toonsterwu

I still somewhat wish that Morla would get a chance to see starting time this year. I like the arsenal and potential. He could be an intriguing pen arm type, but the stuff is good enough to make me curious about him as a starter. The A's were pretty cautious with him.

That was an ugly GO/FO ratio for Jay, and the flyballs were clearly a concern entering the year. 2/10 and 2 long balls to boot. Otherwise, solid. Solid effort from Cashner. A month in, the development of Andrew Cashner into a legitimate starting prospect and erasing a bunch of questions has to be the biggest Cubs storyline for me. Castro's nice, but his high status and expectations were out there. Cashner's ability to start was a bigger question mark and he's answered it so far (obviously, Castro's great start is a top storyline as well). That might've been Jeffry Antigua's best start of the year. Just a fantastic outing on paper. Will be curious if anyone has reports on stuff. I might be stretching for positives, but hey, 3 game hitting streak for Kyler. One step at a time. He hasn't gotten much attention, but Aaron Shafer has settled into a pen role and so far, has had an excellent start. 1-0, 2 unearned runs, 12 h, 2 bb, 19 K's in 18.2 innings. So, I'm really in a storyline mode as I type this. My top 5 storylines (off the top) would be: 1. The development of Andrew Cashner as a starting prospect. 2. Starlin Castro's great start. 3. Brett Jackson's discipline. 4. Young arms stepping forward and filling in the gap behind the big 3, led by the emergence/progress of Struck/McNutt/Cabrera/Dolis/Raley. 5. Offensive struggles from some of our top prospects (Hak-ju Lee, Logan Watkins, DJ LeMahieu, Kyler Burke, Ryan Flaherty).

With Spencer, the thing I'm more curious about is what type of power he really carries. He might have a shot to fill a bench role if he shows big time power, but I wonder if he is more above average game power. Am I concerned about Lee/Watkins? A bit, but the thing is, both of those guys have fringe-ish bats as of now, due to the lack of power. It is a bit early, though. Reports on Lee's defense seem positive enough at the early stage, particularly as it regards to arm strength, which was a small concern for some.

Just to be clear, I'm not worried about Dae-Eun. It's early. That said, the durability questions (for starting) were in play a couple years ago, even before he missed a season. Just something to store in the back of the mind. Btw, very nice start for Chris Carpenter. Also, Burke's 2/5 was a nice sight. 5/9 the past two nights - here's hoping he's putting something together.

I am pretty intrigued with Nick Struck. One of my sleepers this year, he fits the athletic mold of pitchers that Wilken did so well with in 2008, and he has a decent, ready arsenal for a young, relatively raw arm. Furthermore, I wonder/think he can add a little velo to the fastball, which would really make him jump a lot more. As much as I've anticipated the return of Dae-Eun, I have wondered if this was a kid that was better suited to be coming out of the pen. Early, though, and he's still working his way back somewhat, but the thought does cross my mind.

Snyder should be solid defensively. Good athlete, some pop in the bat, should have an above average to good arm. Problem has always been making contact. Bour's hitting, but not enough power yet. Still probably a fringe corner type, but hey, at least there's something positive to a fairly inconsistent Peoria offense. Burke's 3/4 is a nice sight to see. The double is nice as well. Here's hoping he can get it going a bit. I don't need him in AA this year - I just don't need him to stall or regress. Very pleased with Raley's start. 5 ip, 6 h, 1 bb, 1 r, 9 K's, 3:2 GO/FO. I'm pleased more because he bounced back from the dreadful outing last time. Mildly interested that they gave LeMahieu a start at short. Considering the other options there, might as well see what he has on occasion. Decent outing for Muschko, 6 ip, 7 h, 2 r, 4 K's, no walks. I like him ... but geesh, he's become a flyball guy this year, and today, 5:7 GO/FO. Mildly ... mildly curious if Tony Thomas may have found something. The 10:4 BB/K so far is a positive sign. That said, SSS. Interesting that they have him in RF, although that really doesn't mean much considering the other options there with Guyer on the DL. I imagine Spencer will get some RF time.

whoa, thanks for reminding me that i asked him something. hmm ... interesting response on the whole suspended thing. Sounds like he knows. Also seems like he's trying to tell us without telling us. Eh, Flores isn't high enough on my radar (not sold on having enough of a bat to move up ... granted, if he has any sort of bat, he might have a shot as a backup backstop type) that I sort of forgot about him until seeing it the other day. I'll give the Cubs a lot of credit for finding cheaper, toolsy Latin American kids. This Bautista kid sounds fascinating. Now ... let's make sure he doesn't become Perez (with the contact, or lack thereof). Burruel looking decent is probably better than I expected.

imo, the only reason to keep Beliveau at Peoria is if you plan on stretching him out. If not, there are enough arms ahead that can be released without feeling like we lost something. Granted, we have a decent number of lefties in the higher levels, at least, compared to recent past, but his stuff is probably going to be able to K Low A guys with relative ease.

