Random Cubs Musings: Minor League Edition

[Guest]

http://m.milb.com/t553/video/#/topic/t553/video/29150745

 

also, this is amazing and that looks nothing like darwin barney

[pitchcs]

http://m.milb.com/t553/video/#/topic/t553/video/29150745

 

also, this is amazing and that looks nothing like darwin barney

 

 

Ha, that looks like Kris Bryant

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Let's talk about Erick Leal. He won't turn 19 until March and is carving up the AZL. 22/3 K/BB in 22 innings, 2.79 FIP in an extreme hitters environment.

 

6'3'' 180 according his FG page, so still some room to add weight. Anyone know about his stuff at the moment?

[ctcf]

I guess I'll leave this here. Maybe one of my favorite Deadspin comments ever (not a high bar) from a video today of some 6 year old hitting HRs in six straight ABs:

 

"The holes in his swing are too hard to ignore. I expect him to struggle to put the ball in play against 8 year-old pitching enough that he won't be more than a platoon hitter by the 4th grade." -Keith Law, while making a lemon-infused salmon frittata.

[rawaction]

Let's talk about Erick Leal. He won't turn 19 until March and is carving up the AZL. 22/3 K/BB in 22 innings, 2.79 FIP in an extreme hitters environment.

 

6'3'' 180 according his FG page, so still some room to add weight. Anyone know about his stuff at the moment?

Yeah he doesn't walk anyone. According to BA at the time of trade, 88-89 fastball, makings of a plus breaking ball, and starting to get a feel for the changeup. Projects to add a couple ticks to his FB as he matures I would suspect. He's so far away though but has the makings of a being a monumentsl steal for Campana.

[wekim81]

Have we heard anything recently on Michael Jensen? He was a favorite sleeper of mine heading into the season.

[Elrhino]

Current WHIPs of our 2013 drafted pitchers in Boise...

 

Zastryzny - 1.2

Skulina - 0.83

Masek - 0.90

Fraser - 1.03

Wilson - 0.56

Godley - 0.73

Wagner - 1.00

 

Combined - 8.87 k/9

 

In 70+ combined innings pitched, the 2013 class has yet to surrender a HR.

[woodchip2153]

According to twitter Brett Jackson is going to AA

[mul21]

According to twitter Brett Jackson is going to AA

 

Like to Tennessee or he's been spending too much time at New Glarus with you?

[Guest]

According to twitter Brett Jackson is going to AA

 

Like to Tennessee or he's been spending too much time at New Glarus with you?

 

Tennessee.

 

Not too surprising. This seemed the most likely scenario when he left Iowa to go to Mesa to "rehab."

[Little Slide Rooter]

Rather than devoting a new thread to the 2014 Rul 5, I figured I'd borrow this one;

 

Arismendy Alcantara, INF

Gioskar Amaya, INF

Frank Batista, RHP

Xavier Batista, OF

Dallas Beeler, RHP

Justin Bour, 1B

Sergio Burruel, C

Esmailin Caridad, RHP

Marcelo Carreno, RHP

Lendy Castillo, RHP

Javier Castro, RHP

Zach Cates, RHP

Hunter Cervenka, LHP

Pin-Chieh Chen, OF

Casey Coleman, RHP

Gerardo Concepcion, LHP

Willson Contreras, C

Wes Darvill, INF

Antonio Encarnacion, RHP

Luis Flores, C

Anthony Giansanti, OF

Enyel Gonzalez, RHP

Carlos Gutierrez, RHP

Jae-Hoon Ha, OF

Marco Hernandez, INF

Eric Jokisch, LHP

Austin Kirk, LHP

Luis Liria, RHP

Matt Loosen, RHP

Jeff Lorick, LHP

Eric Martinez, RHP

A. J. Morris, RHP

Chad Noble, C

Juan Carlos Paniagua, RHP (see NOTE)

Loiger Padron, RHP

Amaury Paulino, RHP

Felix Pena, RHP

Starling Peralta, RHP

Dae-Eun Rhee, RHP

Kevin Rhoderick, RHP

Greg Rohan, INF

Jose Rosario, RHP

Zac Rosscup, LHP

Victor Salazar, RHP

Brian Schlitter, RHP

Ryan Searle, RHP

Elliot Soto, INF,

Nick Struck, RHP

Luis Villalba, LHP

Yao-Lin Wang, RHP

 

Since this is cut from an article, I didn't get the note on Paniagua, which essentially states that due to the fraudulent D Backs situation, it's not sure whether or not he'd be eligible.

 

Now while there aren't a ton of guys worth rostering, those that are are musts.

