Wrigley Rat

Wow. Does that mean that Harvey and the Cubs are done? I hope.

I just thought I would put together a list of my guesses for where everyone will end up at to start the 2009 season. I am rarely close, but I like to see how close I can come. Besides, this message board has been silent for awhile. The order is: C, C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MIF, CIF, LF, CF, RF, OF's AND SP1-5, CL, RP's. My opinion is that the infielders and outfielders should be fairly accurate. The relief pitchers might be OK. My starting pitchers don't work well starting in AA and down. I can imagine the Cubs promoting (too fast in my opinion) some starting pitchers from Daytona to Tenn, Peoria to Daytona, etc. Some of the guys who just made the cut will likely be cut then (i.e. Dumas Garcia, Vince Perkins, etc.). Chicago: Geovany Soto Koyie Hill Derrek Lee Mike Fontenot Ryan Theriot Aramis Ramirez Aaron Miles Micah Hoffpauir Alfonso Soriano Kosuke Fukudome Milton Bradley Reed Johnson Joey Gathright Carlos Zambrano Ryan Dempster Ted Lilly Rich Harden Sean Marshall Kevin Gregg Carlos Marmol Aaron Heilman Neal Cotts David Patton Angel Guzman/Chad Gaudin (whoever can't be traded) Luis Vizcaino Iowa: Welington Castillo Chris Robinson Jake Fox Nate Spears Andres Blanco Bobby Scales Esteban German Matt Camp Brad Snyder (if he accepts his assignment to AAA - Otherwise, So Taguchi) Sam Fuld Doug Deeds Jason Dubois Jeff Samardzija Mitch Atkins Esmailin Caridad Randy Wells J.R. Mathes Kevin Hart Jeff Stevens Jason Waddell Jose Ascanio Rocky Roquet Justin Berg Ed Campusano Tennessee: Steve Clevenger Mark Reed Blake Lalli Tony Thomas Darwin Barney Marquez Smith Justin Sellers Robinson Chirinos Russell Canzler James Adduci Ty Wright Richie Robnett Jeremy Papelbon Greg Reinhard Todd Blackford James Russell Vince Perkins Marcos Mateo Brian Schlitter Casey Lambert Alex Maestri Jayson Ruhlman Angel Castro Dumas Garcia Daytona: Luis Bautista Shawn McGill Ryan Keedy Nate Samson Ryan Flaherty Jovan Rosa Jake Opitz Jonathan Mota Brandon Guyer Tony Campana Dylan Johnston Jonathan Wyatt Tyler Colvin Hung-Wen Chen Marco Carrillo Aaron Shafer Jay Jackson Robert Hernandez Hank Williamson John Gaub Blake Parker Steve Vento Jordan Latham Jake Muyco Craig Muschko Peoria: Carlos Perez Luis Flores Michael Brenly Rebel Ridling Josh Harrison Starlin Castro Josh Vitters Marwin Gonzalez Drew Rundle Nelson Perez Kyler Burke Jericho Jones Chris Weimer Casey Coleman Rafael Dolis Justin Bristow Andrew Cashner Chris Carpenter Dan McDaniel Chris Archer James Leverton David Cales Josh Whitlock Luke Sommer Ryan Buchter Give me your thoughts. I would assume that the Peoria team could have a hugely different roster based on spring training stats/stuff.

He's retired - as per MLB Trade Rumors through a Minnesota paper.

RHP Billy Muldowney to have surgery to remove bone spur. http://cubs.scout.com/a.z?s=260&p=2&c=848070&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fcubs.scout.com%2f2%2f848070.html

Tony Richie - per BA

I don't understand a lot of this stuff, but CubsFX has a breakdown of Maestri's WBC outing and all of his pitches: http://www.cubsfx.com/2009/03/alessandro-maestris-wbc-debut-pitchfx.html

Final Line: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA He seemed a bit nervous with all the pitches out of the zone, but his fastball ranged from 90-96 (consistently between 91-93). He pitched well against some tough hitters (Cabrera and Ordonez). I like that all of his balls in play were ground outs - that would be nice in Wrigley.

Alex Maestri pitched in the WBC this evening. Here is a rundown of his pitches: (Pitch Type, Speed, Result) Miguel Cabrera: FB 91 ball SL 76 ball in dirt FB 90 ground out 5-Unassisted (force out) Magglio Ordonez: CB 78 called strike FB 93 ball CB 78 swinging strike FB 96 called strike (Wow! He really reached back for something!) Inning Change Carlos Guillen: FB 93 called strike FB 93 ball SL 83 ball FB 93 ball FB 92 foul FB 94 ground out 6-3 Jose Lopez: FB 92 ball FB 92 ball FB 92 ball FB 89 walk Ramon Hernandez: CB 78 ball FB 93 ball FB 91 ball FB 91 called strike FB 93 walk (in dirt) Cesar Izturis: SL 75 ball FB 90 ball FB 87 ground out 3-6 (Why did he swing? Oh yeah, it's Cesar Izturis!) Endy Chavez: FB 93 called strike FB 92 ground out 6-3

That works - thanks!

