Possible Prospects in an Adrian Gonzales Trade: Cubs

Another team that has interest in Adrian Gonzales is the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs will be looking for a new 1st baseman after trading away Derrek Lee last season.

Here are some prospects the Padres could be interested in:

SS Starlin Castro (probably untouchable) – The 20-year-old Castro is different than most prospects that come up around his age. He’s not the typical toolsy player that arrives with raw skill alone. Know this about Castro — he can really swing the bat. He’s going to be a solid shortstop, and he can run the bases, but nothing leaps out at you the way his bat will. – FanHouse

CF Brett Jackson – He runs well on both sides of the ball, has a decent approach at the plate and plays a good center field right now. Some may see him as a tweener who isn’t a leadoff hitter or a No. 3 type. If he gets bigger he will have to move to a corner, where how much power he actually has becomes a bigger question. He’s got more value if he can stay in center, and the team that takes him may be hoping he can stay put. – MLB.com

OF Tyler Colvin – Colvin has a nice approach at the plate with a short compact swing and quick wrists which helps make him a very good contact hitter. At first he only seemed to have gap power but that has begun to develop more into overall power. Colvin has plus speed which translates very well into smart base running as well as an improved approach to base stealing thanks to some work with the Cubs. His athleticism and speed provides him good range in the outfield to go along with an above average arm and glove. Well rounded player that should fit in the best in left field. – The Diamond Cutter

P Andrew Cashner – Andrew Cashner is the perfect example of how a change can sometimes be just what a player needs. Cashner’s move to bullpen as TCU’s closer worked out great for him as he was able to shin and take advantage of the pitches he uses most effectively. His best pitches, a plus fastball (upper 90′s) and a plus slider (upper 80′s), are exactly the kind of pitches a set-up man or closer need and having ones as strong as Cashner has helped him dominate in college. The only concerns I have are in regards to his control problems. With as hard as he throws, he sometimes tends to over throw his pitches and can lose the strike zone which caused him to begin to walk a few too many hitters. As a closer this can be a death sentence. If he can learn to harness his stuff more consistently, he has the make up of a great set-up man or even a closer down the road. – The Diamond Cutter

P Jay Jackson – Jay features a 90-92 mph fastball with decent sinking action to it. He’s flashed some readings of 94-95 mph, and his velocity is expected to rise slightly over the next couple of years especially if he stays in the pen. In addition to his good fastball, he features a plus slider that sits around 81-84 mph with great vertical and horizontal movement. It’s such a dominating pitch that some scouts have speculated that he’s just living off the slider as it’s much more advanced than the hitters he’s facing. Jackson also has a good curveball and a mild changeup, both need some work, if he’s going to be a MLB starter though. His best chance of making one an average MLB pitch is his curveball, yet developing the changeup is more important to offset his fastball/slider mix. Either way, both look to be at least solid MLB pitches in the future. Jay’s bulldog mentality and poise on the mound make him threat to be a big game pitcher in the future. – Cubs Hub

P Christopher Archer – Archer features a plus fastball that has good lateral movement but no sink, it sits around 89-93 mph with touches of 95. Slowly, he’s becoming more comfortable with it and it’s turning into a strikeout pitch for him. His curveball is his best pitch, always has been, as he throws it hard getting great sharp bite; in the 2006 draft it was considered one of best breaking balls of high schoolers. Archer also has a circle change that has the potential to also be a plus pitch down the road. His career stats thus far are unimpressive but at just 19 in the Sally League, he was one of the youngest players of the league, so numbers are very misleading. Even still, he made 27 starts going 115 1/3 IP giving up 92 hits, 84 BB, 106 K, 4.29 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, .215 BAA. Earlier on, Archer was overpowered but towards the end of the season, he started to turn the corner. – Baseball Fever

C Welington Castillo – With his quick wrists, he turns nicely on inside pitches making flush contact with the barrel. His swing is a little long right now while his stroke is made for line drives and contact. There is still the tendency to pull the ball, but he’s shown great advances in using the whole field. Welington sits back on fastballs, even high octane ones, and just crushes them. Offspeed pitches though he often gets confused with plus sliders and curveballs from righties. While the lefties, he just absolutely pounds on, even the one ’s with advanced secondary pitches. Some look at Welly’s strikeout numbers and people think that he’s a free swinger but his plate discipline is very advanced for his age. Castillo works counts well, hitting deep into them and often making the pitcher show him everything they have; it’s just alot of those counts end up in a strikeout now. With further work and experience those will turn into basehits and walks down the road. – Cubs Hub

CF Brandon Guyer – Brandon is built along the lines of a line-backer. He’s a hard-nosed, all-out type player with good tools. He’s got plus speed, an above average arm, and a sharp batting eye. Although he collected only 3 home runs in 2009, higher-ups in the Cubs organization believe he might eventually hit for power. According to Vineline Magazine’s poll of Cubs minor league coaches and scouts, Brandon ranks among the system’s best in raw speed, base-stealing ability, and baserunning instincts. – The Fair Base Ballist

3B Josh Vitters – Vitters was the best high school hitter to come out of the 2007 draft. What makes him so special at the plate is his uncanny hand-eye coordination, fast wrists, and beautiful, fluid swing. He has great bat speed with a short, compact swing that generates incredible home run and gap power. It’s hard to believe he’s still so young, but considering his 6-foot-3 build, he still has a lot of potential to add mass and in turn adding more power. Vitters should be a huge addition to the Cubs roster in the next few years if he stays on with the club. There are a lot of teams that are trying to get their hands on this youngster and for good reason – The Diamond Cutter