 

Paniagua for one, if he is eligible. Alcantara, Rosscup, and Ha are obvious. And there's plenty of cuts to be made for each. Maybe Rhee, depending on how the rest of his season goes.

 

Amaya, Pena, Wang, and Contreras are all guys I'd like to keep, but I can't imagine anyone picking them and leaving them on a big league roster for a full season.

 

A few guys that could be taken are Jokisch, Loosen, Batista, and Kirk, but I'm not so sure that I'd give up a roster spot to prevent it.

 

An interesting case is Concepcion. A team could easily pick him and keep him on the DL for the bulk of the season.

 

As far as available roster spots, there's Gillespie, Borbon, and Gregg as the only sure things to go. There's Rondon who will likely end up back in the minors. I could see them resigning Ransom to a very cheap deal if they don't have an alternative.

[KingCubsFan]

Wasn't Concepcion removed prior to the season?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Wasn't Concepcion removed prior to the season?

 

Yes.

[wekim81]

I dont think JH Ha is a must at all. And I like the guy.

[ctcf]

I dont think JH Ha is a must at all. And I like the guy.

 

Seriously.

[scarey]

Sounds like the VSL and DSL will be ending soon. I haven't been tracking the players on these teams much, but scanning stats really quick I thought a couple guys stuck out.

 

DSL:

Varonex Cuevas: Switch hitting shortstop OPSing almost .800, but he just turned 21 years old

Adonis Paula: 19 year old with a 6'1 frame. I like the .100 IsoD. Adding weight to his frame could give him more of a power element to his game

Shamil Ubiera: .824 OPS RF, but will turn 21 in September

Roberto Caro: Switch hitting CF, turns 20 in September. Almost a .120 IsoD

Dalfis Ortiz: Switch hitting 2B OPSing .932... will turn 22 in February

 

Hector Perez: Just turned 20 in June, has an astounding 50/10 K/BB with zero HRs allowed

Jose Paulino: 6'2 lefty 18 year old with an even more impressive 57/9 K/BB. Only one HR allowed

 

Also of note, Luis Acosta who was a somewhat large bonus IFA has been terrible. That one probably isn't panning out.

 

 

VSL:

Eufran Vargas: 19 year old catcher OPSing .994, but only in around 45 PAs

Roney Alcala: 6'1 223 lb switch hitting 3B. .933 OPS, but a meager .034 IsoD

Delbis Arcila: 20 year old corner outfielder, bats lefty with a .930 OPS. One of the names I remember from one of last years DSL teams

Ricardo Marcano: 18 year old hitting .281/.342/.454

Bryant Flete: Left handed hitting SS with a .115 IsoD. He's tiny though listed at 145 lb and only steals bases at little more than 50% success rate

 

Adbert Alzolay: 18 year old right hander with 61/10 K/BB and a 0.88 WHIP

Greyfer Eregua: 19 year old righty, 42/3 K/BB. 0.85 WHIP

Enrique De Los Rio: 18 years old. 0.95 WHIP, must enduce weak contact with pedestrian K numbers and 31 hits allowed in 43.1 IP

 

Of note: Chris Pieters, ROFL! Another big bonus guy with 42 BB in 24 IP. His other numbers look just as bad, but I think that tells the story right there.

 

 

Anything more detailed that people have to add would be appreciated. I wanted to get some insight to see if there was a possible Alcantara-esque among these guys (in terms of potential).

[Guest]

Saw this while looking for news on Almora

 

@vftb You might like these new heatmaps and spraycharts when looking at prospects. Here's Albert Almora http://mlbfarm.com/player.php?player_id=546991&position=CF#heatmap …

[Guest]

Kind of an interesting photo album focused on Almora. Just to warn - loads very slowly.

 

 

http://www.kcchronicle.com/2013/08/01/albert-almora-12-photos/d9edc3e/?view=1

[CubsWin]

Sounds like the VSL and DSL will be ending soon. I haven't been tracking the players on these teams much, but scanning stats really quick I thought a couple guys stuck out.

 

DSL:

Varonex Cuevas: Switch hitting shortstop OPSing almost .800, but he just turned 21 years old

Adonis Paula: 19 year old with a 6'1 frame. I like the .100 IsoD. Adding weight to his frame could give him more of a power element to his game

Shamil Ubiera: .824 OPS RF, but will turn 21 in September

Roberto Caro: Switch hitting CF, turns 20 in September. Almost a .120 IsoD

Dalfis Ortiz: Switch hitting 2B OPSing .932... will turn 22 in February

 

Hector Perez: Just turned 20 in June, has an astounding 50/10 K/BB with zero HRs allowed

Jose Paulino: 6'2 lefty 18 year old with an even more impressive 57/9 K/BB. Only one HR allowed

 

Also of note, Luis Acosta who was a somewhat large bonus IFA has been terrible. That one probably isn't panning out.

