toonsterwu

still rehabbing, IIRC, but off the top, can't recall what the injury was.

If he's pitching his first game sometime in July ... I hope he's throwing somewhat regularly right now. Otherwise that would seem to be a tremendous strain to get him ready for a real game in July.

Tall, lanky guy who tops out in the low 90's with average secondary stuff is what I recall on Dickson right now. ____ I just don't know if the Cubs have a realistic opening in the Carolina League to go to. That would be the ideal move ... but there's 8 teams, and without looking at the affiliation contracts, 3 of them are definitely unlikely (Frederick, Potomac - due to their proximity to the Orioles and Nationals, despite the fact that Potomac had a disagreement with the Nats last year; and Salem, for obvious reasons). Then, Winston-Salem has been with the White Sox forever. Not impossible to see a change, but it's at least 15 years, I think, with the White Sox. They were a Cubs affiliate a in the late 80's-early 90's, though. The Wilmington squad has largely been a part of the Royals system, and they seem pleased with it. The Carolina squad is technically the Kinston squad, which has been associated with the Indians a long time. Realistically, the two potential targets would seem to be Lynchburg, who just switched to Atlanta in 2011, Myrtle Beach, who switched to Texas, but there's a lot of teams that would probably want to go there.

Both guys can play multiple positions, so I imagine they will find time. Bruno can (along with 2nd) play short, has played 3rd, and could go to the OF, while Amaya can flip between 2nd and 3rd primarily, giving Candelario an occasional breather.

I'm disappointed in Rhee's season, but with the way his stuff/velo improved in the 2nd half last year, I'd be a bit disappointed if they moved him to the pen that quick. That said, some movement with the AA rotation is bound to happen, as Loosen needs to see AA soon, and Whitenack might not be that far behind him. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me if Kirk, due to age and stuff, stayed in Daytona all year. I still wouldn't rule out a Burke to AA pen move either. Jensen's had an ... interesting start to the year. He was fascinating in April - getting a ton of groundballs and striking out a fair amount of folks. That GB% dipped in May, but it's back up in June again. The K rate is climbing, but so is the BB rate. There's an argument for him in A+, but ... considering age (only his age 21 season) and development, I'm okay keeping him in Peoria all year, tbh. I'd love to know what the internal evaluations on McNutt were and what they thought of his potential as a starter.

The best thing is that, some of the warning signs on Peralta/Paulino/Cruz were always there, while, off the top, there hasn't been a glaring concern with Arias (although ... maybe I'm forgetting something ... can't seem to think of anything, some mechanical tidying up IIRC, but nothing glaring on that front. Don't recall an injury history, and don't recall him as a guy viewed as having shaky command).. He has the size, frame, fastball, and potential on the breaking pitches. It's a damn fascinating package.

I'm mildly intrigued by the monster game Daniel Sanchez had for Cubs1 today. He was touted when he was signed, and he is only 18. He's fallen off the radar, but if he heats up, I'd be curious what the national guys thought about him.

Burke has had a fantastic year so far, he's still fairly young right as he was drafted out of HS? When do we start considering him one of our better pitching prospects? He's not that young. I mean, granted, he's been around forever as a result of being drafted out of HS, but he's 24. Whether or not he's one of our better pitching prospects (and that doesn't mean that much considering the status of the pitching in our system as of now) depends, for me, on what he is throwing. Is he throwing the hoped for low-mid 90's, or is he in the upper 80's, topping out low 90's, as many reports have put it at this year (granted, weather is warming up, which could help). He's definitely a fascinating prospect, but whether or not he is a legitimate starting pitching prospect, or a guy who ends up in the pen and being fast-tracked ... well, I'm not sure there's a clear answer, for us as fans, as of now, and time is running short in that regards. I've said it before, but if they think his future is in the pen, I'd be open to fast-tracking him to AA.

Austin Reed's quietly put together a decent-solid season in the pen so far. I sometimes forget how young Geiger is. He's still mildly intriguing, if only because of the weak 3rd base depth in the system, and the fact that he has some pop in the bat. Then again, like Candelario, he might not stick at 3rd if he even makes it up the ladder.

