Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 4-28-22

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Scheduled Game (All Times Central):

 

Iowa vs Indianapolis, 6:3pm

Tennessee at Chattanooga, 6:15 pm

South Bend at Quad Cities, 6:30 pm

Myrtle Beach vs Columbia, 6:05 pm

 

Iowa: RHP Matt Swarmer

Tennessee: RHP Ryan Jensen

South Bend: RHP Kohl Franklin

Myrtle Beach: RHP Richard Gallardo

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[CubinNY]

Ron and Pat talking about beating the shift, but the Cubs keep pitching away.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

2 more hits and a walk for PCA

 

he has a 16/14 BB/K in 98 PA as a professional

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Ron and Pat talking about beating the shift, but the Cubs keep pitching away.

 

Indubitably

[Bertz]

https://theathletic.com/3279476/2022/04/29/what-were-hearing-about-cubs-prospects-pete-crow-armstrong-riley-thompson-brailyn-marquez?source=user-shared-article

 

This athletic article doesn't have as much as you'd think from the title, but some good stuff

 

On pitching in the system broadly:

 

It wasn’t long ago that this was an organization devoid of arms with big-league-caliber stuff. That’s no longer the case. Entering play Thursday, the Cubs had an organizational-best 29.7 percent strikeout rate and their average fastball velocity was near the top as well. The command hasn’t been pristine, but it’s not a major concern, either, as they’re smack in the middle of the pack when it comes to walk rate at the minor-league level.

 

On Riley Thompson (also confirmed elsewhere he's hit 100 MPH):

 

Thompson has seen the spin efficiency on his pitches improve during his downtime and the Cubs have focused on the lower half of his body in fine-tuning his delivery. They’ve kept tabs on what they view as his key metrics, using KinaTrax and their force-plate mound, and the work is paying off. The future for Thompson looks bright, but the role is still to be determined as they stretch him out and see if it’s truly a starter profile or if he ends up as a highly valuable multi-inning piece, in the way Keegan Thompson is thriving at the big-league level.

 

On PCA:

 

Through 10 plate appearances, Pete Crow-Armstrong had reached base just twice, singling and taking a walk. Crow-Armstrong had worked hard in the offseason to revamp his swing and it had onlookers buzzing about the possibilities. But through those first two games, he’d reverted to old habits. His load was off and his stance was wider than what he’d worked on.

 

Crow-Armstong knew he couldn’t just cling to what felt comfortable. After digging into the video with Myrtle Beach hitting coach Steve Pollakov, he identified where he’d gone astray and doubled down on the work they’d put in over the offseason. Since then, he’s looked like one of the best prospects in baseball. He’s not only hitting for average (.360) and taking his walks (13.6 percent walk rate), but he’s showing some unexpected slug as well (.220 ISO).

 

It’s just 13 games, but because it comes with real mechanical adjustments, the profile on Crow-Armstrong is already beginning to shift. He’s hitting the ball harder than ever before with exit velocities reaching 107 mph, something that just wasn’t a part of his game before. It’s to the point where the Cubs development staff is even a little taken aback by how good he’s looked, wondering if they’ve underestimated how good he can be.