Eugene’s Roster

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Arizona Phil[/url]"]Meanwhile, the Eugene Emeralds (the Cubs short-season "A" affiliate) flew up to Oregon earlier in the afternoon, leaving AZL Cubs #1 and AZL Cubs #2 behind in Mesa to play the final EXST intrasquad game. The first Eugene game will be this coming Friday.

 

Based upon who did and did not play in the intrasquad game and who I did not see on the bench (and we will have to wait for the Eugene roster to be released before this can be confirmed), it would appear that a number of the Cubs best EXST prospects have been assigned to Eugene (at least initially, pending the eventual arrival of some of this year's college draft picks), including SS-3B Christopher Morel, C Jonathan Soto, LHSP Brailyn Marquez, CF Fernando Kelli, SS Luis Vazquez, LHSP Faustino Carrera, RF Jonathan Sierra, 2B Luis Diaz, RHSP Eury Ramos, and 3B-2B Orian Nunez. (OF Nelson Velazquez -- who was moved up to South Bend from EXST last month -- has also been assigned to Eugene, so the Emeralds could be a fun team to watch).

 

Converseely, some of the older and more experienced players who were expecting to go to Eugene (C Alexander Guerra, OF Luis Gutierrez, OF Jose A. Gonzalez, 3B-1B Fidel Mejia, OF Yovanny Cuevas, and INF Yonathan Perlaza) as well as the youngsters making their pro debuts (SS Luis Verdugo, 2B Reivaj Garcia, and OF Kevin Moreno) were left behind to play in the AZL. (As most of you know by now, the Cubs Player Development Department likes to employ aggressive "challenge-promotions" for their best prospects).

 

On the EXST medical front, Cubs 2017 6th round draft pick RHSP Jeremiah Estrada (who was a virtual lock for the Eugene starting rotation) was left behind in Mesa after suffering a right elbow injury in a Cactus League EXST game versus Angels at Diablo Park about ten days ago.

 

KEZI.com[/url]"]The team will host Media Day on Wednesday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. ahead of their opener against Vancouver on Friday. This years' roster include some top prospects in the Cubs farm system, including their no. 9 overall prospect, outfielder Nelson Velazquez. 19 year-old pitcher Jose Albertos will also factor into the Emeralds rotation this coming season.

[Hrubes20]

Gonna be tough to find all the ABs that will be necessarily after all the college bats sign. I do like that Velazquez is going to Eugene though. Just not quite ready for A ball yet.

[CubsWin]

Gonna be tough to find all the ABs that will be necessarily after all the college bats sign. I do like that Velazquez is going to Eugene though. Just not quite ready for A ball yet.

Yeah, it's a decent roster as far as having some possible decent to high end prospects on it.

 

C - Soto

2B - Diaz

SS - Vasquez

SS/3B - Morel

OF - Velasquez

CF - Kelli

OF - Sierra

 

SP - Albertos

SP - Marquez

SP - Ramos

SP - Carrera

 

The college arms shouldn't be an issue. Looks like Richan has a slot open for him if the Cubs don't want him to rest. They'll likely have Roberts, Mort and Casey pitch out of the pen. The only college bats of any importance that should see time in Eugene are Hoerner, Weber and Artis. Herron's still injured, right? I don't see guys like Reynolds or Durna taking time away from any of the youngsters, plus both of those guys can play 1B. Rotating in Hoerner, Weber and Artis shouldn't be too much of an issue. And, given the state of the system, if it becomes a problem because everyone is playing well, I'd say that's a good thing...

[toonsterwu]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

 

Agreed, there's never any shortage of innings to go around at Eugene because they never let the college pitchers do more than some 3-4 IP stints with lots of rest.

 

And Hoerner is almost certainly not long for Eugene, and someone like Weber, Herron, or Artis could join him in South Bend come August.

[craig]

Casey will be 23 this winter, and pitched 95 innings. A lot of pro pitchers his age go well over 100 innings in a season.

 

From his angle. He's going to be 23 next season. His college-over-pro choice, and recent affirmation that it was the right choice because he wants to be prepared for life after baseball, suggests he's thoughtful and interested in post-baseball career. I'm sure he'd like to give pro ball a shot... for a while.

