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That's fascinating. I don't know what to read into that. There is the fact that Lopez and Teagarden are at AAA, so perhaps Davis is working in the OF to increase his versatility. That said, one does wonder if this is going to lead to a mid-season Schwarber call-up to AAA.

Yeah, Fulmer hasn't changed much. Well ... on the surface, watching him pitch, it's improved a bit, but that' still a lot of effort. I remember him coming out of the pen against UVA last year and it was a lot more effort, if that can be believed (at least, to the naked eye and my memory). Fascinating end to LSU vs. ULL. Top of the 9th home run for Conrad and ULL to tie, only for Bacon to give up a homer to Sciambra (sp?) for LSU to walk off. I thought Maineri made a mistake leaving Lange in there to start the 9th (and Maineri sort of hinted at feeling bad for Lange), as Lange had clearly tired, but when you win, you get away with mistakes. Raisin, I imagine Arkansas' offense won't be as ... exciting? ... in TD Ameritrade, but I'm more concerned with their ability to work a pitcher, more than anything. Connor Jones is prone to an occasional bad inning here or there, and UVA can't afford to go deep. It's starting to feel like Kirby is a break in-case-of-emergency option, so UVA is going in very thin to the CWS pitching wise.

I have the utmost respect for what John Szefc has done for Maryland ... but he screwed up at the end today. Up 4-2 entering the 9th, Robert Galligan had thrown 100+ pitches coming out of the pen in the first after Selmer was ineffective for 14 pitches (weirdly, Galligan only had his breaking ball, as he couldn't throw his fastball for strikes). Bobby Ruse had warmed up the last few innings, Kevin Mooney, and Alex Robinson (a possible big league pen arm) had been warming. There was no reason to send Galligan out ... other than the idea that if Galligan gets through, you have a lot of arms for tomorrow. Problem is, you gotta win today to get to tomorrow. Okay, I get Galligan going out there. Once he gave up the walk to start the inning, he should've been gone. They kept him in there for 2 more batters, a hit and a walk to load the bases. Then, they bring in Kevin Mooney, who get lit up by UVA yesterday ... and according to ESPN, was ineffective in the pen. If ESPN can tell ... then MD's coaches should've known. He promptly gives up a walk to Doherty, with the bases still loaded. At this point, Virginia had no outs, bases loaded, down 1 run. I guess you hope Mooney is effective against the 9th batter, Ernie Clement ... but geesh, it was just a mess. Tough losses for Maryland, particularly since the pen blew the losses, and that was their strength. Edit: Not sure who I should cheer for ... Missouri State or Arkansas? Any opinions? I'm not all that worried about Jon Harris. I am concerned with Arkansas' offense. That's my thought process, at least.

To be clear, I have no issue with Cael. I just find it odd that a Cubs website (seemed like it was from something called The Cub Junction) someone would say that he is a possible A grade level prospect in our system.

To be quite honest ... I don't love Tate either. That said, only saw that start in regionals (other than that, just clips), and he supposedly tired down the stretch. Don't recall what bothered me ... but boy ... I thought he was a pen arm type, not a starter. From a draft perspective, I'm honestly curious if Kirby pitches this weekend and how well he pitches. From a UVA perspective, I hope we don't need Kirby this weekend unless it's for an inning or two (that is, if he's starting, it's Game 3 ... and I'd be worried). Draft wise, it seemed like Kirby's name stayed afloat once people felt his problems were due to the lat strain. If he shows well, I really wonder if he could move back to mid-first. Probably still outside of where the Cubs area, but it feels like one of the few intriguing subplots from supers this weekend, from a draft perspective.

I am so very lukewarm on Jon Harris. If it's Harris or Tate, I gamble on Tate's upside, even if Harris is safer as a starter. I don't care that much for Benintendi (sounds nice, intriguing, but not exactly excited about it), but I much prefer him over either of the two college starters. Honestly ... instead of Harris or Kapreilian there, I'd almost rather, assuming decent medicals, see if Kirby, Matuella, or someone else who has dropped is willing to take some sort of under-slot deal (which would likely still be higher than whatever is available late round 1) and gamble. Won't happen ... at least I don't think they'll under-slot a guy coming off an injured year, but dang if I am not hugely interested in taking guys like Harris or Kapreilian at number 9. Geesh ... that feels like taking a Zastryzny that high, and I think you can find those arms later (nothing against both ... as I think both could be good, but damn if I'm not excited on either one of them).

A bit befuddled at the overwhelming nod to Maryland over Virginia. I get Maryland being the favorite, but sure seems like everyone's picking them. I'd call it 50-50 ... and I think it comes down to whichever starter goes deeper and wins game 1 - Jones or Sharawyn.

