I introduced myself in the main thread, but see a lot of new people in this one, so I'll do a short one again. I'm Adam Greene. I'm the beat writer for the Cubs Double-A team, the Tennessee Smokies, for the Knoxville News Sentinel and I write monthly feature for the Cubs' Vine Line Magazine on the team.
I thought I might jump in here and give you my thoughts on some of these guys I've watched and gotten to know first hand.
1. Brett Jackson OF B+ (1st Round, 2009 Draft) AAA Iowa
The real deal. Super fast baserunner and a deadly bat. He started out last season on fire, slumped in the middle and came out of it early in the second half slaughtering the ball.
5. Trey McNutt RHP B- (32nd Round, 2009 Draft) AA Tennessee
Good stuff and a great kid. He battled a lot of injuries last year and especially had trouble with blisters on his throwing hand early in the season. When he was on, he was the best pitcher on the staff. He'll probably be back in Tenn for the first half.
8. Junior Lake SS C+ (International Free Agent) AA Tennessee
Fast kid and good on defense. It took him a long time to find his swing and he's still VERY raw as a hitter. He'll be Double-A all season, most likely.
9. Welington Castillo C C+ (International Free Agent) MLB Chicago NL
Probably will top out as an MLB No. 2 at best. Steve Clevenger will push him in Iowa this year. Last season was Clev's first as the No. 1 catcher in Tenn and he flourished and jumped straight to Chicago at the end of the season.
11. Josh Vitters 3B-1B C+ (1st Round, 2007 Draft) AA Tennessee
Vitters really came on as a hitter in the second half and was much better at third, though he was still the team's worst defensive infielder. Had a terrible first half in the field and led the team in errors. He'll be back in Tenn., I think. He was the youngest kid on a young team and is barely shaving, frankly. He could use another full year in Double-A.
14. Chris Carpenter RHP C+ (3rd Round, 2008 Draft) MLB Chicago NL
He and Dolis had the hardest fast balls at Smokies Park last season. He was a deadly reliever and obviously moved on. I'll be surprised to see him back in the minors this season, really.
15. Rafael Dolis RHP C+ (International Free Agent) MLB Chicago NL
Dolis is another matter all together. He was always an adventure. He could be the Terminator three appearances in a row and then serve it up with a side salad and baked potato the next two times on the hill. He has all the tools and tons of power. His problem when he's off is in his head.
26. Dallas Beeler RHP
Leap frogged over Daytona and came to Tenn straight from Peoria. He looked like a Monster in his first start, but became just a guy after that. He'll probably start in Daytona this season and move up after the first month or so.
27. Jeff Beliveau LHP
Solid, but not spectacular. Back in DOuble-A this year, probably.
32. Jae-Hoon Ha OF
Fantastic outfielder with a decent bat. Top-level speed. He'll be Double-A again too, I think. He nearly killed me with a foul ball in the press box last season in his first stint with the Smokies. I still have the ball and posted a photo of it on Facebook right after it happened.
37. Kevin Rhoderick RHP
Solid and reliable reliever. You were always glad to see him (or Marco Carrillo) step in and hold a lead from the fifth on. He'll probably be back in Tenn too for a while.
41. Nick Struck RHP
If you blinked, you missed Nick last year. He flew up the league and just spent six games in Tenn. before heading to Iowa. He'll probably not be back. Looks like he's going to be MLB starter.
44. Robert Whitenack RHP
Solid starter, but was hurt most of the season. Will basically have to repeat the grade again this year because last season was just lost for him.
Guys not mentioned...
Luis Flores, C. He was one of my favorite stories from last year. He got called up from Daytona after Soto got hurt and all the catchers moved up. Flores was a back up in Daytona and was supposed to be a back up in Tenn too for a month or so, but knocked the hide off the ball and was fantastic behind the plate. He ended up getting suspended for something silly, a banned supplement from an energy drink of all things and will still miss the first month of the season. He'll be in Tenn. for sure and if the Cubs aren't going to keep Lalli (and I don't think that they will), he'll probably be the No. 1 catcher when he comes off suspension.
Rebel Ridling. 3rd/1st. Huge kid with a huge bat. Hit 20 home runs last season and really turned it on during the postseason. How could he not hit a ton with a name like that? Keep an eye out for him.
Marco Carrillo RHP. I mentioned him above, but he was really solid as a middle and long reliever. Grabbed some spot starts too due to injury and could always deliver. A real asset to the team and will probably be in Iowa this season.
Ty Wright. OF. Basically played on one foot the last two months of the season and could hit anything. The team used him as PH every game and he probably hit .600 like that.
Hated to lose Flaherty in the Rule 5. He and Lemahieu were two of the best hitters I saw all of last season. (Paul Goldschmidt was the best for the BayBears/Diamondbacks. He's your next big league HR guy. He hit 30 in 103 Double-A games last year).
That's it. If you want to know about anybody else, let me know.