 

But I'd think from his side, I'd like that trial to happen ASAP. The sooner I get going, the sooner I can figure out whether my stuff can magically tick up and whether I'm going to magically become a big-league prospect. Assuming not, the sooner I can decide when to retire and get on with post-baseball career.

 

If I were in his shoes, I think I'd probably like to pitch 30-45 innings already this summer, and get up to full-season for a bunch of them. Then have all of next season to see how it goes, and see if I can do well at Myrtle at age 23, and perhaps have some success in AA. If things go well next year, stick to it. But if I realize I just don't have the stuff that the big-league prospects have, the spin rate, the movement, the velocity; and if I'm giving up gobs of HR's like I did in college; I might like to reach that decision ASAP, and retire after next season, and get going with a real career. so the Cubs might really be doing me a favor to let me get a decent chunk of game innings this summer and see how it goes.

 

Of course maybe he just loves to play baseball, and will be happy to bounce around for as many years as he can, even if only as a roster-fill minor-leaguer, and then maybe hook up with an indy-league team for as long as he can after he gets cut from organized ball. Some guys just love the game and don't want to give it up.

[toonsterwu]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

 

Agreed, there's never any shortage of innings to go around at Eugene because they never let the college pitchers do more than some 3-4 IP stints with lots of rest.

 

And Hoerner is almost certainly not long for Eugene, and someone like Weber, Herron, or Artis could join him in South Bend come August.

 

Honestly ... I'm not against Hoerner ... and maybe Weber ... perhaps jumping to Myrtle Beach, as long as no huge gashes in their games show through. Of course, there's the issue of Ademan. I've long been of the opinion that a bump down to South Bend isn't the worst thing for him, but he's sorta heating up. You can find ways to figure out AB's as Hoerner/Weber both can move around a bit, and in both their cases, moving around may be the best thing for their future.

[toonsterwu]

Casey will be 23 this winter, and pitched 95 innings. A lot of pro pitchers his age go well over 100 innings in a season.

 

From his angle. He's going to be 23 next season. His college-over-pro choice, and recent affirmation that it was the right choice because he wants to be prepared for life after baseball, suggests he's thoughtful and interested in post-baseball career. I'm sure he'd like to give pro ball a shot... for a while.

 

But I'd think from his side, I'd like that trial to happen ASAP. The sooner I get going, the sooner I can figure out whether my stuff can magically tick up and whether I'm going to magically become a big-league prospect. Assuming not, the sooner I can decide when to retire and get on with post-baseball career.

 

If I were in his shoes, I think I'd probably like to pitch 30-45 innings already this summer, and get up to full-season for a bunch of them. Then have all of next season to see how it goes, and see if I can do well at Myrtle at age 23, and perhaps have some success in AA. If things go well next year, stick to it. But if I realize I just don't have the stuff that the big-league prospects have, the spin rate, the movement, the velocity; and if I'm giving up gobs of HR's like I did in college; I might like to reach that decision ASAP, and retire after next season, and get going with a real career. so the Cubs might really be doing me a favor to let me get a decent chunk of game innings this summer and see how it goes.

 

Of course maybe he just loves to play baseball, and will be happy to bounce around for as many years as he can, even if only as a roster-fill minor-leaguer, and then maybe hook up with an indy-league team for as long as he can after he gets cut from organized ball. Some guys just love the game and don't want to give it up.

 

My hunch is Casey wants to pitch. My only reasoning for why Casey might be rested, or on a very, very limited schedule - 2 years ago, he didn't pitch, coming off TJ. Last year, he went ... I Want to say ... 75 innings? 90-110 would've been the probable thought on his workload this year.

 

In some respects, I think Casey's problem is that ... he developed too much. I think he should junk one of his breaking balls in the pro game. Without having data in front of me, it felt like he got homers hit off his curveball moreso than the slider, but I could be wrong right now.

There's back end of the rotation potential. A guy around 90-94, can command his pitches ... again, would point to former UVA player Artie Lewicki (of the Tigers) as an example. That said, I also wonder if Casey can ramp up his fastball (I believe his fastball was a tick or two consistently higher in his prep days) out of the pen, and just go fastball/slider and have a middle reliever profile.

[Hrubes20]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

 

I wonder if it's one of those extreme situations where a guy like Hoerner gets a 4-5 game stint in the AZL and then goes directly to South Bend.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

 

I wonder if it's one of those extreme situations where a guy like Hoerner gets a 4-5 game stint in the AZL and then goes directly to South Bend.

