Cub prospects in the news

[davell]

That's a really flippant article, to be honest. 3/4 starter? We have less than one hand's worth of those guys playing in fullseason ball. To even mention a 28 year old that signed for next to nothing(at his age, that's obviously a gigantic indicator) has average stuff at best, and has control issues as a possible 3/4 guy is just bad. Brett has the best Cubs blog around, by far, in my mind. But his minor league guy is shitty.

[jersey cubs fan]

Jon (Chicago) Any chance Brett Jackson gets his strikeouts under control enough to be a productive player?

 

Klaw  (2:42 PM) I think he's got swing issues rather than approach issues. The latter is easy to fix, the former much less so - witness Snider.

 

Apologies for bringing this back, but seriously? You're seriously going to say that it's easy to fix problems with approach, much easier than mechanical problems? That's not even trolling from Law like the Barney comment, that's just flat out dumb.

 

No it isn't. An approach is a mental thing that you can choose to do differently. You can tweak mechanics, but an overhaul is extremely difficult.

[Guest]

Retraining muscle memory is a lot easier than adjusting the decision making done in the fraction of the second between release and the decision to swing.

[Guest]

That's a really flippant article, to be honest. 3/4 starter? We have less than one hand's worth of those guys playing in fullseason ball. To even mention a 28 year old that signed for next to nothing(at his age, that's obviously a gigantic indicator) has average stuff at best, and has control issues as a possible 3/4 guy is just bad. Brett has the best Cubs blog around, by far, in my mind. But his minor league guy is [expletive].

 

Completely agree with you. First off, while the Mexican League is considered a AAA league, it's actually equivalent to high-A or even A-ball. As you said, he signed for a minimal bonus despite being a free agent - another telling sign of what MLB teams think of him. Finally, if the Cubs thought anything of him, they wouldn't have shipped him off to Mexico for 2/3 of a season. When he signed, the scouting reports indicated 88-92 MPH. He's got to have a lot going for him if he's going to be a 3/4 starter with that velocity.

[KingCubsFan]

Jon (Chicago) Any chance Brett Jackson gets his strikeouts under control enough to be a productive player?

 

Klaw  (2:42 PM) I think he's got swing issues rather than approach issues. The latter is easy to fix, the former much less so - witness Snider.

 

Apologies for bringing this back, but seriously? You're seriously going to say that it's easy to fix problems with approach, much easier than mechanical problems? That's not even trolling from Law like the Barney comment, that's just flat out dumb.

 

No it isn't. An approach is a mental thing that you can choose to do differently. You can tweak mechanics, but an overhaul is extremely difficult.

Corey Patterson disagrees with you.

[jersey cubs fan]

Corey Patterson disagrees with you.

 

Corey Patterson spent his formative years working in a Don Baylor/Dusty Baker/Jim Hendry led organization that had no interest in patience.

[Guest]

Ask BA[/url]"]Which shortstop prospect has the higher ceiling and which has the better future, Javier Baez or Francisco Lindor?

 

C.J. Keller

Prattville, Ala.

 

Baez and Lindor figure to be linked for a while. They were both born in Puerto Rico and played their high school ball in the United States. They were the top two middle-infield prospects in the loaded 2011 draft and went with back-to-back picks, Lindor at No. 8 to the Indians and Baez at No. 9 to the Cubs. They both spent much of this season in the low Class A Midwest League.

 

For all their similarities, they're different types of players. Baez stands out most for his bat, while Lindor is the classic smooth defender at shortstop. Neither is one-dimensional, however. Baez has gotten strong reviews for his defense and baserunning ability this summer, and Lindor has the potential to develop into a top-of-the-order hitter.

 

Though Lindor is nearly a full year younger, Baez has the higher ceiling. He has incredible bat speed, and if he settles down at the plate, he could develop into a well above-average hitter for both average and power. He ripped through the MWL by batting .311/.360/.554, and scouts give him a better chance to stick at shortstop than they did a year ago.

