About once every three years or so the Cubs have a prospect that the media and scouts fall in love with. We know the list- Corey Patterson, Felix Pie, every first round pick for the last 10 years really. We fall in love with these guys and ignore flaws in their game because they have all the tools to play the game. Scouts and media have fallen in love with another Cubs prospect, and this time they might just be right. Starlin Castro is just 19 years old and playing only his third season of professional baseball, yet he has flown through the Cubs minor league system and is currently tearing up the Arizona Fall League.

Castro plays shortstop and has posted a career minor league line of .301/.354/.403. He is obviously still young and has a lot of physical growing to do (he only weighs 160 pounds) but he has the frame that will allow for some added muscle. His showing in the AFL is what has scouts getting excited about him. They already knew he was able to handle playing shortstop on a daily basis (he almost by default is better than Theriot, but apparently he is legitimately able to play there) but his skill with the bat has gotten everybody impressed. So far he has posted a .960 OPS in the AFL and has also shown some stolen base ability.

The future looks bright for Castro, he will probably start 2010 in AA, but will be in AAA quickly if he keeps up the good work. He is unquestionably the Cubs top prospect and is a sure thing September call-up next season. He will start 2011 as the Cubs shortstop barring injury, and I don't feel bad for being excited to see what he can do on the big league level.

Other Cubs Prospect Updates
Josh Vitters- Vitters has had a difficult transition up the system, but his AFL showing might leave us with some hope. His .864 OPS is about AFL league average, but he hasn't really faced such high-quality pitching before either. I haven't given up on Vitters, but I do think he will ultimately be a failure at the big league level.

Wellington Castillo- The guy who will replace Geovany Soto if Soto fails had himself a difficult season full of some BABIP bad-luck. He was able to have a strong second half and has an OPS of 1.009 in limited AFL action. A solid 2010 probably puts him as the Cubs backup catcher in 2011, if not earlier.

Jeff Samardzija- Hardly a prospect, but the guy who I fear will be our fifth starter is up to his old tricks. His is starting in the Mexican League right now and after four starts he holds a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA. The problem is his last two starts have been horrid, he gave up four earned runs and four walks in his last start. At this point I'm done trying to project this guy, he won't ever be successful as a major league starter, but the Cubs are going to do everything they can to show they didn't screw up the pick.

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