BeerHere

BA's JJ Cooper is taking in the Kane County-Cedar Rapids series. Aren't guys supposed to work those things out in EXST before being promoted?

For me. Baez is already at a higher level. Like someone said though....it's a complete guess. Really, I could put them in any order and be fine with it.

Where does Bryant slot in the top 10? Baez, Bryant, Almora, Soler, Johnson?

where else would there be for them to go? KC? probably not. Rookie ball (AZ Cubs)?

Boise season starts one week from today.

Both Underwood and Blackburn should be in Boise this year, right?

Agree. There are some college pitchers who are finished, and won't change. But I think it's a myth to assume that a 20-year-old college pick won't change in the pros. *The fastball can change. Lots get a little stronger at ages 21-22-23; improve their mechanics/delivery a little; and end with more velocity. *The breaking ball can change, a lot. Lots are still tinkering with their breaking ball in college without settling into the best or having done so with consistency. Think of Samardzija, and how many iterations of breaking ball he's gone through since he was in college. *The changeup can change. For Z that sounds like it's already an advanced plus pitch. But for a lot of college pitchers, the change is kind of an inconsistent underused show-me pitch. In the pros, that often changes. *The cutter can change. For most college pitchers, the cutter is a "tinker on the side" pitch, but hasn't been optimized into a crucial game-usage pitch; in the pros that can often become an absolutely integral tool. For attacking opposite-side hitters, for throwing strikes and controlling the count, for getting contact outs. Well said.

At the right price; say 12MM, 15MM max. Thankfully you're not running the FO. Yeah, he's been pretty good but he's not going to hit at this pace all year. He's a decent platoon/4th OF but you don't pay those guys $5M per year. Especially on a team that isn't going to contend next year.

He had control problems last year too. I'd say so. 47BB and 27H in 33IP last year.

Chris Pieters is brutal. SSS but 12 walks, 6 K's and 8 hits in 8 innings. http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=622362

Denney is definitely singable. He had a bit of a down season to drop him to the back half of the first round but he might go higher because he's singable. This word, I do not think it means what you think it means. Means he can sing.....like butter or something.

My thinking is that prior busts are included on the list. So with Cabrera, he served his 50 games; assuming that the offense in question is the one that he was previously suspended for, I can't imagine that the players union would allow MLB to give him double jeopardy. As for Braun, his case is more complicated; on one hand, if this is the same offense that he was already given a suspension, appealed, and won, if MLB re-opens it that too would be double jeopardy. Even if it is re-opened, and MLB aggressively pursues a 100 game suspension, the players association could be extra protective of him due to the sentiment that MLB's coming down on him extra hard as an act of vengence to save face after allowing him to slip through their fingers last time, thus making their system look bad. It was suggested yesterday that MLB is going to use the "denial while knowing it was true" as the first offense for Braun, and the Biogenesis proof as the second offense which would result in a 100 game suspension. The way Braun went after the guy that handled the sample using him as the scapegoat was very "Lance Armstrong-ish". I hope he gets the suspension, appeals and sees it upheld. He'll probably sue MLB.

According to Twitter, Junior Lake is reporting to Iowa on Thursday.

He's a plus defender. Yes, power is probably the biggest concern with him. I did a little digging on BA and found this: Ranked Chicago Cubs #12 prospect after the 2012 season Blocked by Adrian Beltre and Mike Olt in Texas, Villanueva's chances for future playing time improved dramatically when the Rangers dealt him and strike-throwing righthander Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs for Ryan Dempster. He still has to worry about Jeimer Candelario and perhaps Javier Baez (if he moves to third base), but Villanueva suddenly has a lot more upward mobility. On the 20-80 scouting scale, one Cubs official described him as having 80 makeup, 70 defense and questionable power. Villanueva's short stroke is conducive to line drives more than longballs, and he tends to inside-out quality fastballs and serve them to the opposite field. He has the potential for average power, but he'll have to get stronger and turn on more pitches to get there. He can hit for solid average and provide some doubles. He has fringy speed but has the instincts to steal bases if the defense doesn't pay attention to him. Defense is where Villanueva really shines. He has the first-step quickness, hands, arm strength and savvy to make tough plays look routine. Chicago added him to its 40-man roster and will send him to Double-A in 2013. He could get a big league audition sometime the following year.

Does anyone have any defensive information for Christian Villanueva? He wasn't listed as a 2013 top 10 prospect by BA but he's performing reasonably well for a 21 year old in AA this year. Is the lack of power the knock on him?

