad base of skills. 2) Trey McNutt, RHP, Grade B+: Hard to believe this guy was a 32nd round pick. . .he's got great stuff. 3) Chris Archer, RHP, Grade B+: Another hard-thrower who emerged as a surprise in '10. 4) Hak-Ju Lee, SS, Grade B: I don't know why, but I think his bat can develop more than people expect. 5) Chris Carpenter, RHP, Grade B: May end up in the pen, but he's got plus stuff and I wouldn't give up on him as a starter yet. 6) Jay Jackson, RHP, Grade B: I still like him more than the numbers say I should. 7) Hayden Simpson, RHP, Grade B-: Could rank at the top next year if he does anything in the pros like he did in NCAA Division II. 8) Brandon Guyer, OF, Grade B-: He's always been an athlete and has added skills to go with the tools. 9) Reggie Golden, OF, Grade B-: Enormous potential but very raw. 10) Josh Vitters, 3B, Grade C+: I expect this will be controversial but he really needs to get things going, and age-relative-to-league is just one factor among many. 11) Robinson Lopez, RHP, Grade C+: High-ceiling arm, needs refinement. 12) Austin Reed, RHP, Grade C+: Huge sleeper for 2011. 13) Alberto Cabrera, RHP, Grade C+: Another live arm that needs polish. 14) Marquez Smith, 3B, Grade C+: Not young, but ready to help at the major league level and can catch people off-guard. 15) Robinson Chirinos, C, Grade C+: Like Smith, not young but can help soon. 16) D.J. LeMahieu, INF, Grade C+: I think people are a bit too down on him; he could surprise this year. 17) Rafael Dolis, RHP, Grade C+: Another guy in the live arm/needs polish brigade. 18) Brett Wallach, RHP, Grade C+: Another one. 19) Brooks Raley, LHP, Grade C+: Was very effective in the second half. 20) Su-Min Jung, RHP, Grade C+: Wasn't great at Peoria, but I think he can get better faster than people anticipate. 21) Austin Kirk, LHP, Grade C+: Breakthrough candidate for 2011. 22) Jin-Yeong Kim, RHP, Grade C+: Will he be worth the big bonus? OTHERS: Jeff Antigua, LHP; Darwin Barney, INF; Welington Castillo, C; Matt Cerda, INF; Ryan Flaherty, INF; Micah Gibbs, C; Cameron Greathouse, LHP; Jae-Hoon Ha, OF; Aaron Kurcz, RHP; Junior Lake, SS; Chris Rusin, LHP; Aaron Shafer, RHP; Kyle Smit, RHP; Matt Spencer, OF-1B; Matt Szczur, OF; Tony Thomas, 2B; Ben Wells, RHP. The Cubs system is unbalanced. On the positive side, you have a huge amount of pitching, including a large number of high-ceiling arms: McNutt, Archer, Carpenter, Simpson, the big bevy of arms in the teens. There are some polish/command guys as well, and Jay Jackson straddling the midpoint. The foundation for a strong pitching staff is clearly here. The hitting is another issue. I love Brett Jackson, and there is plenty of up-the-middle material with Lee having the best potential. But there is a significant lack of power and impact bats, and I'm losing faith in Vitters. Golden could be anything. The theory is that by being strong on the mound and at catcher, center field, and middle infield, you have chips to trade to fill in your offensive gaps at the corners. It's a good theory, but remember von Moltke's dictum: no plan survives contact with the enemy intact. --

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