Cub prospects in the news

[UK1679666180]

With Parker getting called up, is anyone surprised Rhoderick is still at AA?

 

He's their likely choice as future closer, IMO.

 

I prefer Cabrera a whole lot more as future closer.

 

His FB is better while Rhoderick's slider is better and despite the 1st two months I am concerned about Cabrera's ability to throw strikes and miss bats, both need to be at Iowa though. While Rhoderick has had similar control issues, he has missed bats at both the FSL and SL.

[Guest]

With Parker getting called up, is anyone surprised Rhoderick is still at AA?

 

He's their likely choice as future closer, IMO.

 

I prefer Cabrera a whole lot more as future closer.

 

His FB is better while Rhoderick's slider is better and despite the 1st two months I am concerned about Cabrera's ability to throw strikes and miss bats, both need to be at Iowa though. While Rhoderick has had similar control issues, he has missed bats at both the FSL and SL.

 

Cabrera missed bats in the FSL (8.7 K/9 as a starter) and he's finally missing bats in the SL once he went to the pen (11.4 K/9 this year).

[UK1679666180]

With Parker getting called up, is anyone surprised Rhoderick is still at AA?

 

He's their likely choice as future closer, IMO.

 

I prefer Cabrera a whole lot more as future closer.

 

His FB is better while Rhoderick's slider is better and despite the 1st two months I am concerned about Cabrera's ability to throw strikes and miss bats, both need to be at Iowa though. While Rhoderick has had similar control issues, he has missed bats at both the FSL and SL.

 

Cabrera missed bats in the FSL (8.7 K/9 as a starter) and he's finally missing bats in the SL once he went to the pen (11.4 K/9 this year).

 

It's hard...

 

Reading BA and that and seeing Cabrera being #11 and knowing his stuff, then him is having his best season in a few years which goes along with switching to the pen full-time is very encouraging as a future closer.

 

I haven't seen Rhoderick but college reports had him 92-95 with a plus to plus-plus slider, BA gave him the best slider in the org. and his stats across the board have been better (fewer hits, more Ks, less HRs, both have had sub-par BB ratios). Rhoderick, IIRC was probably the 5th best reliever in college when he was drafted having been OSU's closer.

[Cubswin11]

From KLaw's chat today

 

Jonesy (San Jose, CA)

 

 

Rizzo's destroying AAA again. What do you make of his time in the bigs last year? SSS or is there something he can still learn in Iowa?

 

Klaw (1:23 PM)

 

 

They've made some adjustments to shorten the first part of his swing, and I think it's really helped him hit LH pitching.

 

[Clem Fandango]

Other Chicago related Q&A's from his chat...

 

Mike (Chicago)

 

What does Brett Jackson need to work on in order to be successful? He's struggling right now...

Klaw (1:28 PM)

 

I've always thought his swing would lead to low contact rates. I'm not sure what the solution is. He's not a hacker, where you can just work on pitch recognition.

 

Drew (Chicago)

 

Seems almost impossible Cubs could whiff on every draft pick for 15 years. Obviously something wrong in the development process. Do you ever have concerns about what teams draft a player and how that could negatively impact his career?

Klaw (1:45 PM)

 

I don't factor that into rankings, pro or draft, if that's what you're asking.

 

The_Slasher14 (New Mexico)

 

What was your feeling about Kerry Wood's exit? I thought leaving in May instead of October because you can read the handwriting on the wall showed some class.

Klaw (2:15 PM)

 

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

Jordan (Dallas)

 

The biggest knock on Dan Vogelbach in the draft last year was his weight. Reports are that he has lost quite a bit of weight. With this improvement do you think he can become one of the top 1B prospects in the minors?

Klaw (2:20 PM)

 

I've seen him. He hasn't lost enough, that's for sure. I don't ever see him becoming one of the top 1b prospects in the minors.

 

Jonesy (San Jose, CA)

 

Corea > Javier Baez?

Klaw (1:12 PM)

 

Yes.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

That was Len and Bob right? Those guys are going to get so much love when the Cubs are a good team and they keep working together.

 

I hope when the Cubs Network happens they take the booth.

[Guest]

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

That was Len and Bob right? Those guys are going to get so much love when the Cubs are a good team and they keep working together.

 

I hope when the Cubs Network happens they take the booth.

 

You know the Cubs had two pretty good teams, including one that just pounded on the opposition in 2008, while Len and Bob were here, right?

 

That said, yes, Len and Bob are awesome.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

That was Len and Bob right? Those guys are going to get so much love when the Cubs are a good team and they keep working together.

 

I hope when the Cubs Network happens they take the booth.

 

You know the Cubs had two pretty good teams, including one that just pounded on the opposition in 2008, while Len and Bob were here, right?

 

That said, yes, Len and Bob are awesome.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what the relevance of the first part is. Is pretty good a standard or something?

