28. Todd Wellemeyer, RP
Now we get to the part of the list where guys actually have some value. Wellemeyer has a great arm, with a live fastball and a very advanced change-up. The only thing that is stopping him from becoming an elite reliever is the ability to throw strikes. That makes him frustrating to managers but tantalizing to other teams’ general managers. Wellemeyer has value and is likely to be a key trading piece this July for Hendry.

27. Jermaine Van Buren, RP — currently in Iowa — not on 40 man roster
Van Buren tore up the Southern League last year and is back off the DL in Iowa this season and has reclaimed his closer role. He does not throw particularly hard, but his strikeout to inning numbers have been obscene none-the-less the past two years. Van Buren simply doesn’t allow baserunners, which is nice. He has yet to make his MLB debut.

26. Reynel Pinto, SP — currently in West Tenn
The Cubs had big hopes for Pinto moving him to AAA Iowa to start the season, but he struggled, and is back at West Tenn where he dominated in 2004. Pinto’s a 23 year old lefty and is repeating his success at West Tenn this season. If the Cubs feel he’s been passed by Dominican-born lefty Raul Valdez (not on the list) Pinto would make an attractive trade target for other teams.

25. Roberto Novoa, RP
Novoa and high-A third baseman Scott Moore were acquired in the trade for The Farns. Novoa’s up for his third stint in Chicago and has pitched well in limited duty since his call-up. Apparently Dusty’s more comfortable with his ability to withstand the mid-summer heat, or something. Novoa’s a hard throwing righty who looks like a cross between the Farns and El Pulpo.

24. Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
With a number of contenders needing second basemen (San Diego, Minnesota to name two), you would think the Cubs would have had a chance to move young Jerry already. Maybe Hendry feels Jerry’s going to have to play center most of the second half? Hairston has one ability and that is to get on first base, however, his ability to advance to any subsequent base is in doubt, and his defense both at second and in the outfield is an adventure.

23. Matt Murton, OF –currently in West Tenn — not on 40 man roster
Murton was the “other guy” the Cubs got in the Nomar trade and has done nothing but hit since joining the Cubs’ organization. A Georgia Tech teammate of class A second baseman Eric Patterson, Murton has hit at or over .340 all year at West Tenn and has stolen 17 bases in 22 attempts. He projects as a line-drive hitting left fielder and is a lefthanded hitter. Despite his stolen base totals, he doesn’t have above average speed and probably couldn’t handle a call-up to fill-in in center field, which is too bad, because he appears to be Major League ready at the plate.

22. David Aardsma, RP — currently in West Tenn
Aardsma was the Giants’ top pick in the 2003 draft out of Rice University and made his Major League debut last season. He has struggled with his control at times, but has an electric fastball and projects as a closer in the big leagues. Aardsma and Jerome Williams were acquired for LaTroy Hawkins in May and both project to be more useful to the Cubs (either in performance and/or trade) than LaTroy. Not that it would take much.

21. Jason Dubois, LF
Dubois is an all-0r-nothing fastball mashing machine and completely clueless leftfielder. The more he plays, the fewer fastballs he sees. He’s smart enough to make the adjustment to the breaking ball, and projects as a good, though likely never great, power-hitting outfielder. His defense is actually worse than advertised, so maybe a 1B-DH role like Cleveland’s Travis Hafner has, would be better for him. When he hits it, it goes a long way, and Dubois has some fans in GM’s JP Riccardi and Billy Beane.

20. Ricky Nolasco, SP, currently in West Tenn — not on 40 man roster
Like Pinto, Nolasco was asked to make the jump to AAA late last year and floundered, though he’s back to dominating form at West Tenn. Nolasco has torn through the farm system at an impressive rate and was on his way to Texas in a August 2003 trade for Rafael Palmeiro before Palmeiro balked and voided the deal. Nolasco, Ronny Cedeno and Wellemeyer are the three most commonly mentioned names when trades for Cubs’ prospects are discussed.

