CubsWin

Ho-hum. Another 2 plate appearances for Roederer, another two times on base...

Must see. Willy's the best. [tweet] [/tweet]

Chalk one more up. Not that it's a big deal, but looks like Tyler Duma was injured on a slide into 2nd tonight. Came out of the game.

I'm surprised we didn't make this its own thread. Every Cubs fan and poster here should care about this injury. I'm sure everyone here already knows about it, but the news still sucks. Nico has looked great so far. It definitely sucks, but I think it's more the cumulative effect of all the prospect and major league injuries the Cubs have dealt with this season than the severity of this one injury. Early indications are that it's not serious (he stayed in the game after injuring it, hit a HR, non-throwing arm, etc.) and the Cubs are known for being very protective of their better prospects in their acquisition year (and beyond sometimes). I'm disappointed by him being shut down but not concerned.

Come on, it's not that bad. No, it is. It's that bad. 17 ABs, 12 Ks, 1 hit. A single.

After going 2 for his last 28, King Kwon has been rightfully demoted to Mesa. 21-year-old Cuban catcher Alexander Guerra (signed for $300,000 last September) has struggled mightily. Reports were he was out of shape and looked bad behind the plate in ExST. I'll ask AZ Phil if he's slimmed down, but it looks like his bat might be returning. In his last 4 games he's walked 5 times and struck out 3 with HRs last night and tonight.

With Tyler Thomas getting traded for Jesse Chavez, that potentially opens a spot in South Bend for Marquez...

I know there were some reports on Erick Leal velo taking a jump before he got injured that were surprising to me. He was so young when they got him (and Castillo) for Tony Campana that he seems really old and irrelevant especially after being off the radar all last season, but, damn, what is going on with him? He's still just 23 (and will be until next spring training) and is destroying the Carolina League. Is he a thing? I'll have to see if I can watch some of his games.

Maples with the 4 K, no walk, 1 inning save.

That's what I was wondering. Bruised or broken rib.

Gotta be time for a bump. Maybe the Cubs want to keep him in Mesa to monitor him at the rehab center, but performance-wise, he's ready. 14 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 19 K.

After 29 Ks and no walks in 91 ABs in Eugene, Christopher Morel draws a walk in his first game after the demotion. Maybe the kid's getting the message...

Jimmy Herron with his pro HR.

Glad to see. And Soto was demoted. Both moves were necessary.

Wow, it's just one sentence, but you fit in three wrong statements- that's tough to do. 1- He wasn't "oldish" when he broke out. He was 19 or just turned 20 when he broke-out in Short season A ball. 2- No arm injury. 3- He didn't lose a year of development. He got eight starts in in AAA and very well could pitch in the fall and winter. To be honest, there was some excitement around Alzolay when he was an 18-year-old in the DSL after putting up this line: 67 IP, 49 H, 10 BB, 61 K, .201 BAA, 0.88 WHIP and a 1.07 ERA. That's why I've been intrigued by 18-year-old LHP Luis Rodriguez this year who's mid-season line reads: 26.1 IP, 12 H, 4 BB, 28 K, .133 BAA, 0.61 WHIP and a 1.03 ERA. I have no idea what Rodriguez's stuff is like, but then again, we didn't know anything outside of Alzolay's stat line back then either. Alzolay then had an off year in the AZL (as a lot of DSL success stories do) with a 8.51 ERA there, but returned to impress in the NWL the year after that. The first reports of his stuff that year were average (91-93 FB, decent off speed, no change up). The anticipation of his performance in full season the following season was followed by disappointment, however. The league hit .260 against him with a 4.34 ERA. His K-rate dropped significantly. He was/is undersized and many thought he'd wind up in the pen (which he still might). 2017 was another story. Preceding that season, reports out of Mesa were that he had taken a step forward in velocity and command both with the FB and curve. He had also begun working on a change up that flashed but was still below average. He truly broke out as a 22-year-old, dominating High-A and finishing acceptably in AA. He was consistent 94-96 with a plus curve and was hitting his spots with both. The biggest change was in his confidence and approach. He notoriously, and to the dismay of many batters, would get the ball back from the catcher and deliver the next pitch within 5-10 seconds. He eliminated thinking, trusted his catcher and didn't allow the opposing batter to get comfortable. All things he wasn't doing in Eugene when he was 20, not 19. He had turned 20 three and a half months prior to the start of their season. He most definitely has lost time on his developmental track as, without the lat injury, there was high expectation he would see the majors this season. Given the injuries and ineffectiveness in the Cubs rotation this year, that would've come in handy. He may still pitch in the Arizona Fall League, but that is yet to be seen and certainly wouldn't replicate a full season of experience developing his change up which was, according to interviews given by Cubs brass, the final piece in his development before being brought up with confidence of major league success.

