Spring Training Chit Chats

[UMFan83]

4 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Cubs made their first set of roster cuts. Too lazy to figure out how to get the tweet on my phone into this post, but:

1. Ben Brown
2. PCA (!)
3. Luiz Vazquez
4. Brennen Davis
5. Arias
6. Hodge
7. Alcantara (5-7 all to AA)
8. Ethan Roberts
9. Riley Thompson
10. Aliendo
11. Matt Shaw (sad face)
12. Owen Caissie (also sad face)

ST games just got a lot more boring. 

Pretty sure they can still play in Spring games?  I swear in the past players that got sent down would still be called up to play in games. 

Anyways, surprised but not shocked about PCA, a little surprised about Vazquez given how good he's been and the fact that he's on the 40 man.  Didn't necessarily think he'd make the OD roster, though thought it was possible and would at least stay until final cuts.

Not surprised about Caissie though.  Not on 40 man, never played above AA.  He was probably going to start the season in Iowa no matter how well he played.

[Rob]

41 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Pretty sure they can still play in Spring games?  I swear in the past players that got sent down would still be called up to play in games. 

Anyways, surprised but not shocked about PCA, a little surprised about Vazquez given how good he's been and the fact that he's on the 40 man.  Didn't necessarily think he'd make the OD roster, though thought it was possible and would at least stay until final cuts.

Not surprised about Caissie though.  Not on 40 man, never played above AA.  He was probably going to start the season in Iowa no matter how well he played.

Yeah, historically you've still been able to play these guys in major league camp. I don't remember how it's typically done, and it may be more of a thing when there's split-squad games. But you definitely didn't imagine it.

The only thing surprising about PCA getting sent down was the timing. He'd have needed to come out firing on all cylinders to have a chance to make the roster in the immediate aftermath of the Bellinger signing. Once that happened, he was ticketed for AAA. I thought they'd want to keep him up and challenge him against major league pitching a bit longer, though.

[WhyCantWeWin]

I don't get the point of cutting Brown, he better be sent down to start otherwise very stupid to send him down to continue in the bullpen. 

[SOFNR]

52 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

I don't get the point of cutting Brown, he better be sent down to start otherwise very stupid to send him down to continue in the bullpen. 

I'm sure the starting experiment will continue for a bit. It's not like they can't still bring him up and pitch him out of the bullpen if needed. 

[SOFNR]

I don't think PCA going down is a surprise at all. They've still got stuff then want him to work on and I thought he was a long shot for OD. The Happ issues were never going to impact him much at all. They weren't going to start him for a couple weeks and move him to the bench.  He'll come up if/when they are satisfied or a more serious injury occurs. 

[squally1313]

12 minutes ago, SOFNR said:

I don't think PCA going down is a surprise at all. They've still got stuff then want him to work on and I thought he was a long shot for OD. The Happ issues were never going to impact him much at all. They weren't going to start him for a couple weeks and move him to the bench.  He'll come up if/when they are satisfied or a more serious injury occurs. 

Yeah to be fair when I threw that exclamation point on there I was kinda having a total brain fart on Bellinger being back. The kid never really seems to be lacking in confidence, but hopefully he goes down there, proves he doesn't belong, and we start talking about how to force Suzuki or Happ into the DH spot. 

[Tim]

Canario still in the mix. I like it.

[chibears55]

4 hours ago, squally1313 said:

Cubs made their first set of roster cuts. Too lazy to figure out how to get the tweet on my phone into this post, but:

1. Ben Brown
2. PCA (!)
3. Luiz Vazquez
4. Brennen Davis
5. Arias
6. Hodge
7. Alcantara (5-7 all to AA)
8. Ethan Roberts
9. Riley Thomp

 

1. Matt Shaw (sad face)
2. Owen Caissie (also sad face)

ST games just got a lot more boring. 

They can still play in games, but they now get more practice/work in with their minor league club over getting in what they can with the regulars getting the bulk of it.

[chibears55]

28 minutes ago, Tim said:

Canario still in the mix. I like it.

I'm gonna guess they're giving him the long look with Wisdom hurt..

They likely have Cooper/Canairo/Wisdom competing for the RH DH spot and D.Smith and Mervis competing for the LH DH spot.

 

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, SOFNR said:

I'm sure the starting experiment will continue for a bit. It's not like they can't still bring him up and pitch him out of the bullpen if needed. 

If Brown's still showing the same control issues as last year I imagine he starts getting shifted to relief around the time Horton gets promoted to Iowa.  I think, especially after Kilian's injury, there's a certain amount that is just about maintaining sufficient starting depth irrespective of development.

[thawv]

4 hours ago, Rob said:

Yeah, historically you've still been able to play these guys in major league camp. I don't remember how it's typically done, and it may be more of a thing when there's split-squad games. But you definitely didn't imagine it.

The only thing surprising about PCA getting sent down was the timing. He'd have needed to come out firing on all cylinders to have a chance to make the roster in the immediate aftermath of the Bellinger signing. Once that happened, he was ticketed for AAA. I thought they'd want to keep him up and challenge him against major league pitching a bit longer, though.

I thought the same thing about keeping him in ST to challenge him.  Who knows?  Maybe they thought it was doing him more harm.

[thawv]

3 hours ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

I don't get the point of cutting Brown, he better be sent down to start otherwise very stupid to send him down to continue in the bullpen. 

Year 8 in the minors and 24 years old.  He looked great, and is healthy.  If they don't know what they have by now, then somebody doesn't know what they're doing.  Get him on the roster, or trade him.  This is who he is. 

