toonsterwu

Sure seems like any mildly intriguing positional talent in the low levels is struggling offensively. I'm actually not that bothered by Simpson's start. By most accounts, his velocity isn't completely there and he's building his arm strength up. Yet, he had a 11:4 GO/FO ratio, which seems to suggest that something in his arsenal is generating good movement to get the guys to pound it in the dirt. If he's like this mid-season, then that'd be a bit of a disappointment. But ... for early in the year ... with the situation that he went through ... I'm not going to be that reactionary over his first two starts. He's getting groundballs. Let's see if the velo comes back, and if it does, let's see if he can get some more whiffs.

Rebel Ridling is one of the most underrated players in the Cubs system. Agreed. It's a tough spot for Rebel. He really should be in AAA, not because of his age, but more because he did fairly well in AA last year. With Rizzo at first, and the stogap OF's like Sappelt and Campana needing time, though, he got bumped down. He's a bit more athletic than I thought he was, and, if he develops, could be a possible corner backup (more 1st/LF, but in an emergency, I wouldn't have an issue with him in RF). Ideally, he's at first, but Justin Bour really can't play another position besides 1st/DH. He's not a stud prospect by any means, outside of a killer name, but he's got a chance to be in the bigs at some point. He gets a bit overlooked now with Rizzo ahead of him and the youngsters in XST. For some reason, I get the feeling that Bour seems to get more love from Cubs fans than Rebel.

Wasn't there talk of a deal with TB centered around Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis at one point in the offseason? I'd take it if we could get a decent prospect as well. I'd rather go for guys a few ticks down the chain age wise. Davis is going to be 27 this year (albeit, late). Niemann is 29. Unless the FO somehow thinks that either guy is going to take significant steps forward, I'd rather get a package of youngsters, even if the risk is higher.

Jensen really settled down after the first. Interesting that Loosen got bumped.

Antigua's coming through with a stellar outing so far (3 ip, 3 h, 1 bb, 3 K's, 1 R). The plus part is that it keeps us in the game. The negative part is ... (not a serious negative) that it sure makes me wonder about him as a starter.

So, there's an article about Vitters. Not sure it's been noted here, but http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120410/SPORTS/304100088/Iowa-Cubs-No-1-pick-Vitters-still-looking-for-promotion. Nothing really new, but one quote in there allows me to talk about something from a couple years ago. This shouldn't be taken as a knock on Vitters, as he was awfully young, but that year he went to Peoria, then got sent down to Boise and never came back up? I kept hearing that the Cubs weren't bringing him back up because they wanted him to be a bit more involved, show a bit more work ethic. Basically, force him to earn his way back up. Of course, subsequent years would see him got bumped up when it was debatable if he dominated a level, but it's interesting to hear Vitters acknowledge that, 5 years ago, he didn't understand the work needed to make it to the majors.

Well ... I thought he had a ceiling as a possible 4th starter, with 3 above average pitches, but now, he seems pegged for the pen. In the pen, he's at least a potentially good LOOGY, but if he jacks up fastball velocity a bit, maybe a bit more (not sure what early reports are saying).

It's far too early to reach any conclusions on anyone (I certainly wasn't too intrigued with Rhee last April), but here's hoping McNutt can start showing better command/control, because he seems to be continuing some of the same problems from last year.

No one should be writing off Marco this early. By no means was I suggesting that. I would rather see him stay the whole year in Peoria than send him down to XST/Boise. But with the organization's intent to keep Baez at short for now, and if Baez continues to look good in Peoria, it wouldn't surprise me, if Marco is struggling in May, that they made the switch at some point. He has been quite unlucky so far, and maybe he heats up as the weather warms. Ideally, Marco heats up, gets bumped to A+ to groom with Torreyes (although I am mildly curious how Torreyes looked at short yesterday) and that opens up a space for Baez at Peoria.

