Minor League Musings

[Bertz]

 

 

[allen6510w]

A look at the MiL position players  who are off to a good offensive start this spring. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

22 minutes ago, allen6510w said:

A look at the MiL position players  who are off to a good offensive start this spring. 

 I like this format, thanks for putting it together.  A small suggestion, using wRC+ over OPS(or in addition to) might be a little more informative given how much leagues and parks can vary across MiLB.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA's Prospect Hot Sheet - top 20 prospects in the last week:

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8. Cristian Hernandez, SS, Cubs

Team: High-A South Bend (Midwest)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .455/.538/.783 (10-for-22), 4 R, 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 3 BB, 5 SO, 2-for-3 SB

The Scoop: Years ago, Hernandez was one of the top prospects in Chicago’s system. Now, he’s beginning to turn his potential into production. He struggled a bit in 2024 upon reaching High-A for the first time. The early days of this season have seen Hernandez flip his fortunes. Five of his first 13 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including his first home run of the season. After hitting just five homers in 2024, going deep in the first week could be the first hint of a sizable breakout to come. (JN)

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

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Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs (+2 mph)

This isn’t much of a surprise, as Horton’s velocity is back to its 2023 form. He had a lat injury in 2024 that cost him one or two ticks. Now he’s back in pre-injury form, which is encouraging for the Cubs.

 

[Post Count Padder]

I hate what happened to Steele but I'm exciting about the possibility of getting MLB innings from Horton this season. 

[Jason Ross]

[JunkyardWalrus]

Sb is in Grand Rapids this week! Perfect timing!

[Bertz]

I didn't think Riley Martin had bad stuff but shocked to see him here

 

[Jason Ross]

37 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I didn't think Riley Martin had bad stuff but shocked to see him here

 

I need him to throw just a few more strikes.  But I am so rooting for that guy 

[Bertz]

 

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/ranking-the-20-hottest-mlb-prospects-hot-sheet-4-21-25/

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7. Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs

Team: Triple-A Iowa (International)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .526/.583/.947 (10-for-19), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 4 BB, 1 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: Ballesteros can hit. The sport’s No. 57 prospect has proven his offensive bona fides at every level, and he’s begun the 2025 season on a high note. With his 10 hits this week, he’s now 26-for-67 with just 10 strikeouts in 76 plate appearances and just three hits behind Gustavo Campero for the overall minor league lead. Both of his 2025 home runs came on April 16 as part of a 4-for-5 effort that also included a double. One of those homers came against a 64 mph eephus pitch and left the bat at 103.1 mph. (JN)

 

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19. Andy Garriola, OF, Cubs 

Team: High-A South Bend (Midwest) 

Age: 25 

Why He’s Here: .333/.333/.917 (8-for-24), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 8 RBIs, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0-for-1 SB

The Scoop: A low-dollar signing in the 17th round of the 2022 draft out of Old Dominion, Garriola has struggled out the gate this season but had a huge week last week. He homered in four out of the final five game of the series, including homers in three consecutive games to end the week. Garriola has power, but swing-and-miss issues have kept him from getting to it with greater frequency. (GP) 

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

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Moises Ballesteros, C, Cubs

Ballesteros can flat out ball. There are certain analytical profiles that just scream out “high-probability major league bat” and this is a prime example. He does a good job at pretty much everything, especially on the bat-to-ball side. While the zone contact will likely regress some against MLB pitching, Ballesteros shows no holes in his swing, as he makes tons of contact in and and out of the zone and does a lot of damage whether he chases or attacks in-zone pitches. When you can do that, it doesn’t matter all that much that you have above-average chase rates.

I have but one nitpick: Ballesteros’ batted-ball quality is worse on fly balls in the early going, which might limit his upside somewhat. However, the rest of the profile is solid gold, and points to a catcher that could be a 55 hit/55 power guy.

 

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/tim-elko-nate-eaton-headline-10-statcast-standouts-april-21/

[Bertz]

I'm really curious how/if the team is going to fold in Ballesteros this season beyond IL time.

He can play C/1B/DH, and via moving Suzuki out from DH can help cover any OF spot.  However, the Cubs are top 10 in the league at all of those spots except LF, where even with a slow start from Happ we rank 11th.

Moises doesn't have major L/R splits, so maybe he steals some of Justin Turner's playing time?  That said IMO it's quite rare for a lefty hitter to succeed against lefty pitching early in his MLB career.  It would be ballsy to e.g. use a 21 year old to provide platoon support to guys like Happ or Busch.

There will inevitably be an injury or three, and of course Moises has defensive work to do.  But it's kind of crazy to have a guy this clearly ready and just nowhere to put him.  First world problem to be sure.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Only 50 PA but Rosario has a 440 wOBA with just a 20% K rate for Cleveland's high-A club and Morgan probably has an exploded elbow. Freaking ****** luck.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2025 by We Got The Whole 9

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

I'm really curious how/if the team is going to fold in Ballesteros this season beyond IL time.

He can play C/1B/DH, and via moving Suzuki out from DH can help cover any OF spot.  However, the Cubs are top 10 in the league at all of those spots except LF, where even with a slow start from Happ we rank 11th.

Moises doesn't have major L/R splits, so maybe he steals some of Justin Turner's playing time?  That said IMO it's quite rare for a lefty hitter to succeed against lefty pitching early in his MLB career.  It would be ballsy to e.g. use a 21 year old to provide platoon support to guys like Happ or Busch.

There will inevitably be an injury or three, and of course Moises has defensive work to do.  But it's kind of crazy to have a guy this clearly ready and just nowhere to put him.  First world problem to be sure.

Yeah, it's a good problem to have. If the Cubs are of the belief that he can catch 50-75 games at the MLB level, I also suspect he'll be a very hard prospect to pry from the team, as well. Pretty exciting stuff. 

I suspect ultimately it's injury or bust for Mo. But you never know.

[Stratos]

On 4/19/2025 at 2:51 PM, Bertz said:

I didn't think Riley Martin had bad stuff but shocked to see him here

 

Looks like his K/9 has always been excellent.  Walks are the issue including this year.

[Stratos]

Tyson Miller, Tom Cosgrove, and Assad are all off to great starts in Iowa.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Jason Ross]

6 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

Hopefully his control is a bit better. He's been a bit off at the start of the year. I like his slider-fastball-mustache combo, though.

[Jason Ross]

Michael Fulmer has signed back with the organization. He is coming back from UCL surgery and will be assigned to Iowa.