[Guest]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/chicago-cubs-junior-lake-fangraphs-baseball-scouting-report-video

 

Fortunately for Lake, the Boston Red Sox were excellent at quieting hitters with “loud” hitting mechanics and pieces of that regime are now in Chicago. This leaves me much more bullish on his ability to adjust after witnessing Oscar Tejeda post back-to-back campaigns of sub-.300 wOBA’s in the South Atlantic League before a mechanical overhaul led to a spike in production and a .350+ wOBA at the high-A level.

[SouthSideRyan]

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

That was Len and Bob right? Those guys are going to get so much love when the Cubs are a good team and they keep working together.

 

I hope when the Cubs Network happens they take the booth.

 

You know the Cubs had two pretty good teams, including one that just pounded on the opposition in 2008, while Len and Bob were here, right?

 

That said, yes, Len and Bob are awesome.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what the relevance of the first part is. Is pretty good a standard or something?

 

In all likelihood the 2008 team will be better than the Cubs team that wins the World Series.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Fantastic stuff. Someone over at Bleacher Nation dug up a nine-year-old Jim Callis chat about Cubs prospects:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/chat020703.html

[SouthSideRyan]

Fantastic stuff. Someone over at Bleacher Nation dug up a nine-year-old Jim Callis chat about Cubs prospects:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/chat020703.html

 

This is going to be depressing isn't it?

[SouthSideRyan]

Fantastic stuff. Someone over at Bleacher Nation dug up a nine-year-old Jim Callis chat about Cubs prospects:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/chat020703.html

 

This is going to be depressing isn't it?

 

[expletive] YOU KYLE

[Guest]

Fantastic stuff. Someone over at Bleacher Nation dug up a nine-year-old Jim Callis chat about Cubs prospects:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/chat020703.html

 

This is going to be depressing isn't it?

Oh yes.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Fantastic stuff. Someone over at Bleacher Nation dug up a nine-year-old Jim Callis chat about Cubs prospects:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/chat020703.html

 

This is going to be depressing isn't it?

 

[expletive] YOU KYLE

 

 

Oh come on. If you can't enjoy that, I don't think you like fun.

 

Q: Matthias Peters-Kroll from Franklin and Marshall Colllege asks:

do the braves or cubs have the best set of minor league arms in all of baseball?

A:

 

Jim Callis: Cubs.

 

Q: scott from springfield, Illinois asks:

If you were making a list of White Sox-Cubs prospects combined, how would the top 5 shake out?

A:

 

Jim Callis: Hee Seop Choi, Joe Borchard, Angel Guzman, Andy Sisco, Felix Pie. Four Cubs.

 

 

Prior's mechanics and work ethic are so far ahead of Wood's, I don't see him getting hurt.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Okay, two more and then I'm done:

 

Q: bottman from oak brook, il asks:

with the cubbies drafting primarily pitching in the early rounds of the last few drafts, how strong are the position player prospects within the organization? what are some names i should be on the lookout for? thanks.

A:

 

Jim Callis: They've got a lot of good position players, too. Hee Seop Choi, Felix Pie, Nic Jackson, Brendan Harris and David Kelton all made the Top 10. Beyond that, look at Luis Montanez, Alfredo Francisco, Brian Dopirak, Brandon Sing and J.J. Johnson, among others. The Cubs aren't as deep in hitters as they are in pitchers, but their better hitting prospects stack up well against their better pitching prospects.

 

Q: Emilio Martinez Jr. from Indianapolis, IN asks:

How good can Hill and Patterson be?

A:

 

Jim Callis: Very good. I think Bobby Hill will be the Cubs' leadoff man for a while.

[SouthSideRyan]

Jim Callis: Possible No. 1, though that's his ceiling and not a certainty. Some in the organization think he might follow Mark Prior's express route from Double-A to the majors this year. I'm not aware of any injury history with him.

 

A:

Jim Callis: Everyone is looking for those arms. I haven't broken down all the drafts, but over the last 5-7 years I doubt few if any clubs have drafted better than the Cubs, especially in terms of number of legitimate prospects.

 

I think the Cubs' major flaw over the last 50 years is not assessing talent, amateur and major league, well. They're doing a much better job in that regard. You'll thank your dad when the Cubs finally win a World Series in the next 5-10 years.

 

A:

Jim Callis: We discussed Jones earlier. The top three high schoolers for the 2004 draft are: RHP Nick Adenhart (Hagerstown, Md.), SSRHP Matt Bush (San Diego) and LHP Mike Rozier (Stockbridge, Ga.). The top-rated Virginia guy is 1BOF Jared Kubin, who comes from my alma mater, Oakton High.

 

Jim Callis: You've hit the nail on the head. I don't know how they're going to find enough rotation slots for everyone. I don't imagine anyone rivals the Cubs' pitching depth in Class A and Double-A this year.

 

Prior's mechanics and work ethic are so far ahead of Wood's, I don't see him getting hurt.

 

Jim Callis: I could see all three becoming all-stars.