AzPhil's latest report has bad news on Chris Huseby. I hope the kid can turn it around, and I root for him. Seems like Huseby's lost it again. That said, if he can't turn it around soon, I really don't know if we should keep him around in the lower levels and send him to Boise or Peoria again. He's still young enough that I wouldn't be completely against keeping him around ... but I'm not sure I would care that much if he was released. Shame - I remember how exciting it sounded when I heard that we had added him as an over-slot guy that year. http://www.thecubreporter.com/2010/04/28/extended-spring-training-bullpen-collapse-diablo

Random comment about Castro and discipline - The KG report on Castro's discipline awhile ago was ... well, put it this way, I thought it was a load of crap, relative to how it was written, and I like KG enough. KG made Castro sound like a wild hacker, with comments like Unless KG knows things that other folks don't, most reports on Castro suggests that he has good enough discipline and an excellent eye. I haven't heard many people say that Castro is a wild hacker, and it certainly didn't seem that way to me. Could he stand to get better? Sure, but that report was off, IMO. Am I off on this? I really don't recall anything to suggest that we should be significantly worried about it.

agreed. At the very least, for LeMahieu to have a shot, he needs a Matt Murton type bat. He doesn't need to hit for power unless he can't stick at 2nd, but he needs to make good contact and occasionally shoot one into the gaps (and hope for a long ball once in awhile). I mean, he definitely has the body for it. If he struggles ... I do half wonder if it would be worthwhile to rework his swing. I was against that largely because I thought he'd make good contact and have a bit of power. That said, early. ___________________ I'm very curious if there's any report on what type of contact Hak-ju Lee is making. If Nate comes around, or if someone twitters him (or whatever it's called, I don't use twitter), maybe they could ask. I'm curious if he's making good contact. ___________________ Doesn't seem like a very interesting day for the Cubs. Wish Morla could get a rotation shot, as I liked the reports and the arsenal, but a lot of arms down there that need work. Latham looks like he is ready for Daytona as soon as the Cubs are willing to give him a look. If Beliveau stays in the pen, I think he could probably go up a level sooner than later as well. Gotta say, Bibens-Dirx and Chirinos have been better than I anticipated in the early goings. I wasn't sure ABD's stuff would be able to hold up in the upper levels as a starter.

He really needs that power, though. Without decent-solid power, his value bottoms out. He certainly has the raw power. I think he could be a Eric Byrnes-esque type player if things pan out. So far, it's a decent start to the year.

reading azphil, he says that luis flores was reinstated from the suspended list. can someone remind me why luis was suspended again?

elbow/TJ. I'm under the impression that his stuff is close to what it once was, particularly the change.

Jovan Rosa was released, with Jon Mota going up to Peoria as a 2nd catcher. Boy, catching sure is a weak spot in the organization right now. Although I half-wonder if Chirinos is a late bloomer.

Thanks for the answers Nate. Sorry I hadn't checked this in awhile. Real quick, any insight on the Jovan Rosa release? Was he not developing fast enough? Did the slow start offensively, do him in? Not that shocking, I guess, considering he was demoted last year, but I thought the reports had been decent (considering the move was last fall) on his defensive ability behind the plate. I was fascinated by the potential of Rosa's bat behind the plate. That said, not the biggest loss, although considering the hitter he was 2 years ago in Peoria, a bit disappointing.

Very pleased with Jay Jackson's outing. 5 ip, 73 pitches, 2 h, 1 bb, 4 K's, 1 solo homer. 5:5 go/fo.

He needs to show power, otherwise he's not as intriguing as he looked after Low A. If he shows power, I could see him be somewhat of a Eric Byrnes type.

Truffle, without knowing stuff, I think Antigua's start is fine. He's going up against, arguably, on paper, the most talented team in Low A. He's not going to be a big strikeout guy. The fact that he worked 5 and showed control ... it's not great, but I'm fine with it.

Opitz always had some pop. I was very intrigued with him coming out, as a 2nd baseman with solid pop. He needs AB's, though. Here's hoping he gets them in AA. Good thing he's played a few different positions (corner OF, 2nd, 3rd, 1st).

fabulous pitching matchups ... antigua going up against martinez mesa, cashner facing withrow, and jay jackson vs. lance lynn. Considering how badly the P-Chiefs offense is struggling, Antigua will need to be sharp against a loaded Cedar Rapids squad.

Yeah, timh had a nice little writeup of the game. Makes Rosa sound like a solid enough defensive catcher (considering the experience), which if true, is an exciting thing to follow. Also sounds like Latham has his stuff of 2 years ago, which if true, is rather exciting. Still a part of me that wishes that he would get tried as a starter (had a usable change out of JC, IIRC), but I'll take what I can out of him after the lost year. The one thing I am very curious about is Hak-ju Lee's arm strength. Matt Cerda seems to have more pop than I gave him credit for ... but uh ... saying the obvious here, but it still seems somewhat unlikely to me that he makes it up as a 3rd baseman. Curious if anyone knows about Welington's reactions behind the plate so far this year (has anyone seen him). He's gunned out a couple runners, IIRC.

I'm okay with it for now, because guys like Dolis and Rhee aren't going to go, say, 6 innings. When Bristow is ready, I would imagine something has to happen (guess is Dolis goes up to Tenn). I imagine the Cubs are putting Leverton in the pen although I haven't seen anything definitive about that.

6 hits. 2 runs. baby steps. The two players whose strike zone discipline was often questioned (Brett and Josh) each have a walk. LeMahieu is on a nice little roll. Dolis came in and has 3 scoreless, with 3 K's, giving up 2 h, 2 bb. Definitely looks like they are rotating, and that Sommer came in only because it was the middle of the inning.

decent outing for rhee. only 4 hits over 3.1, with no walks. 2 runs, 1 being the solo shot (Sommer let in an inherited runner) Jackson is 0/1 with a walk. Gotta love the K/BB he's shown so far. Well, Rhee's done. I thought Dolis might come in, but Sommer's on. Although this could be because it's the middle of the inning.