Farm System Ranking: #6 Chicago Cubs

From 2001 until 2011, the Chicago Cubs had 83 of the 162 players examined (51.23%) play at least one game at the Major League level. The Cubs saw 68 players (81.93%) play for them while the other 15 spent time with one of the other thirty MLB clubs.

2001-2011 Cubs Farm System Rank

At The Helm

New General Manager Jed Hoyer

The Cubs had two General Managers (Andy MacPhail 2001-2002, Jim Hendry 2003-2011), one Farm Director (Oneri Fieta 2001-2011), and two Scouting Directors (John Stockstill 2001-2005, Tim Wilken 2006-2011) over the eleven year time period examined.

Five Hits

1.      Carlos Zambrano, RHP: The 30 year old has spent eleven seasons in the majors with the Cubs. The three-time All-Star has a career record of 125-81 with a 3.60 ERA. Signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 1997.
2.      Geovany Soto, C: The 28 year old has played seven seasons in the majors as a member of the Cubs. A member of the 2008 National League All-Star Team and the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year. His career batting average is .258 with 71 HR and 250 RBI. Drafted by the Cubs in the 11^th round of the 2001 amateur draft.
3.      Carlos Marmol, RHP: The 29 year old has spent six seasons in the majors with the Cubs. A member of the 2008 National League All-Star team. His career record is 18-25 with a 3.37 ERA. Signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1999.
4.      Starlin Castro, SS: The 21 year old has played two seasons in the majors with the Cubs. A member of the 2011 National League All-Star team. His career batting average is .304 with 13 HR and 107 RBI. Signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2006.
5.      Mike Prior, RHP: The 31 year old has spent five seasons in the majors as a member of the Cubs. A member of the 2003 National League All-Star team. His career record is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2006 due to injury. Drafted by the Cubs in the 1^st round (2^nd overall) of the 2001 amateur draft.

Five Misses

1.      Ryan Harvey, OF: The 27 year old has spent eight seasons in the minors where he has compiled a career batting average of .244 with 117 HR and 439 RBI. Last played in 2010 with Double-A Tulsa (Texas League) in the Rockies organization. He was converted to a pitcher with the Red Sox in 2011 but never made it out of extended spring training before being released. Drafted by the Cubs in the 1^st round (6^th overall) of the 2003 amateur draft.
2.      Bobby Brownlie, RHP: The 31 year old has spent seven seasons in the minors where he compiled a career record of 50-52 with a 4.08 ERA. Last pitched in 2009 with the Newark Bears (Atlantic League) in Independent Ball. Was a student assistant coach at Rutgers in 2011 after going back to school to finish his degree. Drafted by the Cubs in the 1^st round (21^st overall) of the 2002 amateur draft.
3.      Mark Pawelek, LHP: The 25 year old has spent six seasons in the minor leagues where he has compiled a career record of 6-15 with a 4.33 ERA.  He dealt with maturity issues during his career and in 2007 broke his arm when he tripped over his Playstation while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. He was released by the Cubs in March 2009. He last pitched in 2010 with the Gateway Grizzlies (Frontier League) in Independent Ball. Drafted by the Cubs in the 1^st round (20^th overall) of the 2005 amateur draft.
4.      Ben Christensen, RHP: The 33 year old spent six seasons in the minor leagues where he compiled a career record of 12-19 with a 4.64 ERA. He had a record of 21-1 in his college career. Despite being highly touted he throw a warm up pitch at an opposing player who  he thought was timing his pitches, the player was standing 24 feet away from home plate and had his left eye crushed, destroyed his vision, broke three bones and opened a cut that required 23 stiches. For more on the story click here. Christensen last pitched in 2004 with Double-A San Antonio (Texas League) in the Mariners organization. Drafted by the Cubs in the 1^st round (26^th overall) of the 1999 amateur draft.
5.      Luke Hagerty, LHP: The 30 year old has spent six seasons in the minor leagues where he compiled a career record of 5-10 with a 6.35 ERA. He last played in 2008 with the Schaumburg Flyers (Northern League) in Independent Ball. Drafted by the Cubs in the supplemental 1^st round (32^nd overall) of the 2002 amateur draft. 

