Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 8-26-18

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Scores:

 

Iowa lost 7-2 Box Score

 

Tennessee lost 3-1 Box Score

 

Myrtle Beach won 4-1 Box Score

 

South Bend won 10-9 on a walk-off Brandon Hughes single Box Score

 

Eugene won 11-2 Box Score

 

AZL Cubs 1 won 7-1 Box Score

 

AZL Cubs 2 won 10-9 (11 innings) on a walk-off error Box Score

[CubsWin]

Riley Thompson in August:

 

11.1 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 14 K, .244 BAA

[Tim]

Riley Thompson in August:

 

11.1 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 14 K, .244 BAA

I think we hope he becomes what we were hoping for from Chatwood

[CubsWin]

Riley Thompson in August:

 

11.1 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 14 K, .244 BAA

I think we hope he becomes what we were hoping for from Chatwood

I'd take a solid BOR from an 11th rounder for sure.

[CubsWin]

Myrtle Beach facing Tyler Thomas today. Rough 'em boys!

[Regular Show]

Riley Thompson in August:

 

11.1 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 14 K, .244 BAA

I think we hope he becomes what we were hoping for from Chatwood

 

I'm pretty sure Thompson has better stuff than Chatwood and will end up being a reliever (if his control develops enough). He has incredible stuff. He's hit 100 mph and has a great arm.

 

He could end up being our Craig Kimbrel/Trevor Rosenthal if his control/command improves and takes a big leap.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Good games from a couple Myrtle Beach pitchers building up their pitch counts as they come back from injury:

 

Uelmen: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Clark: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

 

Brailyn Márquez’ South Bend debut: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. He surrendered all of his runs in the first.

[craig]

..I'm pretty sure Thompson has better stuff than Chatwood and will end up being a reliever (if his control develops enough). He has incredible stuff. He's hit 100 mph and has a great arm.

 

He could end up being our Craig Kimbrel/Trevor Rosenthal if his control/command improves and takes a big leap.

 

Post-draft, I thought I recall McLeod talking about Thompson being wild but that his stuff when he's at his best was 2nd-round caliber, or something like that. I can't reproduce the exact phrasing, but I recall thinking the "2nd round" phrasing was interesting. That's very good, although perhaps not quite Kimbrel-esque.

[Regular Show]

Man, Duensing sucks even at AAA. Gave up 3 ER and struck out 0 in 2/3 of an inning.

 

The prospect pitching on the other side (Josh Staumont) might be the next great closer someday in KC. He struck out 5 and walked 0 and has a great arm. I really liked him back in the 2015 draft.

[Cubswin11]

Man, Duensing sucks even at AAA. Gave up 3 ER and struck out 0 in 2/3 of an inning.

 

The prospect pitching on the other side (Josh Staumont) might be the next great closer someday in KC. He struck out 5 and walked 0 and has a great arm. I really liked him back in the 2015 draft.

Duensing just needs to be cut. I’d rather have Smyly (when he’s healthy) and Hultzen taking his roster spot

Edited August 27, 2018 by Cubswin11

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Nelson Velázquez HR (#8). Velázquez and Jonathan Sierra also had RBI doubles in the first.

 

Yovanny Cruz so far: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Man, Duensing sucks even at AAA. Gave up 3 ER and struck out 0 in 2/3 of an inning.

 

The prospect pitching on the other side (Josh Staumont) might be the next great closer someday in KC. He struck out 5 and walked 0 and has a great arm. I really liked him back in the 2015 draft.

Duensing just needs to be cut. I’d rather have Smyly (when he’s healthy) and Hultzen on the roster

 

Speaking of, the AZL season ends tomorrow so I expect Hultzen to move up to full season by Monday.

 

Also, I expect Cole Roederer, Yonathan Perlaza and Rafael Mejia to join Yovanny Cruz in the NWL. We can finally get some video on these guys.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Nelson Velázquez HR (#8). Velázquez and Jonathan Sierra also had RBI doubles in the first.

 

Yovanny Cruz so far: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

 

 

He hit 9 last night...5 hits the past two nights IIRC, 3 XBHs

 

It is #9 tonight per the MiLB.com box score. Eugene’s tweet said it was #8:

[CubsWin]

LOL, Velazquez must've put quite a charge into this one. I love how, off the bat, the pitcher points up as if it's a pop up and the ball winds up going over the scoreboard!

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[CubsWin]

Danis Correa (92-94, T95-96 according AZ Phil) pitched in his 2nd game tonight after being shut down due to an undisclosed injury after ExST. Too bad the season ends tomorrow. We never did get to see Estrada.

 

Correa: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

 

Hopefully, he'll stay healthy and participate in instructs.

