Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-23-14

[davell]

Vogelbach with his 2nd HR of the day.

[davell]

What is the story with Daniel Lewis (Boise)? He looked pretty good in relief the two times I saw him.

 

We just signed him. UDFA, 24 years old, just got out of the military.

[davell]

Schwarber is 2-3, with a 2B in the 2nd game.

[CoolHandLuke]

Anyone know Vogelbach's current weight?

 

I was just checking out his milb.com page, where he is listed at 250, and was shocked at how skinny he looked in his picture.

 

This year:

http://www.milb.com/images/596129/t450/180x270/596129.jpg

 

Probably last year (Kane County hat):

http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/2/2/55633322/cuts/Vogelbach_l6kqjt17_d7q20kiz.jpg

 

Judging from that picture, he could be down towards 200.

[Vinestal]

No one wants to pitch to Bryant. He has 2 walks and Soler is 1/1 with 1 BB

[ctcf]

Holy [expletive] [expletive].

 

SCHWARBER BOMB DOS

 

That boy is on a [expletive] tear

[ctcf]

Bryant with his third walk on the night and Soler with another single. Bryant must be getting bored.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Wow! Schwarber is pretty good, huh?

[CubInOK]

Remember when we were talking about Schwingles and Schwongers and Schwalks?

 

I want that back.

[ctcf]

Haha look at 2014 Round 32 pick Andrew Ely holding his own in Iowa.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

Its insane to me that out of all of our prospects, if Schwarber sticks at catcher he could end up being the most valuable.

[ctcf]

BRYANT! #42

[gscool89]

42

[itisallpartoftheplan]

Soler adds a measly double...3-3 now.

[CubsWin]

Player A: 1st season after being taken with a top 5 draft pick.

As a 21-year-old, in leagues between Short-Season A & A+ (with 2 warm-up games in Rookie), in 146 PA, he hits .336/.390/.688 with 11 walks (7.5%) and 35 Ks (24%).

 

Player B: 1st season after being taken with a top 5 draft pick.

As a 21-year-old, in leagues between Short-Season A & A+, in 275 PA, he is hitting .341/.436/.616 with 38 walks (13.8%) and 51 Ks (18.5%).

 

Pretty comparable numbers between the two players. When you include BB and K rates, Player B might come out on top (just going by the numbers). Player B plays a premium up-the-middle defensive position. Player A plays an important corner infield position. Each player has question marks about their defense coming in, but they also possess excellent work ethics and desire to improve to stay at their current positions.

 

Player A is heralded as his team's top prospect and possible/likely perennial all-star and team "savior". The team's fans are totally geeked that he is in their organization. Their spirits soar at the thought of him. Player B is considered a solid prospect who should be a good major league hitter. The team's fans are excited about him but he ranks about 7th or 8th best on their prospect list.

 

You'd think Player B plays for an organization with a much better and deeper farm system. But they each play for the same organization. The one main difference between the two is that Player A was drafted one year before Player B.

 

So the question is if Kris Bryant had been drafted by the Astros, would Cubs fans be going nuts over Kyle Schwarber as the team's, newest, best hope? Did Bryant's march thru every level of the Cubs minor league system make Schwarber's performance this year seem like, "eh, been there, done that"?

 

I'm not saying Schwarber should be considered just as good as Bryant (scouting reports, Schwarber's defensive question marks are greater than Bryant's show a difference the numbers so far haven't), but I am saying the prospect buzz on Schwarber is much less because of what Bryant did the year before and of his arrival.

 

If Schwarber does what Bryant's done in his 2nd season, I expect that will change...

[Quakers]

What is the story with Daniel Lewis (Boise)? He looked pretty good in relief the two times I saw him.

 

We just signed him. UDFA, 24 years old, just got out of the military.

 

Hitting 95 on the radar in Hillsboro. Good control.

[Guest]

What is the story with Daniel Lewis (Boise)? He looked pretty good in relief the two times I saw him.

 

We just signed him. UDFA, 24 years old, just got out of the military.

 

Hitting 95 on the radar in Hillsboro. Good control.

