toonsterwu

It's probably still a bit early in the year for any major moves, but I hope Matt Spencer gets a chance to go up to Iowa this summer. He really didn't have a bad 2010 campaign at AA last year. Will be curious to see if Clevenger gets the bump to Iowa. Probably will come down to how long Soto is out for. If he's out an extended period, it would seem like the sensible choice to make (to slide Clevenger up).

fair enough, but the implication seemed to be that gibbs agreed with that. hmm, maybe i'll send capie an email later to see what he says

Saw this linked on Miles blog about Hayden's injury - http://www.pjstar.com/sports/chiefs/x401376594/After-tight-start-Chiefs-are-relaxed The interesting thing to me is that Gibbs seems to suggest that Hayden fired a couple fastballs in the pen in the low-mid 90's.

There's a part of me that wonders if Simpson isn't better off taking a month or so off, building up some strength, and giving it a go. He seems to be skating by since he has a decent feel for pitching, but the reports on stuff/velo are fairly mediocre at best. I had honestly forgotten all about Larry Suarez. That said, the one bright spot about the lower levels is the number of intriguing arms down there. Sure feels like as weak a crop for XST as I can recall in awhile, but the upcoming draft class should help bolster the lower levels (here's hoping at least ... ).

Bruce Miles notes on his blog that the Chiefs are indicating that Justin Bristow has decided to retire.

don't know if someone's noted it yet, but Bruce Miles noted on his blog that the P-Chiefs sent out a release saying Justin Bristow has decided to retire. Shame. I don't actually see it on the Chiefs website right now, but maybe it'll eventually got put up there. If so, disappointing in that I recall how exciting he sounded/looked at the end of 2009. At that point, though, there was a lot of excitement over the 2008 arms, and I really thought he could be a sleeper from that crop.

hmm, you may be right on Perez signing as a pitcher, now that I think about it. But I think the transition occurred quite early, as I seem to recall him being an OF since DSL. I saw Bour a couple times last year, and let's put it this way. My take, of course. Could I see the Cubs try to get him some LF time, as they are doing with Ridling? Perhaps, but he isn't going to do much out there, IMO (positively that is). The positive thing is that he has a good approach and does know how to attack a pitch and utilize the entire field. The negative is that, for awhile, he was viewed as a guy who, despite his size, was more of a gap power guy. I'll be honest, no idea what to think on Ridling and Bour's hot starts. Considering the positions long range questions, their hot starts sure catch the yee.

I think that one big positive for this minor league campaign so far is that there hasn't been many negative performances that were unexpected. Vitters struggles, I put that under the expected category. Certainly, this speaks to some weaknesses in the system as well (the lack of top talent to actually flounder), but it's a plus. I think the biggest negative story line so far, for me, has to be Raley's huge struggles in AA. Marquez Smith's struggles in AAA stand out a bit due to the position. Cabrera's struggles have been disappointing, but I sort of expected that one, despite being high on him. Let's see, I can't think of much else. Ebinger's struggles are disappointing. Alcantara's recent offensive collapse ranks up there. That's certainly a glass half full look at things. As noted, some weakness in the system probably lowered my expectations somewhat. Although, it's been nice to see so many of the young arms in the A ball ranks do fairly well.

craig, Perez as a pitcher? I don't seem to recall him being a pitcher at any point since he signed with us (that is, DSL days). Am I forgetting something, or is this a, strong arm, try him at pitcher thought?

Didn't realize Kurcz was moved to pen duty. Not that it's a big deal - his future was in the pen anyways. Perez is really swinging the bat well in those limited AB's this year. That said, we've seen flashes from Nelson before. Ryan Searle's putting together a decent year in the pen so far, but hard to have high expectations for him, at least for me right now. Was also mildly surprised that Latham was demoted. Was it due to injury? Or numbers game?

I've been enormously huge on Struck since we nabbed him and am very pleased with what he's done so far. Beeler gaining more velo? The reports last year suggested he was hitting mid-90's fairly consistently (IIRC, he'd sit 92-94 for the most part). I'm not sure I would expect him to be an upper 90's guy as a starter. My question about Bour is how much "real" power he has. Certainly, if he can continue his .250 ISOP, that's more than enough (duh) but I'm curious if that holds up. Same goes for another "breakout" of sorts in Rebel Ridling, but Ridling was always considered a guy with good raw power, whereas, IIRC, Bour was viewed as a strong approach guy with decent power. Love Frank Batista's chance to move fast as a pen arm. With that fastball that can get to 93-94, and a good slider, he'll fit in line with the Marcos Mateo's/Alberto Cabrera's of the system. I don't know if he has closing potential, but I wouldn't rule it out. Wallach as a power reliever? I'm not sure he has the juice to be a power reliever, but then again, may be an issue of definition. Curious about your statement on Gibbs. Unless memory is slipping me, he was viewed as the top defensive catcher in the draft, and there were big concerns about his bat. I'm fairly pleased with the defensive ability, and I think if he can hit enough, he has a shot to be a backup backstop type (granted, this system has been littered with those in recent years).