We can hope he was working on his swing, etc. and when the actual games start, he'll hit better than he has. i'm disappointed that vogelbach didn't make it. what does this mean for him? i mean, he should at least be at boise by now. A few points a) As others have noted, Vogelbach didn't do all that well in XST. Maybe he gets it going in rookie ball, and is in line for Boise call-up later this year. As Raisin noted, he could still be at Peoria to start 2013. b) He's young. Even if he didn't make Peoria until 2014 ... he'd still be relatively age appropriate. Granted, at that point, there would be some serious concerns. c) Roderick Shoulders is a fairly good first base prospect in his own right. Furthermore, don't forget that Candelario isn't a strong certainty to stick at 3rd.

on DSL guys - I tend to wait and see on the "under-the-radar" type guys. Even some of the bigger names can struggle at times. Looking at DSL stats can be deceiving because of the reported differences, particularly with pitchers. Looking at the DSL 1 roster, I recall when Francisco Sanchez was a decently big summer signing, and there was some intrigue with him. Jeffrey Baez, Gilberto Abreu, Antonio Gonzalez, Angel Meijas all got decent signing bonuses, so it's not as if there isn't some guys there that the Cubs spent a bit on.

hmm ... looks decent to my untrained eye. Hard to tell, but swing seems like it can still get long at times (obviously, this was a case where things connected, so it'd be interesting to look at the, admittedly, limited videos where he looks bad), but the swing seems a lot more compact.

To the best of my limited understanding on them, Dunston Jr. probably has the higher ceiling offensively. Martin doesn't sound like he's going to have a lot of power (if things go well), and Dunston Jr. sounds like he could have average-ish, 12-16 HR potential, if things go well. Martin is probably the more polished defender. All in all ... it doesn't matter to me either way ... and if Almora is as good as the FO thinks he will be, then Dunston Jr. and Martin will likely be stuck behind him on the ladder (assuming Almora goes to Boise and does well when he signs).

There's absolutely zero reason to bring Rizzo up before whatever the date is that gives the Cubs the extra year. 10-11 days won't dent anything on this season, but it gives the Cubs a lot more flexibility with Rizzo. However, there is no reason to wait until the Super 2 date on Rizzo. Take a step back and look at potential thoughts from the POV of the Cubs front office and not as a fan - a) Rizzo is/has been working on a shorter swing. I'm not real sure that the clips I've seen are significantly different from what I saw of Rizzo coming up the ladder, and clips from last year ... but people more knowledgeable say that he has a swing that's a bit shorter and a bit more compact than last year. While he could work on it in the majors, working on it in the minors is preferable. b) There is the LaHair factor. The Cubs probably want to deal LaHair. Now, I don't think LaHair will be a significant block to any issues with Rizzo, but assuming LaHair doesn't completely collapse (and even his down May wasn't bad ... just not good), he needs PT to be able to net something in a trade, and the Cubs want Soriano to get PT to try and shop him. Again, not a big deal, but a small factor perhaps. c) A year saved is a lot of money that gives them the potential flexibility to add help that year. Furthermore, a year saved always gives them a ton more flexibility if they decide, for some fortuitous or calamitous reason, to shop Rizzo (I doubt it, but if this is a smart, forward thinking front office, I hope they've thought about every contingency possible) d) I imagine they might not want to burden Rizzo as the savior/the hope. With the bad swing this club is in, while no one expects it to turn around significantly, they might want to wait for a better stretch before bringing him up. There's probably a couple other things I could think of, but there's just too many reasons to not bring him up right now. All that said, they absolutely need to bring him up to get enough AB's this year, particularly because of reason 1. They need to see if the adjustments he's made to his swing can hold against major league pitching, and they need him to see what he needs to work on. Everyone knows Rizzo against AAA pitching is a joke right now, so at some point they need to see. My hunch - Rizzo comes up after the ASB in July (majors and AAA), in either the last road trip before August, or the last homestand (depending on how they feel about starting Rizzo at home). At that point, LaHair and/or Soriano will hopefully have been dealt, he'll be clear of the FA line, will have perhaps gotten in his AAA ASG. He'll get 2 months and change to see what he needs to work on for the future, which should be plenty of time for him (and plenty of time for the Cubs to evaluate him).

