Minor League Musings

[David]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-prospects-traded-during-the-2021-deadline/

 

Madrigal #2 behind Gray, Alcantara at 7, Crow-Armstrong at 11, Vizcaino and Canario at 16 and 17, Espinoza, Ball, and Deichmann at 21-24 below comp pick Value, Palencia at 26

 

Killian at 24 also

[Hrubes20]

Please be a blister or something.

 

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[Bertz]

This is a really good update primarily on guys who have been in the org for more than a month

 

 

Didn't realize what Maldonado was doing. He actually now projects as a league average bat according to Fangraphs. That doesn't really play at 1B, but if he can slide over the 2nd a little further out from his surgery, suddenly that's kind of interesting.

 

And yeah, please move up Caissie and Nwogu.

[TruffleShuffle]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-prospects-traded-during-the-2021-deadline/

 

Madrigal #2 behind Gray, Alcantara at 7, Crow-Armstrong at 11, Vizcaino and Canario at 16 and 17, Espinoza, Ball, and Deichmann at 21-24 below comp pick Value, Palencia at 26

 

yankees really gave up too much for rizzo, but i'm not complaining.

[Bertz]

 

Do we see Nwogu to SB and Caissie to MB as backfills?!

[CyHawk_Cub]

I'm just glad that Washer's parents weren't a-holes and didn't name him Richard.

[mias_tisg]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ranking-the-prospects-traded-during-the-2021-deadline/

 

Madrigal #2 behind Gray, Alcantara at 7, Crow-Armstrong at 11, Vizcaino and Canario at 16 and 17, Espinoza, Ball, and Deichmann at 21-24 below comp pick Value, Palencia at 26

 

yankees really gave up too much for rizzo, but i'm not complaining.

To be fair, Rizzo is working out for them so far. I think he's gonna have the best success out of the guys we traded. Still don't get how the Cubs got insane value for Rizzo and Baez though and little value for Bryant. I was all for keeping Baez and/or Rizzo and letting Bryant go but those offers were too much to pass up on and I wonder if that's what they were thinking too.

[muntjack]

I'm in the minority here but Caleb Kilian is probably the one I'm most excited about.

 

As a pro - 100.2IP 67H 11BB 113K

 

Back end starter is the dream? Nah.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Bertz]

[Bertz]

 

Jensen getting shut down for a bit, I wonder if this is merely a breather or a "we have some pitch lab changes we want you to make" thing.

[CubsWin]

I'm in the minority here but Caleb Kilian is probably the one I'm most excited about.

 

As a pro - 100.2IP 67H 11BB 113K

 

Back end starter is the dream? Nah.

We may still be a minority here, but I'm in it with you...

[UMFan83]

 

:-k

[Bertz]

 

:-k

 

 

He is indeed getting the call. I'm going to guess for Fargas? Hopefully Rivas takes Schwindel's spot pretty soon too.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA Hot Sheet for the last week: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/hot-sheet-baseballs-20-hottest-prospects-from-the-past-week-8321/

 

20. Ryan Jensen, RHP, Cubs

Team: High-A Eugene (Northwest)

Age: 23

 

Why He’s Here: 0-1, 1.80, 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO

 

The Scoop: The Cubs’ 2019 first-rounder was extremely up and down early in the season, appearing dominant at his best but struggling to maintain the consistency of his stuff and too often falling behind hitters. He appears to have ironed those issues out. Jensen posted a 1.99 ERA during July and held opponents to a .150 average, showing just how dominant he can be when he’s at his best and throwing strikes. He struck out 28 batters and walked only four in 22.2 innings, a huge uptick in his control after he walked 16 batters (and hit five more) in his first 31.2 innings this year. Jensen has to show he can maintain it, but it’s been the type of dominant run that demonstrates why the Cubs jumped ahead of industry consensus to select him with the 27th overall pick. (KG)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Judging by Amaya’s Instagram post, his season is over.

