Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-19-10

[Outshined_One]

Box Scores

 

Iowa with an off day

 

Tennessee lost 11-3 Box Score

 

CF T. Campana 2/4

2B T. Thomas 0/4, R, K

LF T. Wright 1/4, R, RBI, HR (6)

RF M. Spencer 1/4, RBI, 2B (3)

C S. Clevenger 1/4

3B R. Canzler 2/4, R, RBI, HR (4)

SS N. Samson 1/4, E (2, fielding)

PH M. Smith 0/1

PH J. Vitters 0/1

SP A. Cabrera .2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1/2 K/BB, WP, 0-1 GO-FO

RP R. Buchter 2.1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/1 K/BB, 2-4 GO-FO

RP J. Papelbon 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 2 HR, 1-1 GO-FO

RP D. Sasser 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1/2 K/BB, HR, WP, 4-1 GO-FO

RP A. Maestri 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1-2 GO-FO

RP D. Cales 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Daytona won 7-2 Box Score

 

CF B. Jackson 2/4, BB, R, 3B (4), K

2B DJ LeMahieu 1/5, RBI, SB (3)

3B R. Flaherty 2/4, BB, 3 R, 2B (6), K

DH R. Ridling 2/3, 2 BB, R

RF K. Burke 3/5, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 2B (12), HR (1), K

1B J. Opitz 0/2, 3 BB, 2 K, SB (1)

C M. Brenly 1/3, RBI

SS J. Lake 0/3, BB

SP C. Rusin 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7/0 K/BB, HBP, 2-3 GO-FO, E (1, throw)

RP M. Carrillo 2 scoreless, 2 H, 1/0 K/BB, HBP, 3-2 GO-FO

RP A. Shafer 1.2 scoreless, 2 H, 2/1 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO

RP L. Sommer 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO

 

Peoria won 11-7 Box Score

 

SS HJ Lee 1/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2B (8), 2 K, SB (11), 2 E (14, throw, fielding)

CF L. Watkins 1/5, R

2B M. Cerda 1/3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 RBI

1B J. Bour 1/4, BB, R, RBI

LF DJ Fitzgerald 4/4, BB, 3 R, 2B (3), 3B (2), CS (1), PO (1B)

RF N. Perez 2/5, R, 4 RBI, 2 K, CS (1)

DH R. Jones 0/3, 2 K

3B C. Thomas 1/3, BB, RBI, K

SP N. Struck 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HR, HBP, 6-4 GO-FO

RP J. Nagel 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3/1 K/BB, 4-2 GO-FO

RP J. Leverton 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2/1 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO

 

OVERALL: 2-1

[Guest]

Probable Starters

 

Tennessee: RHP Alberto Cabrera (0-0, 7.94 ERA, 5.2 IP, 3 BB, 3 K; Daytona & Tenn: 2-2, 4.38 ERA, 37 IP, 8 BB, 33 K)

Daytona: LHP Chris Rusin (0-2, 5.50 ERA, 18 IP, 1 BB, 15 K)

Peoria: RHP Nick Struck (2-4, 4.33 ERA, 27 IP, 9 BB, 21 K) & RHP Jon Nagel (0-2, 5.27 ERA, 13.2 IP, 6 BB, 14 K)

[TruffleShuffle]

peoria leads 6-4 through 4 innings. nick struck has been pretty lousy (4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR). hak-ju lee has a double and a walk (he walked twice last night - good to see patience has he profiles as a "true leadoff hitter"). lee's BABIP is .291 on a 19% LD and 53% GB (not sure how reliable those are) - i guess my point is that with his speed it's unlikely that he'll have a BABIP that low. he would seem to be a high BABIP guy based on his speed, LD/GB tendencies and lefty-ness.

 

daytona won 7-2. kyler burke had a big game - 3-5, 2 doubles, first homer of the year, 5 RBI. hopefully this is the start of him extracting his head from his ass. brett jax had a single, triple and walk; flaherty had a single, double and walk. rusin went 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K. shafer had 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

 

cabrera got killed for tennessee - 0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K. vitters was not in the starting lineup.

[JonJayCutler]

Going to a couple Peoria games this weekend. Is there anyone besides HJ Lee that is intriguing?

[Outshined_One]

Going to a couple Peoria games this weekend. Is there anyone besides HJ Lee that is intriguing?

 

There are a couple of guys down there worth seeing...