Okay, I'm confused. What can't people agree on? That looked like it was just a list of interesting Cubs guys, with blurbs about them from other sources (very confused at the idea that someone a Cubs site was going to give Cael Brockemeyer an A-, but whatever). The Cubs have actually gone hard after pitching the last couple drafts. The only issue at play, really, that is discussed by fans, is whether or not a team should spend a first round pick on an arm. I'm not against it if the right player is there, although I am of the belief that this year, with the paucity of strong arms at the top of the draft, that the Cubs are better off going cheap (arm or bat) early to save some money and load up later.

Sure I'd have interest, but it feels like he's looking for a major league gig ... and he's not really a guy you feel comfortable giving a late inning job to right now, so it's hard to see them opening up a spot in middle relief for Aardsma. I imagine there's going to be a team that's going to offer him a major league gig. Look, if the Cubs opted to say, cut Jason Motte and give Aardsma a job, I'd be okay with that, but I don't see that happening.

Victor Caratini has quietly hit well over the past few weeks. He got off to such a horrible start that the overall season line is still poor, but as long as his defense keeps improving, he is showing enough offense to at least work his way up the ladder.

On the surface, feels like a guy that might be pressing a bit. He's certainly entering/in the downside of his career, but it's hard to believe that he's completely fallen off that hard.

Despite not being anywhere near a top 100 prospect? I meant in several teams' farm systems. Not overall. It's possible you could make a case at the back end, namely, a Detroit or Marlins perhaps, but you'd have to completely buy the idea that his hit tool has really jumped. His power production is likely a byproduct of being in the PCL, because even thought most acknowledge that he has gone from a guy with average power to a guy with a tick above average power, it's certainly hard to buy that he suddenly has plus power. If his hit tool is legitimately improved, and an "average" 50 type tool now, then sure ... Villanueva becomes a fairly enticing asset, a good defender at 3rd, with an average hit tool and average power. 3rd base is still a relatively weak position, so he'd be fairly enticing if that hit tool is legitimately improved.

Well ... first off, again ... we need a 3rd/4th starter. There's going to be guys available that won't cost us Schwarber or Baez (it wouldn't surprise me if some folks here were okay dealing Baez to make a push). I've suggested Wei-Yin Chen from the Orioles if they fall out. There's going to be those mid-rotation arms available that are impending FA's that won't cost an arm and a leg. Jeff Samardzija comes to mind. Before going any further, I guess you need to define big chips then. Really ... Schwarber, Torres, and maybe Baez are about the only big chips ... and even then, I think I can talk myself into being okay with a deal involving them if the right return happened (hypothetically ... I can't think of any legitimate trade target off the top). Personally, I don't want to move Underwood, but I think that'll draw mixed opinions. Other than that, thee's no one that isn't replaceable.

Why do we need "studs"? I look at this roster, and the only spot one might argue for a need for a "stud" is if you think we need a closer. Otherwise, for better or worse, we are tied to youth at a lot of spots. Again, Jason Hammel is pitching lights out. Maybe he takes a step back, but Arrieta/Lester are an excellent combo. We can WANT a stud 3rd starter, but it isn't a need. For all the talk about Zobrist, we can go after a guy to platoon with Coghlan in LF if we don't think Schwarber is ready to move there/they don't want to give up the Schwarber at C effort yet (in another thread, I advocated the idea of Steve Pearce).

You can hope that we won't be trading away key prospects without us being sellers. We could ... after all ... stand pat. At the end of the day, they need to be start being competitive at some point. Furthermore, it's not like we can't "buy" without giving up top tier prospects. We can move 2nd tier guys, keep our top guys, make a run, and then go fill holes in FA in the winter. That's my preferred route anyways (meaning, I'd rather us not shell out for a big time trade unless the price is really a win for us, which I don't see happening because the lack of sellers, but who knows).

At first glance ... this looks like a huge win for Seattle. Arizona could've gotten Welington Castillo for ... spare change ... from us. Guerrero is a intriguing talent with obvious bloodlines, but there's a lot of toolsy guys in the minors. Nuno might even be useful for Seattle. I get Arizona's need to clear space ... but ugh.

Reports seem to suggest that it's roughly similar to what he showed in college, a guy whose fastball tops out in the low 90's, but has some action to it. Breaking balls are average, maybe a tick. If he's locating, it can work enough.

A bit off-topic here, but I still keep thinking of the Cubs and Orioles as a good fit. In terms of a super-utility player, Steve Pearce is scuffling offensively (albeit, BABIP is really low), and he's not Zobrist defensively ... but he's shown he's fine at 1st, usable/decent at 2nd, and fine in the corner OF's. I believe he's dabbled at 3rd before. The K rate is a bit up this year, and the walk rate is a bit down, but one wonders if that could be a case of a guy pressing because he's off to a slow start. Unless I'm mistaken, he's an impending FA and hitting 32. At worst, he would seem like a very nice utility option to give the bench some depth and pop. If he gets it going offensively, he would be a very nice piece in LF that could occasionally move around to give guys days off. In some respects, I guess he's "similar" to Coghlan. You could run with a platoon there (Coghlan against righties and Pearce against lefties) and give yourself a utility player for depth/late innings/pinch hitting. Beyond Pearce, they have pen arms and solid, but not great, rotation pieces that might be available. Big thing is, so many are impending FA's. Of course, the AL East is in pretty bad shape, so they may decide that they can stick in the race. That said, just don't get a feeling that they have the depth or options this year, and if they out far enough, one would think that they may have to start considering all the impending FA's and try to do something about it.

