Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 4-13-17

[Agony and Ivy]

Through 4, Cease has given up 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 6.

 

Assuming he's done: 5 IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K

[Agony and Ivy]

Through 4, Cease has given up 1 hit, walked 2, and struck out 6.

 

Assuming he's done: 5 IP 3H 0R 2BB 7K

 

One of those hits came when a baserunner was hit to end the 5th

[davell]

They're not going to touch him in A Ball. I'll be very surprised if he's not in MB by the middle of May at the latest. Could coincide with De La Cruz moving to Tennessee.

[David]

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[craig]

Steele with a good game, 6K/1BB and a couple of doubles in 5 innings.

 

Would be fun if he emerged as a consistent strike-thrower.

[CubsWin]

Steele with a good game, 6K/1BB and a couple of doubles in 5 innings.

 

Would be fun if he emerged as a consistent strike-thrower.

On top of the rather surprising performance from Steele, good news from Mesa where another pitcher who struggled last season threw a gem.

 

The 6'8 Hudson (Cubs 2015 3rd round draft pick - Alton HS - Alton, IL) was an absolute ground-ball machine, mixing an 87-89 MPH sinker, a plus-curve, and an occasional change-up to keep the A's hitters off-balance and constantly beating pitches into the ground. He also threw 70% strikes and averaged only 11.5 pitches-per-inning. Hudson's outing was simply one of the best performances by a starting pitcher in a Cactus League Extended Spring Training game I have ever witnessed (and I have seen many good ones over the last 40 years). There were three or four scouts from other MLB clubs in attendance at the game watching Hudson work, and I would think they probably came away favorably impressed as well.

 

Bryan Hudson: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 GIDP, 10/0 GO/AO, 69 pitches (48 strikes)

[Hrubes20]

 

I mean 1/4 of our playoff rotation was absolute trash last year and we still won the world series...and arrieta was just decent overall. lester and hendricks were great, obviously. the point is, our starting pitching was a bit of a mixed bag and we won it all.

 

Arrieta was really good in 3 of 4 starts last playoffs. That team absolutely had a 3 horse rotation and to think otherwise is ridiculous. But he's gone after the season and Lester is another year older. You don't mess around with any of the premium years of this core by putting out a playoff rotation of Lester/Hendricks/Mike Montgomery?/Cobb?/Liriano?/Butler?/Mills?. This FO may be the best in the business at recognizing and developing amateur offensive talent. Up to this point, they've been bad at recognizing and developing amateur pitching talent. I have all the faith in the world that they can find another Happ. I don't believe they can find a guy like, say, Chris Archer.

Eddie Butler and Mike Montgomery disagree.

 

I have no idea what those two have to do with any of what I said. They weren't amateur pitching talent, which is what I directly referenced. Jury is still absolutely out on whether or not either could be a long term SP for the big league team.

 

They'll get a top tier FA SP next year, to replace Jake. They'll likely continue to try and "unearth" more Jake's, as they're currently trying to do.

 

I feel confident that IF they ever get to the point where they HAVE to pull the trigger on a big SP trade, they'll do it. But I'm equally as confident that they'll keep finding pitching thru low end trades and Free Agency, that they'll never get to that point.

 

The only non-Arrieta top tier FA SPs are Yu Darvish (31 and a recent TJS) and Johnny Cueto (32, a lot of innings pitched, and a previous elbow injury as well). Does anyone feel comfortable giving either of these guys 6 years and $20-24 million per? That would be $64+ million in only Lester/FA SP/Heyward at a time when the hitting is going to start getting more expensive. The new TV deal should help of course, but we will never be the Dodgers. It's not a question of them HAVING to pull the trigger on a SP trade. It's a question of whether it is the prudent thing to do. Paying market prices for 30+ year old SPs has not been kind to most teams as of late.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA:

Dylan Cease, rhp, Cubs. The Cubs’ No. 4 prospect, on the other hand, has been quite good through his first two starts. Pitching for low Class A South Bend at West Michigan (Tigers), Cease touched 98 mph and struck out seven over five scoreless innings in a 3-2 loss. The top pitching prospect in the system is an impact arm, but the question is whether he’s a starter long-term.