I wasn't stunned that Marco made it ahead of Javier, as Marco as a far higher chance of sticking at short. As I've said elsewhere, it's not hard to envision Marco as an everyday starting caliber shortstop ... but it's also not hard to imagine him being more of a Darwin Barney/utility guy. I still believe in Marco's tools, and he certainly needs to be given more time, as the cold weather doesn't help, but if he's still slumping in May, sending him down wouldn't be the worst thing.

The minors should provide enough guys to get a look this year. Raisin notes Alberto Cabrera above, a guy I like a fair amount in the pen as he can run it in the mid-90's with a good slider. I believe Cabrera has late inning potential in the pen. Beliveau wasn't ready in the spring, but unless they land a lefty in a trade, he should get a shot to fill the 2nd lefty role in the pen. Blake Parker is older, and somewhat forgotten about, but he had a decent rebound season last year and has a good fastball/slider combination that could see time. More middle relief if he gets a look. Along with Cabrera in AA, Kevin Rhoderick might get a look late in the year. With that nasty slider, might be a borderline setup type of guy. Guys like Frank Batista, Ryan Searle, Marcus Hatley all are intriguing enough out of the pen and could get a look later in the year. If you want a darkhorse, much as it bothers me that he's a pen arm now, Jeffry Antigua might be able to get a look late in the year. Of course, any number of starters could end up in the pen. In particular, I wouldn't rule out the idea of Jay Jackson and Travis Wood perhaps going to the pen.

With the way the bats are slumping there (granted, seems like almost every key guy is struggling in Peoria), if those guys don't turn it around, particularly Marco Hernandez, I could see Baez up sooner than later, despite the stated intention of sending him to Boise. That said, I doubt that would be before say, May.

Ryan Cuneo is up with Peoria, and Kenny Soccoro was put on the DL as a result. I imagine Soccoro will be going on the DL whenever they want to give someone a look and need a space.

Wasn't only you WSR. A lot of Cubs fans were giddy about Kelton, more because of what his bat potential was perceived to be (strangely, his perceived bat potential reminds me of a poor man's Josh Vitters from what I recall).

Sadly or not, he's improved. I remember seeing him a few years back, and he was pretty dang awful. I think you could probably get away with him at 3rd for a tiny bit, but in the end, his bat needs to play. Moving a third baseman to the OF reminds me of the David Kelton situation for some reason. Ugh ... talk about a guy who was just not meant to play OF.

No one really knows, although AzPhil wasn't too intrigued with his spring. Simpson in the rotation at least clears up some mystery on the Daytona rotation. My guess is that Kirk has been bumped to the pen for now. I highly doubt that the new regime is going to want their trade target (Cates) or their high cost international signing (Concepcion) out of the rotation for now, unless one of them is injured.

McNutt's pitch count seems pretty high ... 72 pitches. Liria's in for Francescon. Curious if this is piggybacking or regular relief work. Edit: Length seems to suggest regular pen work. Here's hoping that maybe he moves fast in the pen.

Rubi? Dunno, feels like a positive scenario would be a 2nd division starter. On a quality squad, a positive scenario seems more like a util infielder, as I don't recall his defense at 2nd or OF being that quality. But that's a quick guess/take. Haven't really pondered it, to be honest.

I like Francescon a bit, but admittedly, at that level, a polished older arm like Francescon should do well. Not taking anything away from success, though. That said, with a plus change-up, that's something a lot of batters at that level just aren't prepared to handle. I'd be curious, if Nate was around, to find out how Francescon's slider looked. AzPhil thought it was fairly average in Arizona.

Francescon really mowing them down right now. I really could see Francescon get bumped sooner than later if he shows well in Peoria (granted, a space would have to open up for him). Not sure if he's rotation long term, though.

Thanks Nate. A bit disappointing to hear that Liria is in the pen mix, although not unexpected. I really liked his raw stuff when I saw him - what's your take on his command issues? Fixable?

I think they could go with Ridling in LF and Bour at first at times, but that's not exactly superb OF defense. Look a level below, though. The OF talent is fairly weak in that AA/A+ range, unless Szczur forces his way up. It's not ideal to have Adduci taking at bats, but it beats putting a guy at a level that he might not be ready for, particularly in a rebuilding year.

