2012 AFL

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Rosters are out:

 

RHP Dae-Eun Rhee

RHP Kevin Rhoderick - taxi squad

LHP Zach Rosscup

RHP Nick Struck

RHP Tony Zych

 

SS Javier Baez

OF Rubi Silva

OF Matt Szczur

 

Baez is the youngest player in the AFL who had been drafted.

[Guest]

@ESPNChiCubs Sczcur, Baez among 8 Cubs prospects to play in AZ Fall League. Almora, Soler not among them.

[ctcf]

@ESPNChiCubs Sczcur, Baez among 8 Cubs prospects to play in AZ Fall League. Almora, Soler not among them.

 

Can't wait.

[Guest]

@ESPNChiCubs Silva, Rhee, Struck, Zych, Rhoderick, Rosscup to also play in fall league.

[Guest]

Oops. Missed Rosscup in initial post.

[Guest]

@ESPNChiCubs Silva, Rhee, Struck, Zych, Rhoderick, Rosscup to also play in fall league.

Szczur too.

[Guest]

Puig will be on Mesa's roster.

[Guest]

Billy Hamilton is going to the AFL, listed as an outfielder.

[Vinestal]

When does the afl season start?

Was bummed to see Soler not going, seems to me he could have benefited greatly from the PAs. Oh well.

[Guest]

When does the afl season start?

Was bummed to see Soler not going, seems to me he could have benefited greatly from the PAs. Oh well.

October 9th.

 

Soler will get a month of reps in Instructs, so it's not too bad.

[TruffleShuffle]

@ESPNChiCubs Sczcur, Baez among 8 Cubs prospects to play in AZ Fall League. Almora, Soler not among them.

 

almora?!? has a high school draftee every played in the AFL like 3 months after being selected?

[WrigleyField 22]

So AFL is comparable to AA right? Is Baez in Chicago by 2014, with maybe a Sept call up next year?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[El Duderino]

I'm not sure the AFL is quite AA, is it? I don't think a lot of teams send many good pitching prospects because of the huge offensive environment.

[El Duderino]

@ESPNChiCubs Sczcur, Baez among 8 Cubs prospects to play in AZ Fall League. Almora, Soler not among them.

 

almora?!? has a high school draftee every played in the AFL like 3 months after being selected?

 

I'm guessing no. Especially a high school draftee that turned 18 five months ago.

[Guest]

@ESPNChiCubs Sczcur, Baez among 8 Cubs prospects to play in AZ Fall League. Almora, Soler not among them.

 

almora?!? has a high school draftee every played in the AFL like 3 months after being selected?

 

I imagine he was just trying to head off the most likely questions from his twitter following.

[davell]

Being that neither McNutt or Watkins is on the AFL roster, I think this means they're definitely getting added to the 40 man now.

[Guest]

I'm not sure the AFL is quite AA, is it? I don't think a lot of teams send many good pitching prospects because of the huge offensive environment.

It is considered AA-level despite the lack of top-end pitching since most of the prospects are from AA or AAA.

[toonsterwu]

Fascinated with the Silva assignment. It's an interesting group being sent. Curious what the internal thinking is on Rhee, as he's been disappointing this year, as the velocity hasn't, to the best of my knowledge (admittedly, quite busy of late), been as good as last year.

[toonsterwu]

Being that neither McNutt or Watkins is on the AFL roster, I think this means they're definitely getting added to the 40 man now.

 

I don't know about that. I think McNutt probably gets kept around, but I'm not so sure that Watkins is a lock. A lot will depend on what they do with some of the infielders on the 40 right now, I think, guys that could compete for the utility jobs that Watkins will likely push for.

[davell]

Fascinated with the Silva assignment. It's an interesting group being sent. Curious what the internal thinking is on Rhee, as he's been disappointing this year, as the velocity hasn't, to the best of my knowledge (admittedly, quite busy of late), been as good as last year.

 

I kind of doubt our FO is very high on him. They didn't protect him last offseason. I look at this this as a last gasp chance for him to impress.

[toonsterwu]

Fascinated with the Silva assignment. It's an interesting group being sent. Curious what the internal thinking is on Rhee, as he's been disappointing this year, as the velocity hasn't, to the best of my knowledge (admittedly, quite busy of late), been as good as last year.

 

I kind of doubt our FO is very high on him. They didn't protect him last offseason. I look at this this as a last gasp chance for him to impress.

 

Well, what I'm curious about is if he's being sent as a starter or a pen arm. I really wonder if they may ponder him as a pen arm, where his stuff may play up.

 

I really wouldn't look at last year's decision as a sign that the FO isn't high on him. Now, don't get me wrong ... I don't think our FO is high on him, but while I had thought Rhee had a shot to be protected, it was actually a fairly logical gamble. The chances of Rhee sticking for a full year in a big league pen this year was slim, so they kept roster flexibility.

 

Anyhow, I do wonder about him in the pen. He also seems to pitch better in the summer. I mean ... if his changeup is plus, and the fastball plays up a bit more out of the pen, he really could be as valuable as say a Kevin Rhoderick out of the pen (admittedly, that doesn't mean that much, as I've never viewed Rhoderick as more than a middle relief arm with borderline setup potential ... I actually wonder if Rhee could be better than that ... I don't know if the numbers were out there, but I'd be very curious to see how Rhee fared against batters the first time through, the 2nd time through, and so on.)

[Guest]

BA's preview:

 

Top Prospect: The Solar Sox have the most prospect-laden roster in the AFL, though that could change as organizations such as the Yankees, Blue Jays and Giants fill out their TBA slots. The Sox boast 2011 Cubs first-rounder Javier Baez, an offensive wunderkind with 13 homers in his first 290 pro at-bats, as well as Detroit's Nick Castellanos, who's listed as an outfielder as he continues his Miguel Cabrera-inspired move off third base. A case also could be made for Astros first baseman Jonathan Singleton, posting a crisp .894 OPS with 20 homers as a 20-year-old in Double-A.

 

Bounce-Back Candidate: Matt Szczur was hitting just .202 in his first 30 games at Double-A Tennessee, and the former Villanova football star has a ways to go at 23 to become the Cubs' leadoff man of the future. The AFL at-bats will bring him needed additional experience.

 

Reunited: Puig is the more famous Cuban thanks to his $42 million contract, but he'll be teamed with Rubi Silva, the Cubs infielder and fellow Cuban emigre. Both are veterans of Cuba's 18U national team, with Silva playing on the '07 team (with Adeiny Hechevarria, Jose Iglesias and Dayan Viciedo, among others), while Puig played on the '08 model.

[BeerHere]

It's Levine, so I don't know whether it's something he's heard or whether it's his speculation, but he expects both Javy and Soler to be announced on AFL rosters.

 

So once again, Levine clearly has no idea.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Got to love the "offensive wunderkind" tag given to Baez. Right up their with Soler's monster tools.

[Guest]

It's Levine, so I don't know whether it's something he's heard or whether it's his speculation, but he expects both Javy and Soler to be announced on AFL rosters.

 

So once again, Levine clearly has no idea.

Actually, he was the only one to speculate Baez would go. Many people in the media (both local Chicago and national prospect experts) predicted Soler would go.