Five Current Major Leaguers on Other Teams

1.      Eric Hinske, 3B, Atlanta Braves: The 34 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Pirates, Yankees, and Braves. The 2002 American League Rookie of the Year has a career batting average of .252 with 134 HR and 503 RBI. Traded by the Cubs to the Athletics in exchange for Miguel Cairo (2B) in March 2001. Drafted by the Cubs in the 17^th round of the 1998 amateur draft.
2.      Corey Patterson, OF, St. Louis Cardinals: The 32 year old has spent 12 seasons in the majors as a member of the Cubs, Orioles, Reds, Nationals, Brewers, Blue Jays, and Cardinals. Traded by the Cubs to the Orioles in exchange for Carlos Perez (LHP) and Nate Spears (2B) in January 2009. Drafted by the Cubs in the 1^st round (3^rd overall) of the 1998 amateur draft.
3.      Dontrelle Willis, LHP, Cincinnati Reds: The 29 year old has spent nine seasons in the majors as a member of the Marlins, Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Reds. The two-time All-Star and 2003 National League Rookie of the Year has a career record of 72-69 with a 4.17 ERA. Traded by the Cubs to the Marlins along with Jose Cueto (RHP), Ryan Jorgensen (C), and Julian Tavarez (RHP) in exchange for Antonio Alfonseca (RHP) and Matt Clement (RHP) in March 2002. Drafted by the Cubs in the 8^th round of the 2002 amateur draft.
4.      Juan Cruz, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays: The 33 year old has spent eleven seasons in the majors as a member of the Cubs, Braves, Athletics, Diamondbacks, Royals, and Rays. His career record is 37-35 with a 4.13 ERA. Traded by the Cubs to the Braves along with Steve Smyth (LHP) in exchange for Richard Lewis (2B) and Andy Pratt (LHP) in March 2004. Signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1997.
5.      Ross Gload, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies: The 35 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Cubs, Rockies, White Sox, Royals, Marlins, and Phillies. His career batting average is .281 with 34 HR and 222 RBI. Drafted by the Marlins in the 13^th round of the 1997 amateur draft. Traded by the Marlins to the Cubs along with Dave Noyce (LHP) in exchange for Henry Rodriguez (OF) in July 2000. Claimed off waivers by the Rockies from the Cubs in September 2001. 

More Notable Major Leaguers

Ryan Theriot, SS, St. Louis Cardinals

Michael Wuertz, RHP, Oakland Athletics

Will Ohman, LHP, Chicago White Sox

Ronny Cedeno, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates

Felix Pie, OF, Baltimore Orioles

Fun Fact

       Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins played ten seasons in Chicago where he posted a record of 167-132 with a 3.20 ERA. Over his entire nineteen year career Jenkins compiled a career record of 284-226 with a 3.34 ERA as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. He won the 1971 Cy Young Award after winning 24 games that season. The three-time All-Star was inducted into Cooperstown in 1991. In 1987 Jenkins was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame located in St. Marys, Ontario.

In 2007, Jenkins received the Order of Canada for his work both as a player and an ambassador for the game of Baseball as well as his various charity work over the years. 

The Fergie Jenkins Foundation continues to raise money for charity though a series of events that are held annually throughout North America.   

Farm System Ranking:#7 Los Angeles Angels

From 2001 until 2011, the Los Angeles Angels had 71 of the 147 players examined (40.30%) play at least one game at the Major League level. The Angels saw 64 players (90.14%) play for them while the other 7 spent time with one of the other thirty MLB clubs.

2001-2011 Angels Farm System Rank

At The Helm

New Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto

The Angels had two General Managers (Bill Stoneman 2001-2007, Tony Reagins 2008-2011), three Farm Directors (Darrell Miller 2001, Tony Reagins 2002-2007, Abe Flores 2008-2011), and three Scouting Directors (Donny Rowland 2001-2003, Eddie Bane 2004-2010, Ric Wilson 2011) over the eleven year time period examined.

