Where do guys start the season? Pitching Edition

[davell]

Iowa

 

Pitching wise, Iowa starts out with Struck, Raley, and Rusin seemingly as locks, with Casey Coleman as very likely, unless he earns a swing man role in Chicago. Jay Jackson and Alberto Cabrera probably fight it out for the 5th spot, unless we go with a retread and move both of them to the pen. I'm not going to talk much about bullpen arms in this, as we know it's going to be a shuttle back and forth for a group of the guys battling it for our last 2-3 spots in the majors. Maine, Mateo, Dolis, Beliveau, Gaub, and Weathers, along with some older guys like Corpas, Sonnanstine, etc.

 

Tennessee

 

Looks to be very crowded in the rotation here, may have a few decisions to make. McNutt has already been said to be here and I think Rhee has as well, same with Beeler. Ryan Searle pitched well over the winter, so he's likely, as is Jeffry Antigua. But Jokisch is probably here as well, right? Larry Suarez? Moved permanently to the pen? Does Frank Del Valle get moved up this much, because of age? Bullpen arms I see here are Kurcz and Rhoderick, maybe Casey Harman. Possibly Serrano and AJ Morris?

 

Daytona

 

Rotation wise, it's close to as clear as we've got. Robert Whitenack has already been confirmed, Zack Cates seems a definite, as does Austin Kirk. Considering Robinson Lopez was injured most of last year, my guess is since he's already seen A ball twice, he gets the nod here, close to default. 5th spot is up in the air though: Simpson maybe? Assuming he's worked through his injuries. Concepcion? Pushing some with him, but he does have a 40 man spot.....Bullpen here should see Zych, Batista, and Hatley. Wallach is a possible starter or maybe even a bullpen arm here or Tennessee. Zack Rosscup could figure here or Tennessee as well.

 

Peoria

 

Again, this could start off with Simpson or Concepcion, maybe even both. Ben Wells is a lock and that's about it. I see quite a bit of piggybacking between Rosario, Liria, Peralta, Kyler Burke, Yao Lin Wang, Austin Reed, Graham Hicks and Su Min Jung. As much as I want to see DILLON Maples in full season ball, I doubt we do in 2012. I think we'll go slow with him. Hunter Ackerman and Carlos Martinez make sense for the pen here, outside of the typical piggybacking, maybe Michael Jensen as well. Only putting him as a possibility because he shows up on AZphil's chart as a reliever and I figure he knows something we may not on him.

 

Boise and Mesa

 

Obviously, the rest of everyone, plus new draft picks start out here. Maples, Taylor Scott, JIN Young Kim seem to be Boise locks, unless they're bumped up. Austin Urban, Ian Dickson, Ethan Elias, Arturo Maltos-Garcia, and Brian Smith seem to be piggybacking at one of these 2 spots.

 

Not as much intrigue here, mainly because our pitching is weaker than our hitting. I guess for me, the guys I'm most interested in to see where they start out at would be Maples, Simpson, Lopez, Concepcion(obviously), Rosario, and Zych(just because I could see him starting higher than Peoria)

[Guest]

If I were to guess, here are the top 6 candidates at AAA/AA/A+ and 8 at A:

 

Iowa: Rusin, Struck, Coleman, Raley, Jackson, Searle

Tennessee: McNutt, Rhee, Beeler, Jokisch, Antigua, Harman

Daytona: Del Valle, Loosen, Cates, Concepcion, Liria, Kirk

Peoria: Peralta, Wang, Cruz, Wells, Simpson, Rosario, Ackerman & Jensen.

 

Kurcz or Batista closing in Tennessee and Zych closing at Daytona. I bet Arizona Phil has Jensen relieving because that's what he was doing in his brief debut last year at Boise. I still don't believe Whitenack will leave Arizona when the minor league season starts.

 

ETA: I forgot Hicks, Rosscup and Burke. I imagine the first 2 will be in the mix at Daytona and Burke at Peoria.

[toonsterwu]

I'm really not sure I see Raley as a lock for AAA's rotation. Wouldn't surprise me if Rhoderick is closing there.

[Guest]

I'm really not sure I see Raley as a lock for AAA's rotation. Wouldn't surprise me if Rhoderick is closing there.

 

I definitely agree with regards to Raley.

[Cubswin11]

Larry Suarez is still in the system? I did not know that, wasn't he considered a pretty big deal back in the day?

[toonsterwu]

Was a big signing (700 K off the top? It's in the international sticky thread), but never did much until last year. Showed decent power stuff out of the pen.

 

My guess is that Kurcz will close in AA, but I could see Suarez, who I think starts in AA, get some chances to close.