[KingCubsFan]

Thanks for the video. Velasquez has a better swing than I thought he would have.

[davell]

South Bend’s OF next year could/should be Velazquez, Gutierrez, and Roederer. I’m rooting for Soto at catcher, Vasquez at SS as well...Maybe there’s a more serious prospect in that bunch this time next year

 

Velazquez has had a loud weekend at the plate - 7/9 so far with 2 HRs, 2 2Bs, a stolen base (and CS)...Season line with Eugene something like .245/.320/.440 through 2 PAs tonight

 

Alot of talk about the trajectory of the pitching in the system but next year we should see a return of offense to the system too:

 

- Short and Martinez get to bring their flyball tendencies to the PCL. Short’s already a prospect, Martinez isn’t too old to reclaim some status and offers a higher profile than the guys who have been playing OF in Iowa

 

- Charcer Burks maybe gets a boost going to Iowa? He showed some in AA over a full season at 22, right age for that level

 

- DJ Wilson offers a possibly more dynamic but otherwise similar toolset to Burks and will hit AA at 22 next year

 

- Ademan might go to the AFL, either shows to get pushed again to AA or repeats MB

 

- Amaya continues his charge and hits High A. Is he an AFL candidate this winter?

 

- South Bend will feature a breakout candidate in Velazquez, who has shown Eloy Jimenez-esque RH power to go with speed and defense

 

- Roederer offers a potential power/speed/defense combo from the left

 

- Gutierrez has flashed playmaking ability but otherwise is closer to a non-prospect than not. That said he’ll be a 20 YO in full season ball with legit switch hitting potential who might play CF, have some power, and have some speed

 

- Vazquez showed more power than expected in Eugene, would be pretty young at 19

 

Like the pitchers in the system there’s mostly bit players here but a handful of these guys have a shot to really raise their profiles next year. Once the bats get going this system’s back in the top 10 range

 

Pretty solid breakdown, but there's a few things I don't see happening. Short is DEFINITELY interesting obviously, but I'm pretty hesitant to jump on him because of his K rate right now. I hope we see him or Giambrone in the AFL.

 

I'm past EJM. I think he was massively overhyped and he's done little to make me think any sort of breakout is on the horizon.

 

I guess Burks is a guy that conceivably gets a bump from the PCL. He's just not a guy I'm very excited about currently. When we didn't protect him after his good 2016 AA season, he lost a lot of luster in my eyes. Admittedly, that shouldn't have influenced me as much as it did. Since I had him top 10 for most of that year.

 

And especially since I'm a fan of DJ Wilson, for some reason. Who's not been as good as Burks and can't stay healthy. I'm hopeful that he gets an AFL slot and things come together for him next year, as he's obviously extremely toolsy.

 

Ademan getting a promotion to AA? After this season? Honestly, I think there's a much better chance he'd get demoted to South Bend, before getting a promotion. Hyperbolic, as I suspect he'll just repeat Myrtle Beach. But, he's just horsefeathers the bed this year. Don't see him getting an AFL nod, because those are kind of like rewards and also because getting extra reps for Short or Giambrone is more important currently for us, for trade purposes or whatever our plans are for those guys.

 

Amaya in the AFL? I'd like to see it. But, my guess is we'll give him some rest after his first year of full season ball, especially with him showing some signs of slight fatigue already. Plus, with Pareda being Rule 5 eligible, I suspect he's our Catcher that gets the nod this year. Especially since he's turned himself into a legit prospect in his own right. We could go blah and send Higgins or Rice though, I guess, if we want to hide Pareda.

 

Not a fan of Velezquez' penchant for K'ing, but he's handled his demotion well and he's got big upside. I'm excited to see him back at South Bend next year.

 

I love what we've seen from Roederer so far and he's definitely a possibility for South Bend next year. But, it's not a given. Gutierrez does very little for me, I think he's a 4th OFer next year in South Bend. Don't see him getting starters AB's.

 

Why on these two things? Not sure Herron gets an auto bump to Myrtle Beach, first of all, although it's possible. But, even if he does, you've got DJ Artis in CF for South Bend anyway next year. Unless HE gets that jump himself. I like his skill set a lot and probably have him in my personal top 25 or so. On top of him, you've got Jonathan Sierra, who's going to be in SB too, with plenty of upside. Maybe Fernando Kelli too? He's not hit in Eugene, but I guess he could move up. If so, it makes it tougher for Roederer too. Who there's no need to rush at this point anyway.

 

For some reason, I like Vazquez too and think he's got breakout ability. The power has been unexpected, in my mind. Add that to his glove and he's very interesting, even with his lack of a stellar batting line.

 

Overall though, I'm definitely excited to see the progress next year on the hitting side of things, as I agree that it's going to take a large jump.