2015 Chicago Cubs

[Figment]

1/19/2015 Here is list two.

With all the moves the Cubs have been making this offseason, I have been getting really anxious for the 2015 OSFM roster, so I started thinking and digging in to what players should be on the roster, at least as of right now.

I will put my list together and leave it open to hear input from everyone else. I will divide it in to 4 tiers:
Tier 1- Obvious MLB players.
Tier 2- Players competing for an MLB spot or fringe AAA players who get spot starts.
Tier 3- The top minor league prospects in the organization.
Tier 4- Everyone else who will fill out the 90 man roster.
I will also include any other positions they play and my projected potential rating as follows:
97-99=A+
93-96=A
90-92=A-
87-89=B+
83-86=B
80-82=B-
77-79=C+
73-76=C
70-72=C-
67-69=D+
63-66=D
60-62=D-
57-59=F+
53-56=F
52-Below=F-

SP [25]
Tier 1:
Jon Lester (A-)
Jake Arrieta (B+)
Jason Hammel (B-)
Kyle Hendricks (B)
Tier 2:
Travis Wood (C+) [RP]
Edwin Jackson (C)
Jacob Turner (B-) [RP]
Tsuyoshi Wada (C+) [RP]
Felix Doubront (C+) [RP]
Erik Jokisch (C-)
Dallas Beeler (C-)
Tier 3:
C.J. Edwards (B+)
Pierce Johnson (B+)
Jen-Ho Tseng (B)
Tier 4:
Corey Black (B-)
Barret Loux (C-)
Rob Zastryzny (C+)
Ivan Pineyro (C)
Paul Blackburn (B)
Duane Underwood (B)
Carson Sands (B)
Jonathan Martinez (B-)
Jake Stinnett (C)
Lars Huijer (C+)
Dylan Cease (C)
Justin Steele (C)
RP & CP [24]
Tier 1:
Hector Rondon (B-) [CP & RP]
Pedro Strop (B) [RP & CP]
Jason Motte (C+) [RP & CP]
Neil Ramirez (B) [RP]
Justin Grimm (C+) [RP & SP]
Tier 2:
Blake Parker (C) [RP & CP]
Brian Schlitter (C-) [RP]
Donn Roach (C-) [RP & SP]
Joe Ortiz (C) [RP]
Matt Brazis (D+) [RP]
Zac Rosscup (D+) [RP]
Jorge De Leon (C-) [RP]
Francisley Bueno (D+) [RP]
Daniel Bard (C-) [RP]
Tier 3:
Armando Rivero (B) [RP & CP]
Tier 4:
Marcus Hatley (C+) [RP]
Hunter Cervenka (C) [RP]
Erling Moreno (B-) [RP]
Frank Batista (B-) [RP & CP]
Tony Zych (C) [RP]
Lendy Castillo (C) [RP]
Dillon Maples (C-) [RP & SP]
Gerardo Concepcion (C-) [RP]
Juan Carlos Paniagua (D+) [RP]
C [10]
Tier 1:
Miguel Montero (B-)
David Ross (C+)
Tier 2:
Wellington Castillo (C)
Tier 3:
Rafael Lopez (C-)
Kyle Schwarber (B+) [LF/RF]
Victor Caratini (B-) [3B]
Mark Zagunis (C+) [LF/RF]
Tier 4:
Taylor Davis (C)
Cael Brockmeyer (C+) [1B]
Taylor Teagarden (C-)
1B [4]
Tier 1:
Anthony Rizzo (A)
Tier 2:
N/A
Tier 3:
Dan Vogelbach (B-)
Tier 4:
Danny Canela (C) [C]
Dustin Geiger (D+)
2B [7]
Tier 1:
Javier Baez (B+) [SS]
Tommy La Stella (C+) [3B/SS]
Tier 2:
Chris Valaika (D+) [1B/3B/SS]
Logan Watkins (C-) [1B/3B/SS/LF/CF/RF]
Tier 3:
Gioskar Amaya (C+)
Tier 4:
Andrew Ely (C)
Stephen Bruno (D+)
3B [5]
Tier 1:
N/A
Tier 2:
Mike Olt (C+) [1B]
Tier 3:
Kris Bryant (A+) [LF]
Christian Villanueva (B-)
Tier 4:
Jeimer Candelario (C-)
Wes Darvill (C-)
SS [5]
Tier 1:
Starlin Castro (A-)
Tier 2:
Jonathan Herrera (C) [2B/3B]
Tier 3:
Addison Russell (A)
Gleyber Torres (B)
Tier 4:
Carlos Penalver (D+)
LF [7]
Tier 1:
N/A
Tier 2:
Chris Coghlan (C) [RF]
Chris Denorfia (C) [RF]
Junior Lake (B-) [2B/3B/SS/CF/RF]
Tier 3:
N/A
Tier 4:
Rubi Silva (C-) [RF]
Jeffery Baez (C) [RF]
Shawon Dunston Jr (C-) [CF/RF]
Bijan Rademacher (C-) [RF]
CF [7]
Tier 1:
Dexter Fowler (B-) [LF/RF]
Tier 2:
Arismendy Alcantara (B) [2B/SS/3B]
Matt Szczur (B) [LF/RF]
Tier 3:
Albert Almora (B) [LF/RF]
Tier 4:
Jacob Hannemann (C-) [LF/RF]
Trey Martin (C-) [LF/RF]
Rashad Crawford (C-) [LF/RF]
RF [6]
Tier 1:
Jorge Soler (A-) [LF]
Tier 2:
N/A
Tier 3:
Billy McKinney (B) [LF/CF]
Eloy Jimenez (B) [LF/CF]
Tier 4:
Pin-Chieh Chen (C) [LF]
Kevin Brown (C+) [LF]
Kevonte Mitchell (C-) [LF]