 

 

VSL:

Eufran Vargas: 19 year old catcher OPSing .994, but only in around 45 PAs

Roney Alcala: 6'1 223 lb switch hitting 3B. .933 OPS, but a meager .034 IsoD

Delbis Arcila: 20 year old corner outfielder, bats lefty with a .930 OPS. One of the names I remember from one of last years DSL teams

Ricardo Marcano: 18 year old hitting .281/.342/.454

Bryant Flete: Left handed hitting SS with a .115 IsoD. He's tiny though listed at 145 lb and only steals bases at little more than 50% success rate

 

Adbert Alzolay: 18 year old right hander with 61/10 K/BB and a 0.88 WHIP

Greyfer Eregua: 19 year old righty, 42/3 K/BB. 0.85 WHIP

Enrique De Los Rio: 18 years old. 0.95 WHIP, must enduce weak contact with pedestrian K numbers and 31 hits allowed in 43.1 IP

 

Of note: Chris Pieters, ROFL! Another big bonus guy with 42 BB in 24 IP. His other numbers look just as bad, but I think that tells the story right there.

 

 

Anything more detailed that people have to add would be appreciated. I wanted to get some insight to see if there was a possible Alcantara-esque among these guys (in terms of potential).

What we as fans really need are scouting reports on these guys, but, short of that, if you're looking to find something Alcantara-esque, then, for my money, youth has to be a main factor. For hitters, 17 seems to be the magic number. Alcantara was 17 and skipped a level after coming to the states. Candelario has followed the same profile. Both performed admirably at that age in the DSL showing a strong K:BB ratio and ability to make contact with some power.

 

The same holds true for pitchers. If you have the stuff and performed well as a 17 year old in the DSL or VSL and you get called up to the states as an 18 year old, then you can be considered a decent prospect. Erick Leal is the latest example of this trajectory. The statistical profile seems to be less than a hit per inning, more than a K per inning and a great K/BB ratio.

 

A lot of teams are signing slightly older players now so that they don't have to project them so much so I think this age thing, especially for pitchers, is becoming less of a hard and fast rule. But it is still a very good indicator of whether or not a player is a decent prospect.

 

That said, 18 year old Adbert Alzolay and 18 year old Jose Paulino are the two players I'm most excited about and even then, they likely wouldn't crack the Cubs top 30. Others include 19 year old Greyfer Eregua, and 17 year olds Jesus Castillo and Moises Ramirez. Very few of the hitters excite me. The only one that currently may have a chance is 19 year old Roney Alcala but he doesn't really fit the above profile. Other than that, Roberto Caro, Bryant Flete, and bonus babies Frandy Delarosa and Luis Acosta were all in EXST this year but were sent back down.

[Clem Fandango]

Didn't know where else to ask this. This might be a bit of an inconvenient request, but can somebody make (or if it's already made somewhere even better) a documented list of each league and how the league tends to favor hitters or batters? For example (these are just arbitrary):

 

Southern League - Hitters

International League - Neutral

PCL - Hitters

 

etc. etc. Is that a thing anywhere? I thought it would be nice to have a documented reference sheet to know park factors for each league so those who do not know the minors like the back of their hands can look at numbers and assume they are being inflated or deflated by said park factors. That way people don't say "Player A has a .950 OPS out of nowhere, he's really breaking out!" while those who know recognize that he's putting those numbers up in an extreme hitters league and know those numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Does that make sense? I think that would be useful. I recognize that this already exists for singular parks factors, as do others, but I haven't been able to track down a generalized chart. If it exists already that's great, but I can't find it.

[The-Kris-Bryant]

SL isn't hitters

[Guest]

Didn't know where else to ask this. This might be a bit of an inconvenient request, but can somebody make (or if it's already made somewhere even better) a documented list of each league and how the league tends to favor hitters or batters? For example (these are just arbitrary):

 

Southern League - Hitters

International League - Neutral

PCL - Hitters

 

etc. etc. Is that a thing anywhere? I thought it would be nice to have a documented reference sheet to know park factors for each league so those who do not know the minors like the back of their hands can look at numbers and assume they are being inflated or deflated by said park factors. That way people don't say "Player A has a .950 OPS out of nowhere, he's really breaking out!" while those who know recognize that he's putting those numbers up in an extreme hitters league and know those numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Does that make sense? I think that would be useful. I recognize that this already exists for singular parks factors, as do others, but I haven't been able to track down a generalized chart. If it exists already that's great, but I can't find it.