I'm not one to defend Almora all that much (liked the pick, thought he got a bit over-hyped early in his career). That said, barring stunningly bad reports, I'm not at all displeased with this year. I'm not exactly jumping for joy ... but it's plainly evident that he is working on his discipline/approach, and thus, I take his offensive numbers with a grain of salt. Add in that, while minor league BABIP's aren't a great tool to use as a main factor to judge with, his is awful low for a guy with decent speed (I really haven't looked any further than the quick glance fangraphs numbers, so maybe there's something behind it). Tools wise, people still seem to suggest that he's the same guy as before - good, but not great, but good across the board. Altogether, looks like a learning season for him, which is perfectly normal for most prospects. He may never put it all together, but I'm not displeased with his season so far.

SCS - Problem is ... very, very, very few ... if any ... believed in Corey Black as a starter. I know the numbers look decent this year (what was it .. a 3 walk rate to go with a 10+K rate?) Numbers only tell part of the story, though. At the end of the day, there's still effort in that delivery, by most accounts. He doesn't have a huge frame, and he'll never have great command. His secondaries are decent, maybe a tick above average, but he really depends on that fastball. That combination of factors still scream pen arm. It certainly was possible he could make it in a a Bud Norris-esque way as a starter, but even Norris, who gets criticized a fair amount as a guy who should be in the pen, is an exception. As for the move itself, I have to think they make this move on June 1st with some sort of idea that, if things go well, he could see the bigs. It's too early to think they are "saving" innings.

I found that article interesting because of the Gillespie quote on how his pitch framing is amazing. If the Cubs feel like he has the athleticism to stick behind there, plus the work ethic to want to improve, and his pitch framing is advanced, then what he basically needs is time to learn the finer points. I still have doubts, and at some point, the value of his bat may be too much, but that was an interesting quote to ponder on his long term viability at catcher.

Back in college, I posted on cubs.com a bit. There, I ran into folks that complained about all the nsbb posters, so I tried to come over and sign up. For some odd reason, I never could sign up (to my recollection ... in looking back, my hunch is that the filter on the email system probably deleted it, and I didn't know how to get in touch with people to get on the board). Forgot all about it, posted on some other sports boards (cubs wise, there was ... uh tcr, sbnation, and uh ... what's the one where there was someone called bob sacamento posting for awhile), and then one year, while I was googling some Cubs stuff, it clicked in my head that the Raisin on sbnation on the Cubs site was probably the same one as the one here, so I sent him an email asking how to actually get on ... and since then, i think this is the only sports board i really sort of check on a regular basis (even though i follow a lot more than just baseball and the Cubs).

It's probably just a hot streak ... but boy, Yaisel Balaguert is really hot of late.

Nice win for UCLA. Odd UVA game ... Lake Elsinore was a crazy offensive night with USC/SD State going 12-11, and then UVA getting 5 in the 11th to win 14-10. UVA's SP didn't even make it out of the first. So glad Kirby supposedly can give us innings next week.

Even if we could somehow leave aside the issue of money (which you really can't ...) ... I don't think I'm all that enthused about the idea of that rotation. First off, you'd have to give me an idea of what we gave up for Hamels and Papelbon, as I'm still not of the belief that the Cubs need an elite 3rd starter to necessarily advance int the playoffs, with Arrieta/Lester as an excellent 1-2 punch this year. It would be nice to have, sure, but Jason Hammel has pitching ridiculously well with us and repeated his performance from last year, so I just don't feel the absolute demand/urgency to get an elite 3rd starter. Leaving that aside, Zimmerman is supposedly looking for a contract north of what Lester got, and Hamels is obviously still on the book for a fair amount. The combination of Hamels/Zimmerman/Lester might cost ... roughly 60-65 million a year for at least 2016-2018. Is it doable? I guess it's not impossible ... as Arrieta isn't eligible for free agency until after 2018 (I think) and the youngsters allow us to potentially spend elsewhere, but that's an awful lot tied into pitching and I think I'd prefer a bit more flexibility. Add in a possible Papelbon contract, the likely chance that we are still paying Edwin Jackson's deal, the potential need to find a CF/leadoff hitter (with Fowler hitting FA), possible bench/depth additions, extensions and raises ... and we're probably creeping awfully close to the luxury tax threshold.