2058.08: Bears' Cubs - Middle Infield Prospects

[BaseClogger]

3/7/2057


In this edition of the 2058 Bears’ Cubs series I’ll focus on my minor league middle infielders. We just traded Jose Villa away in the Sammy McNeill deal. Who’s left?

A
None

B
None

C
C+ Takeichi Suzuki
C Kensaku Kato
C Etugrul Inonu

D
D+ Yong-hun Kim
D+ Brock Ramsey
D+ Fernando Segura
D+ Necdet Ecevit
D Ho-win She
D Jason Steward
D Jim Pollard

Honorable Mention
José Guerrero
Frank Jardine


Takeichi Suzuki seems like a good bet to play as the long-side of a second base platoon for years to come. He doesn’t really have any holes in his game and he hit .324/.388/.509 last year in AAA after some major offseason bumpage. His future platoon mate very well could be Kensaku Kato, a former top ten pick thanks mostly to his defensive reputation. He looks like a competent hitter but has suffered from dropping from 9 to 8 infield range moving him off shortstop. Etugrul Inonu has been ranked as high as the #39 overall prospect in the BBA but hasn’t seen much development or offensive production since that initial ranking. I keep waiting for a lump but for now the 23 year-old clings to his 6-7-8-8-6 offensive potential ratings.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on the remaining prospects. Clearly, I have a type and that type is a second base prospect who can make a little contact and has enough infield range to cover the position competently but is mostly lacking in any other tools. The dividing line here is blurry as I think most of these guys have a good shot at a cup of coffee but very little ceiling. I guess I used minor league production to distinguish them.

Jason Steward gets called out as the one true shortstop on the list. Necdet Ecevit has the range and arm for shortstop but struggles with consistency.

Frank Jardine has fallen from grace since being the 13th overall pick in the 2054 draft. His primary offensive potential ratings have dropped from 6-7-6 to 5-7-5 and the outlook isn’t good for avoiding strikeouts.