[ctcf]

According to Brett at BN yesterday, the Cubs get an extra option-year if Concepcion spends the year at Low-A. If that's actually the case I'd be pretty surprised if he didn't at least start the year there.

 

Because of his age, Goldstein doesn’t think Concepcion will pitch beyond A-ball this year (recall, the Cubs can get a fourth option year if Concepcion spends this entire year at Low-A ball, so don’t be discouraged if that’s where he stays – if pitches at a higher level this year, he’s likely to get only three option years, which means the Cubs would have to call him up by 2015, when he’s just 22).

 

Article: http://www.bleachernation.com/2012/02/09/more-on-chicago-cubs-pitching-prospect-gerardo-concepcion/

[craig]

If I were to guess, here are the top 6 candidates at AAA/AA/A+ and 8 at A:

 

Iowa: Rusin, Struck, Coleman, Raley, Jackson, Searle

Tennessee: McNutt, Rhee, Beeler, Jokisch, Antigua, Harman

Daytona: Del Valle, Loosen, Cates, Concepcion, Liria, Kirk

Peoria: Peralta, Wang, Cruz, Wells, Simpson, Rosario, Ackerman & Jensen.

 

Kurcz or Batista closing in Tennessee and Zych closing at Daytona. I bet Arizona Phil has Jensen relieving because that's what he was doing in his brief debut last year at Boise. I still don't believe Whitenack will leave Arizona when the minor league season starts.

 

ETA: I forgot Hicks, Rosscup and Burke. I imagine the first 2 will be in the mix at Daytona and Burke at Peoria.

 

1. Often hard to know when a guy is getting switched to relief. This is true both for strong-armed guys, but also true for fringy guys. For this reason, I'm not confident that guys who were starters will remain starters, even if there are rotation holes that would permit them. Jackson, Raley, Rusin, none seem likely to become valuable big-league starters. But there might be some chance to make it in relief, especially for the lefties or a curveballer like Rusin.

2. My semi-confident starters:

Iowa: Struck, Coleman

Tenn: McNutt, Rhee, Beeler.

Daytona: Cates, DelValle, Kirk.

*With Raisin, I don't expect that Whitenack will be starting in Daytona in April.

Peoria: Wells, Wang, Cruz.

*I expect Simpson to start at one of the A-ball clubs. Probably Daytona, if he looks sharp in camp. But after last year's disaster, they might want him to experience some success.

*I kind of expect Liria and Peralta in the mix.

*Concepcion at Peoria.

[toonsterwu]

Going to be curious what they do with Liria. I tend to agree with Raisin on the A+ guess - people down in Peoria were real high on him. That said, he's got to show better command in spring to get them to make that move.

 

I do think Loosen is a lock for A+'s rotation, though. I'd be rather surprised if he isn't in a rotation. He really doesn't have a pen arsenal that would make that move intriguing/warranted/worthwhile at this stage.

[Guest]

For those who haven't seen, MLB Daily Dish is taking on the ambitious job of maintaining complete organizational charts for each team. Here's the Cubs.

 

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2012/1/26/2739047/chicago-cubs-roster-complete-organizational-chart#storyjump

[Brett]

For those who haven't seen, MLB Daily Dish is taking on the ambitious job of maintaining complete organizational charts for each team. Here's the Cubs.

 

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2012/1/26/2739047/chicago-cubs-roster-complete-organizational-chart#storyjump

 

Wow, yes, very ambitious. I can't help but notice Blake Parker listed at $2.5 million - I assume that's a type.

[SouthSideRyan]

Impressive. There are bound to be a couple issues (Clevenger among others has nonarb2 listed as his '12 salary), but the internet is still [expletive] awesome.

[Guest]

There are a few guys who have been cut and are no longer in the organization but that's ridiculously impressive.

[biittner77]

Anyone foresee Rhee getting fast tracked as a reliever? If they extend Garza and shark makes the rotation, they might see more immediate value with Rhee working out of the pen. It's possible I'm confusing him with someone else but aren't there already people questioning his durability as a starter?

[Guest]

Rhee had Tommy John surgery, but I don't recall a lot of doubts about his durability. If anything he has a really broad repertoire that would lend itself to staying as a starter moreso than paring down and focusing on just two pitches as a reliever.

[Guest]

Rhee had Tommy John surgery, but I don't recall a lot of doubts about his durability. If anything he has a really broad repertoire that would lend itself to staying as a starter moreso than paring down and focusing on just two

pitches as a reliever.

 

I've seen others mention concerns about his stamina but he was getting through 6-7 late last season while maintaining his stuff through the end of his outings.

