Minor League Musings

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I assume this means no one from South Bend made it into that league's list? It's not surprising, I could maybe see one Jensen, Velazquez, or Canario making the very back of a 20 but none of them are cracking a league top 10.

 

Yeah, that's correct.

[Bertz]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Not common to see a rookie baller be named POM but we’ll deserved:

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

No surprises here:

 

 

ETA DSL honors:

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Not a good review of Ronnier Quintero from Arizona Phil: https://www.thecubreporter.com/comment/271191#comment-271191

 

KKvG: You probably remember that Ronnier Quintero was at Instructs last year, and while he didn't play in any games, he was the bullpen catcher in every game. That's because he was at Instructs to spend 100% of his time working on receiving and catching mechanics, the area where he was most remedial.

 

So his receivng skills / catching mechanics are somewhat improved, but he still isn't quite where he needs to be in that area. He's a bit better, but not quite there yet.

 

His overall athleticism isn't too impressive, either. He's a slow runner on the bases and he's not exactly "cat-quick" behind the plate.

 

Otherwise, he has a strong arm from behind the plate and plus BP power that has yet to show-up in games. His overall hit tool isn't great, but if he can tap into his raw HR power and make it usable in games, then some of the defensive issues might be less noticeable. HR power that is usable in games combined with catch & throw skills can be an attractive combination for a catcher, as long as the hit tool and receiving issues aren't too negative.

 

I'll put it this way:

 

If you saw Ronnier Quintero and Moises Ballesteros down here this past week, and I told you one of them got a $3M signing bonus and the other one got $1.5M, and you had to guess which was which, I would bet that you would say neither of them really looks like a $3M bonus player, but if one of them is, Ballesteros must be the one.

[Bertz]

Longenhagen wasn't impressed earlier this year either

 

Quintero, who signed for nearly $3 million in 2019, has not looked good during my in-person looks at the Cubs complex-level group. He’s late on middling velocity and really only able to contact pitches on the outer third, which he pokes to the opposite field. He’s also already physically maxed out and lacks mobility on defense. Because he’s so young, Quintero is an obvious “reverse projection” candidate. It’s easier for athletes this age to remake their bodies quickly, but that absolutely needs to happen for Quintero to progress. He’s a pedigree-only prospect at this point, as he’s had an NP look in real time.

 

This year has not alleviated my belief that TINSTAAC should also be a thing

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Yesterday:

 

[Bertz]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Bertz]

 

A couple weird choices (Like Espinoza at Iowa instead of Kilian?) but I love that Bryan does these periodically

[Bertz]

 

I do think Sanders is the most likely to get poached from the Cubs. The velocity plus MLB proximity is a good combo of upside plus not being a total punt of a roster spot. At the same time the Cubs probably have 8 or 9 guys more essential to protect.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Devil's Avocado, Bryan: Cam Sanders got consistently torched by AA hitters, and the HR tendencies plus lack of excellence against RH hitters don't make him particularly attractive as a reliever or potential SP when you have to roster him all year.

[Bertz]

Devil's Avocado, Bryan: Cam Sanders got consistently torched by AA hitters, and the HR tendencies plus lack of excellence against RH hitters don't make him particularly attractive as a reliever or potential SP when you have to roster him all year.

 

Yeah, that level of velocity is nice, but these days not super rare or differentiating without something to go along with it.

 

Like I see 11 guys I could at argue for keeping above Cam? Now there's obviously a certain amount of gamesmanship; if someone is far enough away you can leave them unprotected even if they offer some pedigree. But the Cubs have 5 open spots on their 40 man, and even with a fair amount of mental gymnastics I don't think I can get Cam above 7 of the guys below:

 

The guys with a 2022 ETA:

Nelly Velazquez

Andy Weber

Ethan Roberts

Brendon Little

Bryan Hudson

 

The Dynamite Relievers in A Ball (Manny Rodriguez types)

Danis Correa

Eury Ramos

 

Promising but Hurt Pitchers:

Riley Thompson

Jack Patterson

Kohl Franklin

Yovanny Cruz

[JeffH]

Franklin isn't eligible. Very far away, but I would put Luis Devers on a "probably more worried about losing him than I should be, but still" list.

[Bertz]

Franklin isn't eligible. Very far away, but I would put Luis Devers on a "probably more worried about losing him than I should be, but still" list.

 

Interesting. Fangraphs has him as eligible but I'll definitely defer to Arizona Phil. I don't quite get how one becomes eligible but it looks like the Fangraphs list has a lot of 2018 draftees which I think isn't right unless they were college guys?

[CubinNY]

Why didn't they do this in the summer?

[Hrubes20]

 

Well damn. May be able to DH for part of the 2nd half, but he won't be catching this year.

[craig]

....There's alot to think this guy is a little more Future proof than a more standard shorter relief only RH who can also throw a fastball and a slider. He's routinely thrown multiple inning outings in the minor leagues, throws a ton of strikes, keeps the ball in the park and on the ground, can miss bats, has 3-4 pitches...pretty complete pitcher skillset in general outside of throwing enough innings to start

 

Tom, thanks for link to the Ethan Roberts article. Is there any sense for why his results didn't transfer up to Iowa? He pitched 22 innings for Iowa versus 32 in AA, but gave up more hits (19/16) and almost as many walks (8/9) at Iowa in basically 2/3 of the innings.

*Just a fluke, and he had a couple of off-games control-wise? Or is there a hint that better hitters neutralize him a little bit, and his AA success might not translate?

*I'm guessing it's mostly small sample-size fluke? But sometimes guys with somewhat lesser stuff can't get by as well when they are "off" their game.

Over a 2.1-inning 3-game stretch at Iowa, he gave up 4 walks and 7 earned runs.

 

Not sure it applies, but I think sometimes finesse pitchers below AAA are willing to throw fastball strikes, even if location sometimes drifts into hittable parts of the strike zone, because hitters don't punish the mistake fastballs. When willing to throw fastball strikes early, that sets up K-counts, where chase pitches get chase K's; plus when willing to throw fastball strikes when behind, that limits walks. Win-win for K/BB ratios. But then sometimes against more dangerous hitters, guys can't afford to throw as many fastball strikes inside the edges; they get behind more; and their chase pitches cause less chase. The "Micah Bowie" syndrome, for those of you old enough to remember the player. Then sometimes confidence and rhythm deteriorates, too, and command slips, too.

[Bertz]

 

 

There was also a question he answered that said he hasn't bailed on Howard yet

[Bertz]

 

Broken hand/forearm?

[TarzanJoeWallis]

 

Broken hand/forearm?

 

I think he just got his arm stuck in a giant piece of strawberry cake. So he should be fine once he gets a fork.

[PackLandVA]

 

Broken hand/forearm?

 

I think he just got his arm stuck in a giant piece of strawberry cake. So he should be fine once he gets a fork.

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

[Hrubes20]

Yeah, that doesn't look like the typical TJS recovery photo, does it? I don't recall seeing the hand that bandaged up before.