Nothing's "going" with Simpson, just that, when he was sent to Daytona, I had assumed that he would be a starter. But if Jokisch/Loosen/Kirk are all starters, then that leaves 2 spots for 3 potential guys (Concepcion/Cates/Simpson), unless the Cubs decide to do some sort of piggybacking in A+ to start the year (Concepcion for 3 and Simpson for 3?)

If both Jokisch and Kirk are in the rotation, then something surprising has to happen. That is, one of Concepcion/Cates/Simpson aren't in the rotation (unless Loosen's bad outing demotes him this quick ... which I doubt, but I guess I can't completely rule out).

toonster, how much do you know about struck? My recall of what I've heard scouting-wise is that he throws a lot of fastballs, and hasn't had any consistent or high quality breaking pitch. Lots of fastballs with some so-so sliders mixed in. Which could fit his crummy results at Iowa. I don't think it's necessarily wise to focus too much on the Iowa numbers. It was premature for Fleita to rush him up to AAA already last year, at age 21 in only his 2nd year as a pro. Hardly astonishing that he was bad there. At Daytona/Tennessee, he was 2.96 ERA / 73K/22BB/85IP/2 HR. Those are very good numbers for a 21-year-old, and normally suggest at least some degree of prospect-hood. But he's gotten little buzz, and for a system as weak as the Cubs, he didn't seem to even sniff BA's top-30 despite numbers like that as a 21-year-old. However he's doing it, it didn't appeal to scouts that much. So some things don't really seem to add up. As important as any characteristic for a pitcher is a low-HR profile, and Struck seems to have that. Which seems unusual if a guy is throwing too many fastballs and hitters can often sit on those, even in the A+/AA levels. My sense is that his velocity is good, but it's not like he's Cashner or Carpenter or overpoweringly fast. Perhaps either his location or his fastball movement are pretty good, or both? Maybe the brilliant Fleita figured he threw too many fastballs, and pushed him up to Iowa just to force him to fail and to learn for himself that doing it that was wasn't going to work. So maybe his slider will be a little sharper and more consistent, he'll throw more of them, maybe he's taking to an effective cutter, and you'll have a new and improved man this year? It's spring, always fun to hope. Maybe my wording is at fault there. By saying "hold his own", I wasn't suggesting that he was good in AAA. He had 11 starts in AAA, 4 really bad ones (his last 2 starts seemed like he was worn down, IIRC, as the stuff wasn't as good as before). I simply meant, for his age and how he was rushed, he did okay in AAA. My other point was that he did fine in AA, so unless he bombs in AA this year (so far so good), I'm more interested in his development than general numbers , and in particular, how his slider and changeup grow. Saw him pitch a few times last year, and saw him on MiLB a few times as well. He's low 90's, but can hit 93/94. He tries to go to a sinker, but neither the sinker nor his fastball, from what I've seen and heard, have superb movement on it. I felt like the slider showed okay the times I saw him, but most reports suggest it's a below-average pitch with average potential. The changeup is decidedly, by most accounts, a "work-in-progress" pitch. I don't love his arm action, but that's my amateur take. It's not the end of the world, and guys have made it to the bigs with that type of action, but it's not great (somewhat similar to Maples, and I think Tommy Hanson shows similarly in the bigs). He's an odd duck in some respects. On age and performance, along with a decent fastball, he should get some attention. Numerous reports suggest that he has a good mental approach, attacks and challenges hitters, and guys in the low levels sometimes can be beat by the obvious. The secondary pitches, though, both need work. The command is capable, but perhaps not at the level for him to get by and succeed with average secondary stuff. If the slider/breaking ball sharpens, I think he'll have a shot. Edit: Speaking of lack of attention for Struck, BA sends out their daily prospect reports in email on how certain guys performed the night before, and the Cubs pitchers mentioned are ... Scott Maine and AJ Morris.