[toonsterwu]

The durability questions were largely before last year and had less to do with TJ and more to do with his frame. That said, for the most part, he should've put some of those concerns to rest a bit for now, since he was working deeper into games last year and carrying the stuff.

[craig]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/09/cubs-minor-league-camp-rosters

 

Maybe mentioned in some other thread, but Arizona Phil with minor league camp rosters. The most interesting aspect is always the "LIMITED PARTICIPATION" guys, which means guys who are injured.

 

Maples is the headliner. Anybody know anything about that? How serious?

 

Whitehurt, no surprise, although Fleita had duped some of us into wondering.

Gretzky (I understood he wasn't 100% last year, but hadn't expected him to remain disabled this spring...), Schlecht, Urban, Elias, Easterling. A pretty big chunk of our superslot/overslot pool from last summer that we were so excited about.

[Outshined_One]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/09/cubs-minor-league-camp-rosters

 

Maybe mentioned in some other thread, but Arizona Phil with minor league camp rosters. The most interesting aspect is always the "LIMITED PARTICIPATION" guys, which means guys who are injured.

 

Maples is the headliner. Anybody know anything about that? How serious?

 

Whitehurt, no surprise, although Fleita had duped some of us into wondering.

Gretzky (I understood he wasn't 100% last year, but hadn't expected him to remain disabled this spring...), Schlecht, Urban, Elias, Easterling. A pretty big chunk of our superslot/overslot pool from last summer that we were so excited about.

 

Are we sure that means injured and it's not a catchall for something else? With some of those names, it could be that the Cubs want to be careful because they're changing mechanics or are strictly monitoring pitch counts and the like as a precaution.

[CubsInNC]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/09/cubs-minor-league-camp-rosters

 

Maybe mentioned in some other thread, but Arizona Phil with minor league camp rosters. The most interesting aspect is always the "LIMITED PARTICIPATION" guys, which means guys who are injured.

 

Maples is the headliner. Anybody know anything about that? How serious?

 

Whitehurt, no surprise, although Fleita had duped some of us into wondering.

Gretzky (I understood he wasn't 100% last year, but hadn't expected him to remain disabled this spring...), Schlecht, Urban, Elias, Easterling. A pretty big chunk of our superslot/overslot pool from last summer that we were so excited about.

 

What's up with Greathouse? He's been saying on twitter to teammates that they likely won't see him soon/at all in Az. I know he just had a kid, and could be staying behind a few weeks for that. It just seems weird.

[TruffleShuffle]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/09/cubs-minor-league-camp-rosters

 

Maybe mentioned in some other thread, but Arizona Phil with minor league camp rosters. The most interesting aspect is always the "LIMITED PARTICIPATION" guys, which means guys who are injured.

 

Maples is the headliner. Anybody know anything about that? How serious?

 

Whitehurt, no surprise, although Fleita had duped some of us into wondering.

Gretzky (I understood he wasn't 100% last year, but hadn't expected him to remain disabled this spring...), Schlecht, Urban, Elias, Easterling. A pretty big chunk of our superslot/overslot pool from last summer that we were so excited about.

 

What's up with Greathouse? He's been saying on twitter to teammates that they likely won't see him soon/at all in Az. I know he just had a kid, and could be staying behind a few weeks for that. It just seems weird.

 

i believe he is suffering from inability to throw the ball over the plate.

[craig]

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/09/cubs-minor-league-camp-rosters

.... The most interesting aspect is always the "LIMITED PARTICIPATION" guys, which means guys who are injured.

Maples is the headliner. ....

 

Are we sure that means injured and it's not a catchall for something else? With some of those names, it could be that the Cubs want to be careful because they're changing mechanics or are strictly monitoring pitch counts and the like as a precaution.

 

No, I'm not 100% certain what it means, and perhaps there are some exceptional circumstances. I do recall looking with both interest and trepidation at Phil's list for many springs past, and "LIMITED PARTICIPATION" IIRC always or usually was somebody with injury issues. For all we know somebody has a blister or a sprained ankle, and it's no precursor to shoulder surgery.

[toonsterwu]

Always fascinating to read where some guys are starting off at. Granted, this is pre-cuts, so guys will obviously get pushed down. But pitching wise, to see Batista in AAA now is mildly surprising. I thought it would be roughly 50/50 his chances to start at Tennessee instead of Daytona, but this seems to put his chances slightly higher than that. Fascinating to see Spencer start in Tennessee, and Burke in Daytona. I half wonder if this is a make or break scenario for Spencer, though, due to his age.

 

Nothing too shocking, I guess. A long way to go, though.

[biittner77]

Thanks for the good news on Rhee.

[davell]

Concepcion showed up at Fitch and was put at Tennessee to start out.