Minor League Musings

[CubsWin]

The Cubs signed veteran reliever Alex Wilson (formerly of the Brewers and Tigers) to a minor league contract for bullpen depth. He was assigned to AAA. He's 32 and was a 2nd round draft pick by (surprise, surprise) Boston while Theo was GM. He struggled in 11.1 innings for Milwaukee this season, but has plenty of major league experience pitching (332 IP, 3.44 ERA, .252 BAA, 1.22 WHIP.). He's not a big strikeout guy so the FIP and xFIP aren't great and has been hovering around a 50% GB rate the last couple seasons.

 

He's basically a FB and cutter guy. FB around 91-92 with the cutter 85-86. Here's hoping the Cubs don't need to use him.

 

In slightly related news, Brad Brach was given his requested unconditional release after not being picked up on waivers.

[snoodmonger]

Hey, I was just curious what realistic expectations for Underwood are. He looked really good yesterday, but obviously those weren't high-stakes innings. Could he be a valuable bullpen piece?

[Tryptamine]

Hey, I was just curious what realistic expectations for Underwood are. He looked really good yesterday, but obviously those weren't high-stakes innings. Could he be a valuable bullpen piece?

 

I don't think he's a closer, or even an 8th inning guy, but he could be a really 3rd or 4th arm out of the pen. The kind of guy who is great to have around as long as he's cheap.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Andrew R (PA):

 

Brailyn Marquez pitched 5 shut out innings in his High A debut yesterday, his 3rd consecutive start without allowing a run. What is his upside?

 

Kyle Glaser: It might be as high as anyone in the Cubs' system. What he's showing, and the reviews we're getting, the Cubs might have something very, very special there.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Hey, I was just curious what realistic expectations for Underwood are. He looked really good yesterday, but obviously those weren't high-stakes innings. Could he be a valuable bullpen piece?

 

Depending on your definition of valuable bullpen piece, yes. I doubt he’ll ever be a closer or super high leverage reliever but he could be the 3rd or 4th best reliever on a contender if his changeup continues to play up like it has since he went to the bullpen.

[Post Count Padder]

We have a decent amount of middle relief option in Iowa between Underwood, Mills, Mekkes, Maples, Brooks, etc. I wonder how many get a look for a role next year with Kintzler, Cishek, Strop contracts all up.

 

Also pointing out we're on page 69.

[Bertz]

We have a decent amount of middle relief option in Iowa between Underwood, Mills, Mekkes, Maples, Brooks, etc. I wonder how many get a look for a role next year with Kintzler, Cishek, Strop contracts all up.

 

Also pointing out we're on page 69.

 

Nice

 

Yeah, right now the only lock for the bullpen is Kimbrel. Chatwood would currently be slated for the 5th starter spot, while like you said Strop, Cishek, Kintzler and Holland are FAs. Phelps has a really cheap club option so he'll probably be around, and Kyle Ryan would *really* need to go sideways to get left out. That leaves five open spots. I'd guess we fill two or three via FA, and two or three get filled via the Iowa shuttle. My guess is we open the season with something like this

 

CL - Kimbrel

SU - High cost relief option (e.g. Will Smith)

SU - Ryan

MR - Phelps

MR - Lower cost FA option (e.g. resign Cishek or Strop)

MR - Iowa Shuttle (Wick as of right now)

MR - Iowa Shuttle (Underwood as of right now)

LR - Kendall Gravemen or similar reclamation project SP

[CaliforniaRaisin]

We have a decent amount of middle relief option in Iowa between Underwood, Mills, Mekkes, Maples, Brooks, etc. I wonder how many get a look for a role next year with Kintzler, Cishek, Strop contracts all up.

 

Also pointing out we're on page 69.

 

Nice

 

Yeah, right now the only lock for the bullpen is Kimbrel. Chatwood would currently be slated for the 5th starter spot, while like you said Strop, Cishek, Kintzler and Holland are FAs. Phelps has a really cheap club option so he'll probably be around, and Kyle Ryan would *really* need to go sideways to get left out. That leaves five open spots. I'd guess we fill two or three via FA, and two or three get filled via the Iowa shuttle. My guess is we open the season with something like this

 

CL - Kimbrel

SU - High cost relief option (e.g. Will Smith)

SU - Ryan

MR - Phelps

MR - Lower cost FA option (e.g. resign Cishek or Strop)

MR - Iowa Shuttle (Wick as of right now)

MR - Iowa Shuttle (Underwood as of right now)

LR - Kendall Gravemen or similar reclamation project SP

 

It hasn't been as long as Ryan but I think Wick has firmly cemented himself in the same tier.

 

Also, unless I am mistaken, Underwood Jr is out of options next year and can't be on the Iowa shuttle.

