Minor League Discussion & Boxes 6-26-2006

[Brian]

Dear Cobs

 

Michael Wuertz does not belong in AAA.

 

Thanks,

Brian

[Chris]

Dear Cobs

 

Michael Wuertz does not belong in AAA.

 

Thanks,

Brian

 

Michael gave me a ball before a Cubs/White Sox Interleague game last year that was hit by Henry Blanco in BP. Great times.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Petrick: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5/0, HBP. He started the game with 3.1 perfect innings.

 

DJ Lewis is 2/2. On the season, he's .474/.542/.684/1.226.

 

Boise leads it 5-0 after 5.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

<3 Petrick. Ground ball after ground ball. He should be done now with Papelbon warming up.

 

His final line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5/0, HBP, 8-4 GO-FO

[Laura]

fyi - local papers have Samardzija pitching at least 2 innings tomorrow; not clear whether he'd start.

 

Oneri said he would start, The Idaho Statesman said they weren't sure whether he will start or not. I'm not sure who to trust. :P

 

Ha. I was referring to local Indiana papers; he's a Valpo boy (and you know the rest).

[abuck1220]

<3 Petrick. Ground ball after ground ball. He should be done now with Papelbon warming up.

 

His final line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5/0, HBP, 8-4 GO-FO

 

nice.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

fyi - local papers have Samardzija pitching at least 2 innings tomorrow; not clear whether he'd start.

 

Oneri said he would start, The Idaho Statesman said they weren't sure whether he will start or not. I'm not sure who to trust. :P

 

Ha. I was referring to local Indiana papers; he's a Valpo boy (and you know the rest).

 

Ohhh, I thought you meant the local Boise papers. #-o

[otis89]

Here comes another dominant performance by Rich Hill.

 

I called it!

[Flames24Rulz]

Here comes another dominant performance by Rich Hill.

 

I called it!

 

His ERA is down to 1.91. Honestly, what is the use for keeping this man in AAA? Our season is lost, so why not build Hill's confidence and build him mentally by having him start every 5th day in Chicago?

[Chris]

pennant race[/sarcasm]

[abuck1220]

at the very least, hill has succeeded in rebuilding his trade value to at least the level it was last season (if not higher). you'd think teams would be calling.

[texascub]

Another nice start by Blackford, he's been a pleasant surprise so far. At 21 however, I'd like to see him get moved up soon. I know that he isn't extemely over aged for low-A but at the same time I'd like to see him prove himself against a higher level of competition sometime this year.

[Quakers]

Finally, some good news to report on Boise.

 

First of all let me say that I think that the scoreboard radar for SK is a little on the slow side.

 

Second, SK's starter (Odom), is coming back from major shoulder problems. Boise scored off him with ease, but were shut down for the most part by SK's relievers.

 

1) Petrick was great! What a difference since the last time I saw him. Two years ago he was timid, relying on his fastball, and without a second pitch he was in trouble a soon as he went through the order for the second time. This time he was a man among boys. When Boise's defense let Petrick down, he just bore down and got a strike out. The radar had him pitching in the upper 80's and topping out at 89. I think he was faster. I also think he is not long for Boise, the Cub's may give him one more rehab start just to be sure, but he needs to be pitching against better competition. One of the best starts I have seen for Boise since Marshall, or prehaps Guzman.

 

2) Papelbon finished the game. He continued where Petrick left off. a lone single to Thompson (SK's best hitter, who is on a rehab assignment and should be at a higher level), was the only time SK came close to mounting a threat. The radar had Jeremy pitching in the upper 70's and topping off at 81. But while he did not have as much heat as Petrick, I think those readings were off.

 

3) Canzler has power. It will be interesting to see if he will continue to hit homers against better pitching. I don't think he will hit for a high average, but I have really only seen him for a couple of days. Along with the homerun are several towering warning track flys to left. I haven't seen any power yet to the opposite field.

 

4) Joseph had a good night. He was on base all four times with a double, single, walk, and by a SK error. He stole a base too. The only problem was that he was gunned down by an excellent throw from the center fielder while trying to tag up from second to third. Joseph is repeating at Boise, but he is still young (20).

 

5) Interesting note - Puello (who is also repeating at Boise) is catching the pitchers in the pen and the one on the mound while the regular catcher dons his gear. Puello was at third last season and so far this year at third and first. Is he preparing to catch in the future? Does anyone know if he caught in the past?

 

6) Castillo caught Petrick tonight. Castillo is the youngest member of Boise, but he looked OK.

[texascub]

Quakers, how did Castillo look at the plate in your opinion? After a break in production from Latin America, it'd be nice to have another young promising prospect.

[Quakers]

Quakers, how did Castillo look at the plate in your opinion? After a break in production from Latin America, it'd be nice to have another young promising prospect.

 

Castillo was not overmatched, but was not a hitting machine either. A couple of ground outs (one sharply hit) and a sac bunt. He looked akward on the sac bunt. If (and this is a big if) I were to project the future with my initial impression I would say this. He will stick with Boise (unless they want him to get more playing time), he will continue to back up Canepa (who looks pretty good by the way), Castillo will probably repeat for Boise next year (ala Joseph and Puello) and be the starter next season. Behind the plate he looked good. Of course with Petrick's control he never had to save a pitch and nobody was on base so I never saw his arm.