 

Cool backstory: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=62952&start=725#p3100493

[davell]

What is the story with Daniel Lewis (Boise)? He looked pretty good in relief the two times I saw him.

 

We just signed him. UDFA, 24 years old, just got out of the military.

 

Hitting 95 on the radar in Hillsboro. Good control.

 

He had shown good velo on the Cape this summer.

[davell]

Player A: 1st season after being taken with a top 5 draft pick.

As a 21-year-old, in leagues between Short-Season A & A+ (with 2 warm-up games in Rookie), in 146 PA, he hits .336/.390/.688 with 11 walks (7.5%) and 35 Ks (24%).

 

Player B: 1st season after being taken with a top 5 draft pick.

As a 21-year-old, in leagues between Short-Season A & A+, in 275 PA, he is hitting .341/.436/.616 with 38 walks (13.8%) and 51 Ks (18.5%).

 

Pretty comparable numbers between the two players. When you include BB and K rates, Player B might come out on top (just going by the numbers). Player B plays a premium up-the-middle defensive position. Player A plays an important corner infield position. Each player has question marks about their defense coming in, but they also possess excellent work ethics and desire to improve to stay at their current positions.

 

Player A is heralded as his team's top prospect and possible/likely perennial all-star and team "savior". The team's fans are totally geeked that he is in their organization. Their spirits soar at the thought of him. Player B is considered a solid prospect who should be a good major league hitter. The team's fans are excited about him but he ranks about 7th or 8th best on their prospect list.

 

You'd think Player B plays for an organization with a much better and deeper farm system. But they each play for the same organization. The one main difference between the two is that Player A was drafted one year before Player B.

 

So the question is if Kris Bryant had been drafted by the Astros, would Cubs fans be going nuts over Kyle Schwarber as the team's, newest, best hope? Did Bryant's march thru every level of the Cubs minor league system make Schwarber's performance this year seem like, "eh, been there, done that"?

 

I'm not saying Schwarber should be considered just as good as Bryant (scouting reports, Schwarber's defensive question marks are greater than Bryant's show a difference the numbers so far haven't), but I am saying the prospect buzz on Schwarber is much less because of what Bryant did the year before and of his arrival.

 

If Schwarber does what Bryant's done in his 2nd season, I expect that will change...

 

It's that very few thought Schwarber had ANY hope of sticking at C. If that starts to change AND he keeps hitting like this, he's a top 5 prospect at the end of next year. My honest guess is he's in the 50-75 range of most lists this offseason and maybe only 75-100 on some.

[Deeg]

Schwarber HR

 

Just in case there was any doubt that they'll want to start him in AA next year.

He seems to be getting his second wind. The HR cleared the light tower in RF that's what they call a towering shot.

 

There was apparently a flaw developing in his swing (dragging the back foot forward) that the coaches picked up on and corrected just at the time his turnaround started. I like that - clearly, the kid is smart and coachable.

[ctcf]

Schwarber HR

 

Just in case there was any doubt that they'll want to start him in AA next year.

He seems to be getting his second wind. The HR cleared the light tower in RF that's what they call a towering shot.

 

There was apparently a flaw developing in his swing (dragging the back foot forward) that the coaches picked up on and corrected just at the time his turnaround started. I like that - clearly, the kid is smart and coachable.

 

Kiley McDaniel @kileymcd

12-26 w/5 HR in 7 games since I pointed out his happy feet. I bet it's fixed. MT @breid4 You might need to go back and check Schwarber again

[ctcf]

A fourth walk for Bryant followed by a stand up triple for Soler.

 

Bryant: 1-1, 4 BB, HR

Soler: 4-4, 2B, 3B, BB

Edited August 24, 2014 by ctcf

[gscool89]

Soler adds a triple. 4-4

[ScrubMD]

I really really missed Soler and Bryant doing awesome things in the same game.

 

Another walk for Bryant, #4 on the night, followed by a Soler triple.

[itisallpartoftheplan]

Too bad Soler is a wuss and had 2 singles instead of a home run for the cycle. #cubfarmsystemproblems