davell

Maybe I'm the only one, but I swear Rogers has gone from the worst beat guy I've ever seen, to where his stuff is mostly readable now.

http://nesn.com/2013/04/giants-pitcher-jean-machi-farts-in-bullpen-jose-mijares-reacts-accordingly-gif/ I think we missed this out of one of our signings.....

Bryant Rizzo Schwarber Heyward Soler Zobrist Russell Baez Montero

But what if we don't Respect 90 this year and the Cards do?

I'm not THAT high on either. Yes, I think Almora is top 6-7 in our system and Caratini is likely 16-20 for me. My point is its easy to frame arguments for Almora to take a big step forward if you WANT to. Hell, you've done the same with Caratini.(and done a solid job at it) To me, if you're wanting to add power to Almora's profile, the easiest argument to make is to give him a bit of loift to what's a relatively flat looking swing.

I actually run with Caratini's roughly last ~400 PAS of the season where he put up a .750 OPS at the C position in the Cubs' toughest minor league park for hitters. Then there's his playoff run where he either went 7-11 or 4-11 with 3 XBHs. Other things that would separate them: - Position - Offensive expectations for a C prospect are not that of an OF prospect. - Caratini is on track to remain a switch hitter Even then, I'm not pushing for Caratini as a top 100 prospect today nor am I kicking Almora out of the Cubs' top 10 prospects. OK, again I'm fine with the reasoning on Almora. But Caratini is 8 months older and playing a level behind where Almora is too.(I get that C's develop later in some instances) I wouldn't lump CF in with corners either, when talking offense for OF. I think the easiest thing to say here is we all have certain guys we like for some reason or another and can frame an argument for why we do. And can likely do the same as to why we don't like others.

Gato-I don't have an issue with what you think Almora winds up being. But haven't you been using the same small sample people are excited about for him, on your guy?(Caratini)

I'd put Zobrist on one before him, but TT's comment still puts things in perspective for me. The Cards ace last year isn't a top 8 player for us this year.

They seem to be perfectly content being in NBA hell for the foreseeable future. That's the only explanation I can come up with. Nick Friedell Verified account ‏@NickFriedell Front office believes strongly that part of reason why players will want to play in CHI is because Bulls have made playoffs 7 yrs in a row.

That Sac deal must not have been on the table or there must have been more to it. I can't believe they wouldn't take that. It definitely sounds like we weren't interested I guess there's a chance that the Kings couldn't come to an agreement with Philly to release the pick completely.

Hinrich to Atlanta for a future 2nd rounder. Gasol stays. FFS, get rid of this FO.

According to Woj, Gasol and Snell for Koufos, McLemore, and a lowering of the 1-10 pick protection is being offered to Chicago. If so, surely Garpax takes it, right?

I'm actually going with Happ here, thinking that if he sticks at 2B, that bat could be special for that spot. I'm sure Contreras wins out, but the questions on his D turns it into bat vs. bat for me between these two and I like Happ's a lot more.

Use it for whatever predictions you want, I'll guess who is considered top 100 at this point next year, who we trade away, and who makes a major league appearance at any point in 2016..... Top 100 2B Ian Happ- Shows he can be passable at 2B and mashes enough to get a postseason invite up to Tennessee. Top 30 prospect. C Willson Contreras- Takes a step back with the bat, but still solid, showing a bit more power, glove looks passable. Top 75 prospect. RHP Oscar De la Cruz- Takes off big time. Forces a promotion to Myrtle Beach at midseason and does very well there too. Top 20 prospect. RF Eloy Jimenez- Hits for power in South Bend and shows discipline, firmly on everyone's radar nationally. Top 75 prospect. Others of note.... Cease still shows control issues and it holds him back somewhat. Spends most of season in Eugene, but is still thought of as a breakout guy for 2017. Eddy Julio Martinez puts up a low .700's OPS in South Bend, still looked at very favorably, due to upside. Steele puts up a very solid season in South Bend, doesn't make lists due to lack of perceived upside(4 type starter). DJ Wilson starts off slowly, but finishes strong and gets a promotion late to South Bend. Is considered a break out guy by lots heading into 2017. Top 10 heading into 2017 1 RHP Oscar De La Cruz 2 2B Ian Happ 3 C Willson Contreras 4 RF Eloy Jimenez 5 RHP Dylan Cease 6 LHP Justin Steele 7 LF Billy McKinney 8 RHP Norge Ruiz(pitches briefly after getting signed in June) 9 CF DJ Wilson 10 CF Eddy Julio Martinez 11-15 in some order....RHP Trevor Clifton, OF Donnie Dewees, 1B Vogelbach, C Victor Caratini, and RHP Jen Ho Tseng. Considered an 8-10 system by most analysts heading into 2017 Trade away..... Christian Villanueva gets dealt for a low level arm prior to the season. Soler, Gleyber Torres, Underwood(pitches well until dealt), and Jeimer Candelario get dealt to Oakland for Sonny Gray in late June. Prospects that get ML time in 2016 CJ Edwards- very solid bullpen contributor all season long. Almora- loses rookie eligibility due to injuries forcing him up in different 15 day stints. Not much with bat(.625ish OPS), but glove puts him on our postseason roster. Vogelbach- September callup, gets a few starts and pinch hits daily. Anyway, thought it'd be fun to try, to look back at in a year. Anyone else got predictions?