Five Hits

1.      Jered Weaver, RHP: The 29 year old has spent six seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels. The two-time All-Star has a career record of 82-47 with a 3.31 ERA. Drafted by the Angels in the 1^st round (12^th overall) of the 2004 amateur draft.
2.      Ervin Santana, RHP: The 28 year old has spent seven seasons in the majors with the Angels. A member of the 2008 American League All-Star team. His career record is 87-67 with a 4.22 ERA. Signed by the Angels as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2000.
3.      Erick Aybar, SS: The 27 year old has spent six seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels. The 2011 American League Gold Glove Award winner at Shortstop. His career batting average is .276 with 24 HR and 206 RBI. Signed by the Angels as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2002.
4.      Jordan Walden, RHP: The 24 year old has spent two seasons in the majors with the Angels. A member of the 2011 American League All-Star team. His career record is 5-6 with a 2.85 ERA and 33 saves. Drafted by the Angels in the 12^th round of the 2006 amateur draft.
5.      Howie Kendrick, 2B: The 28 year old has spent six seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels. A member of the 2011 American League All-Star team. His career batting average is .292 with 50 HR and 305 RBI. Drafted by the Angels in the 10^th round of the 2002 amateur draft.

 Five Misses

1.      Joe Torres, LHP: The 29 year old has spent eleven seasons in the minor leagues where he has compiled a career record of 36-35 with a 4.51 ERA. He spent the 2011 season between Double-A Tulsa (Texas League) and Triple-A Colorado Springs (Pacific Coast League) in the Rockies organization. Drafted by the Angels in the 1^st round (10^th overall) of the 2000 amateur draft.
2.      Young-Il Jung, RHP: The 23 year old has spent three seasons in the minor leagues where he has a career record of 2-2 with a 5.35 ERA. Missed the 2008 and 2011 seasons after having elbow problems that led to Tommy John Surgery. Signed by the Angels as an amateur free agent out of South Korea in 2007.
3.      Anthony Whittington, LHP: The 27 year has spent three seasons in the minor leagues where he has compiled a record of 3-8 with a 5.90 ERA. Released by the Angels after the 2005 season. Drafted by the Angels in the 2^nd round of the 2003 amateur draft. He is now a police officer in West Virginia. The full story can be found here. 
4.      Brian Specht, SS: The 31 year old has spent seven seasons in the minor leagues where he compiled a career batting average of .260 with 52 HR and 268 RBI. He last played in 2006 at Triple-A Salt Lake (Pacific Coast League). He was considered the Angels number three prospect entering the 2001 season by Baseball America. Drafted by the Angels in the 9^th round of the 1999 amateur draft.
5.     Jared Abruzzo, C: The 30 year old has played six seasons in the minor leagues where he compiled a career batting average of .245 with 64 HR and 299 RBI. He last played in 2005 with Hi-A Bakersfield (California) in the Rangers organization. Drafted by the Angels in the 2^nd round of the 2000 amateur draft.

Five Current Major Leaguers on Other Teams

1.      John Lackey, RHP, Boston Red Sox: The 33 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels and Red Sox.  A member of the 2007 American League All-Star team. His career record is 128-94 with a 4.10 ERA. Drafted by the Angels in the 2^nd round of the 1999 amateur draft.
2.      Francisco Rodriguez, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers: The 29 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels, Mets, and Brewers. The four-time All-Star has a career record of 36-27 with a 2.51 ERA with 291 saves. Signed by the Angels as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 1998.
3.      Bobby Jenks, RHP, Boston Red Sox: The 30 year old has spent seven seasons in the majors as a member of the White Sox and Red Sox. The two-time All-Star has a career record of 16-20 with a 3.53 ERA and 173 saves. Claimed off waivers by the White Sox from the Angels in December 2004. Drafted by the Angels in the 5^th round of the 2000 amateur draft.
4.      Casey Kotchman, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays: The 28 year old has spent eight seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels, Braves, Red Sox, Mariners, and Rays. His career batting average is .268 with 59 HR and 332 RBI. Traded by the Angels to the Braves along with Steve Marek (RHP) in exchange for Mark Teixeira (1B) in July 2008. Drafted by the Angels in the 1^st round (13^th overall) of the 2001 amateur draft.
5.     Chone Figgins, 3B, Seattle Mariners: The 33 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Angels and Mariners. A member of the 2009 American League All-Star team. His career batting average is .280 with 33 HR and 391 RBI. Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 4^th round of the 1997 amateur draft. Traded from the Rockies to the Angels in exchange for Kimera Bartee (OF) in July 2001.