[sneakypower]

2: Ed Howard SS - One day probably soon enough we'll all look back at his 2021 stats and have a hearty laugh

50 games of data showing him completely helpless at the plate should have him outside the top 10 in favor of guys who have shown literally anything at the most important aspect of the game

 

what's the archetype here? who has far more whiffs than total bases but then suddenly puts it all together to become a passable player? like, is he playing through mono

 

i think we don't want to admit this has all the early signs of a likely bust

[Transmogrified Tiger]

2: Ed Howard SS - One day probably soon enough we'll all look back at his 2021 stats and have a hearty laugh

50 games of data showing him completely helpless at the plate should have him outside the top 10 in favor of guys who have shown literally anything at the most important aspect of the game

 

what's the archetype here? who has far more whiffs than total bases but then suddenly puts it all together to become a passable player? like, is he playing through mono

 

i think we don't want to admit this has all the early signs of a likely bust

 

I think there’s room for the mitigating factors to play a part since he went an extremely long time(~18 months?) without competitive games and has been pushed aggressively when others in the past would’ve played short season(doesn’t exist) or rookie ball(org depth). That said, that hypothesis rests on Howard getting better as the year progresses and there isn’t much sign of that yet. Plus even if he was I certainly wouldn’t have him as high as 2nd given the org’s current prospect depth.

[sneakypower]

gotta think if this is your #2, you've got the unquestioned worst system in the league

 

 

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[Bertz]

I'm generally of the mind that if you're a teenager in full season ball, you have to be REALLY bad for me to hold it against you. And like TT said when you add in the pandemic and the loss of short season ball, there's even more extenuating circumstances this year than normal.

 

But Howard has been REALLY bad. And unlike say Hearn or Nwogu, his season doesn't look much better when you ignore May, which IMO would lend credence to either COVID rust or losing the NWL as an intermediate stop.

 

I'm not writing Howard off for the reasons above, but we SHOULD be down on him from where we were a year ago. Especially since he's not the highest upside guy to begin with. I don't have a top prospects list written out, but if I did I imagine Howard would be closer to Strumpf than to Davis.

[Cubswin11]

I’m cool with keeping Howard 2 for reasons laid out but using that same logic I don’t get how you can have Christian Hernandez in the 20s in the same rankings.

[Tim]

I'm also confused by the size of gap between Preciado and Alcantara.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Miguel Amaya, a right-handed hitter and thrower, is still feeling discomfort in his forearm/elbow area and is unlikely to play again this season, a source said Monday. While the medical recommendation did not include surgery, Amaya had to shut down and restart his buildup, making the Arizona Fall League a remote possibility and winter ball a more likely return-to-play scenario for him. On Sunday, Amaya posted a message in Spanish on his Instagram account that referenced 2022 and translated to: “Only God knows why things happen, FAITH and TRUST.”

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The Cubs have only had a couple guys on the BA Hot Sheet (list of 20 hottest prospects each week) this year but Nelly Velázquez became the first repeat guy: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/hot-sheet-baseballs-20-hottest-prospects-from-the-past-week-81721/

 

6. Nelson Velazquez, OF, Cubs

Team: Double-A Tennessee (South)

Age: 22

 

Why He’s Here: .421/.450/1.158 (8-for-19), 6 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 0 BB, 7 SO

 

The Scoop: Velazquez made a swing adjustment this season to flatten his bat path and keep his barrel in the zone longer. The result has been a hitter who better handles fastballs, destroys mistakes and uses the whole field more than in previous years. Velazquez received a promotion to Double-A on Aug. 4 and has crushed the ball since he arrived, with four doubles, a triple and five home runs in 11 games with Tennessee. That includes a 4-for-4 game with a double and two homers against Rocket City last week and four consecutive games driving in at least one run. Though Velazquez remains an aggressive hitter prone to striking out, his swing improvements now allow him to make enough contact to project as a major leaguer—and possibly even a regular—in the eyes of both the Cubs and opposing evaluators. (KG)