Where Are They Now? 2011 Pro Debut Part 1

Last season when 2013 Topps Pro Debut came out, I decided to take a retrospective look at the Cubs prospects from the inaugural 2010 set and what they had done since. I got eight posts out of the sixteen card set and thought I'd do it again this year. Now that the 2014 set has been released, let's take a look at the Cubs prospects from 2011. This will be an ongoing series again for the next couple of Sundays.

Numerically, the first two guys in the Cubs set were Hak-Ju Lee and Brandon Guyer. In January 2011, both of these guys were involved in an 8-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.

2011 Topps Pro Debut #65 Hak-Ju Lee

Hak-Ju Lee's 2010 card showed him with the Boise Hawks (low A) but he got bumped up to the Peoria Chiefs (middle/regular A) for the 2011 release. He was part of the set last year so I won't rehash that blurb but you can see it here.

When we last left Lee, he was recuperating from a knee injury just 15 games into the 2013 season. He missed the rest of the season and opened this year on the disabled list. He was reactivated on April 22, 2014 and has played in 42 games for the Rays' AAA affiliate, the Durham Bulls.

2011 Topps Pro Debut #99 Brandon Guyer

Brandon Guyer is shown here with the Tennessee Smokies, the Cubs AA affiliate. Guyer is a curious choice for this set as his "pro debut" came in 2007 after he was drafted in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. He made all of the natural progressions over the years with low, mid and high Single A before reaching Tennessee.

After being traded to the Rays in 2011, Guyer was assigned to the Durham Bulls but made his MLB debut in early May of that season. In his first Major League at bat, Guyer hit a two-run home run but was optioned back to Durham three days later with just the one game under his belt. He got another one-game call up in July and then again for thirteen games in September.

He had another 3-game Rays stint in 2012 after a hot start in Durham before being derailed for the season with a shoulder injury. The 2013 season was spent entirely in Durham but Guyer made the Rays MLB roster out of Spring Training for 2014. He played in 28 games before fracturing his thumb in late May. Yesterday, he started his rehab assignment in Durham and is expected back to the Rays by the end of the month.

I really like the idea behind Pro Debut but starting off with a guy who was in last year's set and another guy whose "pro debut" was three years before isn't great execution.

Where Are They Now? 2010 Pro Debut Part 3

For the past two Sundays, I've been taking a look back at the "future Cubs " featured in 2010 Topps Pro Debut to see where they stand.

Part One - Ryan Flaherty and Brett Jackson. 

Part Two - DJ LeMahieu and Brooks Raley

The two players featured today will share a bond beyond just being in this set together. Back in January 2011, both Chris Archer and Hak-Ju Lee were involved in the 8-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that brought Matt Garza to the Cubs. Here is what they've been up to since.

Chris Archer's Pro Debut card shows him on the Peoria Chiefs. This was his first team with the Cubs organization although he was originally drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 5th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He spent three season in the Rookie League and Single-A before being traded to the Cubs along with John Gaub and Jeff Stevens for Mark DeRosa in 2009. So, I know I've said it before, I have no idea how Topps selects the players they do since many have made their "Pro Debut" long before their card came out.

Anyway, after going 5-18 over the three seasons in the Indians organization, 2009 was Archer's first year with a winning record, going 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 27 games. He followed that up in 2010 by going 7-1 with a 2.86 ERA in High Single-A (Daytona Cubs) and 8-2 in Double-A (Tennessee Smokies).

I guess the Cubs thought they were selling high when they traded Archer to Tampa Bay. I think they may have just been high. But hindsight is 20/20, I guess. He leveled out over the next few seasons, mostly with Triple-A (Durham Bulls) for the Rays but made his Major League debut last season as a late season call up. He finished 2012 with a 1-3 record in six appearances but after a little more time with the Bulls this season, Archer seems to have turned it around again. He is currently 8-5 with a 2.81 ERA. Over a four game span in July, in which he won all four games, Archer gave up just one earned run, one unearned run and threw two shutouts.

I don't follow much of the American League so this may a huge stretch, but I'd be curious to see where he falls in the ROY discussions. (I think he is still eligible based on the limited playing time from last season but I could be wrong...)

Alright, on to Hak-Ju Lee. Originally from South Korea, Lee played for the Boise Hawks (low Single-A) in 2009 as seen on his Pro Debut card and the Peoria Chiefs in 2010. As I mentioned, Lee was involved with the Garza trade prior to the 2011 season, which compared to Archer above, makes a little more sense. Despite Lee being a top ranked prospect at shortstop by both Baseball America and MLB.com for the past three seasons, back in 2010-2011, the Cubs thought they had the shortstop position locked up for many years in young phenom Starlin Castro. And while they still do have Castro under contract for a while, this past season has certainly seen many Cubs fans change their tune on him.

But back to Lee. He's risen through the ranks since joining the Rays, with stops in High Single-A (Charlotte Stone Crabs), two seasons in Double-A (Montgomery Biscuits) and started this season with the Rays Triple-A affiliate, the Durham Bulls.

In his first 15 games this year, Lee was batting .422 with 6 stolen bases and 11 walks before blowing out his knee in a collision at second base. He's been on the disabled list since and will likely miss the rest of the year too. Again, I don't follow much of the American league and I couldn't name the Rays middle infield off the top of my head. That said, after looking them up (and I had heard of them, just know very little about them), I don't see why Lee couldn't be the shortstop or second baseman of the future for the Rays. Provided his rehab is going well and is ready to start 2014 healthy.

Six down, ten more to go! Looking ahead to next week's post, we have two of the more interesting names in this team set.