Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 9-4-24

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Scheduled Games (Central Time):

Iowa at St. Paul, 6:37 pm
Tennessee at Mississippi, 6:35 pm
South Bend at Ft. Wayne, 5:35 pm
Myrtle Beach at Fayetteville, 5:35 pm

Probable Starters:

Iowa: RHP Brandon Birdsell (43 IP, 3.56 ERA, 3.05 FIP, 48 K, 11 BB)
Tennessee: RHP Jimmy Endersby (31.1 IP, 3.45 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 26 K, 10 BB)
South Bend: LHP Drew Gray (74 IP, 4.62 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 88 K, 72 BB)
Myrtle Beach: RHP Tyler Schlaffer (29.2 IP, 2.12 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 27 K, 7 BB)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Cam Smith hit his first South Bend HR:

 

[Rex Buckingham]

absolute tank

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Great final start of the year for Drew Gray: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Tied his career high in strikeouts.

[Donzo]

20 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Great final start of the year for Drew Gray: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Tied his career high in strikeouts.

Excellent.

The best stat, to me, is the 1 BB. If he's able to build on that next year, He'll be an excellent prospect.

And, he might actually get a win tonight! 

[Donzo]

On Smith, it's difficult to rank him in the Cubs system. He's gonna finish in A ball, and with all the top guys in AAA, they get credit for that.

But, if there was an expansion draft, and the Cubs could only protect three prospects. I'm gonna protect Smith with one of the three spots.

 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Shaw back in the lineup and has a pair of hits

[Donzo]

How about that. I posted about Shaw too- Tiger beat me to it.

 

Edited September 5, 2024 by Donzo

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Jonathon Long HR (#7 at Tennessee)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Guessing Birdsell's night is over:

6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K on 86 pitches. His ERA is down to 3.31.

[Donzo]

Gray with the W!

It's crazy, but this is Gray's first win as a Cub. Been in the system since 2021.

Edited September 5, 2024 by Donzo

[Bertz]

4 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Guessing Birdsell's night is over:

6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K on 86 pitches. His ERA is down to 3.31.

The International League isn't as insane of a hitters environment as the PCL, but it very much does tilt towards offense so I assume if we had ERA+ for minor leaguers that would be pretty elite.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

16 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Guessing Birdsell's night is over:

6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K on 86 pitches. His ERA is down to 3.31.

He got 17 whiffs today.

 

[Donzo]

Birdsell's last three games: 18IP, 10H, 0ER, 3BB, 23K.

[Donzo]

Gray's FB is what, 2-5mph better than Hill's?

That plays in the majors.

[JBears79]

1 hour ago, Donzo said:

Gray with the W!

It's crazy, but this is Gray's first win as a Cub. Been in the system since 2021.

Jesus, really? thats kind of nuts

44 minutes ago, Donzo said:

Birdsell's last three games: 18IP, 10H, 0ER, 3BB, 23K.

Also, Birdsell is officially above Horton for me now, and I'm a big Horton fan. Birdsell is closer to contributing imo. 

Edited September 5, 2024 by JBears79

[Donzo]

1 - 10!

[Donzo]

18 minutes ago, JBears79 said:

Also, Birdsell is officially above Horton for me now, and I'm a big Horton fan. Birdsell is closer to contributing imo. 

Can't argue with that. Birdsell is a grinder and looks to have stuff that'll work in the majors.

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

26 minutes ago, JBears79 said:

Jesus, really? thats kind of nuts

Also, Birdsell is officially above Horton for me now, and I'm a big Horton fan. Birdsell is closer to contributing imo. 

I'd still have Horton over Birdsell but will stipulate that it is based on if Horton can stay healthy.

[Bertz]

Color me intrigued by Ariel Armas.  Reportedly the best defensive catcher in the country, him hitting *at all* is worth keeping an eye on

[craig]

What kind of velocity does Gray have these days?  In earlier days I thought the projection was that he'd mature into good velocity.  Has that never really happened?  Or is it decent?  

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[JBears79]

1 hour ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

I'd still have Horton over Birdsell but will stipulate that it is based on if Horton can stay healthy.

Stuff wise, Horton is absolutely better. But man Birdsell just looks so good. His windup is unique, and his pitch mix is solid. 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

1 hour ago, JBears79 said:

Stuff wise, Horton is absolutely better. But man Birdsell just looks so good. His windup is unique, and his pitch mix is solid. 

Even though I prefer Horton Birdsell is definitely intriguing.