Cub prospects in the news

[Guest]

CJ Edwards thinks the Cubs will win a pennant in 3 years: http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/edwards-next-2-3-years-cubs-will-win-pennant

[A New Era]

CJ Edwards thinks the Cubs will win a pennant in 3 years: http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/edwards-next-2-3-years-cubs-will-win-pennant

 

Aww, his heart hasn't been extinguished by either being on the Cubs or a Cubs fan, yet.

[abuck1220]

CJ Edwards thinks the Cubs will win a pennant in 3 years: http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/edwards-next-2-3-years-cubs-will-win-pennant

 

it's sad that such a statement is considered a wildly optimistic prediction.

[mhuber92211]

CJ Edwards thinks the Cubs will win a pennant in 3 years: http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/edwards-next-2-3-years-cubs-will-win-pennant

 

 

For whatever reason, in reading that article I get a huge Russell Wilson type mindset from CJ Edwards. If so, pretty good company

[CubsWin]

For those hoping for some help from the minor league ranks this season, here is a list of top ranked power hitting prospects from a fantasy perspective per ESPN's Christopher Crawford.

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/story/_/id/10792298/javier-baez-joey-gallo-top-power-hitting-prospects-minors-fantasy-baseball

 

For 2014:

 

1. Javier Baez

2. Gregory Polanco

3. Maikel Franco

4. Jonathan Singleton

5. Kris Bryant

 

Odd that George Springer who's already up with the 'stros wouldn't be mentioned.

 

For the future (beyond 2014):

 

1. Joey Gallo

2. Miguel Sano

3. Jorge Alfaro

4. Jorge Soler

5. Carlos Correa

[Cubswin11]

Correa projects to be a power guy?

[treebird]

kris bryant should not be on that list of guys who might get promoted and contribue to your fantasy team unless your league counts iowa stats

[Guest]

Correa projects to be a power guy?

 

Yeah.

[TruffleShuffle]

Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee)

 

Bryant entered the 2014 season as the 17th-best prospect in the game and the no. 2 prospect in the Cubs system, his lofty status fueled by elite raw power and a projected hit tool that some feel could dovetail with the pop at about a grade-and-a-half discount (still above average). The primary barrier to Bryant reaching his elite offensive upside, and the aspect of his game being watched most closely, is a lengthy swing that could see the swing-and-miss in his game creep higher as he begins to tackle more advanced arms. Through 60 Double-A plate appearances in 2014, these concerns have not abated, as Bryant continues to strike out about once every four trips. The whiffs haven’t limited the playable pop yet (slugging .617) and he continues to take professional at-bats showing an advanced feel for the strike zone (walking in around 16 percent of his plate appearances and making lots of hard contact), but the competition is only getting better and Bryant’s ability to start making adjustments will be key to his future offensive development. If he can close the holes in his plate coverage, we could see a huge jump in production in short order, as well as a late-2014 cup of coffee in Wrigley.

[Guest]

Kris Bryant, 3B, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee)

 

Bryant entered the 2014 season as the 17th-best prospect in the game and the no. 2 prospect in the Cubs system, his lofty status fueled by elite raw power and a projected hit tool that some feel could dovetail with the pop at about a grade-and-a-half discount (still above average). The primary barrier to Bryant reaching his elite offensive upside, and the aspect of his game being watched most closely, is a lengthy swing that could see the swing-and-miss in his game creep higher as he begins to tackle more advanced arms. Through 60 Double-A plate appearances in 2014, these concerns have not abated, as Bryant continues to strike out about once every four trips. The whiffs haven’t limited the playable pop yet (slugging .617) and he continues to take professional at-bats showing an advanced feel for the strike zone (walking in around 16 percent of his plate appearances and making lots of hard contact), but the competition is only getting better and Bryant’s ability to start making adjustments will be key to his future offensive development. If he can close the holes in his plate coverage, we could see a huge jump in production in short order, as well as a late-2014 cup of coffee in Wrigley.

That's a rather pessimistic take on Bryant. He does have a long swing, but he's also 6 foot 4. It will be really tough for him to shorten that swing up substantially. Having seen him up close Saturday, his swing is long, but not loopy and is very fluid. His bat is very quick. He hit an easy line drive double down the line over the 3rd baseman on his second at bat. His third he struck out on a breaking ball in the dirt. He was way ahead of it. He was ahead of everything during the at-bats I saw. He's going to get himself out on balls out of the zone. I don't see him getting beat very often by fastballs in the zone. If he learns to control the zone he's going to be really something, generational talent special.

Edited April 22, 2014 by CubinNY

[davell]

I'm not sure I see a circumstance popping up that puts KB in the majors this year. They'll delay it until May or whenever it is they gain that extra year of service time.

[Sammy Sofa]

September call up.