 

And I completely forgot Alfredo Francisco existed.

[CyHawk_Cub]

I could've done w/out seeing that old Callis chat. Damn, it's not 11:00 yet; too early for a cocktail to dull the pain.

[illiniguy]

Well that sucked. Man I'd like to have a mulligan back to that point in time.

[KingCubsFan]

And I completely forgot Alfredo Francisco existed.

Wasn't he the Junior Lake to Felix Pie's Starlin Castro? I think he briefly tried pitching after they figured out he couldn't hit a breaking ball.

[Guest]

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

That was Len and Bob right? Those guys are going to get so much love when the Cubs are a good team and they keep working together.

 

I hope when the Cubs Network happens they take the booth.

 

You know the Cubs had two pretty good teams, including one that just pounded on the opposition in 2008, while Len and Bob were here, right?

 

That said, yes, Len and Bob are awesome.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what the relevance of the first part is. Is pretty good a standard or something?

 

Pretty good was an intentional understatement.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Agreed. Great moment - and great moment by the broadcasters staying silent for about a minute. "We'll let the crowd take you to break." Perfect.

 

That was Len and Bob right? Those guys are going to get so much love when the Cubs are a good team and they keep working together.

 

I hope when the Cubs Network happens they take the booth.

 

You know the Cubs had two pretty good teams, including one that just pounded on the opposition in 2008, while Len and Bob were here, right?

 

That said, yes, Len and Bob are awesome.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what the relevance of the first part is. Is pretty good a standard or something?

 

Pretty good was an intentional understatement.

 

...So it was a standard?

 

My new temporarily favorite show, The New Girl, taught me something. It taught me that holding hands with the pretty girl is not closing the pretty girl. Len and Bob broadcast for a couple of pretty good Cubs teams. I like to think the future is a little bit brighter for the broadcast guys and the Cubs. I do believe they can do better than piling up regular seasons wins (yes, admittedly it was fun) only to be bounced by the Dodgers (beyond the two K lefties in that franchise I find the whole LA history of that franchise to be a non-entity) in the first round. I watched the 2002 Yankees win 103 games while pounding on the opposition. Ask a Yankee fan to recall that glorious season...2004 won 101 (2003 also won 100+)...2005 won 95...2006 won 97...Nobody cares.

[SouthSideRyan]

 

My new temporarily favorite show, The New Girl, taught me something. It taught me that holding hands with the pretty girl is not closing the pretty girl. Len and Bob broadcast for a couple of pretty good Cubs teams. I like to think the future is a little bit brighter for the broadcast guys and the Cubs. I do believe they can do better than piling up regular seasons wins (yes, admittedly it was fun) only to be bounced by the Dodgers (beyond the two K lefties in that franchise I find the whole LA history of that franchise to be a non-entity) in the first round. I watched the 2002 Yankees win 103 games in 2002 while pounding on the opposition. Ask a Yankee fan to recall that glorious season...2004 won 101 (2003 also won 100+)...2005 won 95...2006 won 97...Nobody cares.

 

Considering Len & Bob don't call postseason games, the regular season is all that matters.

[illiniguy]

 

My new temporarily favorite show, The New Girl, taught me something. It taught me that holding hands with the pretty girl is not closing the pretty girl. Len and Bob broadcast for a couple of pretty good Cubs teams. I like to think the future is a little bit brighter for the broadcast guys and the Cubs. I do believe they can do better than piling up regular seasons wins (yes, admittedly it was fun) only to be bounced by the Dodgers (beyond the two K lefties in that franchise I find the whole LA history of that franchise to be a non-entity) in the first round. I watched the 2002 Yankees win 103 games in 2002 while pounding on the opposition. Ask a Yankee fan to recall that glorious season...2004 won 101 (2003 also won 100+)...2005 won 95...2006 won 97...Nobody cares.

 

Considering Len & Bob don't call postseason games, the regular season is all that matters.

Bob does, you lose.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

 

My new temporarily favorite show, The New Girl, taught me something. It taught me that holding hands with the pretty girl is not closing the pretty girl. Len and Bob broadcast for a couple of pretty good Cubs teams. I like to think the future is a little bit brighter for the broadcast guys and the Cubs. I do believe they can do better than piling up regular seasons wins (yes, admittedly it was fun) only to be bounced by the Dodgers (beyond the two K lefties in that franchise I find the whole LA history of that franchise to be a non-entity) in the first round. I watched the 2002 Yankees win 103 games in 2002 while pounding on the opposition. Ask a Yankee fan to recall that glorious season...2004 won 101 (2003 also won 100+)...2005 won 95...2006 won 97...Nobody cares.

 

Considering Len & Bob don't call postseason games, the regular season is all that matters.

 

Yeah well...still room to go up...like when the Cub Network or whatever it will be called is launched.

 

Edit: HA! Bob does. We're both asses for not knowing, but the information benefits me.