The Cubs have a bit of a vacuum at the top of their heap of pitching prospects. Trey McNutt took a big step backward in 2011 statistically, Dillon Maples is completely unproven, and nobody else gets a ton of acclaim. However, there are a number of interesting arms below those top two that almost nobody is talking about, and one I’d like to shed a little bit of light on today is lefthander Jeffry Antigua.
Antigua was the tenth-youngest pitcher to throw 83 or more innings in High-A (he threw 83 2/3) in 2011. That alone paints him as someone to watch, as he’s developmentally ahead of most pitchers his age. And here’s the list of the nine younger pitchers to throw 83+ innings in High-A:
Tyler Skaggs
Chad James
Matt Lollis
Julio Rodriguez
Brody Colvin
Arismendy Ozoria
Aaron Kurcz
Jon Pettibone
Nick Bucci
Except for Ozoria, all of those guys are at least decent prospects.
Of course, age alone doesn’t mean a whole lot, but Antigua also pitched well. He struck out 81 batters while walking just 18 in 83 2/3 innings in High-A, showing advanced command of his three-pitch arsenal. You may look at his games vs. games started total–22 games, just eight starts–and think that that’s mostly an effect of pitching a lot of relief, but in fact, ten of his 14 relief appearances spanned at least two innings, so he wasn’t getting buoyed by lefty specialist outings. All 12 of his outings from the beginning of July on, including his eight starts, were at least three innings, and he had a 61/14 K/BB in 68 innings across those games, good for a 3.56 FIP.
Strong command and strikeout ability are nothing new for Antigua, who owns a career 336/106 K/BB in 371 1/3 innings. He doesn’t go a great job of limiting homers, though, with homer rates that tend to be around one homer per nine innings. His groundball rate with Daytona last year was about average, so he doesn’t project to have that undo him as he moves up.
Antigua will open 2012 most likely in Double-A, and he doesn’t turn 22 until June 23. One thing he needs to do is prove he can get through 20 starts in a season, as he lacks premium size and will need to put together a consistent season in one role, but at his age, he has the luxury of time on his side. He could prove to be a Wandy Rodriguez sort of pitcher if he’s able to stay in the rotation and develops at a good pace.
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