Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-8-13

[davell]

Armando "I guess he's better than Torreyes" Rivero got promoted to Daytona? I hadn't noticed that.

 

Struck out two in a perfect inning tonight. Arguello said the other day that he showed up with his delivery all screwy early in the year and it robbed him of about 6 MPH, but it was fixed recently and he's been on a tear ever since.

I'm starting to think he's our best bet outside of Cabrera to help in the major league pen in 2014, of all our minor leaguers.

[Guest]

Apparently Arias looked really good.

[Guest]

Armando "I guess he's better than Torreyes" Rivero got promoted to Daytona? I hadn't noticed that.

 

Struck out two in a perfect inning tonight. Arguello said the other day that he showed up with his delivery all screwy early in the year and it robbed him of about 6 MPH, but it was fixed recently and he's been on a tear ever since.

I'm starting to think he's our best bet outside of Cabrera to help in the major league pen in 2014, of all our minor leaguers.

 

Rosscup.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Armando "I guess he's better than Torreyes" Rivero got promoted to Daytona? I hadn't noticed that.

 

Struck out two in a perfect inning tonight. Arguello said the other day that he showed up with his delivery all screwy early in the year and it robbed him of about 6 MPH, but it was fixed recently and he's been on a tear ever since.

I'm starting to think he's our best bet outside of Cabrera to help in the major league pen in 2014, of all our minor leaguers.

 

Arrieta, Cabrera, Rosscup, Rivero, Vizcaino. There's a ton of potential there for a good bullpen to spontaneously emerge. If that happens, this team contends.

 

In Rivero's last six appearances, he has 10.2 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 20 K.

[davell]

I forgot about Rosscup. Honestly think Arrieta will be in our rotation and figure Vizcaino spends most of the year in AAA, if he gets healthy. That said, I agree its looking much, much better now than it did a year or so ago, in this aspect.

[davell]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

 

After the top six, I think he's one of a dozen guys you could justify in almost any order.

 

I really don't see why he couldn't be in the mix for the 5th starter job next year.

[Guest]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

 

On a good day, he sneaks into my top 20.

[davell]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

 

After the top six, I think he's one of a dozen guys you could justify in almost any order.

 

I really don't see why he couldn't be in the mix for the 5th starter job next year.

I think he will be, but I think he's handicapped a tad by not being on the 40 man, nor having to be added until after 2014.

[davell]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

 

On a good day, he sneaks into my top 20.

Wow, you think the lack of stuff puts him that far out? I'm becoming a believer that he's got a good shot to become a back of the rotation type anyway. Obviously guys like Maples, Underwood, and Blackburn have more upside, but with Hendrix being closer, I've got him higher. I think he's got a better shot at the rotation than Cabrera, although that may very well be influenced by Cabrera getting limited innings at this point and Hendricks staying on a roll.

[davell]

Different topic-I always thought Balaguert was older than what he is. I thought he was 21 for some reason when he struggled in Peoria last year, not 19. Which says a lot that this FO gave him a shot there at that age. I guess I need to give him serious consideration for the back part of the top 30.

[CubsWin]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

 

On a good day, he sneaks into my top 20.

Wow, you think the lack of stuff puts him that far out? I'm becoming a believer that he's got a good shot to become a back of the rotation type anyway. Obviously guys like Maples, Underwood, and Blackburn have more upside, but with Hendrix being closer, I've got him higher. I think he's got a better shot at the rotation than Cabrera, although that may very well be influenced by Cabrera getting limited innings at this point and Hendricks staying on a roll.

I think it speaks more to the depth of talented prospects in the organization right now than it does Hendricks. I've got him 15-20 right now, but that's with Arrieta and Grimm being considered prospects. Take them off the list and he moves up a bit. For me, my top 10 looks like:

 

Baez

Almora

Bryant

Soler

Alcantara

P. Johnson

Edwards

Olt

Candelario

Arrieta/Vizcaino/Vogelbach

 

And then there are guys like Grimm, Villanueva, Pineyro and upside guys like Blackburn, Maples, Underwood, etc. I have Kyle mixed in amongst those guys. If Hendricks keeps facing down AAA hitters for the rest of the season like he did today. He'll move up.