Oh my. If that is true that is massive. And he's throwing a high % of strikes too. Fast track him.It's true. He's been sitting mid-90s and hitting 97-99 all season.

He hit 99 tonight as well. I think he's our best (at least most intriguing) pitching prospect at the moment. Gotta love the command and BB rates for a guy with his stuff. Wonder how aggressive they will be in pushing him? He could see some games in South Bend this season. Eugene isn't likely to make the playoffs and there's increasingly little reason to keep him there. Richan is the only other guy likely to get promoted as a starter. If Tyler Thomas gets bumped up, who knows...

Oh, ya gotta love Brailyn Marquez single-handedly saving the Cubs organization's pitching prospect list after losing Alzolay to injury, De La Cruz to suspension and Albertos to Steve Blass disease. 5 starts, 1 ER in each of them. Gotta love consistency. 21.2 IP, 13 H, 7 BB, 29 K, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP with the stuff to match.

Fernando Kelli did his best El Mago impersonation in the 3rd inning. He leads off with a walk. Steals 2nd. Gets bunted over to 3rd. The pitcher then throws the ball away on a pick-off attempt and Kelli scores the tying run.

Yeah, that was my recollection as well, but I couldn't remember ever finding confirmation. And no, neither of them are guys worth following at this point. There would have to be some huge jumps in development for them to be on the prospect map.

Ha! DL Wilson. I love it! Ocampo was shut down in early August of 2016 with elbow issues. He pitched (poorly) in ExST in 2017 but was shut down again and placed on the 60-day DL on June 24th without pitching in a game. With Bruzual, I guess it depends on what you mean by "good arm", but his FB velo (obviously not the be all end all) was reportedly 86-88 at last check. Do you have something more up to date that's different?

Cole Roederer with his 1st pro HR. He's off to a great start. .346/.469/.538 with 6 BB against 5 Ks in 32 PAs.

Box Scores: Iowa won 2-0 Box Score Tennessee won 7-6 (Walk Off) Box Score Myrtle Beach won 9-2 Box Score South Bend lost 11-7 Box Score Eugene lost 7-2 Box Score AZL Cubs 1 lost 2-0 Box Score AZL Cubs 2, DSL Cubs 1 and DSL Cubs 2 had the day off Iowa: RHP Trevor Clifton Tennessee: RHP Thomas Hatch Myrtle Beach: RHP Tyson Miller South Bend: RHP Tyler Thomas Eugene: RHP Ryan Williams

DJ Wilson is injured again, but I don't think this one will have him miss much time. 19 year old CF Jose Gutierrez has been called up from the AZL Cubs1 to fill in. Zach Davis (who is 24, doing well in South Bend and has already spend time in Myrtle Beach) would've been the logical choice, but he just returned to Low-A on July 2nd and to ask Davis to pack his things to return to Myrtle Beach just for a couple of games would seem unreasonable.

Looks like Justin Steele might be ready for a higher level. 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R (unearned), 0 BB, 8 K.