More Notable Major Leaguers

Joe Saunders, LHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Mike Napoli, C, Texas Rangers

Brandon Wood, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates

Sean Rodriguez, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays

Fun Fact

      Former Angels outfielder Tim Salmon is the only player to play for the California Angels, Anaheim Angels, and Los Angeles Angels. Salmon played 14 seasons in the majors all with the Angels organization. His career batting average is .282 with 299 HR and 1016 RBI. He was drafted by the Angels in the 3^rd round of the 1989 amateur draft. He lasted played in 2006 and currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife and four kids.  He has his own foundation that supports children in need. More information on the Tim Salmon Foundation can be found here.

Farm System Ranking: #8 Texas Rangers

From 2001 until 2011, the Texas Rangers had 88 of the 172 players examined (51.16%) play at least one game at the Major League level. The Rangers saw 74 players (84.01%) play for them while the other 14 spent time with one of the other thirty MLB clubs.

2001-2011 Rangers Farm System Rank

At The Helm

General Manager Jon Daniels

The Rangers had three General Managers (Doug Melvin 2001, John Hart 2002-2006, Jon Daniels 2007-2011), six Farm Directors (Reid Nichols 2001, Trey Hillman 2002, Bob Miscik 2003-2004, Dom Chiti 2005, Scott Servais 2006,2008-2011, John Lombardo 2007), and four Scouting Director (Tim Hallgren 2001, Grady Fuson 2002-2004, Ron Hopkins 2005-2009, Kip Fagg 2010-2011) over the eleven year time period examined.

Five Hits

1.      C.J. Wilson, LHP: The 30 year old has spent seven seasons in the majors with the Rangers. A member of the 2011 American League All-Star team. His career record is 43-35 with a 3.60 ERA and 52 saves. Drafted by the Rangers in the 5^th round of the 2001 amateur draft.
2.      Ian Kinsler, 2B: The 29 year old has spent six seasons in the majors as a member of the Rangers. The two-time All-Star has a career batting average of .275 with 124 HR and 395 RBI. Drafted by the Rangers in the 17^th round of the 2003 amateur draft.
3.      Colby Lewis, RHP: The 32 year old has spent seven seasons in the majors as a member of the Rangers, Tigers, and Athletics. He has a career record of 38-38 with a 4.99 ERA. Drafted by the Rangers in the supplemental 1^st round (38^th overall) of the 1999 amateur draft.
4.      Derek Holland, LHP: The 25 year old has spent three seasons in the majors with the Rangers. His career record is 27-22 with a 4.73 ERA. Drafted by the Rangers in the 25^th round of the 2006 amateur draft.
5.      Mitch Moreland, 1B: The 26 year old has spent two seasons in the majors with the Rangers. His career batting average is .258 with 25 HR and 76 RBI. Drafted by the Rangers in the 17^th round of the 2007 amateur draft.