19. Corey Patterson, CF
Patterson’s trade value has plummeted during the season, to the point that there are still three outfielders left on this list. Patterson’s physical tools make him tempting to other teams, but his declining production have made his value dive. Patterson has the tools to become an elite outfielder, but seems disinclined to attempt an offensive approach that would best take advantage of his skills. Unless he completely changes his approach, Patterson is in the fastlane to bust status.

18. Greg Maddux, SP
He’s a Hall of Famer and still an above-average starting pitcher, but Maddux’s trade value is hampered by a $9 million option which is set to be automatically triggered for 2006. However, he has been exactly the pitcher the Cubs knew they were going to get, because his stats are in line with those of his final years in Atlanta. While he’ll throw out a complete stinker of an outing from time to time, his overall consistency is matched on the Cubs by only Mark Prior. Maddux will get his 3,000th strikeout sometime this summer, when coupled with his 300th win in San Francisco last summer has made the marketing end of his return to the Cubs a bonanza for the team.

17. Ronny Cedeno, SS
Cedeno hit .370 at AAA this year and is back up with the team for a second time. He is unlikely to get an extended look at shortstop, while Dusty Baker continues to be enamored with Neifi Perez’s incredibly shrinking batting average. Cedeno has good range, an excellent arm and after early struggles in the low minors, he has hit well in both AA and AAA. He is the Cubs’ most Major League ready position prospect and only one other Cubs’ minor league position player is likely to be more sought after by opposing GMs.

16. Rich Hill, SP, currently at Iowa
Hill leads all of Minor League Baseball in strikeouts with a ridiculously good curveball that is equally hard to hit from either side of the plate. He showed a better than advertised fastball in his short stint with the Cubs, which was highlighted by an impressive extended relief outing in Milwaukee the night Carlos Zambrano gave up eight second inning runs. While the Cubs originally thought of using him as a LOOGY in the bullpen, that would seem to be a waste of his ability.

15. Todd Hollandsworth, LF
If the Cubs turn into sellers at the trade deadline, Hollandsworth is sure to be a very valuable trade commodity. A proven pinch hitter, Hollandsworth is still a good defensive outfielder (though he has an annoying ability to bobble balls that have already stopped rolling) and should be one of the best extra men in baseball. He would be for the Cubs if he wasn’t their second-best outfielder, already.

14. Sergio Mitre, SP
Mitre’s trade value soared thanks to a pair of excellent home starts against the Blue Jays and Marlins in which he allowed three flyballs in 16 innings. He is now in the bullpen trying to learn how to come in and immediately get his sinker going effectively enough to force hitters into hitting ground balls. Mitre is still only 24 years old and projects to be a solid Major League starter, and could find a valuable niche in somebody’s bullpen if he can figure out how to get “tired” enough fast enough to be an effective sinkerballing reliever.

13. Jeromy Burnitz, RF
Burnitz got the Cubs’ right field job because he was the best option without a chair when the music stopped playing last February. He has exceeded the less than sky high expectations the Cubs or their fans had for him. Only recently has he forgotten how to run the bases. Because his contract has a club option for next season, he would be a sought after player at the trading deadline as a late season rental for a team that needs some pop in their outfield or on the bench.

12. Michael Wuertz, RP
At times almost unhittable, Wuertz has been inconsistent of late, but possesses one of the nastiest sliders in the big leagues to go with a 94 MPH fastball. In a bullpen full of question marks, Wuertz has, for the most part been the closest thing to a sure thing that the Cubs have had for innings six, seven or eight. Though, that’s not saying a lot.

11. Jerome Williams, SP
Whatever the reason the Giants soured on him, Williams is a 23 year old with four quality pitches. He projects to be a front of the rotation starter in time, and is currently a solid option as anybody’s fourth or fifth starter. Few contending teams will add a pitcher as talented as Williams down the stretch and all will pay more to get one than the Cubs did. In fact, if Jim Hendry so chooses, some team may actually pay more to get Williams than the Cubs gave up to get him in May.