2061.16: Bears' Cubs - Outfield Prospects

[BaseClogger]

8/8/2061


In this edition of the 2061 Bears’ Cubs series I’ll focus on players who profile primarily as outfielders. It's a shorter list than in the past but still has some decent looking pieces. We used our former top outfield prospect in the trade for Felix Ramos and two guys from the 2059 list are hitting like .350 for the Bears.

Reminder on the scale:
A: star player just by developing to their potential
B: BBA regular just by developing to their potential or star potential but has some risk factors
C: potential is enough to make it to the BBA but beyond that uncertain
D: needs some bumps to have a BBA future or a lot of uncertainty around their potential

A
None

B
B- Jim Sitton
B- Harrison Dundon

C
C+ Daniel Throsby
C- Stephen Moorhouse

D
D Rafael Ramirez

Honorable Mention
Naif Na'Il bin Khalid
Kyle Kaylor
Marcos Pepper
Kit Markoulides

Sitton and Dundon sit neck-and-neck as San Fernando's second and third best overall prospects. I'm ever so slightly more partial to Sitton because he looks capable of playing center field with his 9 outfield range. My patience with him has finally paid off in 2061, with his 3.4 WAR in A ball rewarded with a promotion to AA where he's slashing .287/.328/.450 so far. I now have enough faith in the 21 year-old that I'm mentally penciling him in as my future center fielder. Dundon, on the other hand, was just drafted earlier this year but the 19 year-old is already in A ball. He'll need to develop his plus-plus hit tool to stick in the corner outfield since he only offers average defense and above average power.

Throsby's been with the org since 2055 but he's been slow to develop like most IFAs. His profile is very similar to Dundon: plus hit tool, above average power, and average defense in a corner. His rating is discounted because he's already 23 years old, but on the bright side he's sporting a .912 OPS in AA. 20 year old Stephen Moorhouse is yet another guy from this same mold of 8 rated contact potential, albeit with a poor eye at the plate and no minor league track record of success at the dish.

I waffled for a while trying to determine the difference between a D rating, honorable mention, and exclusion from this list for an outfield prospect. Recent drafts have been littered with corner outfielders who profile as above average hitters. I decided on only elevating Rafael Ramirez to a D rating. He's fully developed after bumping across the board this season. The consistent .300 hitter is slashing .325/.361/.519 in AAA this year and looks to have a future as a bench guy in the BBA. Ramirez's lack of arm strength will limit his starts to left field.