OOC, why? Post-draft hype was high ... really high on Trey Martin. I haven't heard anything substantial in regards to a change of opinion on either guy (although some reports on Trey Martin did make me wonder about his offensive ceiling), so I'm mildly curious why you prefer Dunston Jr. over him. To be honest, I don't care either way, and in situations like that, I'd simply hope the more developed guy headed to the tougher league.

And Jay Jackson gave up 4 in the first 2 innings. 19 runs in 9.1 innings for the starters in Iowa, Tennessee, and Peoria. Meanwhile, Matt Loosen is throwing a 1-hitter thru 5 for Daytona. Loosen really needs to get to AA. It's not that I legitimately think Loosen is much ... but he needs to see tougher competition. He's settled down a bit. More of an end of the rotation type of guy, but it'd be nice to challenge him. He's really been on a nice roll in A+. Guess he has to wait for a spot to open, though. As a total side note, I had it in my head for some reason, probably because I haven't been paying attention, that Francescon's numbers in A+ were bad. They really aren't. Walk rate is up, due to the 2 games on the road, but overall, not a bad number, and K rate is even slightly up in the early-goings. A long way to go, but admittedly, a part of me worried if Francescon would struggle badly in A+ as a starter.

Mildly shocked that Dunston Jr. made it over Trey Martin. Well, I guess I'm shocked because of how AzPhil made it sound. Well, more shocked that Martin didn't make it. Wonder what happened. Also ... wonder who the heck is the backup catcher? Inoa? Not that big a deal, and the roster will adjust enough in the coming weeks. Contreras is certainly going to get his work.

Here's what my thoughts are, at this time (assuming the top 10 picks all sign with the Cubs): 1. Rizzo 2. Baez 3. Soler 4. Almora 5. Jackson 6. Szczur 7. Castillo 8. Lake 9. Hernandez 10. Vitters 11. Johnson/Underwood/Blackburn/McNutt I agree with almost all of this but I still like Vitters a lot and I think I'd slot him at 6 with everyone else moving down a spot. This, and add Maples to the pitchers at 11. If we're going to add Maples/Underwood/Blackburn to the mix of arms being discussed there, then Jose Rosario really should be in the mix. As with the discussion earlier on him, I don't love him ... and I think he's headed for the pen ... but it's not impossible to envision him as a quality, albeit, undersized, starting pitching prospect, and his fastball might be the best of the lot. He has flashed potential on the change and slider before, so if he put it together ... That said, I still, gut feeling, think, he's a late inning arm moreso than a starter. But I wouldn't put him behind those guys too much, if at all ... and until we know more about Wells injury, I'd lump Wells in that grouping as well (and if Wells is healthy, I take him over the other arms in the system, even if some guys have slightly higher potential ceilings.

Here's what my thoughts are, at this time (assuming the top 10 picks all sign with the Cubs): 1. Rizzo 2. Baez 3. Soler 4. Almora 5. Jackson 6. Szczur 7. Castillo 8. Lake 9. Hernandez 10. Vitters 11. Johnson/Underwood/Blackburn/McNutt I know I'm higher on Hernandez than most, so leaving that one aside, I think that's fair. The one random thought for now is that I'm not so sure that I wouldn't place Baez ahead of Rizzo. It's hard to justify that right now with Rizzo murdering AAA, but Baez's ceiling is that much higher, and if he has a fighting chance to stick at short, that's tempting. Still, could go either way.