[A New Era]

I would love to see Baez in the summer and a cup of coffee for Bryant at the end of the year. It all depends on how terribly he treats AA over the next couple of months.

[Guest]

Did you know Javier Baez got into a dugout altercation with a teammate before he went on the DL?

 

BA[/url]"]A sprained ankle put him on the disabled list barely a week into the season—but not before an ejection and altercation with a teammate raised a different set of concerns.

 

Baez’s incident didn’t rise to anywhere near the level of $30-million outfield prospect Jorge Soler’s bat-wielding charge of an opponent’s dugout a year ago.

 

But for a player believed by many to be on track for a 2014 big league debut, the last thing Cubs’ brass wanted to see was a flash of temper at an umpire that escalated into a dugout altercation with veteran teammate Eli Whiteside.

 

And whether it had more to do with a 21-year-old’s 0-for-9 frustrations to start the season, it might have offered a brief glimpse into the kind of pressure the Cubs’ top prospects face during a long rebuilding process.

 

“It’s all part of development,” team president Theo Epstein said. “Players are in the minor leagues to develop physically and fundamentally, and also mentally and emotionally.”

 

The incident is not a major concern to Cubs officials or players in the clubhouse who know Baez, especially after he seemed to respond earnestly to several Iowa teammates taking him aside and to the one-start benching by manager Marty Pevey (he later came off the bench to hit a home run).

 

“It’s an instance that could wind up being a great thing in the long run for Javy’s development,” Epstein said. “It was not a huge deal but something he can grow from. It sounds like from the reports we got, teammates were right to call him out, and he handled that the right way. Javy’s a great kid who’s the youngest player in AAA, and he has some room to continue to grow. And he will.”

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Yeah, it was the catcher, wasn't it? It was in the news that day.

[jersey cubs fan]

Is this an additional incident from the one that was discussed before the injury?

[Guest]

Yeah, it was the catcher, wasn't it? It was in the news that day.

 

Yeah, the grey haired dude.

[Clem Fandango]

Eric Karabell and David Schoenfeld did a video to help promote Keith Law's Top 25 under 25 list and in the middle of it they said

 

And we should note no prospects are considered for this article or this video, so Javier Baez is not included no matter what he does to the minor leagues this year

 

They didn't bother mentioning anyone else. Thought that was a bit funny.

[imb]

Mike (Chicago)

 

 

How worried are you that Albert Almora has yet to take a walk in 94 PA's?

Klaw

(1:14 PM)

 

 

I'm not worried. Then again, it doesn't really affect my life, does it?

 

just answer the question you autistic dork

[gscool89]

Mike (Chicago)

 

 

How worried are you that Albert Almora has yet to take a walk in 94 PA's?

Klaw

(1:14 PM)

 

 

I'm not worried. Then again, it doesn't really affect my life, does it?

 

just answer the question you autistic dork

Just gonna take questions and then not answer the questions.

[Guest]

Really good scouting report on Bryant, as they watched him the full series before making the "he's good at" or "he struggles with" declarations, unlike some others (*cough* BP) http://rotoscouting.com/kris-bryant-scouting-report-2014/

[Little Slide Rooter]

Mike (Chicago)

 

 

How worried are you that Albert Almora has yet to take a walk in 94 PA's?

Klaw

(1:14 PM)

 

 

I'm not worried. Then again, it doesn't really affect my life, does it?

 

just answer the question you autistic dork

Just gonna take questions and then not answer the questions.

 

Law's been a passive-aggressive dick to Cubs fans ever since Szczur-gate.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Law's been a passive-aggressive dick to everyone on Earth since birth.

[Guest]

@harrypav: hey Chicago, save the date: May 24th we're doing @baseballpro Pizza & Prospects: Pre-Draft w/ special guests @BruceMiles2112 and @daynperry

[Guest]

Kris Bryant was the MLB.com hitting prospect of the week: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/kris-bryant-robbie-ray-named-pipeline-prospects-of-week?ymd=20140512&content_id=75218078&vkey=news_mlb

 

Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Week: Kris Bryant, Tennessee Smokies

Cubs' No. 2 prospect, 7 G, 13-for-28 (.464/.516/.929), 1.445 OPS, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 12 R

 

Bryant, who is ranked No. 8 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, was still playing for the University of San Diego this time last year and has played just 72 professional games. But Bryant has easily made the transition to the Minor Leagues, and he continued the incredible start to his career last week.

 

Bryant's week was highlighted by what might have been the best game of his young career. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs during the Smokies' 12-1 victory on Wednesday. It was Bryant's first multihomer game, and the six RBIs were a career high.

 

After hitting four home runs last week, Bryant leads the Southern League with 10 this season. He also leads the circuit in batting average (.331), slugging percentage (.624), OPS (1.061) and runs (33).