From the Tuesday Prospect notebook (BA) http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/tuesday-prospect-notebook-billy-hamilton-takes-off/ Dillon Maples, rhp, Cubs: The Cubs spent $2.5 million to sign Maples out of the 14th round of the 2011 draft, his power fastball and curveball outweighing concerns about his delivery. They haven’t seen much of him yet, as a tweaked elbow limited him to just 10 innings last year and he didn’t join low Class A Kane County this season until mid-May. The 21-year-old got hit hard in his fourth start on May 28, allowing seven earned runs in three innings, but he bounced back with his best outing on Monday. The righthander struck out seven over five shutout innings against Cedar Rapids. Granted, Cedar Rapids’ lineup was without Byron Buxton, still held out with a sore thumb, but Maples did limit them to two hits and three walks. Two rough outings have his ERA still at a lofty 7.06, but the good news is he’s struck out 23 in 21 2/3 innings with a 2.07 ground out-to-air out ratio. Christian Villanueva, 3b, Cubs: Continuing with the Cubs theme, Villanueva’s prospects for career advancement improved greatly when he got out from behind Adrian Beltre and Mike Olt once the Rangers dealt him to the Cubs in last year’s Ryan Dempster trade. Opening his first full year in his new organization, Villanueva had a quiet April for Double-A Tennessee, batting .205, but he turned around to hit .304 in May and went 3-for-7 in yesterday’s doubleheader against Jacksonville. The 21-year-old’s offensive game is more geared toward line drives than homers (he leads the Southern League with 18 doubles), but he’s gone deep in two of his last three games, including one in the second game yesterday, to bring his season’s total to five.

Either way.....regardless of specific order, that is a pretty damn good top 7.

I'm pretty sure that's where I'm at, too. Then... Johnson AA BiggieV Appel/Gray Soler Almora Baez Johnson Alcantara Vogelbach

We were discussing this in the thread the other day. My feeling is, as of now, he's borderline top 100. If he maintains his offensive production and shows month to month offensive consistency, then he's probably top 100, and maybe top 75. Young shortstop prospects (although I do think he'll move off shortstop long run) get valued highly. I think the top 6 is the big 3 (Soler/Baez/Almora) and Johnson/Alcantara/Vogelbach in some order. Until Thursday Assuming Appel or Gray are taken, where would you put them relative to Soler/Baez/Almora? Does either guy become the new #1? edit: I realize this is in the wrong thread, I was just curious.

Absolutely and the return should warrant a top 100 guy given Russell's performance and cost. Anything less and he should remain a Cub.

You're not kidding. 2012 Position Player of the Year – Logan Watkins Pitcher of the Year – Nick Struck 2011 Position Player of the Year – Bryan LaHair Pitcher of the Year – Jeff Beliveau 2010 Position Player of the Year – Brandon Guyer Pitcher of the Year – Chris Archer 2009 Position Player of the Year – Kyler Burke Pitcher of the Year – Casey Coleman 2008 Position Player of the Year – Micah Hoffpauir Pitcher of the Year – Mitch Atkins 2007 Position Player of the Year – Geovany Soto Pitcher of the Year – Kevin Hart 2006 Players of the Year – Rich Hill and Donald Veal 2005 Position Player of the Year – Eric Patterson Pitcher of the Year – Sean Gallagher 2004 Position Player of the Year – Brian Dopirak Pitcher of the Year – Renyel Pinto 2003 Player of the Year – Chadd Blasko 2002 Player of the Year – Hee-Seop Choi 2001 Player of the Year – Nic Jackson 2000 Player of the Year – Ben Christensen 1999 Player of the Year – Corey Patterson 1998 Player of the Year – Brian McNichol 1996 Player of the Year – Kerry Wood 1995 Player of the Year – Brooks Kieschnick 1994 Player of the Year – Scott Bullett 1993 Player of the Year – Eddie Zambrano 1992 Player of the Year – Steve Trachsel 1991 Player of the Year – Pedro Castellano 1990 Player of the Year – Gary Scott http://chicagocubsonline.com/cubs-minor-league-player-and-pitcher-of-the-year#.UazTS0Dkvzx

The guy is terrible. Another 3 walks today. Just brutal at this point. Time to cut bait and move on.

I'm sure that Sullivan is loving every second of this. Love the subtle jab at Moneyball in his tweet.

I agree, there doesn't really seem to be a lot of teams that are going to sell. Garza, Barney, Soriano, Gregg, Dejesus, Feldman - I think these guys are all but gone. I'd bet that someone takes Marmol as well but that seems less certain and the return will be poor.

The Bachelor/Bachelorette series is terrible. Fake drama. Fake people. Fake everything.