This totals to 50 Pitchers and and 51 position players. A total of 101 players to currently look in to for the 2015 OSFM set. There is a decent chance players like Felix Doubront or Tsuyoshi Wada request to be released if they do not make the MLB team.

[sminta10]

Dude I agree with most of your rankings but Kris Bryant is a high Tier 2 guy he will be in the Majors early 2015

[redsox4evur]

Quote: Originally Posted by sminta10

Dude I agree with most of your rankings but Kris Bryant is a high Tier 2 guy he will be in the Majors early 2015

I don't know, when Theo was in Boston he always held prospects in the minors for a long time. A prime example of this is Dustin Pedroia. He had 1223 plate appearances in the minors before even being called up. I am guessing he was a September call up because he only played 31 games in his first season. And if you look at Rizzo, who he had in the Red Sox organization as well as the Cubs organization, he had 1,557 plate appearances before being called up. So I would expect Bryant to be a September call up or if the team is seriously out of contention. Then maybe the beginning of August but that would be the earliest, I see him coming up. But if Theo allows Madden to make the choice it could be around mid June. I looked at Longoria's minor league numbers and he 881 plate appearances before being called up.

Addison Russell on the other hand could be up this year and play off the bench or play second if he knows how to play 2nd.

[SportsFanEvan]

Bryant will almost certainly be up in April. Only reason he'll be down there to start is for financial reasons.

[teeds]

Charlie Cutler signed with the Angels and Lars Anderson signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers so that opens up two spots.

[ShowTyme15]

Cubs sign Taylor Teagarden and Jorge De Leon.

[Figment]

Quote: Originally Posted by sminta10

Dude I agree with most of your rankings but Kris Bryant is a high Tier 2 guy he will be in the Majors early 2015

The only reason I have Bryant as a tier 3 instead of a 2 is because he does not have any MLB playing time. You could make an argument for him to be tier 1 right now. I made the list thinking in terms of the OSFM project, everyone in tier 1 & 2 already have MLB playing time and have a decent chance of being on the default roster that launches with the game.

I will be updating and reorganizing the list later on today. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Also, if you come accross any good Cubs top 20 or top 50 prospect articles, please post it here. I feel they give a really good idea what players should be included in the OSFM sets.

[Figment]

I updated and reorganized the new list. I have the Dexter Fowler trade which made me change Arismendy Alcantara from a Tier 1 to a Tier 2, but given his utility ability (2B/SS/OF), I expect he will remain in the majors.

Now that Luis Valbuena has been traded away, who will be the opening day 3B? Do you think the Cubs will let Kris Bryant open the season on the MLB roster or start someone else like Mike Olt, Tommy La Stella, or Jonathan Herrera? I think they still sit on Bryant to get that extra year of control, should be up in May, I still don't quite understand the rule, but I know they need to keep him out of the Majors for a little bit. Here is what I would have as my 25 man roster is the season started today:
SP:
Jon Lester (L)
Jake Arrieta
Jason Hammel
Kyle Hendricks
Travis Wood (L)
CP:
Hector Rondon
RP:
Pedro Strop
Neil Ramirez
Jason Motte
Justin Grimm (Long Reliever)
Tsuyoshi Wada (L) (Long Reliever)
Jacob Turner (Long Reliever)

C Miguel Montero
1B Anthony Rizzo
2B Javier Baez
3B Mike Olt
SS Starlin Castro
LF Chris Coghlan vs Righties/Chris Denorfia vs Lefties
CF Dexter Fowler
RF Jorge Soler

Bench
2B Tommy La Stella (3B/SS)
CF Arismendy Alcantara (2B/SS)
C David Ross
SS Jonathan Herrera (2B/3B)