2007 Mesa Cubs

[CaliforniaRaisin]

It will be interesting to see who is on the Mesa Cubs team for the long haul. Already a couple guys that I expected in Mesa (Harol Tolentino and Alberto Cabrera) are up in Boise (though, as craig pointed out, it's possible the two 18-year olds will return to Mesa when more college pitchers sign).

 

Who knows what's going on with Mark Pawelek? Francisco Acosta, Wily Garcia and Kevin Kreier should be some high-ceiling pitching prospects at Mesa. There's a chance Larry Suarez could stay in Mesa or head off to the DSL.

 

It looks like third base could be backed up at Mesa too - Jovan Rosa (DFE who has power), 18-year old Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Vitters of course. Also, two of the guys the Cubs signed last season in Latin America look intriguing - Gian Guzman (SS or 3B) and Nelson Perez (OF).

[Wrigley Rat]

Could someone remind me how many active players Mesa is allowed and how many total players they can have? I thought they were allowed to have something like 25 active and 40 total or something like that.

[craig]

It will be interesting to see who is on the Mesa Cubs team for the long haul. Already a couple guys that I expected in Mesa (Harol Tolentino and Alberto Cabrera) are up in Boise (though, as craig pointed out, it's possible the two 18-year olds will return to Mesa when more college pitchers sign).

 

Who knows what's going on with Mark Pawelek? Francisco Acosta, Wily Garcia and Kevin Kreier should be some high-ceiling pitching prospects at Mesa. There's a chance Larry Suarez could stay in Mesa or head off to the DSL.

 

It looks like third base could be backed up at Mesa too - Jovan Rosa (DFE who has power), 18-year old Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Vitters of course. Also, two of the guys the Cubs signed last season in Latin America look intriguing - Gian Guzman (SS or 3B) and Nelson Perez (OF).

 

Cal, I agree, I wasn't expecting Tolentino or Cabrera at Boise. Have you heard something favorable about Garcia? I haven't heard anything to suggest he's any prospect at all, much less a high-ceiling one. They used him as a reliever last year in DSL, even though he was 18 for much of the year, and he was wild in relief. He's actually back in DSL again this year, and again has only been used as a spot reliever. (I think the guys who either have the better arms or who project better tend to get more of the starts down there, as we saw last year with Cabrera and Acosta.

 

You mention Guzman and Perez looking intriguing. What do you know about them and what is intriguing? Were these guys who, like Suarez and Pie and Alfredo and Zambrano, even if not necessarily to the same price tag, got signing bonuses that were more substantial and mark them as prospects? If so, do you know how much they got? Or did you get something favorable about them from seeing them or some other source? (Az Phil?) Do you know how old or big they are or whatever?

 

Neither Guzman nor Perez has played for the DSL team thus far, nor has Suarez. So I think it's safe to say that they'll all start out at mesa. DSL is already a couple weeks into it, so anybody healthy who's gotten sent there should have been there by now. So the fact that Guzman and Perez are starting straight out in the states is consistent with them being viewed by the Cubs as more promising than the average Latin guy they sign.

[Guest]

It will be interesting to see who is on the Mesa Cubs team for the long haul. Already a couple guys that I expected in Mesa (Harol Tolentino and Alberto Cabrera) are up in Boise (though, as craig pointed out, it's possible the two 18-year olds will return to Mesa when more college pitchers sign).

 

Who knows what's going on with Mark Pawelek? Francisco Acosta, Wily Garcia and Kevin Kreier should be some high-ceiling pitching prospects at Mesa. There's a chance Larry Suarez could stay in Mesa or head off to the DSL.

 

It looks like third base could be backed up at Mesa too - Jovan Rosa (DFE who has power), 18-year old Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Vitters of course. Also, two of the guys the Cubs signed last season in Latin America look intriguing - Gian Guzman (SS or 3B) and Nelson Perez (OF).

 

Cal, I agree, I wasn't expecting Tolentino or Cabrera at Boise. Have you heard something favorable about Garcia? I haven't heard anything to suggest he's any prospect at all, much less a high-ceiling one. They used him as a reliever last year in DSL, even though he was 18 for much of the year, and he was wild in relief. He's actually back in DSL again this year, and again has only been used as a spot reliever. (I think the guys who either have the better arms or who project better tend to get more of the starts down there, as we saw last year with Cabrera and Acosta.

 

You mention Guzman and Perez looking intriguing. What do you know about them and what is intriguing? Were these guys who, like Suarez and Pie and Alfredo and Zambrano, even if not necessarily to the same price tag, got signing bonuses that were more substantial and mark them as prospects? If so, do you know how much they got? Or did you get something favorable about them from seeing them or some other source? (Az Phil?) Do you know how old or big they are or whatever?

 

Neither Guzman nor Perez has played for the DSL team thus far, nor has Suarez. So I think it's safe to say that they'll all start out at mesa. DSL is already a couple weeks into it, so anybody healthy who's gotten sent there should have been there by now. So the fact that Guzman and Perez are starting straight out in the states is consistent with them being viewed by the Cubs as more promising than the average Latin guy they sign.

 

For some reason I hadn't realized the DSL had already started - thanks for the heads up. AZ Phil was the one who noted Wily Garcia had looked good out of the pen at times but is rather inconsistent. Disappointing that he's back in the pen in the DSL...he's still young (18) but it'd be nice to see him getting starts.

 

AZ Phil said Guzman looked like Aramis Ramirez body-wise who just turned 18 and has been playing shortstop and third base. Nelson Perez is a lefty (19 years old) who was actually signed as a pitcher but converted to the outfield due to his power - my cousin saw him in BP a while ago and came away very impressed which fits in line with what AZ Phil has said about his power (my cousin said Perez looked more impressive than Ryan Harvey in terms of BP power). Granted it's only BP power, he strikes out like he's Ryan Harvey and he's very, very raw but he's definitely a guy to look for down in Mesa.

 

Sorry, I haven't heard a thing about either of their signing bonuses. All mention of Guzman and Perez have come from AZ Phil or my cousin - unlike Larry Suarez and Ryan Searle who have been mentioned in the media.

[Guest]

Could someone remind me how many active players Mesa is allowed and how many total players they can have? I thought they were allowed to have something like 25 active and 40 total or something like that.

 

I thought it was a 35-man roster for some reason, but I'm not sure at all.

[craig]

Cal, thanks for the notes. In a recent Az Phil note, he mentioned Tolentino hitting 96.

 

Guzman and Felix as Aram/Harvey types is interesting. Hopefully Guzman will have the extraordinary hitting talent that Aram does. (Aram's body with Dopirak hitting skills wouldn't get him far, obviously; nor Harvey's tools with harvey's hitting skills.) Hopefully they'll be the freak Cub Latin position signs who can hit.

 

Iknow that no-hit catcher Reyes got to AA. But if I'm not forgetting anybody, I think Pie and Cedeno are the only Latin position prospects during Fleita's 10-years running the Latin operation that have shown any hitting skills above A-ball. Would be cool to come up with a Latin position prospect, but obviously our Latin talent evaluators don't have a real proven track record in projecting hitters. Many of Fleita's favorites have been weeded out by low-A.