[CubsWin]

Also, unless I am mistaken, Underwood Jr is out of options next year and can't be on the Iowa shuttle.

You are not mistaken.

 

Kyle Ryan, Allen Webster, Alec Mills and Randy Rosario are also on that list. Rowan Wick will have an option remaining but can elect free agency if sent down.

[sweetpeteman]

Also, unless I am mistaken, Underwood Jr is out of options next year and can't be on the Iowa shuttle.

You are not mistaken.

 

Kyle Ryan, Allen Webster, Alec Mills and Randy Rosario are also on that list. Rowan Wick will have an option remaining but can elect free agency if sent down.

 

 

Webster and Rosario will probably be DFA'd this offseason. Mills might be kept around and allowed to compete for the LR role out of spring training and then have a decision made about him.

[CubsWin]

Also, unless I am mistaken, Underwood Jr is out of options next year and can't be on the Iowa shuttle.

You are not mistaken.

 

Kyle Ryan, Allen Webster, Alec Mills and Randy Rosario are also on that list. Rowan Wick will have an option remaining but can elect free agency if sent down.

 

 

Webster and Rosario will probably be DFA'd this offseason. Mills might be kept around and allowed to compete for the LR role out of spring training and then have a decision made about him.

Yeah, that's how see it, too, with the possibility of Webster being kept on until ST depending on his health status. If 40-man space becomes an issue (and it might with the Cubs possibly carrying 4 catchers after adding Amaya and one of PJ Higgins or Jhonny Pereda), I'd expect Webster to be the first to go.

[We Got The Whole 9]

I'd like to see them reshape the pen and keep those young guys pushing 96-97 around. Provided Underwood finishes out the year strong I think that it would be a mistake to pay for a FA over his salary. At least let the market play out and grab guys for cheap. Let Cishek, Kintzler, and Strop sign elsewhere. There will be intriguing guys ala Kyle Ryan and the plethora of RPs that sign every year for peanuts and surprise on various organizations. Use the money on Castellanos, maybe Baez, a Rizzo extension, Hamels, etc. Cant have them all but that money saved will help get one or two.

 

Relievers are fickle as we all know. You dont need to pay out the nose to build one. There are several really good ones out there without big money guys holding them up. We're too maxed out as it is to keep playing in that market.

[Brian]

That story about Cole Roederer not knowing Ben Zobrist when he met him in Arizona... he says it's not true.

 

What you need to know about Roederer is that he is more loquacious than your typical teenage minor-leaguer. Finding himself alone with Zobrist, who is old enough to be his father, Roederer started chatting about how he had hoped to get to Eugene that season, but understood why the Cubs were taking it slow.

 

“I finished talking to him, had an amazing conversation,” Roederer said, shaking his head while sitting in the South Bend dugout at Four Winds Field. “I knew exactly who he was, but I walk out and a bunch of guys were like, ‘Did you just ask him if he played in Eugene last year?’ I said no, but they said I was lying. Then the next day, there were like three different variations of the story.”

 

from a good article from Sahadev Sharma that just went up on the Athletic.

[jersey cubs fan]

That story about Cole Roederer not knowing Ben Zobrist when he met him in Arizona... he says it's not true.

 

What you need to know about Roederer is that he is more loquacious than your typical teenage minor-leaguer. Finding himself alone with Zobrist, who is old enough to be his father, Roederer started chatting about how he had hoped to get to Eugene that season, but understood why the Cubs were taking it slow.

 

“I finished talking to him, had an amazing conversation,” Roederer said, shaking his head while sitting in the South Bend dugout at Four Winds Field. “I knew exactly who he was, but I walk out and a bunch of guys were like, ‘Did you just ask him if he played in Eugene last year?’ I said no, but they said I was lying. Then the next day, there were like three different variations of the story.”

 

from a good article from Sahadev Sharma that just went up on the Athletic.

 

They're only 19 years apart. I mean yeah, sure it's true and could be true even lower, but also gross and extra

It's a common freaking expression you weirdo.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

 

They're only 19 years apart. I mean yeah, sure it's true and could be true even lower, but also gross and extra

It's a common freaking expression you weirdo.

 

Oooooh, first time I've ever come across it

[Post Count Padder]

Not sure where to put this but

 

The Cubs have signed right-hander Chih-Wei Hu to a minor league contract, according to Roster Roundup. Hu had been pitching in the Indians’ farm system before being released from that minors deal in late July.

 

After posting a 3.52 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 3.00 K/BB rate over 23 relief innings with the Rays in 2017-18, Hu was dealt to Cleveland last November but struggled badly with Triple-A Akron this season. Hu managed only a 7.18 ERA over 57 2/3 innings (starting nine of 18 games), thanks in large part to 18 home runs allowed. The Tribe outrighted Hu off their 40-man roster in early July, so it seemed like a change of scenery was probably inevitable.

