Minor League Musings

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Damn, 12% chase is crazy

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Outshined_One]

13 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

Do Hartshorn next!

[Bertz]

Good, I never really heard a decent argument for why he didn't start there to begin with.

Ayers presumably gets bumped to Tenn as well?  Not sure if anything else feels all that pressing.

[Rcal10]

9 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Good, I never really heard a decent argument for why he didn't start there to begin with.

Ayers presumably gets bumped to Tenn as well?  Not sure if anything else feels all that pressing.

Maybe Kipp to Iowa? 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Eli Jerzembeck to the IL. 😞Leonel Espinoza too.

Erian Rodríguez to the developmental list. Brian Kalmer released.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

20 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Good, I never really heard a decent argument for why he didn't start there to begin with.

Ayers presumably gets bumped to Tenn as well?  Not sure if anything else feels all that pressing.

Yeah, got to think that's happening today or soon.

I think Hartshorn waits a bit since he's a prep pick who hasn't completed a full month of professional ball yet. I was thinking if he keeps playing well, he'd get promoted around Memorial Day.

[Bertz]

13 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Yeah, got to think that's happening today or soon.

I think Hartshorn waits a bit since he's a prep pick who hasn't completed a full month of professional ball yet. I was thinking if he keeps playing well, he'd get promoted around Memorial Day.

Agreed.  If he was older I'd move him up, but as a 19 year old I'd like him to do the whole "go into a slump and pull yourself out of it" deal.  Even if we have to stretch a bit to call something a slump for him at that level.

[craig]

Jerzembeck, that didn't take long.  Bummer.  

[We Got The Whole 9]

How long will they wait to promote Ayers? Is Hearn actually impacting that decision?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

On 4/18/2026 at 6:33 AM, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Follow-up tweet that I missed:

(I don’t have to imagine Nico with power. I just have to watch Nico in 2026.).

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/pedro-ramirez-kevin-alcantara-headline-10-statcast-standouts-april-20/
 

Quote

Just how unprecedented is Ramirez’s combo of power and contact? Since 2021, he stands alone, especially when you factor in age:

In terms of zone contact, his closest peers younger than 25 are at least a full grade lower in raw power.

As a righthanded batter, Ramirez resembles Jacob Wilson with more power. With only 82 pitches so far against lefties and 350 overall, we can’t be too confident that he’s improved this much. That said, for the first 18 games of the season, Ramirez is performing like a top prospect, both on the surface and under the hood. If he keeps this up for a few months, he’s going to rocket up prospect lists, much the same way Kristian Campbell did a couple years ago. And for the fantasy baseball aficionados: This is a player you want to buy in on before it’s too late.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

24 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

How long will they wait to promote Ayers? Is Hearn actually impacting that decision?

I’m guessing Ayers gets promoted today, in concurrence with Mathis’ promotion.

iI don’t think Ethan Hearn is at all impacting this decision. Ensuring both Ariel Armas and Owen Ayers got enough playing time at catcher is what is caused Ayers to start at South Bend. And Ayers is forcing the issue there.

[Bertz]

FWIW, Z-Contact numbers for various recent Cubs at AAA and MLB

PCA ('23/'24) - 79.8% / 77.2%

Caissie - 82.7% / 79.3% 

Mo Baller - 86.4% / 83.7%

Matt Shaw - 85.9% / 86.4%

Worth noting that PCA since the start of last year is at 84%, and Mo/Caissie's numbers are better this year than they were in their cups of coffee last year.  So like, a 3 point drop is basically the high end of what you could expect, and generally it's less than that as guys get their feet under them.

Pedro Ramirez at 95.2% is elite.  Would rank 4th in MLB last season behind Nico.  Even if you lop 3 full points off hes still ~90th percentile, in line with guys like Jung Hoo Lee and Jose Ramirez.

Pedro is an absolute data darling.

[sneakypower]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

Pedro is an absolute data darling.

i'm still living off the hopium high of seeing this comp 2 years ago

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Love Pedro but is there a guy that's more blocked? Even Shaw is blocking him from super-utility. Hopefully other teams are liking him as well

Edited 1 hour ago by Tangled Up in Plaid

[Bertz]

21 minutes ago, sneakypower said:

i'm still living off the hopium high of seeing this comp 2 years ago

That is an insanely impressive to make that call two years ago.  Like Pedro had a good '23 at Myrtle but damn.

Also goes to show how much of *gestures* all this is superseded by age relative to league.  We're seeing it here, we're seeing it with Mo.  Guys who performed super young for every league they've been in continuing to perform up the ladder despite not having the loudest toolsets.

[Rcal10]

21 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Love Pedro but is there a guy that's more blocked? Even Shaw is blocking him from super-utility. Hopefully other teams are liking him as well

I really doubt Ramirez is blocked if he can hit. I just don’t think it is that hard to grab an outfield glove and go play left field. If he hits they will find a spot. Cam Smith and Shaw have moved to the outfield. Ramirez can follow if he hits. 

[sneakypower]

25 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Love Pedro but is there a guy that's more blocked? Even Shaw is blocking him from super-utility. Hopefully other teams are liking him as well

thanks for killing the vibe dude, i don't need to know we're likely trading this guy for eight point three three innings of Mike Soroka 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

8 minutes ago, sneakypower said:

thanks for killing the vibe dude, i don't need to know we're likely trading this guy for eight point three three innings of Mike Soroka 

how bout in a package for joe ryan or drew rasmussen

[craig]

1 hour ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Love Pedro but is there a guy that's more blocked? Even Shaw is blocking him from super-utility. Hopefully other teams are liking him as well

How about Shaw has a positive hitting season, and Shaw gets traded for somebody good.  Then Pedro takes on the super-utility?  As a switch-hitter, he'd be an even better Zobrist than RH-Shaw.  Shaw had pretty significant splits last year, and this year thus far.  A both-ways guy might be helpful.  With all three of Hoerner-Dansby-Bregman being RH, having a LH utility might be especially helpful?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

11 minutes ago, craig said:

How about Shaw has a positive hitting season, and Shaw gets traded for somebody good.  Then Pedro takes on the super-utility?  As a switch-hitter, he'd be an even better Zobrist than RH-Shaw.  Shaw had pretty significant splits last year, and this year thus far.  A both-ways guy might be helpful.  With all three of Hoerner-Dansby-Bregman being RH, having a LH utility might be especially helpful?

obviously for personal reasons I'd love Shaw to be traded, just don't think that's how the front office looks at it

[We Got The Whole 9]

I really hope Jett Williams isn't Bobby Abreu.