 

If Baez has to move off shortstop, you could argue for either as having the brighter future. Lindor could be a Gold Glove shortstop and leadoff man, while Baez could be a .300 hitter with 30 homers, which would make him a star at any position. I'd lean toward Baez for the upside, but a lot of clubs would love to have a shortstop with Lindor's skills. 

 

 

NCAA Division III players don't get a lot of publicity. But those who follow Division III knew that Bruce Maxwell and Tim Saunders were talented, and both have gotten off to strong starts in pro ball. What do scouts think of both players based on their performance in the minors this summer?

 

Joel Steiner

Columbus, Ohio

 

The MVP of the Division III College World Series after leading Marietta (Ohio) to the championship, Saunders tied Maxwell for the D-III lead in total bases while also topping the division in runs (80) and hits (94), ranking sixth in steals (41) and batting .441. He has plus speed but scouts weren't solid on his ability to stay at shortstop, which is why he lasted until the Cubs took him in the 32nd round.

 

Saunders still isn't a lock to stay at shortstop, and the Cubs have also played him at third base, second base and center field. He has opened eyes with his offensive production, hitting .410/.467/.583 with 14 steals, including batting .310 during a two-week stint in high Class A. Saunders isn't a top prospect and probably profiles best as a utilityman, but it's hard to knock his first pro summer.

[Guest]

@jimcallisBA: I would, but very close to each other. @npklocek: So would you rank Baez higher than Lindor on a prospect list? #Cubs #Indians

[illiniguy]

It's just too bad we decided to shut Javy down/sent him to the always rained out Daytona.

[Brett]

That's a really flippant article, to be honest. 3/4 starter? We have less than one hand's worth of those guys playing in fullseason ball. To even mention a 28 year old that signed for next to nothing(at his age, that's obviously a gigantic indicator) has average stuff at best, and has control issues as a possible 3/4 guy is just bad. Brett has the best Cubs blog around, by far, in my mind. But his minor league guy is [expletive].

 

Completely agree with you. First off, while the Mexican League is considered a AAA league, it's actually equivalent to high-A or even A-ball. As you said, he signed for a minimal bonus despite being a free agent - another telling sign of what MLB teams think of him. Finally, if the Cubs thought anything of him, they wouldn't have shipped him off to Mexico for 2/3 of a season. When he signed, the scouting reports indicated 88-92 MPH. He's got to have a lot going for him if he's going to be a 3/4 starter with that velocity.

 

To be fair, what Luke said was that Negrin could have the ceiling of a 3/4 or a 7th/8th inning guy, and while that might be optimistic, that's kind of what a ceiling is (the original scouting reports I read had his fastball at 90 to 94, for whatever that's worth). I very much don't think Luke was saying he expects that of Negrin. I feel dopey for not remembering, but I don't remember when Negrin's bonus info was reported. How small was it? You guys are quite right that the bonus would be very telling (though it was in the pre-new-CBA-announcement days, so even $100K was a decent bonus back then).

 

Separately, the age thing is a little unfair, given that he defected at 27. I don't think we can know, off-hand, the reason he was lent to the Mexican League for most of this year, but there could be reasons that have nothing to do with his talent, and have everything to do with his particular adjustment to playing over here. Obviously it was just the first step, as he's now in the system, and already at AAA.

[davell]

That's the thing: It wasn't reported at all. He may have been signed as one of the group that signed with Del Valle? I know Del Valle got 800k and I think the rest of the group got 700k combined.His status though, wouldn't have mattered, CBA-wise, because of his age. But as a guy with either 3/4 starter or even setup guy potential, at his age, he would have gotten millions, if he was remotely well thought of.

[Brett]

That's the thing: It wasn't reported at all. He may have been signed as one of the group that signed with Del Valle? I know Del Valle got 800k and I think the rest of the group got 700k combined.His status though, wouldn't have mattered, CBA-wise, because of his age. But as a guy with either 3/4 starter or even setup guy potential, at his age, he would have gotten millions, if he was remotely well thought of.