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/164578238/cubans-yulieski-lourdes-gurriel-jr-training?topicid=151437456 The Gurriels appear to want to be a package. Kind of cool, I have to think we'd be very serious players on this. Along with half the league probably.

That's not why I'm discouraged. The money is there, even Sharma has said we've got money for these guys. The issue is most of these guys have not been cleared yet, bringing more teams into the mix. If we do get 2 of these 10, its a very solid showing, as far as I'm concerned. If we just get Ruiz, I'll be content. But I'm obviously hoping for more. We need MLB to get off their asses and clear these guys though, or its a moot point.

Its updated in the post I've got tracking this stuff on page 1 of this thread, but here's the top 10 and what it looks like currently..... 1. OF Jorge Ona- Padres favored 2. RHP Norge Ruiz- Sharma says keep him on our radar 3. LHP Adrian Morejon- Padres favored(and expected to get more money than Ona) 4. IF/OF Randy Arozarena- no teams connected and is already eligible 5. RHP Ronald Bolanos- no teams connected 6. OF Lazarito Armenteros- eligible, we're connected, but appear to be longshots. Braves and Pads may be favored. 7. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez- been eligible for a while, no teams connected 8. OF Jonatan Machado- eligible, we've been connected in past, Cards are favorites 9. LHP Cionel Perez- Sharma says to keep him on the radar. 10. 3B Lazaro Vargas- no teams connected. At this point, I think I'd list Lourdes Gurriel 1st or 2nd, but I definitely think he'll wait until after his birthday in October to sign, when he'll be free from restrictions. At any rate, this doesn't look all that promising to me.The Dodgers are assumed to still be spending by everyone, hopefully its on guys we're not linked to.

Lazarito hasn't made up his mind and is considering waiting til J-2, new teams evidently involved. In worse news, OF Joirge On a and LHP Adrian Morejon are now considered likely to sign with the Padres.

I don't think there's been anyone questioning his ability to stick at SS since he was signed. I do remember it being questioned back before we signed him. But since, all reports have been positive. There's a large enough gap even between Lindor and being solid defensively. I see no reason currently for Torres' defensive abilities to be construed negatively.

From what I'm hearing, unlikely Lazarito ends up w Cubs. Unless price came down, what he's asking for is more than Cubs are willing to offer Sharma

No, that's not how it works. The team signing the player loses the pick and it's essentially skipped in draft order. The team who loses the player gets a comp round pick. yeah, that didn't make sense. i might've misread the report. ANyhow, getting a pick in the 30's would still be a great way to end the offseason. NM, beaten to reply.

I'm a bit surprised EJM didn't make his list, considering his past comments on him. Hopefully they'll be a question on him today in his chat.

Badler says the Cards appear to be the favorites to sign 16 year old OF Jonatan Machado, getting him to wait til July 2nd to sign. Joel Sherman says Lazarito should decide today or tomorrow and just spent 4 days at the Padres complex. By the way, that puts the Cards, Nats, Padres, and Phillies all as teams planning to go over next period and competition for us on any of these guys for the rest of this signing period.

Its Javy. Its what he goes by, what his teammates and FO call him and its what we've called him since he was drafted. As for expectations, I see him having a 2 WAR season, helped a bit by his D. 15-20 HR in 450 PA, with a 30% K rate. Maybe .230/.290/.450 overall. My guess is he gets more starts at 2B than any other position this year, but he'll start games at 2B, SS, 3B, CF, and LF.

There's definitely NOT going to be an investigation on Maitan, that's extremely common place. All teams have those types of agreements in place this far in advance. Not to mention, its no different than a high school kid giving his verbal, the player (or team) can change their mind at any point. I honestly think MLB is pulling for the Braves, Pads, or any other team not spending THIS IFA period to actually get some of these guys. Anything to keep the Dodgers from continuing to wipe their asses on this current system. I think its very likely they've drug their feet in clearing these guys in order to allow more teams into the mix.