 

For a point of comparison:

 

Bryant: 2 AZL games, 18 at Boise, then jumped to Daytona for 16 games

Schwarber: 5 at Boise, 23 at Kane County, 44 at Daytona

Happ: 29 at Eugene, 38 at South Bend

 

Given Hoerner's profile(advanced bat but lesser ceiling) I wouldn't be surprised to see him spend 10-15 games in Eugene, and if he's hitting .350 like we might expect then get bumped to South Bend for the rest of the year.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Eugene’s roster is up: http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t461

 

Estrada isn’t on the team, hope the injury isn’t serious.

[Hrubes20]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

 

I wonder if it's one of those extreme situations where a guy like Hoerner gets a 4-5 game stint in the AZL and then goes directly to South Bend.

 

For a point of comparison:

 

Bryant: 2 AZL games, 18 at Boise, then jumped to Daytona for 16 games

Schwarber: 5 at Boise, 23 at Kane County, 44 at Daytona

Happ: 29 at Eugene, 38 at South Bend

 

Given Hoerner's profile(advanced bat but lesser ceiling) I wouldn't be surprised to see him spend 10-15 games in Eugene, and if he's hitting .350 like we might expect then get bumped to South Bend for the rest of the year.

 

That Happ path does seems semi-realistic.

[Regular Show]

I wouldn't be absolutely stunned if the Cubs wanted to rest Casey and Richan after big workload years.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Weber and Hoerner's time in Eugene is very, very short, barring some extreme struggles.

 

I wonder if it's one of those extreme situations where a guy like Hoerner gets a 4-5 game stint in the AZL and then goes directly to South Bend.

 

For a point of comparison:

 

Bryant: 2 AZL games, 18 at Boise, then jumped to Daytona for 16 games

Schwarber: 5 at Boise, 23 at Kane County, 44 at Daytona

Happ: 29 at Eugene, 38 at South Bend

 

Given Hoerner's profile(advanced bat but lesser ceiling) I wouldn't be surprised to see him spend 10-15 games in Eugene, and if he's hitting .350 like we might expect then get bumped to South Bend for the rest of the year.

 

Yeah, I don't think Hoerner will spend much time in Eugene. It'll just be a warm-up for him. He should spend most of the year at Low-A. I'm surprised Happ spent so much time at Eugene.

 

I think Hoerner will start next season at High-A, get a promotion to AA sometime in June/July, and start 2020 at AAA Iowa. Also, he might play in the Arizona Fall League after the 2019 season since the Cubs like to do that with their top prospects.

[CubsWin]

AZ Phil has ranked his favorite prospects on Eugene's roster as far as where he'd place them in the Cubs top 30...

 

1. Christopher Morel, 3B-SS (org Top 10)

2. Nelson Velazquez, OF (org Top 15)

3. Jose Albertos, RHSP (org Top 15)

4. Jonathan Soto, C (org Top 15)

5. Brailyn Marquez, LHSP (org Top 20)

6. Luis Vazquez, SS (org Top 20)

7. Fernando Kelli, CF (org Top 25)

8. Luis Diaz, 2B (org Top 25)

9. Eury Ramos, RHSP (org Top 30)

10. Faustino Carrera, LHSP (org Top 30)

[CubsWin]

AZ Phil has ranked his favorite prospects on Eugene's roster as far as where he'd place them in the Cubs top 30...

 

1. Christopher Morel, 3B-SS (org Top 10)

2. Nelson Velazquez, OF (org Top 15)

3. Jose Albertos, RHSP (org Top 15)

4. Jonathan Soto, C (org Top 15)

5. Brailyn Marquez, LHSP (org Top 20)

6. Luis Vazquez, SS (org Top 20)

7. Fernando Kelli, CF (org Top 25)

8. Luis Diaz, 2B (org Top 25)

9. Eury Ramos, RHSP (org Top 30)

10. Faustino Carrera, LHSP (org Top 30)

9 of those guys are 19 or younger (Eury Ramos is 20). The Emeralds have a 10th player who is under 20 not on AZ Phil's list and that's Jonathan Sierra. Only Vasquez and Morel are 18. Morel turns 19 in 9 days while Vasquez will be 18 all season.