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, thawv said:

Year 8 in the minors and 24 years old.  He looked great, and is healthy.  If they don't know what they have by now, then somebody doesn't know what they're doing.  Get him on the roster, or trade him.  This is who he is. 

He is 24 thawv. Relax. He needs some work still and needs to throw more strikes. 

[Stratos]

5 hours ago, Tim said:

Canario still in the mix. I like it.

He's gotta be the guy on the OD roster if Happ has a setback.  Cubs are saying Happ should be ready for OD though.

[Stratos]

5 hours ago, SOFNR said:

I don't think PCA going down is a surprise at all. They've still got stuff then want him to work on and I thought he was a long shot for OD. The Happ issues were never going to impact him much at all. They weren't going to start him for a couple weeks and move him to the bench.  He'll come up if/when they are satisfied or a more serious injury occurs. 

PCA has often looked totally overmatched again this spring, there was no chance of him making the roster.  He needs lots of PA's against more advanced pitching.  I wouldn't be surprised if he spends the whole year minus Sept in Iowa.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

He is 24 thawv. Relax. He needs some work still and needs to throw more strikes. 

Yeah he needs to get the control back on track and they need some SP stretched out in Iowa anyways, and the MLB pen is pretty full as it is.  Don't think anyone really expected Brown to make the OD roster.  Thought Vazquez had a shot with Madrigal banged up and he's on the 40.  Maybe Morel and Madrigal were the last middle INF on the roster and they plan to carry Mastrobuoni to replace Madrigal if he's still hurt. 

[thawv]

8 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

He is 24 thawv. Relax. He needs some work still and needs to throw more strikes. 

24 years old is not "young" with all of his minor league experience.  My point is, it's clear that he has big league stuff.  He's filthy.  His control issues may never be worked out, no matter how long he pitches in the minors.  

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, thawv said:

24 years old is not "young" with all of his minor league experience.  My point is, it's clear that he has big league stuff.  He's filthy.  His control issues may never be worked out, no matter how long he pitches in the minors.  

And if that is true he isn’t going to ever be a major league pitcher. And if he can’t throw strikes he isn’t someone you should be so excited about. He is 24. Who cares how many years he has played minor league ball.  Based on his age he was obviously drafted very young. But even with 8 years of experience he still didn’t pitch that much. There was Covid, when almost all of baseball shut down. He also missed plenty of time with injuries. Through 2021 he pitched a total off 100 innings in the minors. Besides that, he has only been with the Cubs a little over 2 seasons. I really never considered this a make or break spring for him. But that is exactly what you are suggesting it should have been. I will say it again, relax buddy. I’d he is as filthy as you say AND he can harness that mix a bit better and throw more strikes he will be up either as a solid pen arm, or a starter soon enough. 

Edited March 9, 2024 by Rcal10

[CubinNY]

2 hours ago, thawv said:

24 years old is not "young" with all of his minor league experience.  My point is, it's clear that he has big league stuff.  He's filthy.  His control issues may never be worked out, no matter how long he pitches in the minors.  

I’m no expert but it seems to me he’s destined for the bullpen. He seems to be more control of his mechanics when he’s in the stretch. 

[Rcal10]

13 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I’m no expert but it seems to me he’s destined for the bullpen. He seems to be more control of his mechanics when he’s in the stretch. 

I agree. But since he is going back down I hope they stretch him out and let him start. I think they will eventually come to the conclusion he is best as a dominant pen arm. But it would be awesome if he surprised them and was a very solid starting pitcher.

[Bertz]

What's everyone's favorite of Brown's 8 minor league seasons?  The 14 IP right after getting drafted?  2020 when he had to rehab from Tommy John surgery via zoom?  Or the one that hasn't happened yet?

[UMFan83]

I’m very confused about why there is a Twitter discourse right now about whether PCA is a bust. I saw someone compare him to Almora last night, completely ignoring that PCA is a significantly better fielder than Almora and Almoras last 2 minor league seasons he had an OPS below .730 while PCA has consistently had a high .800s OPS. 
 

i always saw him as an elite fielder and slightly above average bat and I still believe that. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Willie Harris is a treasure

 

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

I’m very confused about why there is a Twitter discourse right now about whether PCA is a bust. I saw someone compare him to Almora last night, completely ignoring that PCA is a significantly better fielder than Almora and Almoras last 2 minor league seasons he had an OPS below .730 while PCA has consistently had a high .800s OPS. 
 

i always saw him as an elite fielder and slightly above average bat and I still believe that. 

Yes, the Almora comparison is ridiculous. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about his bat. He looks absolutely overmatched. On defense alone he can probably be a 2 WAR player. But I do want to see at least a guy who can produce league average offensively. And I am not sure he will. 

Edited March 9, 2024 by Rcal10

[Bull]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

I’m very confused about why there is a Twitter discourse right now about whether PCA is a bust. I saw someone compare him to Almora last night, completely ignoring that PCA is a significantly better fielder than Almora and Almoras last 2 minor league seasons he had an OPS below .730 while PCA has consistently had a high .800s OPS. 
 

i always saw him as an elite fielder and slightly above average bat and I still believe that. 

That’s silly. Too early to tell if he’s a bust. He’s a nincompoop but that doesn’t mean he’s a bust. Rizzo was a nincompoop too, but he made up for it in other ways. PCAs floor is Billy Hamilton. Teach him (in AAA) not to get TOOTBLANed and he’ll be fine.  Like that’s the only lesson. That and work on laying off the high fastball. But if he can’t quite master #2, he can still be serviceable if he can master #1.