With Ben Wells injury, I have to finally slide him outside of the top 10. If it isn't TJ, then I'll reconsider sliding him back up, but it sure doesn't sound good (and for all the talk about how TJ is "safe" now, I still would rather not have a pitcher go under the knife). There's enough intrigue about Pierce Johnson, but I can't help but read the reports on him and think Trey McNutt, so for now, I still have McNutt ahead, on the tiny chance that McNutt turns it around and becomes a legitimate starter. But McNutt's the only guy with an argument for top 10-12, IMO (with Wells dropped because of injury).

I think people are sort of under-rating Szczur in this whole thing. I'm not so sure that he's all that behind Almora. If we take a legitimate step back to take a look at it - If Szczur's plate discipline development is real, then the only question left is how much power he develops. The discipline development alone gives him a significantly higher chance of becoming a major leaguer, and his raw tools aren't behind Almora's by much (and may even be ahead). There's still enough people that swear that power will come from Szczur soon, as I keep hearing that he still shows good pop in batting practice (but again ... Vitters showed good pop in BP for awhile ... you have to do something with it in games ... Ryan Sweeney showed good pop in BP, IIRC, but it never translated either). Szczur should hit AA soon. I know Almora's the shiny new thing from this regime, but ... is the gap that wide between Almora and Szczur? I'm not so sure. The assumption is that Almora's power ceiling is better, but it still has to materialize first (Szczur's contact ability was always viewed fairly well). With Lake (and with Vitters), I want to see consistently good performance before raising them. It's fair to say both guys probably have higher ceilings than some of the guys that would be ahead of them.

5th? Soler, Rizzo, Baez ... Almora? I'm not sure I would clearly put Brett Jackson 5th ... I think Rizzo/Baez are in a tier of their own, but I'd probably lump Jackson/Soler/Almora in a tier. Soler and Almora MIGHT have higher ceilings (Soler probably does ... keep in mind Almora's tools aren't all that different from Brett), but they are so far away. I'm under the impression that Almora's hit tool is significantly better than Jackson's, as is his ability to play CF. The perception is that Almora will be an above average to plus defensive CF ... but whether or not that is the reality, only time will tell, but tools wise, I'm under the impression that if his tools are better than Brett's, it's not by much. I'm a bit wary of judging hit tools for a HS kid right now. I know, people will say I made a similar judgment on Marco Hernandez last year, but my argument then was that it was at a professional level, even if it was Arizona. But that's me. I guess I can understand buying that Almora's hit tool is better, but is it better by enough that Brett's readiness/safety doesn't trump that? That's a very subjective thing, and for me, as of now, it's hard to place Almora ahead, but sure I can understand people that feel otherwise. Way I look at it is ... if Almora reaches AAA and is considered a legitimate prospect like Brett is now, then that's a big win. I hope for better, but there's too many raw kids littered by the wayside. But that's me (and it isn't just a case of where they are relative to being ready for me, because I would still have Marco high). Sufficed to say, on the positional side, the raw talent in the system is as great as it's been in about a decade.

5th? Soler, Rizzo, Baez ... Almora? I'm not sure I would clearly put Brett Jackson 5th ... I think Rizzo/Baez are in a tier of their own, but I'd probably lump Jackson/Soler/Almora in a tier. Soler and Almora MIGHT have higher ceilings (Soler probably does ... keep in mind Almora's tools aren't all that different from Brett), but they are so far away.

I asked this one earlier, but I didn't see a response...any idea when any or all of these 3 project to be in Daytona? Just guesses, but I'd say Soler early 2013, Baez early 2013, Almora end 2013/early 2014. I'd guess Baez early 2013, Almora late 2013/early 2014, and Soler late 2013, but more likely 2014. (positive scenarios obviously). We'll get a clearer picture on possible Soler timelines once we find out if he's headed to Arizona or DSL to start this summer (hard to see him hit Boise, but I guess that can't be ruled out).

I could see them meeting at Peoria. I doubt it ... but I can see the FO perhaps having Baez start in Peoria next year (depends on how he finishes, and fall/spring), and Almora/Soler making it up there. I doubt it (Soler moreso than Almora), but I could see it.