CubsWin

Curse you, CUBZ99!!

If he's 16 and signed last summer the Cubs are going to be in trouble. He turned 16 on July 18, 2011. Don't you just have to be 16 when you sign or is it when the signing period begins?

And he's also hit .450ish in those 6 games. Not knocking him. Just making a joke. I'm one of the more hopeful for Vitters on this board. But the guy needs to see more pitches (3.12 per PA). If he did that, I'd be even more hopeful. Among Cub minor league hitters, the only one who sees less pitches per plate appearance is Nate Samson. Imagine how Vitters' hit tool would serve him if he were more selective.

hell i hopped on that bandwagon after his second start. didn't know what his signing bonus was but sometimes you can hit it big on those raw lower bonus guys (castro, pie). nice to see him pitching so well against older competition and missing plenty of bats. He's smallish(under 6ft) and doesn't hit 90. More of a "knows how to pitch) guy. Keeps me from getting too excited over him. Your other guy is the one I want to know more about. Paulino is 6'2 at least, so he's got a projectable frame. No one has answered a question from me yet on him, so I've got no clue what he throws. But he's the pitcher, for now anyway, until we find out stuff, to keep an eye on down there. I knew he was 5'11" but had no scouting report on him. Thanks for the info davell. Since he's the age of a junior in high school, isn't there still a good chance he adds some ticks? Jose Paulino on the year: 15 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 21 K. Meh...

Vitters hasn't taken a walk in his last 6 games, but he has been hit twice so...

16 year old LHP Carlos Rodriguez has had an intriguing start to his DSL career. In his first 4 games (3 starts) his line reads 21 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 24 K, with a .160 opp avg. He doesn't turn 17 for about another month. He signed for $120,000 last summer. Someone to watch.

I can't seem to find any evidence of there being a Daytona Cubs game today. Very interested in seeing how Whitenack does...

Outstanding game pitched by Rosario today. 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 9 GO, 3 FO. He's still figuring it out, but he's 21, a flamethrower and starting to put up games like this. This would be his 3rd really good start this month.

TCR Link Whitenack does look ready or close to ready based on his EXST numbers...

Flamethrower Jose Rosario is showing signs of possibly figuring it out in Peoria. In his last 3 starts, he's 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA. In 16.1 innings, he put up a 1.35 WHIP, 21 Ks and 4 BB. Over his last two starts, he's got a 1.59 ERA and a WHIP of 1.06. He's got a long way to go, but I'll be watching...

based on what??? 22 is much younger than average for AA players. 22 is probably pretty close to the average for High A players. he's younger than 60% of the players on the daytona cubs' roster. Throw in the fact that he wasn't a baseball only guy until the Cubs drafted him and being 22 in High-A becomes all the more appropriate.

Depending on how far back he makes it this season, Whitenack might deserve protection on the 40-man. McNutt and Jackson are the obvious ones. After that, there are a few worth consideration and likely a few more will emerge as the season goes on. It's possible as many as 6 spots will open up next off season, so we'll see.

I think if Rusin keeps this up and reaches his ceiling, he would make an average to above average 5th starter. Is that too excited?

If he maintains this level of performance for an extended period, while showing improved discipline/approach, then I'll buy it as more than just a hot streak. His development reminds me a bit of Marwin Gonzalez - toolsy, talented athletic kids who needed time to develop some offense. Talent wise, he might be the most talented shortstop, in terms of defense, in the system. There's a decent case for it (although to be fair, he's a work in progress defensively ... the errors have been piling up like crap this year). Okay, so we're on the same page. He's got to keep this up for another couple months with improved discipline and we can put him into the possible breakout list. I think he can regress a little with the SLG and the stolen bases and still be a candidate for a breakout prospect. I'm always looking for that guy. McNutt, Whitenack, and...who will it be this year? That's the most intriguing part about player development for me. The guy who most people don't see coming. BTW, after tonight, Alcantara's OPS is .799 and he's stolen 8 bases without being caught. His SLG could collapse and as long as he's showing improved discipline/approach, I'd be fine with whatever season he had. Right now, I still say the only real "breakout" on this season has been Rubi Silva (and that's a pretty fringy breakout, partly because he was always thought to have the tools to do well offensively). That said, as I was discussing on Sickels site with someone, the system hasn't had many breakouts ... but it also hasn't had many big disappointments. I'd be fine/pleased with that, too. But if his SLG fell all the way back to what it was last year (.352), it would be difficult to consider him a breakout of any kind. And I agree, there hasn't been a Cub breakout prospect clearly defined as of yet. A combination of it still being early May and no one really stepping up yet. But I can't see how Silva would be considered a breakout based his performance, even if he wasn't thought to have the tools to do well. I consider Alcantara's numbers to be better on their own. When you throw in the fact that he's two years younger than Silva and doing it at the same level, Alcantara's year to date is much more impressive. Maybe Nelson Perez is a breakout, but he's way too old for the league he's doing it in. His improvement in IsoD is completely out of the blue.

Frankie de la Cruz is getting the start today. And promptly sucking. 3 hits, 3 earned, 3 walks, 0 Ks in just 1 inning.