 

In short he is like Mota (sp? the young infielder) was last year. More than adequate on defense, a bit overmatched at the plate , but at his age (19) this is good.

[rawaction]

If I'm not mistaken, Puello started as a catcher but was moved to 3B. I think he and Canzler can handle the MWL pretty well right now. Not much reason for them to be down there.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

1) Petrick was great! What a difference since the last time I saw him. Two years ago he was timid, relying on his fastball, and without a second pitch he was in trouble a soon as he went through the order for the second time. This time he was a man among boys. When Boise's defense let Petrick down, he just bore down and got a strike out. The radar had him pitching in the upper 80's and topping out at 89. I think he was faster. I also think he is not long for Boise, the Cub's may give him one more rehab start just to be sure, but he needs to be pitching against better competition. One of the best starts I have seen for Boise since Marshall, or prehaps Guzman.

 

How much harder do you think Petrick was throwing? And Papelbon?

[Quakers]

1) Petrick was great! What a difference since the last time I saw him. Two years ago he was timid, relying on his fastball, and without a second pitch he was in trouble a soon as he went through the order for the second time. This time he was a man among boys. When Boise's defense let Petrick down, he just bore down and got a strike out. The radar had him pitching in the upper 80's and topping out at 89. I think he was faster. I also think he is not long for Boise, the Cub's may give him one more rehab start just to be sure, but he needs to be pitching against better competition. One of the best starts I have seen for Boise since Marshall, or prehaps Guzman.

 

How much harder do you think Petrick was throwing? And Papelbon?

 

I would have thought you could add a couple of mph on. Petrick topping out in the low 90's, Papelbon in the low 80's.

 

BTW-Does anyone know what Papelbon throws? He really had SK off balance. They never really got a good AB against him.

[Quakers]

If I'm not mistaken, Puello started as a catcher but was moved to 3B. I think he and Canzler can handle the MWL pretty well right now. Not much reason for them to be down there.

 

Canzler maybe, but with Puello I would disagree. He should stay in Boise until he starts hitting with some authority.

[Jon]

I couldn't find much on Papelbon (although I do recall him sitting in the mid-80s), but apparently he has a stomach ulcer, had both knees operated on, and fainted a couple of years ago and nearly died from losing too much blood.

 

Of course, this is from a Downey article and he was making fun of him for that. Wouldn't expect anything less from Downey, though.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

1) Petrick was great! What a difference since the last time I saw him. Two years ago he was timid, relying on his fastball, and without a second pitch he was in trouble a soon as he went through the order for the second time. This time he was a man among boys. When Boise's defense let Petrick down, he just bore down and got a strike out. The radar had him pitching in the upper 80's and topping out at 89. I think he was faster. I also think he is not long for Boise, the Cub's may give him one more rehab start just to be sure, but he needs to be pitching against better competition. One of the best starts I have seen for Boise since Marshall, or prehaps Guzman.

 

How much harder do you think Petrick was throwing? And Papelbon?

 

I would have thought you could add a couple of mph on. Petrick topping out in the low 90's, Papelbon in the low 80's.

 

BTW-Does anyone know what Papelbon throws? He really had SK off balance. They never really got a good AB against him.

 

If Petrick is back throwing in the low 90s, that's fantastic (given his labrum surgeries, etc.).

 

How good was his slider?

 

(Sorry for so many Petrick questions, he's one of my faves.)

[Quakers]

1) Petrick was great! What a difference since the last time I saw him. Two years ago he was timid, relying on his fastball, and without a second pitch he was in trouble a soon as he went through the order for the second time. This time he was a man among boys. When Boise's defense let Petrick down, he just bore down and got a strike out. The radar had him pitching in the upper 80's and topping out at 89. I think he was faster. I also think he is not long for Boise, the Cub's may give him one more rehab start just to be sure, but he needs to be pitching against better competition. One of the best starts I have seen for Boise since Marshall, or prehaps Guzman.

 

How much harder do you think Petrick was throwing? And Papelbon?

 

I would have thought you could add a couple of mph on. Petrick topping out in the low 90's, Papelbon in the low 80's.

 

BTW-Does anyone know what Papelbon throws? He really had SK off balance. They never really got a good AB against him.

 

If Petrick is back throwing in the low 90s, that's fantastic (given his labrum surgeries, etc.).

 

How good was his slider?

 

(Sorry for so many Petrick questions, he's one of my faves.)

 

I am no expert, but everything was working for him. He looked so good that I would not be schocked if the Cubs bumped him up to Daytona.

[sporrer17]

With the loss of a bunch of quality minor league arms over the past year or so (Pinto, Nolasco, Sisco, Mitre, Wellemeyer), it'd be nice to see a guy like Petrick get back on track and become a big time prospect. He's always been highly thought of, he just needs to go out and show it now that he's healthy.