 

Question. Given Hendricks' proximity to the bigs and the distance away guys like Blackburn, Paniagua, Maples and Underwood are, what do you value more: Hendrick's floor/proximity or the other guys' ceiling? I struggle with this one and would love to hear other people's thoughts.

[CubsWin]

Different topic-I always thought Balaguert was older than what he is. I thought he was 21 for some reason when he struggled in Peoria last year, not 19. Which says a lot that this FO gave him a shot there at that age. I guess I need to give him serious consideration for the back part of the top 30.

I have Balaguert and Dunston in the same boat. Both seem ready for Kane County and both will be age appropriate (21) when they start there next season. Hannemann's missed so much time this season, but if he's who the Cubs think he is, he'll likely join them forming the Cougars starting OF for 2014. Balaguert's gotten very favorable scouting reports lately, with some saying he stood out from everyone else they saw that day. He's got a shot.

 

Another question: The Cubs haven't signed two better IFAs in recent memory than Jimenez and Torres. Usually, a guy who hasn't played a game in the organization and is 17 years old wouldn't even sniff a prospect list. I assume that has more to do with the lack of any meaningful information on them than it has to do with how good they are. Normally, IFAs are so far away that we don't even know how far away they are. There's no gauge, so how can you compare them to anything. But, we do know something about these two. Eloy was the consensus top prospect. Torres was consensus top 3. Again, really difficult to say with any certainty (of course what prospect can you speak about with certainty besides top 5 guys), but where does Eloy go? Is he a better prospect than Balaguert who never got hype anywhere near what Jimenez got? Or is the bust factor too high, the unknowns too great to even rank him at all?

[TruffleShuffle]

why would you consider arrieta a prospect? he's pitched almost 400 major league innings.

[Guest]

I just did a quick run thru of a top 10 list, found myself putting Hendricks at 10......Anyone else have him up there that high currently?

 

On a good day, he sneaks into my top 20.

Wow, you think the lack of stuff puts him that far out? I'm becoming a believer that he's got a good shot to become a back of the rotation type anyway. Obviously guys like Maples, Underwood, and Blackburn have more upside, but with Hendrix being closer, I've got him higher. I think he's got a better shot at the rotation than Cabrera, although that may very well be influenced by Cabrera getting limited innings at this point and Hendricks staying on a roll.

I think it speaks more to the depth of talented prospects in the organization right now than it does Hendricks. I've got him 15-20 right now, but that's with Arrieta and Grimm being considered prospects. Take them off the list and he moves up a bit. For me, my top 10 looks like:

 

Baez

Almora

Bryant

Soler

Alcantara

P. Johnson

Edwards

Olt

Candelario

Arrieta/Vizcaino/Vogelbach

 

And then there are guys like Grimm, Villanueva, Pineyro and upside guys like Blackburn, Maples, Underwood, etc. I have Kyle mixed in amongst those guys. If Hendricks keeps facing down AAA hitters for the rest of the season like he did today. He'll move up.

 

Question. Given Hendricks' proximity to the bigs and the distance away guys like Blackburn, Paniagua, Maples and Underwood are, what do you value more: Hendrick's floor/proximity or the other guys' ceiling? I struggle with this one and would love to hear other people's thoughts.

 

For me, it's not floor vs ceiling. No prospect is going to hit their true ceiling. I like to try to get an idea what I think is their most likely outcome, etc.

 

Generally, with a pitcher, guys further away get dinged just because they have more opportunities to get hurt since they have to go further up the minor league chain.

 

Also, Arrieta hasn't been a prospect in a while.

[Guest]

Different topic-I always thought Balaguert was older than what he is. I thought he was 21 for some reason when he struggled in Peoria last year, not 19. Which says a lot that this FO gave him a shot there at that age. I guess I need to give him serious consideration for the back part of the top 30.