 

I don't have a link to point you to, but the conventional wisdom for the levels the Cubs are involved in is something like this:

 

Hitter's League                          Pitcher's League
[---------------------------|---------------------------]
      PCL         NWL        MWL      SL      FSL

 

Beyond that, the most notorious hitters leagues would be the Texas League and the California League. I don't think there's any other leagues that tilt in favor of pitchers as much as those two do for hitters, but I'm not an expert.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Alzolay and Paulino are definitely the guys that jump off the page as far as the VSL and DSL are concerned. Maybe De Los Rio. We really won't no [expletive] though until the scouting reports come out later in the year.

[Guest]

Sounds like the VSL and DSL will be ending soon. I haven't been tracking the players on these teams much, but scanning stats really quick I thought a couple guys stuck out.

 

DSL:

Varonex Cuevas: Switch hitting shortstop OPSing almost .800, but he just turned 21 years old

Adonis Paula: 19 year old with a 6'1 frame. I like the .100 IsoD. Adding weight to his frame could give him more of a power element to his game

Shamil Ubiera: .824 OPS RF, but will turn 21 in September

Roberto Caro: Switch hitting CF, turns 20 in September. Almost a .120 IsoD

Dalfis Ortiz: Switch hitting 2B OPSing .932... will turn 22 in February

 

Hector Perez: Just turned 20 in June, has an astounding 50/10 K/BB with zero HRs allowed

Jose Paulino: 6'2 lefty 18 year old with an even more impressive 57/9 K/BB. Only one HR allowed

 

Also of note, Luis Acosta who was a somewhat large bonus IFA has been terrible. That one probably isn't panning out.

 

 

VSL:

Eufran Vargas: 19 year old catcher OPSing .994, but only in around 45 PAs

Roney Alcala: 6'1 223 lb switch hitting 3B. .933 OPS, but a meager .034 IsoD

Delbis Arcila: 20 year old corner outfielder, bats lefty with a .930 OPS. One of the names I remember from one of last years DSL teams

Ricardo Marcano: 18 year old hitting .281/.342/.454

Bryant Flete: Left handed hitting SS with a .115 IsoD. He's tiny though listed at 145 lb and only steals bases at little more than 50% success rate

 

Adbert Alzolay: 18 year old right hander with 61/10 K/BB and a 0.88 WHIP

Greyfer Eregua: 19 year old righty, 42/3 K/BB. 0.85 WHIP

Enrique De Los Rio: 18 years old. 0.95 WHIP, must enduce weak contact with pedestrian K numbers and 31 hits allowed in 43.1 IP

 

Of note: Chris Pieters, ROFL! Another big bonus guy with 42 BB in 24 IP. His other numbers look just as bad, but I think that tells the story right there.

 

 

Anything more detailed that people have to add would be appreciated. I wanted to get some insight to see if there was a possible Alcantara-esque among these guys (in terms of potential).

 

Before the season, I heard the guys to look for in the VSL were Bryant Flete, Ricardo Marcano ($400,000 bonus in 2011) and pitchers Greyfer Eregua and Jesus Castillo (the other pitcher besides Leal who came over in the Campana trade). In the DSL, pitchers Jose Paulino & Hector Perez and position players Roberto Caro, Luis Acosta (bleh), Jenner Emeterio (speedy guy) and Frandy de la Rosa (who struggled and got hurt).

 

Alzolay sure looks interesting and just because he was mentioned preseason doesn't mean he isn't a good prospect.

[TruffleShuffle]

Didn't know where else to ask this. This might be a bit of an inconvenient request, but can somebody make (or if it's already made somewhere even better) a documented list of each league and how the league tends to favor hitters or batters? For example (these are just arbitrary):

 

Southern League - Hitters

International League - Neutral

PCL - Hitters

 

etc. etc. Is that a thing anywhere? I thought it would be nice to have a documented reference sheet to know park factors for each league so those who do not know the minors like the back of their hands can look at numbers and assume they are being inflated or deflated by said park factors. That way people don't say "Player A has a .950 OPS out of nowhere, he's really breaking out!" while those who know recognize that he's putting those numbers up in an extreme hitters league and know those numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Does that make sense? I think that would be useful. I recognize that this already exists for singular parks factors, as do others, but I haven't been able to track down a generalized chart. If it exists already that's great, but I can't find it.

 

this has runs per game: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/season-preview/2013/2614870.html

 

i've always thought of the PCL, texas league and california league as the three most favorable leagues for hitters. the international league, eastern league and southern league are probably a little pitcher-friendly. FSL is definitely a pitchers league. i think the NWL and NYP leagues are definitely pitcher friendly, although boise plays in probably the most favorable offensive environment in the NWL.