Struck has quietly gotten off to a real strong start this season. Furthermore, he's doing this as a 21 year old in A+. Pretty dang impressive, getting his fair share of groundballs, and getting a solid K amount. His breaking ball is supposedly sharper than it was last year. A long way to go, but if he keeps performing anywhere near what he's done so far, I'd be very intrigued to see him in AA late this year. Kirk should really get some love. Sure, his ceiling isn't huge, but he's put together a dang solid start to the year.

I could be mistaken on Watkins, but for some reason, I thought/seem to recall that he was a case where no one really expected him to really go pro, and as such, the buzz wasn't as high. Now, I don't think he was anywhere near a 3rd round cost, but overslotting isn't a direct reflection of talent. My memory may be slipping on this, but for some reason, I seemed to think he was viewed as a 10-15 round type.

As a side note, I didn't recall seeing anything on Muschko being released, so I asked AzPhil, and he noted that Craig was set to sign a contract in Japan before the earthquake hit, but it fell through when that happened and his status is up in the air. Was having a chat with mlp the other day about Watkins over at Bruce Miles blog, and he seemed to catch Watkins when he swung the bat well and showed some pop. I'm not too hopeful there, and would rather see Cerda at 2nd, but that potential probably explains why the Cubs still have a high view of Watkins (reportedly).

That sure doesn't sound too good on Hartman, who seemed fairly intriguing as a prep arm. It's early, but I'm curious if he heads to Boise or if he'll be at XST .

Prior to last night, he had a decent 8+ K/9 rate. Not as great as one would hope, but combined with a solid bb rate, overall, it's been fine, particularly considering that he's probably no where near his peak form yet. That said, here's hoping he picks it up a bit.

I was told they are NOT a piggyback tandem and that Bristow is just in our bullpen like Harman, Antigua, Shafer and Gonzalez thanks. A part of me is disappointed, considering how promising Bristow looked as a starter 2 years ago, but there's another part of me that's sort of like, let's see what sort of value we can get out of Bristow, and he could move fast as a pen arm.

i'm assuming bristow is piggybacking and not in full pen duty?

Didn't realize that Rhoderick was called up to AA already. Wondering if this is a temporary move due to some sort of injury, as it seems awful quick for him to be up. (yes, too lazy go go through transaction logs right now to figure it out). I mean, he was dominant in A+ so far, so maybe it's a merit bump.

I think he's more than capable for a backup job. He's sound behind the plate. I don't know how much of that power translates, but he makes good contact. At worst, he should be able to be a Koyie Hill type. He really should be at AAA, but he needs PT more than anything.

Burgess was the name of that deal, btu the real intrigue was always with the young arms, particularly Hicks. He's got a good arm - I don't recall if Burgess was ever a pitcher in his prep days, but I wonder if that's a thought. Not a big fan, though. He either swings for power and has a messy approach, or he either works hard at his approach at a significant loss in power. He hasn't found that balance, and I doubt he will, and I've seen him a fair share.

hmm ... probably a bit higher than that, but that's an interesting comp that has me pondering it.

I still would like Cerda to get more playing time at 2nd. He's got a solid enough bat that he'll move up the ladder, but I still feel like 2nd is the position that makes the most sense. No disrespect to Logan Watkins, but I'd be fine if he was simply a FT utility guy.

FB with lots of sink on it that runs in the low 90s and a change I believe. The time I caught him last year, he was peaking low 90's, but sitting more upper 80's. That said, no clue as to what he's showing this year. Furthermore, with the sink, as the long as there's action, high 80's is fine.

Love the 9/2 GO/FO ratio for Whitenack. Gotta give AzPhil credit on this one - he nailed this breakout this spring. Sommer released is mildly interesting b/c iirc the rumors correctly a year or two ago, the Cubs were quite hopeful he'd become a useful pen arm, but there's more than enough lefties to fill pen roles in the system right now. My guess is Rusin to the pen and Raley in the rotation on ... upside.