Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 5-14-25

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Scheduled Games (Central Time):

Iowa vs. St. Paul, 12:08 pm
Knoxville vs. Columbus, 6:00 pm
South Bend at Lansing, 10:05 am
Myrtle Beach at Lynchburg (resumption of game suspended 5/13), 3:30 pm
Myrtle Beach at Lynchburg, TBD

ACL Cubs have the day off

Probable Starting Pitchers:

Iowa: TBD
Knoxville: RHP Sam Armstrong (28.1 IP, 4.76 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 25 K, 8 BB)
South Bend: RHP Kohl Franklin (rehab)
Myrtle Beach: LHP Hayden Frank (22.2 IP, 8.34 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 22 K, 10 BB)

[JBears79]

Is this Kohl Franklin's first start back? 

[Bertz]

 

 

[Bertz]

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

1 hour ago, JBears79 said:

Is this Kohl Franklin's first start back? 

He had one last week.

Guess he’s going tomorrow. Ashenbeck started today.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

A Long triple:

 

[JBears79]

Long has really been impressive. 3 for 4 now with 5 RBI's. Outstanding pick by the Cubs.

Edited May 14, 2025 by JBears79

[CaliforniaRaisin]

2 hours ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

A Long triple:

 

 

 

 

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

 

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

If only Ethan Roberts could be half as dominant in MLB as he is in MiLB. He feels like a guy who will flourish in another organization for whatever reason.

 

45% K rate in frigging AAA. He should be a big leaguer.

Edited May 14, 2025 by We Got The Whole 9

[mul21]

16 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Is this based on your opinion of his long term MLB prospects or just goofing around?  And is he viable at 3B or more Christopher Morel?

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, mul21 said:

Is this based on your opinion of his long term MLB prospects or just goofing around?  And is he viable at 3B or more Christopher Morel?

Oh, I was being sarcastic because of how much damage he did! Like "what a ho-hum day!"

[Outshined_One]

I just can't get a great read on Long.  On the one hand, that bat should be able to play at any position, and the idea that he could be even a mediocre defensive 3B would make him a phenomenal supersub option.  On the other hand, the power just isn't where I'd want it to be for a guy who projects to be a 1B/LF/DH.

[Tryptamine]

43 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

I just can't get a great read on Long.  On the one hand, that bat should be able to play at any position, and the idea that he could be even a mediocre defensive 3B would make him a phenomenal supersub option.  On the other hand, the power just isn't where I'd want it to be for a guy who projects to be a 1B/LF/DH.

I've thought about this several times. The eye test for me is really weird. His bat feels a kind of slow, but he continually squares up the ball. I'd be interested to see his numbers against 95+MPH. 

[Bertz]

Long has

- Good Patience

- A better than average groundball rate

- Average Contact

- Average raw power

- An elite hard hit rate

All that together is pretty damn good!  The potential problem is he has an all fields approach, which is limiting the slug (and juicing the average).

I probably wouldn't mess with him, it's a unique profile and I think that has value.  But if you want more dongs you've gotta make him more pull oriented.  And probably risk breaking him in the process.

[Jason Ross]

2 hours ago, Outshined_One said:

I just can't get a great read on Long.  On the one hand, that bat should be able to play at any position, and the idea that he could be even a mediocre defensive 3B would make him a phenomenal supersub option.  On the other hand, the power just isn't where I'd want it to be for a guy who projects to be a 1B/LF/DH.

He consistently hits, and while he isn't a star power hitter, he does everything else so well. He's been 43% better than Triple-A average this year. 88% better than Double-A last year and 43% better than league average on the whole last year. 

To put it another way, last year Nathaniel Lowe hit 16 home runs and was a 121 wRC+ hitter at the 1b position last year. His ISO was .136 - this is lower than Long's ISO in Triple-A right now. He can be that guy. Pete Alonso hit 34 home runs but was a 122+ wRC+ hitter. Power at the position is cool, but Long was just as good despite. 

Jonathon Long might not be a 30+ home run guy. But his batted ball data is really good. I think we have to accept he's going to be a different version of a 1b/DH, like a Lowe, but it doesn't mean he can't be good.