Cubs Pitching Prospects

[craig]

Thanks for more elaboration on Wells, cal and toonster.

 

Absolutely, toonster, a quality sinker at 91-93 is very, very good if it has control, probably a lot better than a 94-95 four-seamer. With sinker like any pitch, control is still essential. Sounds like Wells has strike-throwing control, but he's got a ways to go on his other stuff.

 

Question: What do you guys know about Rhee's fastball? Is he a 4-seam or a 2-seam guy? Or does he work 89-90 with his 2-seam, and touch 93-95 on occasion with 4-seam?

 

How heavy/sinky is Beeler, actually? And does he have much prospect of developing a good breaking pitch?

[toonsterwu]

Thanks for more elaboration on Wells, cal and toonster.

 

Absolutely, toonster, a quality sinker at 91-93 is very, very good if it has control, probably a lot better than a 94-95 four-seamer. With sinker like any pitch, control is still essential. Sounds like Wells has strike-throwing control, but he's got a ways to go on his other stuff.

 

Question: What do you guys know about Rhee's fastball? Is he a 4-seam or a 2-seam guy? Or does he work 89-90 with his 2-seam, and touch 93-95 on occasion with 4-seam?

 

How heavy/sinky is Beeler, actually? And does he have much prospect of developing a good breaking pitch?

 

I only have a SSS on Beeler. I don't think, and this is really layman's language than anything "baseball-y", that his sinker is anywhere near the hard, moving sinker that Wells has (I think Wells has the best power sinker in recent Cubs prospect history, but I recall a lot of people were intrigued with Nagel's, and Berg was touted for his sinker (although I always felt that was a case of a good pitch and very substandard secondary offerings than a plus pitch)). From the side (and I was on business that trip, so while it was a time to relax I wasn't paying a ton of attention), seemed like Beeler had good drop, but not a Chien-Ming Wang (as I watched a ton of Wang), bottom drops out type of sinker (I think Wells sinker is comparable to Wang's in his heyday, but Wang had better command on it - and that's pretty head praise, considering Wang in his Yankees days had one of the elite sinkers in the game, but as everyone knows, I'm far more bullish on Wells than most)). Beeler's secondary stuff is, by most accounts, decent. I don't think anyone is expecting a plus breaking pitch, but I get the feeling that the pitches have some above average potential.

 

Rhee, and don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that he's still primarily a 4-seamer who gets some good late action. I do believe he gets a chunk of his GB's off the split-change. I'm under the impression that he might've toyed with a 2-seamer, or maybe that his 4-seamer looked like a 2-seamer at times.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

I really like McNutt and Wells. Everyone else is a prayer...Even those two guys are a prayer...Have not quit on Simpson...The 2011 guy I really liked was Scott the South African kid...I like Austin Reed because I remember he had a cool changeup as a RH HS pitcher...Like with the rest of the farm there's talent but it's all out of wack for one reason or another.

 

McNutt's athleticism surprised me if that has any significance.

[Named After Maddux]

What I like about our pitching is the amount of intriguing arms we have this year. I was bored waiting for a session to start at the Convention so I started jotting down quick ideas about potential rotations at the different levels of the minors. It seems like everyday there's going to be someone interesting to follow. There's not TOR littered everywhere or anything but like I said "intriguing" arms to follow. I like that and it seems like a huge focus of our management to get some added star pitching next year (from the conversation with Wilken). Sorry no added scouting reports, just some random thoughts at 6am.

[toonsterwu]

Both Tennessee and Peoria should be awfully intriguing, arm-wise, to start 2012. Barring a surprise, I think McNutt will be at AA, along with likely Rhee and Antigua. That's fairly intriguing in it's own right, and we can't rule out Whitenack, Beeler from that combo (although I tend to think another lefty gets into the AA rotation, perhaps Jokisch or Raley). Peoria should have a lot of our high upside arms there to start the year.

 

Iowa might be the weakest grouping of prospect talent (relative to level) of intriguing rotation arms to start 2012. Struck, Jay Jackson, Cabrera, Casey Coleman, Chris Rusin offer some decent names for Iowa, a more prospect laden group than in year's past, but with minimal starting ceiling (and 1 or 2 of those guys probably get sent to the pen, as a loser in the big league rotation could slot here, or someone emerges). Struck probably has the most potential of that group, but that's end of the rotation with a mid-rotation ceiling.

 

Daytona isn't bad, just a bit more unknown. I think Beeler probably gets sent there, but AA can't be ruled out. Cates should fit in there, but whether it is the pen or the rotation is a fair question. Loosen's probably in that mix. A lot of soft-tossing lefties could fit in there - Austin Kirk probably tops that list, but Del Valle/Rosscup/Hicks could fit there. Perhaps Harman if they try him as a starter.)