[OleMissCub]

Been wondering when they were gonna move him up

 

[Hrubes20]

Did someone else post this already?

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Cubs starting to integrate the Houston Way?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Did someone else post this already?

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Cubs starting to integrate the Houston Way?

 

Let me know when they get to the CPAP machines.

[CubsWin]

^^^ Nice

 

----

 

 

I can't get to the full piece but seems like there might be some juicy quotes about Davis in there from Valakia

You asked for it, you got it.

 

“He’s a very good athlete,” Cubs vice president of amateur scouting and player development Jason McLeod said. “I think back to when I personally saw him as an amateur player in high school, I actually thought fundamentally and technically he was pretty good in the way he tracked pitches and the way he recognized spin and all of that. That’s what really drew me to him personally. It was just like, ‘Man, I think this guy actually really knows how to manage a strike zone already,’ which is what we’ve seen all year this year.”

 

Valaika saw the long arms and what Davis had done early in his high school days. Pitchers would attack him away, away, away, knowing that if they challenged him, they’d likely pay the price. That led to Davis creeping closer and closer to the plate. So the Cubs had to really hammer home that he could take advantage by backing off the plate, which would allow him to attack pitches in as well.

 

“We tried to get him off the plate and he’s really run with that,” Valaika said. “There’s still development needed, of course, it’s a work in progress. It’s tough to cover velocity, sometimes at the top of the zone. So you want to give him space to work to allow those levers to play, that was our big point of emphasis. Once we got him to buy into and understand how his body works and giving him the space to let his body play, it’s really taken off.

“When you back away, the plate is not obviously moving. So it’s about approach and intent, but also allowing the frame that you have do that work you need it to do.”

 

Valaika also worked with Davis to be more erect at the plate, so he could handle pitches up. The goal was to use his big, athletic body to cover as much of the plate as possible, both in and out and up and down.

 

“He was in a smaller position, almost defensive,” Valaika said. “So we tried to free him up. Back him off the plate, stand him up. It all allowed him to play a little bit more instead of fighting himself. Especially with the pitch in. Instead of top-spinning the ball to left field, that space allowed him to get extended and get the ball elevated a little more.”

 

The results have opened up the big part of the field for Davis while also allowing him to really clean up on the pull side. And while all the technical work on the field helps, it’s the little stuff that Davis points to as to what’s made the biggest difference in allowing him to thrive from day one in full-season baseball.

 

“I think building a routine for me has been really important,” Davis said. “It’s something I do every day, something that gets me going on the right track. I’m just being consistent throughout. From spring training to extended to here, I’m trying to be consistent. It’s something I never had before in my baseball experience and that’s helped show my abilities on the field and be consistent. I expect it to only go up from here.”

 

Davis said he’s enjoyed working with Valaika, who has helped him slow things down, allowing him to work on one part of his game at a time. “It’s been a tribute to him,” Valaika said. “He has such a desire to take in information, he wants to get better and he is never satisfied. Just a great kid, we’re lucky to have him.”

 

There's more in the article, but there's some of Valaika's thoughts.

[weis21]

Been wondering when they were gonna move him up

 

*sees poster*

 

*assume he must be Ole Miss guy*

 

*googles*

 

*confirmation*

[OleMissCub]

Been wondering when they were gonna move him up

 

*sees poster*

 

*assume he must be Ole Miss guy*

 

*googles*

 

*confirmation*

 

Correct. Was a fan favorite at Ole Miss on account of being so....short. They have him listed at 5'8 but he isn't any taller than 5'6

[Hrubes20]

I checked on the former Cub farmhands that were dealt at the deadline, and it's interesting to me that the Tigers have used Alex Lange exclusively in relief since acquiring him. Same iffy results as when he was a starter, but still interesting that they immediately started that transition.

 

Richan picked up almost exactly where he left off, by walking very few, striking out a respectable amount, and giving up loads of hard contact.

[Brian]

negligent to talk about that outing by Short and not include this tweet

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[CubsWin]

What do you think are the chances that Brailyn Marquez can be a starter?

 

Eric A Longenhagen: 35-40%?

 

Any thoughts/buzz on the Cubs’ Pedro Martinez who is tearing up short season ball at 18?

 

Eric A Longenhagen: limited physical projection but there is power right now. Tough to project a position because of the body but may end up as a power-hitting infielder of some kind. Threatening to move past Garcia who’s having a lost year

 

Also took a B. Davis question but just about how he's hit faster than expected

Wow, really? That's a lot higher than I thought he'd say.