 

Yeah, Balaguert should be in the back end of my top 30.

[KingCubsFan]

Armando "I guess he's better than Torreyes" Rivero got promoted to Daytona? I hadn't noticed that.

 

Struck out two in a perfect inning tonight. Arguello said the other day that he showed up with his delivery all screwy early in the year and it robbed him of about 6 MPH, but it was fixed recently and he's been on a tear ever since.

Obviously #notascout, but I was pretty impressed by him when I saw him in Kane County a few weeks ago.

[Guest]

What's the origin of the Torreyes v. Rivero stuff?

[Guest]

What's the origin of the Torreyes v. Rivero stuff?

 

At PSD, Kyle and I had an argument about whether Torreyes was worth more than $500k. Kyle brought up that when filler like Rivero got $3.1M, Torreyes was easily worth much more. I said that with the opposite of a prototypical body and no notable tools besides the ability to not strike out (and having basically demonstrated nothing much over the last two minor league seasons), Torreyes wasn't worth all that much and Rivero was worth more and was more likely to have a meaningful MLB career of some kind.

Edited August 9, 2013 by David

[Little Slide Rooter]

Kris Bryant seems to have shaken off that early rust;

 

In Boise (14 games): .294/.352/.627/.990

Last 10: .371/.425/.743/.1.168

August: .438/.526/.938/1.464

Edited August 9, 2013 by Little Slide Rooter

[Guest]

Kris Bryant seems to have shaken off that early rust;

 

In Boise: .294/.352/.627/.990

Last 10: .371/.425/.743/.1.168

August: .438/.526/.938/1.464

 

K% BB%?

[Elrhino]

Get his ass to KC so he has a chance to start in Daytona next year.

 

edit: F, forgot about Candelario.

 

i would say that bryant will probably start in daytona next year regardless of where he plays the rest of this season. although candelario's presence does make things a little more complicated. candelario should move up a level and bryant is too advanced for the low minors. maybe they do a platoon where one plays 3b and the other plays 1b or corner OF. wouldn't surprise me if bryant could handle AA right now, frankly.

 

in other news, all the tennessee hitters have reached base safely except for baez. :( he's 0-4 but at least he hasn't struck out (2 ground outs, 2 fly outs)

Daytona has the DH. They could alternate 3B and DH. Maybe some 1b (Jeimer) and OF (Bryant) also. I'd guess both will start at Daytona, with the goal of Bryant forcing a promotion after a couple months at most.

 

Or just let Jemier repeat KC for a few months until Bryant works his way up to Tennessee. He's still just 19 years old and hasn't exactly outclassed A level with a current .731 OPS. He needs everyday at bats and consistent work in the field at 3B more than he needs the improved level of competition.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

What's the origin of the Torreyes v. Rivero stuff?

 

The discusssions over whether trading Torreyes for $800k in IFA space, which ended up meaning just $800k in cash, was good value, turned into discussions over what Torreyes would get on the open market as an FA. I pointed to Rivero as a 25-year-old middle reliever getting rocked (at the time) at Kane County who got four times that on the open market.

[Lefty]

Different topic-I always thought Balaguert was older than what he is. I thought he was 21 for some reason when he struggled in Peoria last year, not 19. Which says a lot that this FO gave him a shot there at that age. I guess I need to give him serious consideration for the back part of the top 30.

 

You might have been right about his age. Once I see D.R. on a player's page, you gotta wonder. Venezuela too, though their record keeping is supposedly better. But they may have an organized Government program to help their citizens.

[Guest]

What's the origin of the Torreyes v. Rivero stuff?

 

The discusssions over whether trading Torreyes for $800k in IFA space, which ended up meaning just $800k in cash, was good value, turned into discussions over what Torreyes would get on the open market as an FA. I pointed to Rivero as a 25-year-old middle reliever getting rocked (at the time) at Kane County who got four times that on the open market.

 

ah i guess it was 800k then. my bad.