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/sports/local_story_060001945.html I think we can all find quotes about Luis Rivas, Micah Hoffpauir, Corey Koskie, Bobby Scales, Andres Blanco, Nate Spears, So Taguchi, Jake Fox, etc. making the team as the last bench guy. It will probably come down to a player being released right before the season starts and the Cubs signing him, but maybe in the meantime we can keep track of the competition here.

http://www.cubshub.com Bob Sacramento does some great scouting reports on Cubs prospects.

I have Nate Samson playing 2B and backing up SS at Daytona (Samson's defense was really bad last year - worse than Flaherty). I'm honestly willing to dispute that. I saw Samson enough last season in Peoria to think he has the chops to stick at SS. I think his errors were more mental than anything else, since he has the physical and mechanical chops to stick there. It just seemed to me like he was shaky early in the season, but got his act together as time went on and he got more reps. Frankly, I think the Cubs would be better off with Flaherty at 2B or 3B and Samson at SS. I have not seen him play, so what you guys have to say is much better than my interpretation of their statistics. Thanks for clearing it up! I think both players (Samson and Flaherty) will be at Daytona this year, so one of them is going to have to change primary positions - it sounds as though most want Flaherty to switch. I just wonder if you consider their value, it might be a tough call moving Flaherty before you know what he's capable of!

I have Nate Samson playing 2B and backing up SS at Daytona (Samson's defense was really bad last year - worse than Flaherty).

I think Castro has a good chance at making Peoria, however.

I am curious to see how Schlitter competes in camp. He is supposed to have a plus FB and slider. His stats looked good in high A last year. He is big and not too old for his league. He most likely will compete with Alex Maestri and Blake Parker for closer at AA. I hope the camp invite is an indication that he has worked hard this winter to take the next step. I think Marcos Mateo is the favorite for the closer job at Tennessee. I think Blake Parker will be one of the last guys to make the AA bullpen, or will be sent to Daytona to start the year.

In the spirit and celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, I predict the fittest 1B will survive. The player who has the most potential married with production will separate from the pack and progress to the prospect level of trade bait and/or 4A status. If one of these players had the talent to bump Derrick Lee at contract renewal time, I think we would have heard Oneri Fleita pontificate the skill set of said prospect. Micah Hoffpauir is still king of the mid-round draft prospects at 1B. On a side note, I watched Rebel Ridling flail at fastballs and breaking balls in low A last summer. He didn't look like future trade bait. My hopes are with Ryan Keedy. Nice :)

Totally agree. After watching him in Peoria a good chunk of last year, I was honestly surprised that Bautista was even listed as a C any longer. He didn't have much, if any, agility behind the plate, and was primarily used in that role when he was helping warm guys up in the bullpen (he DHed a decent amount). He was serviceable at 1B, but can't see him even getting game time behind the plate at Daytona or above. That's interesting to hear, because I had him penciled in as a backup catcher - I guess he'll have to be moved to 1B. It's too bad he can't backup at 3B, and he didn't seem to get much of a chance at the corner infield spots. I really like his bat, but he's getting old to be much of a prospect if he doesn't have a position. We now seem to have a glut of decent (but not great) 1B prospects throughout the minors. Several of them play the corner outfield spots or catcher, but seem to project as 1B'men. A guy like Blake Lalli catches my attention even though he is old - he has solid defensive numbers behind the plate and hits extremely well, yet hasn't gotten much of a chance yet. What happens to Sean Hoorelbeke? He seems to be the most fringy of the lower level 1B'men due to his age and low draft status. Ryan Keedy and Rebel Ridling seem to be slightly better prospects. Does Bryan Jost get another chance?

Bako's deal is not guaranteed, but becomes guaranteed at the end of March. If he's released before that time, the Cubs must pay Bako 20% of the $750,000 upon his release.

- Bruce Miles

I believe he was a six-year minor league free agent and the Cubs weren't willing to put him on the 40-man roster. If he wanted to re-sign with the Cubs, he probably could've signed a minor league deal, but might have been cut after spring training if his velocity wasn't where it needed to be. My guess is that he felt a guaranteed independent league roster spot was a better long term bet than a non-guaranteed minor league deal with the Cubs. Who knows!?!?!?

- Baseball America Transactions I think he's more than roster filler/spring training help. I think he has a good chance of playing for Peoria or Daytona.

Thanks Raisin - I forgot about that! Here's the article about it: http://cubs.scout.com/2/794041.html

Billy Petrick had shoulder surgery in 2005 and has been trying to regain his strength ever since. When he was called up to the Cubs (in '07?), he had regained much of that strength but has struggled to maintain it. Last year, he was put on the Cubs minor league suspended list and not much came out about it, but here is what Arizona Phil had to say about it:

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3777160

Probably, because before playing at Nebraska, he played at a CC in Iowa (IIRC).