I can see that a bit. The good news on that comparison is that Alcantara has always had a better bat than Gonzalez and Marwin's development took a big jump forward when he was 22 at AA. If Arismendy has a similar jump forward at the same age, he's gonna be pretty good.

If he maintains this level of performance for an extended period, while showing improved discipline/approach, then I'll buy it as more than just a hot streak. His development reminds me a bit of Marwin Gonzalez - toolsy, talented athletic kids who needed time to develop some offense. Talent wise, he might be the most talented shortstop, in terms of defense, in the system. There's a decent case for it (although to be fair, he's a work in progress defensively ... the errors have been piling up like crap this year). Okay, so we're on the same page. He's got to keep this up for another couple months with improved discipline and we can put him into the possible breakout list. I think he can regress a little with the SLG and the stolen bases and still be a candidate for a breakout prospect. I'm always looking for that guy. McNutt, Whitenack, and...who will it be this year? That's the most intriguing part about player development for me. The guy who most people don't see coming. BTW, after tonight, Alcantara's OPS is .799 and he's stolen 8 bases without being caught.

Jokisch killing it thru 6. 4 hits, scoreless, 5 Ks, 0 BB. Is Arismendy Alcantara coming on line as a bonifide prospect? It's still too early in the season, but so far he's just a handful of walks away from being the talk of Daytona. Very good defense at a premium position, hits for decent average consistently, is currently slugging .475 (this has got to regress as the season goes on) and has stolen 7 bases without getting thrown out once in just 33 games. Add in that he's doing this at High-A as a 20 year old and it gets even more interesting. His defense and average are pretty well established. If he can walk a few more times a month and maintain some of the power and base stealing, is he not a legit prospect?

Marco's K/BB ratio for April - 5.75/1 So far in May it's 3.5/1. Plus he's batting .300 this month in 30 ABs with a double, triple and two walks. Can't say he's completely turned the corner because it's too small of a sample size, but he's half way through it...

That's is my hope as well. If the Cubs walk away with one of Appel, Gausman or Giolito, I'll be very, very happy. Might have to pop some champagne over that. If they take a position player, I hope it is because their scouts agree he is far and away the better player. If it's close between position player and pitcher, I hope they go pitcher.

I've been following the Cubs minor league system for over 20 years and I have never seen a deeper talent pool than the one the Cubs have right now. It's not top heavy, but with the addition of Rizzo and 2011 draftees Baez and Maples along with Jackson, the high ceiling prospects are growing as well. This year will be the most exciting year to follow the minors I can remember. There are so many intriguing story lines and questions. - Will Anthony Rizzo put up similar AAA crushing numbers again this season? - Can Travis Wood turn things around in Iowa? - Will Dillon Maples be healthy enough to show what he can do? - Is Javier Baez as good as everyone thinks he is? - Will Ben Wells continue to develop at Peoria? - How will Dan Vogelbach's weight-loss affect his performance? - How will Jeimer Candelario perform now that he is stateside? - Can Trey McNutt return to form? - What will Gerardo Concepcion look like in A ball? - Will they sign Jorge Soler? - Will the "Cubs way" and approach to hitting rub off on Josh Vitters? - Will it rub off on Junior Lake? - How good will Ronnie Torreyes' bat be if/when he reaches AA? - Can Matt Szczur maintain his IsoD from Peoria at the upper levels? - Can Brett Jackson cut down on his swings and misses? - Can Robert Whitenack return to his pre-injury form? (This one will likely have to wait until 2013 to be answered.) - Will Dae-Eun Rhee pick up where he left off at the end of 2011 and carry it thru a full season at the upper levels? - Will Rafael Dolis improve his control and make Carlos Marmol expendable? - Will Welington Castillo convince the front office that Geovany Soto is expendable? - Can Marco Hernandez put up a line like last year's (.333/.375/.486) with good defense as a 19-year-old in Peoria? - How will A.J. Morris, the forgotten centerpiece from the Gorzelanny trade, perform after missing all of last year rehabbing from TJS? - Is Reggie Golden a bust? - Is Hayden Simpson a bust? And there are more story lines yet to emerge. Like how will Luis Acosta and Mark Malave do in the DSL (or the AZL)? Who will the Cubs take with the first 4 picks (6th, 43rd, 56th & 67th) in the June draft? What kind of prospects will the Cubs be able to bring in if they trade Marlon Byrd? Ryan Dempster? Randy Wells? Marmol? Soto? Will the Cubs be blown away by another team's offer for Garza? This year should be a lot of fun. Can't wait.

I want to second this! Thirded. I nominate Outshined as president of The Excited for the Minors Club.

I haven't heard a projection yet. My guess with his age and experience level, he would start at Peoria. But if he impresses at spring training (assuming he'll be there), he could go to Daytona, but I doubt it.

Considering it's the last time the Cubs can spend like this penalty free, the dearth of LH starters in the organization and the quality of the prospect, I say money very well spent.

Assuming the Cubs trade Garza for a TOR pitching prospect, 1 other good pitching prospect and 1-2 other young upside guys, then yes, it would be near perfect. You could throw in dumping Soriano and trading Soto and Dempster for decent stuff at the deadline. But that might be getting greedy. :wink: