Minor League Musings

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Good read by Greg Z:

 

[Bertz]

Wesneski is one of the MLB starters listed but doesn't get a writeup.  Then among the AAA arms Ben Brown gets a nod

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In terms of stashing for the future, though, the names that jump off this list are Ben Brown in Chicago and Bobby Miller in Los Angeles. There’s some confusion about what Brown actually throws, but the best info has it as a curveball (called a slider by the machines), a four-seamer that is plus-plus, a developing cutter, and a fourth pitch that is either a sinker or change. He might just be a two-pitch pitcher, but those two pitches are high quality and he may be able to succeed as a five-and-dive type starter in the Cristian Javier mold.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Ben Brown, the hottest prospect in baseball last week:

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1. Ben Brown, RHP, Cubs
Team: Triple-A Iowa (International)
Age: 23

Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 SO,0 HR

The Scoop: Brown received a promotion to Triple-A on April 29 and has quickly shown he can handle the level. After throwing 5.2 innings with one run allowed in his Iowa debut, Brown followed up with five scoreless innings with two hits allowed and 10 strikeouts in a dominant start against Toledo last week. Brown carved through the Mud Hens lineup with an easy mid-90s fastball, a vicious power curveball and a fine-tuned, mid-80s slider, giving him his first double-digit strikeout game since joining the Cubs organization. Brown is now 3-0, 0.59 in six starts this season with 47 strikeouts and 11 walks in 30.2 innings. He has cemented his status as a steal for the Cubs at last year’s trade deadline and is pushing aggressively for his first big league callup. (KG)

 

[CubinNY]

Rocker is having TJ surgery 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

 

 

It's Jim Bowden, but he lists BJ Murray in this article on "Prospects you don't know but should": https://theathletic.com/4528412/2023/05/18/mlb-prospects-mets-yankees-braves

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14. BJ Murray, 3B, Cubs

Age: 23
B: B T: R
HT: 5-10 WT: 205

Scouting grades: HIT: 50 PWR: 50 RUN: 50 ARM: 50 FLD: 45
Stats (Double A): Slash line: .259/.400/.526
2B: 9 HR: 6 RBI: 23 SB: 3

Murray has quick hands with solid average major-league power. His bat speed and strength are above-average attributes. He’s an adequate defender at first and third base and can also play second if needed. He has a career on-base percentage of .401 in nearly 600 minor-league plate appearances. His hit and power tools appear to be improving at a rapid pace.

Cubs GM Carter Hawkins: “Murray is a switch-hitting third baseman with elite plate discipline (19 percent walk rate) and emerging power. Getting better and better as he gets more reps.”

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Owen Caissie’s EVs are in the 99th percentile of all professional hitters.

Moisés Ballesteros is close to a promotion to high-A.

Alexander Canario is running and taking BP.

Ed Howard is playing in extended spring training games but it’s “still a bit of a touch and go situation,” whatever that means.

[Post Count Padder]

Have I missed something or why hasn't Wicks gotten the call up to Iowa yet?

[Hrubes20]

5 hours ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

 

 

It's Jim Bowden, but he lists BJ Murray in this article on "Prospects you don't know but should": https://theathletic.com/4528412/2023/05/18/mlb-prospects-mets-yankees-braves

 

I'm not sure his defense at 3B is even "adequate" but the bat certainly is intriguing.  Murray is one of those guys that gets dealt to the A's and makes an AS team somewhere along the line.

1 hour ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Owen Caissie’s EVs are in the 99th percentile of all professional hitters.

Moisés Ballesteros is close to a promotion to high-A.

Alexander Canario is running and taking BP.

Ed Howard is playing in extended spring training games but it’s “still a bit of a touch and go situation,” whatever that means.

My boy Ballesteros doing work.  I knew he had at least 1, but was not aware that our favorite bowling ball has 3, yes 3, stolen bases this year already.  

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Also we finally got mention of what Devers’ injury  is: shoulder strain. He’s expected to throw 2 innings in Extended ST on Thursday.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

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Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs: When Ballesteros signed out of Venezuela during the 2020-2021 signing period the catcher was billed as one of the top offensive prospects in the class. Just a few short years later and we’re beginning to see that ability show itself. Over 42 games Ballesteros is hitting a less than impressive .255/.371/.386 but keep in mind his home park in Low-A Myrtle Beach is one of the most treacherous hitting environments in the lower minors. When looking under the hood it’s clear that Ballesteros has a special set of skills that make him a problem for opposing pitchers. Outside of Roman Anthony and Carson Williams, no hitters show the same level of advanced skills at that age. His combination of power and bat-to-ball skills is impressive, with a 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and an 82% contact rate this season. He’s more aggressive than either Anthony or Williams when it comes to expanding the zone, but his swing decisions and chase rate fall squarely into an average zone.

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Owen Caissie, OF, Cubs: The Cubs acquired the Canadian slugger in the trade that sent Yu Darvish to the Padres in December of 2020. After a solid but unspectacular season in 2022, Caissie is showcasing some of the best impact in minor league baseball in 2023. While the outfielder’s strikeout rate of 37.6% is difficult to stomach it hasn’t stopped Caissie from hitting .265/.354/.525 and matching last season’s home run total of 11 across 44 games. His 136 wRC+ ranks in the top 10 in the Southern League despite being one of five players 20 years or younger to begin the season on the circuit. How much Caissie’s inflated strikeout rate is driven by the Southern League’s pre-tacked balls remains a question. That said, a look under the hood tells the whole story. While his 56% contact rate is a red flag, his exit velocity and chase numbers are otherworldly. His average exit velocity this season is 94 mph, while his 90th percentile exit velocity is 113.5 mph with a max exit velocity higher than 117 mph. His chase rate is squarely average at 25%, meaning the impact and swing decisions are there. The inflated swing-and-miss makes Caissie a risky bet, but his impact is such an outlier it puts him into Joey Gallo territory.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

2 hours ago, TomtheBombadil said:

More Horton fluff...from Zach Buchanan at The Athletic:

Call me crazy but Horton's not blowing up expectations

Bold: gross, right? I don't get why it's so hard for professional writers to avoid this. It has to be something to do with The Man and brainwashing

A professional writer didn’t write that. An unnamed scout did. 

[craig]

Those were some encouraging comments by the scout. 

• " probably the cleanest arm and delivery I had seen all year."  I love that, both for health/durability and also for control and repeatability.  
• "He has a four-seam he can bully guys with. It has velo and life and rode up in the strike zone. It was a plus pitch,".   I love that too.  I've seen velocity reports, but In a world where every RHP throws at least mid-90's, I've wondered whether his fastball was above average, or had asset spin or movement.  So nice to see a favorable eval.  
• "So that’s three potential plus pitches in his arsenal."  At draft there was talk of two-pitch guy, maybe ends up in relief.  The scout touched on both change and curve; not sure which of those he was viewing as the 3rd potential plus pitch?  I assume the curve?  

[Hrubes20]

6 minutes ago, craig said:

Those were some encouraging comments by the scout. 

• " probably the cleanest arm and delivery I had seen all year."  I love that, both for health/durability and also for control and repeatability.  
• "He has a four-seam he can bully guys with. It has velo and life and rode up in the strike zone. It was a plus pitch,".   I love that too.  I've seen velocity reports, but In a world where every RHP throws at least mid-90's, I've wondered whether his fastball was above average, or had asset spin or movement.  So nice to see a favorable eval.  
• "So that’s three potential plus pitches in his arsenal."  At draft there was talk of two-pitch guy, maybe ends up in relief.  The scout touched on both change and curve; not sure which of those he was viewing as the 3rd potential plus pitch?  I assume the curve?  

Correct.  He's thrown some nasty ones already.  

[CubinNY]

Jefferson Rojas has been assigned to MB. He's 18.!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

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13. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs
Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)
Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .350/.458/.850 (7-for-20), 6 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 7 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Crow-Armstrong is one of the best defensive center fielders in the minor leagues, a truly elite gloveman who is a slam dunk to stick up the middle. Offensively, he’s no slouch either. The 21-year-old, who was dealt from the Mets to the Cubs in the Javier Baez deal in 2021, entered the week with four home runs, then promptly hit three in a week. On the season, Crow-Armstrong has produced an OPS of .840. That’s impressive enough on its own, but it becomes magnified by the fact that the Southern League is currently using a pre-tacked baseball that has skewed the offensive environment toward pitchers. (JN)

 

 

[CubinNY]

How rare is it for an 18 year old to be in low A?

[sneakypower]

On 6/5/2023 at 3:35 PM, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

"good underlying data" re Caissie
*cites the most atrocious contact rate imaginable*

[Tim]

1 minute ago, TomtheBombadil said:

The last position player to do it in the org is Isaac Paredes. He opened the season with SB and got traded for Justin Wilson 

He's the last one to do it this early in the season. There have been others that get the promotion at the end of the season. For example, last year with Ramirez & Ballesteros.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

57 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

How rare is it for an 18 year old to be in low A?

On opening day this April, there were 25 players 18 or younger in low-A across baseball. 12 of those guys are now 19 and we've  added Ethan Salas, Josue de Paula and Jefferson Rojas to A-ball (not sure if any others have been added in season) so that means at least 16 currently.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Precautionary would be fantastic:

 

[Hrubes20]

Is this where we talk about what prospects we want the Cubs to target in Stroman/Bellinger deals?

[Nolansomebody]

 

Madrigal gets called up to Wrigley while Mastrobouni gets sent down to Iowa.

[CubfanBen]

When is Perlaza gonna get called up?