 

Along with HJ Lee, 2B Logan Watkins and SP Trey McNutt are two guys who are close to or among the 10 best prospects in the system. Both were guys who were drafted and received signing bonuses well over slot. Watkins profiles as a good defensive 2B who occasionally plays SS. At the plate he's currently a guy who hits for average, but still needs some work on power and patience. Trey McNutt is a RHP who reportedly is able to get his FB into the mid-90s to go with a very good curve ball.

 

After those three, there are a few guys who are interesting, but aren't on most prospect lists for various reasons. Larry Suarez is a right handed reliever who received a very large signing bonus out of Venezuela a few years ago. RHP Nick Struck was signed over slot in 2009, but has been inconsistent as a starter. RHP Jon Nagel is a personal favorite who was drafted two years ago coming off of Tommy John Surgery, he's mostly a sinkerballer from what I've read. 1B Justin Bour and 3B Greg Rohan are two guys who have been producing pretty well for the Chiefs, but are old for the Midwest League. Finally, ESPN had a great article about Matt Cerda, who is currently playing around the IF following an attempt by the Cubs to convert him to catcher.

 

If you could provide reports on those games, they would be most appreciated!

[Guest]

I'd be interested in interested in anything on Su-Min Jung if you see him start.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Brett Jackson 2-4 with a 3B and a BB

Kyler Burke 3-5 with 2 2B, 1 HR and 5RBI. He needed that.

[seanhopper]

I don't hear much about Ty Wright. His numbers so far in Tenn. have been pretty good -- .817 OPS, 6hrs and 35rbi's. What's the scoop on him? I know he's 25yrs old and he's repeating AA ball, but based on his #"s from last year he could be in Iowa if there was room for him.

[Guest]

David Cales is having himself a nice little season.

 

Rusin with another great outing too: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7/0 K/BB

 

In fact, Rusin's last 5 outings: 18 IP, 15 H, 5 ER, 18/0 K/BB, 1 HR

 

I know he's still building up a pitch count, but at age 23 it might serve him to do so in AA.

[Guest]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2010/05/19/angels-bedevil-cubs-extended-spring-training

 

Arizona Phil with a very interesting, detailed comment down below:

 

STICK: When Junior Lake and Starlin Castro made their U. S. debuts at Fitch Park in 2008, it was pretty obvious that they were both talented 18-year olds. Lake showed more power, more range, and a better arm, while Castro was the better and more-versatile defensive player and the better hitter. At the time, I thought Lake had more potential, but Castro turned out to be the more coachable of the two, and that helped him advance very quickly and improve the best parts of his game to get him to where he is today. A higher degree of emotional maturity also helped Castro advance more quickly than Lake.

 

But Junior Lake actually has progressed through the system fairly quickly, skipping Boise and spending the 2009 season at Peoria, and then making the Daytona roster this year. If Castro and Barney were not around, Lake would stand out more than he does right now. It's just that he doesn't seem to understand what his deficiencies are and how to go about polishing his natural raw talent. He plays mainly on instinct, and doesn't seem to pay much attention to the coaches and instructors. Castro is exactly the opposite.

 

As for the current EXST Cubs, I would say this is overall probably the weakest group I've seen in many years. Ping-Chieh Chen and Jesus Morelli are probably the best position-player prospects. I would compare Chen to Logan Watkins offensively, and to Eric Patterson defensively. Like E-Pat, Chen has enough arm to play SS, but it's scatter-gun to where he has to play 2B. But even at 2B he makes off-line throws. He is a defensive liability no matter where he plays, although he would seem to profile as a second-baseman. He actually got some innings in CF yesterday, so apparently the Cubs are themselves not yet sure where Chen will play. This question could continue for some time.

 

Morelli has put on some muscle over the last year (he was downright scrawny last season), and looks like he could develop into a decent RF prospect. He can play all three OF positions, but he has a RF arm so that's probably where he will play. He also runs well, and although his HR power hasn't emerged yet, he is slamming lots of line-drive doubles into the gaps and down the lines. Just a slight elevation in his swing could net him some dingers, because he does have power. Morelli actually had a really good Minor League Camp and made the Peoria Opening Day roster, but he struggled there until the last two games when he had four hits. Then he was sent to EXST.

 

Sometimes players are sent to Extended Spring Training for reasons not specifically related to performance on the field. You have to remember that the "Fitch Park Experience" is very regimented. The players stay at the team motel, there is a curfew, they have to be at the park at 6 AM, their day is very structured, and and a shuttle van drives the players to the park and back to the motel.

 

At Boise, players stay with "host families," who are responsible for taking care of "their" player, where the player essentially becomes a member of the "host family." (If you haven't already done so, see the movie "Sugar" when you get a chance).