 

Eh, I think his signing would have been affected by the announcement of the new CBA - even though he, at his age, would not be subject to the limitations, teams still were going nuts on talent acquisition at that time, knowing that the funds they had available to spend on ANYONE they wanted was about to be restricted (even if it wasn't going to be restricted on that specific player). We'll never know for sure because I don't know that we have a test case (other than Cespedes, but his current performance is kind of retroactively making it look like the A's didn't go nuts on his contract). My gut says teams were going to overspend on anyone and everyone during that period.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Have there been any recent status updates on:

 

Reggie Golden's injury?

Ben Wells' surgery?

Juan Carlos Paniagua's existence?

[El Duderino]

Have there been any recent status updates on:

 

Reggie Golden's injury?

Ben Wells' surgery?

Juan Carlos Paniagua's existence?

 

Not sure what you want to know about Golden and Wells. Both are done until next year. Ben Wells probably won't be pitching in games until summer.

 

Juan Carlos Paniagua is in AZ, but he signed a 2013 contract.

[Guest]

Have there been any recent status updates on:

 

Reggie Golden's injury?

Ben Wells' surgery?

Juan Carlos Paniagua's existence?

 

Not sure what you want to know about Golden and Wells. Both are done until next year. Ben Wells probably won't be pitching in games until summer.

 

Juan Carlos Paniagua is in AZ, but he signed a 2013 contract.

If you're wondering what Golden injured, he tore his ACL.

 

There normally aren't updates on season-ending surgeries two months after the surgery.

[davell]

Brett, that's my point: In a market where it was likely that a guy is major league-ready, which any 27 year old should be( especially an upside 3/4 starter/7-8 inning guy) he would have received a very sizable bonus from someone. And with it not even getting reported, it likely means he got under 250k. Because even those Cuban bonuses get mentioned. Considering none of our other Cubans who've signed for under a mill are remotely close to even sniffing a Cubs top 30 list, I don't think it's a stretch to call Reyes a borderline non prospect. If you look through our entire system, we don't have many 3/4 starter upside guys, so my thoughts on Reyes being mentioned whatsoever in that tone, is just that it was a lazy description, when basically nothing is known of the guy and his lack of hype or bonus screams out org guy.

[Guest]

Brett, that's my point: In a market where it was likely that a guy is major league-ready, which any 27 year old should be( especially an upside 3/4 starter/7-8 inning guy) he would have received a very sizable bonus from someone. And with it not even getting reported, it likely means he got under 250k. Because even those Cuban bonuses get mentioned. Considering none of our other Cubans who've signed for under a mill are remotely close to even sniffing a Cubs top 30 list, I don't think it's a stretch to call Reyes a borderline non prospect. If you look through our entire system, we don't have many 3/4 starter upside guys, so my thoughts on Reyes being mentioned whatsoever in that tone, is just that it was a lazy description, when basically nothing is known of the guy and his lack of hype or bonus screams out org guy.

Agreed. BA actually reports all IFA signings $100k and over, so Negrin got 5 figures or less as a free agent. And it sure seems like Cuban IFAs get inflated bonuses compared to their value.

 

Silva - $1 million

Del Valle - $800,000

Cabezas - $500,000

Balaguert -$400,000

Serrano - $250,000

[Little Slide Rooter]

Have there been any recent status updates on:

 

Reggie Golden's injury?

Ben Wells' surgery?

Juan Carlos Paniagua's existence?

 

Not sure what you want to know about Golden and Wells. Both are done until next year. Ben Wells probably won't be pitching in games until summer.

 

Juan Carlos Paniagua is in AZ, but he signed a 2013 contract.

If you're wondering what Golden injured, he tore his ACL.

 

There normally aren't updates on season-ending surgeries two months after the surgery.

 

With big leaguers, you'll often hear something like the surgery went well not too long after it takes place. Obviously, with minor leaguers, especially low level guys those reports aren't exactly all over Twitter, but I was just wondering if there was any word on their status for 2013.

[Guest]

@Jaypers413 (IL): Safe to assume you'll be attending quite a few Kane County homestands if in fact the Cubs make it their new home in Low-A?