Five Misses

1.      Drew Meyer, 2B: The 30 year old played 5 games with the Rangers in 2006. His career batting average is .214. He spent nine seasons in the minor leagues where he compiled a career batting average of .266 with 24 HR and 304 RBI. He lasted played in 2010 with Triple-A Salt Lake (Pacific Coast League) in the Angels organization. Drafted by the Rangers in the 1^st round (10^th overall) of the 2002 amateur draft.
2.      Thomas Diamond, RHP: The 28 year old played in 16 games with the Chicago Cubs in 2010 where he compiled a record of 1-3 with a 6.83 ERA. He has spent seven seasons in the minors where he has a career record of 37-28 with a 4.37 ERA. He spilt the 2011 season between Triple-A Iowa (Pacific Coast League) and Triple-A Rochester (International League) in the Cubs and Twins organizations respectively.  He was claimed off waivers by the Cubs from the Rangers in September 2009. Drafted by the Rangers in the 1^st round (10^th overall) of the 2004 amateur draft.
3.      Eric Hurley, RHP: The 26 year old played in 5 games with the Rangers in 2008 where he compiled a record of 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA. He has spent six seasons playing in the minor leagues, posting a record of 42-33 with a 4.17 ERA.  He missed the 2009 and 2010 seasons after having surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. Drafted by the Rangers in the 1^st round (30^th overall) of the 2004 amateur draft.
4.      Vince Sinisi, OF: The 30 year old has spent seven seasons in the minor leagues where he has a career batting average of .288 with 38 HR and 239 RBI. He last played in 2009 with Triple-A Portland (Pacific Coast League) in the Padres organization. Traded by the Rangers to the Padres along with John Hudgins (RHP) in exchange for Freddy Guzman (OF) and Cesar Rojas (RHP) in May 2006. Drafted by the Rangers in the 2^nd round of the 2003 amateur draft.
5.      Jovanny Cedeno, RHP: The 32 year old has spent five seasons in the minors where he compiled a record of 19-4 with a 2.06 ERA. Had a series of shoulder and elbow injuries and required surgery. Lasted played in 2003 with Lo-A Clinton (Midwest League) in the Rangers organization. Signed by the Rangers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1997.

Five Current Major Leaguers on Other Teams

1.      Mark Teixeira, 1B, New York Yankees: The 31 year old has spent nine seasons majors as a member of the Rangers, Braves, Angels and Yankees. The two-time All-Star has a career batting average of .281 with 314 HR and 1017 RBI. Traded by the Rangers to the Braves along with Ron Mahay (LHP) in exchange of Beau Jones (LHP), Elvis Andrus (SS), Neftali Feliz (RHP), Matt Harrison (LHP), and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C). Drafted by the Rangers in the 1^st round (5^th overall) of the 2001 amateur draft.   
2.      Carlos Pena, 1B, Chicago Cubs: The 33 year old has spent eleven seasons in the majors as a member of the Rangers, Athletics, Tigers, Red Sox, Rays, and Cubs. A member of the 2009 American League All-Star team. His career batting average is .239 with 258 HR and 730 RBI. Traded by the Rangers to the Athletics along with Mike Venafro (LHP) in exchange for Jason Hart (OF), Gerald Laird (C), Ryan Ludwick (OF) and Mario Ramos (LHP). Drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round (10^th overall) of the 1998 amateur draft.
3.      Joaquin Benoit, RHP, Detroit Tigers: The 34 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Rangers, Rays, and Tigers. He has a career record of 35-31 with a 4.34 ERA and 11 saves. Signed by the Rangers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1996.
4.      Travis Hafner, 1B, Cleveland Indians: The 34 year old has spent ten seasons in the majors as a member of the Rangers and Indians. His career batting average is .281 with 189 HR and 660 RBI. Traded by the Rangers along with Aaron Myette (RHP) in exchange for Einar Diaz (C) and Ryan Drese (RHP). Drafted by the Rangers in the 31^st round of the 1996 amateur draft.
5.      John Danks, LHP, Chicago White Sox: The 26 year old has spent five seasons in the majors as a member of the White Sox. His career record is 54-56 with a 4.03 ERA. Traded by the Rangers to the White Sox along with Jacob Rasner (RHP) and Nick Masset (RHP) in exchange for David Paisano (OF) and Brandon McCarthy (RHP). Drafted by the Rangers in the 1^st round (9^th overall) of the 2003 amateur draft.

More Notable Major Leaguers

Edison Volquez, RHP Cincinnati Reds

John Mayberry, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

Armando Galarraga, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Tommy Hunter, RHP, Baltimore Orioles

Justin Smoak, 1B, Seattle Mariners

Fun Fact

Current team President and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan finished his playing career in 1993 as a member of the Texas Rangers after posting a career record of 324-292 with a 3.19 ERA and 5,714 strikeouts. 

Ironically, 1993 was the first season that “Walker, Texas Ranger” aired on CBS staring Chuck Norris.  Today the two most recognizable Texas Rangers remain Ryan and Norris, both considered to be tough as nails, with freakish bodies and no-nonsense attitudes, who can take care of themselves (just ask Robin Ventura).