 

But at Peoria (and Daytona, Tennessee, and Iowa, too), the players are completely on their own. They live in apartments (usually shared with teammates) and have to make sure that they get to the ballpark on time and ready to play. For some players, that is just too much to ask. There are temptations there that some players can't resist. Some guys just don't have the maturity to handle the freedom and lack of structure, and so that's why sometimes players are held back or get sent back to Extended Spring Training (or sometimes get summarily released) when they might appear to be ready to play at that level.

 

As for the pitchers, LHPs Austin Kirk and John Mincone are probably the most talented. Kirk is more of a fly ball pitcher, while Mincone is more of a ground ball pitcher. RHP Frank Batista is the best of the Latin pitchers. (He was also the #1 Cubs pitcher at DSL last season). RHP Luis Liria has a really good change-up, and he looks like he can advance up the pipeline. And LHP Marcos Perez has pitched effectively, although he has struggled in his last two outings. So Kirk, Mincone, Batista, Liria, and Perez will likely be rotation starters/"piggyback" pitchers at Boise, although any one of them could get promoted to Peoria at any time.

 

Older guys like 3B-1B-2B Brandon May and RHP Danny Keefe (who has 2/24 BB/K in 16.1 IP) are probably next in-line for promotions to Peoria, and Rogelio Carmona might be an OK one-inning type (he struggles when he throws more than one inning), but they are not the best prospects.

[Outshined_One]

I'd be interested in interested in anything on Su-Min Jung if you see him start.

 

I knew I forgot someone.

 

I don't hear much about Ty Wright. His numbers so far in Tenn. have been pretty good -- .817 OPS, 6hrs and 35rbi's. What's the scoop on him? I know he's 25yrs old and he's repeating AA ball, but based on his #"s from last year he could be in Iowa if there was room for him.

 

Stranger things have happened, but for now he looks more like a 4th OF than anything else. He's a leadoff type of guy who'll hit for a reasonably high average and draw his share of walks, but he doesn't have a whole lot of power. While this wouldn't be a huge issue if he were a CF, he's pretty much a LF due to defensive issues in RF and CF.

[toonsterwu]

Mildly interesting to see them try Watkins out in the OF again, and particularly, CF. With Thomas up, and Cerda not really a 3rd base profile, it may simply be a one game thing, and Watkins probably still profiles better at 2nd. That said, the ability is probably there to be an intriguing enough CF prospect.

 

I somewhat agree with Tiger that we should see what Rusin can do at AA. I'd probably give Rusin a few more starts in A+, getting him ready to go at least 5 consistently, but if Cabrera continues bombing, I wouldn't mind flipping those two.

 

Shafer's really done well. I'm mildly curious what he can do at Tennessee.

 

Tbh, I hadn't noticed how solid Suarez had been out of the pen until looking at his line today. Hoping they try him in the rotation at some point.

 

Burke has hit in 6 of his last 10 games. Here's hoping.

 

As for Peoria, I would be curious about Jordan Latham's velocity. Of all the guys there, he's the one guy that could move reasonably fast. Had he not sat out 2009, there's a chance he could've been in AA or AAA by now. Searle/Morla both still intrigue me a bit. Actually, if there's one other thing, I'd be curious how James Leverton looks and if his stuff has been better out of the pen. I'd really like to see Leverton back at A+ sooner than later.

[sandbergcubs]

Mildly interesting to see them try Watkins out in the OF again, and particularly, CF. With Thomas up, and Cerda not really a 3rd base profile, it may simply be a one game thing, and Watkins probably still profiles better at 2nd. That said, the ability is probably there to be an intriguing enough CF prospect.

 

I somewhat agree with Tiger that we should see what Rusin can do at AA. I'd probably give Rusin a few more starts in A+, getting him ready to go at least 5 consistently, but if Cabrera continues bombing, I wouldn't mind flipping those two.

 

Shafer's really done well. I'm mildly curious what he can do at Tennessee.

 

Tbh, I hadn't noticed how solid Suarez had been out of the pen until looking at his line today. Hoping they try him in the rotation at some point.

 

Burke has hit in 6 of his last 10 games. Here's hoping.

 

As for Peoria, I would be curious about Jordan Latham's velocity. Of all the guys there, he's the one guy that could move reasonably fast. Had he not sat out 2009, there's a chance he could've been in AA or AAA by now. Searle/Morla both still intrigue me a bit. Actually, if there's one other thing, I'd be curious how James Leverton looks and if his stuff has been better out of the pen. I'd really like to see Leverton back at A+ sooner than later.

 

 

Does anyone know what has happened to searle? he was highly thought of in daytona last year, now seems to be going down hill