 

Jim Callis: Affiliation has never been the issue. It's the rush-hour traffic that kills me.

 

Eric (Chicago): Who gets your nod as the Cubbies' top prospect at present - Baez or Soler?

 

Jim Callis: Baez. Big offensive upside and may just stay at shortstop for a while. I'd take Almora over Soler, too.

 

Brian (Buckhead Ga): Hey! When are the Az Fall league rosters going to be released?

 

Jim Callis: Sometime before the end of the month. The date is always fluid because there's a lot of juggling going on.

 

A.J. (Dallas): Most of the Cubs top prospects either seem to be at 3B (Vitters, Villanueva, Baez) or OF (Jackson, Szczur, Soler, Almora). Who do you see as the keepers and what would you do with the rest?

 

Jim Callis: A lot of those guys will have to move anyway. I think Baez winds up at third base (though reviews of his shortstop defense have been positive) and Almora winds up in center field. Chicago's future outfield will be Soler in left, Almora in center, Jackson in right.

 

Dan (Chicago): Brooks Raley, Chris Rusin, Erik Jokisch, Austin Kirk. Which soft-tossing lefty starter has the best stuff/future with the Cubs? Can any of them stick around long term as maybe a #4 starter?

 

Jim Callis: I ask myself that question every year when I do the Cubs Top 30 list. I'll say Raley, and he has a chance to be a No. 4 at best. I'm not in love with any of those guys. They're all similar, finesse lefthanders who can pitch a little bit.

 

Dan (Chicago): Which of the young pitchers the Cubs drafted early are you most excited about? Blackburn, Underwood, or McNeil?

 

Jim Callis: Underwood has the most sheer upside.

[Guest]

so, umm.... ben wells never had tommy john. and he actually pitched tonight.

 

azphil-

 

Iowa Cubs RHP Rafael Dolis (placed on the I-Cubs 7-day DL in July with a sprained left knee) continued his rehab in Game #1 and threw 1.1 IP (24 pitches) of shutout ball (although he did allow a single and a double), and Peoria RHP Ben Wells (sprained elbow) opted to postpone TJS in the hope that his elbow would heal with rest, and it apparently has paid-off as the prized pitching prospect returned to action tonight after missing almost three months of action. The burly right-hander threw one inning of shutout ball, and while he did walk one and struggled with his command a bit (19 pitches - 11 strikes), he also struck out the side.

 

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/08/22/giansanti-ringer-ding-dinger-azl-cubs

 

awesssommmmeeeeeee (unless he ends up needing it later)

[javy knows my name]

so, umm.... ben wells never had tommy john. and he actually pitched tonight.

 

azphil-

 

Iowa Cubs RHP Rafael Dolis (placed on the I-Cubs 7-day DL in July with a sprained left knee) continued his rehab in Game #1 and threw 1.1 IP (24 pitches) of shutout ball (although he did allow a single and a double), and Peoria RHP Ben Wells (sprained elbow) opted to postpone TJS in the hope that his elbow would heal with rest, and it apparently has paid-off as the prized pitching prospect returned to action tonight after missing almost three months of action. The burly right-hander threw one inning of shutout ball, and while he did walk one and struggled with his command a bit (19 pitches - 11 strikes), he also struck out the side.

 

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/08/22/giansanti-ringer-ding-dinger-azl-cubs

 

awesssommmmeeeeeee (unless he ends up needing it later)

 

waaaaaaaaat

[Guest]

Looks like Marlin isn't the insider everyone thought he was.

 

That's pretty good news.

[davell]

Looks like Marlin isn't the insider everyone thought he was.

 

That's pretty good news.

He's been right on a ton of stuff that came out of no where, I definitely think he's got connections, but I honestly can't remember whether he said he HAD TJS or if he was going to. And if I remember, a couple of media guys followed up with the same thing.

[USSoccer]

Maybe he wished hard enough and his body rejected the injury.

[Guest]

That's really weird. I'm not sure how I feel about something like that. Seems like there's a good chance he'll end up needing it anyway.