CubsWin

Grade 1: Mild damage to individual muscle fibers (less than 5% of fibers) that causes minimal loss of strength and motion. These injuries generally take about 2-3 weeks to improve. https://www.hss.edu/conditions_muscle-injuries-overview.asp

Underwood today: Works quickly. Not overthinking. Unfazed by giving up hits or allowing runs. Machine-like. Repeats delivery very well. Showed excellent athleticism pouncing on a well placed bunt and firing a strike to 1st for the out. He's in great shape physically and seemingly mentally. He maintained his stamina throwing 95 pitches on a very hot day (99 degrees at game time) without losing much if any velocity or control except maybe slightly in the 7th. Fastball: 91-93 Left the FB up a lot in the 1st but effective. Better placement in the 2nd. 91-92 in the 3rd, pounding the zone. 91-92 again in the 4th. 90-93 in the 5th, well placed. 90-92 in the 6th. Kept it consistently low. 89-91 in the 7th. Induced a lot of ground balls on his fastball while often pounding the bottom of the zone. Curve: 73-77 Big 12-6 breaker, some loopy, some sharper. Missed low in the 1st. Curve sharper in the 2nd, thrown for strikes. Change Up: 81-84 (Mostly 84) Thrown for strikes. Gave up a solid hit on one at 84 in the 4th. Change looks good.

I feel like Charlie Brown looking down at Lucy holding the football! 1.71 BB/9, 4.74 BB%. I know! That’s what’s so terrifying! Those numbers are belief worthy, but damn, am I gonna kick at that ball...again?!

I feel like Charlie Brown looking down at Lucy holding the football!

Craig Brooks was already 22 when he was drafted in the 7th round back in 2015 so you might expect him to move quickly. That trajectory is often reserved for college picks in the higher rounds, however. Despite starting off in rookie league and Eugene in his draft year, Brooks has been promoted mid-season every year since, struggling each time at the higher level. However, when he'd start at the same level next season, he has always shown development and improvement. If we remove the stats from his mid-season promotions, these are his numbers once he adjusted to the league. In Eugene and South Bend, he needed no adjustment period dominating the league right away those his walks spiked in his time in South Bend. 2015 Eugene - 10 G, 10.2 IP, 3.38 ERA, 3 BB, 21 K, .179 BAA, 0.94 WHIP 2016 South Bend - 23 G, 32.1 IP, 1.39 ERA, 20 BB, 42 K, .196 BAA, 1.30 WHIP 2017 Myrtle Beach - 12 G, 20.1 IP, 0.44 ERA, 6 BB, 30 K, .134 BAA, 0.74 WHIP 2018 Tennessee - 16 G, 21 IP, 2.57 ERA, 7 BB, 25 K, .157 BAA, 0.86 WHIP His mid-90s FB and sharp-breaking (sometimes deadly) slider have gotten him this far. He has yet to fail at learning, improving and adjusting to his league. He has 2 more levels to adjust to before he can be a good major league reliever, so I'm still wait-and-see at every level with him. But the track record of development is there and the stuff in his 2 pitch mix is major league quality already for a MIR. If the pattern holds, he'll be promoted to AAA mid-season and struggle. Then start 2019 performing well and readying himself for his first taste of the bigs. With Randy Rosario and Justin Hancock looking like keepers as relief depth options, Dillon Maples working out the kinks but maintaining his high ceiling and fellow AA relievers Dakota Mekkes and James Norwood having solid seasons, the Cubs have some solid bullpen depth. That's 6 names to go along with Morrow, Edwards, Cishek, Duensing, Montgomery, Smyly and Strop (assuming the Cubs pick up his option, and why wouldn't they) all under team control in 2019. Norwood hasn't quite proven himself to the level of the other minor leaguers, but his current numbers warrant his inclusion for now. Cory Mazzoni is deserving of a mention as well. When you add current starters like Alzolay, De La Cruz and (heaven forbid) Duane Underwood as relief options, that's 17 names. I don't think I've seen such quality depth of pen options before.

Make that 8 out of 12 would be base stealers. Amaya just threw out another one.

Cool. Are you getting that info from somewhere other than the currently listed pitcher for that game on milb's scoreboard? https://cubscentral.wordpress.com/2018/05/27/the-weekly-pitching-dominates-the-week-and-some-draft-tidbits/amp/?__twitter_impression=true I believe he got it from the radio broadcast. Awesome news. Thanks!

Yeah, Arguello said something about that in the past. But it never showed up in games last year. So, for me, having a more recent report saying the same thing while working on his mechanics is of note. Let's take it to copy editor's desk and let her decide... All joking aside, if Moreno can maintain that velocity for strikes (yet to be seen) over two innings and has a hard slider, he becomes an interesting relief prospect to go along with Maples, Clark, Mekkes, Brooks, etc. Keith Law had Moreno 94-97 when Law ranked Moreno 14th in the Cubs system over the offseason. Must've been in games I wasn't watching...

Miguel Amaya had really been struggling throwing base stealers out earlier in the year, only trowing out 4 of 35 attempted steals (11.4%). According to the South Bend broadcast, a catching instructor (Tim Cousins?) came thru and worked with Amaya (and I assume the other catchers) recently. They didn't say exactly when. But they did say that since then he's been lights out. Well, since the game on May 18th, Amaya has thrown out 7 of 11 (64%). I'd say he improved a bit...

Moreno was consistently at 96-98? You buried the lede, Raisin... He’s topped out at 98 in the past and this was only a 2 inning stint so I didn’t think it was that noteworthy. Yeah, Arguello said something about that in the past. But it never showed up in games last year. So, for me, having a more recent report saying the same thing while working on his mechanics is of note. Let's take it to copy editor's desk and let her decide... All joking aside, if Moreno can maintain that velocity for strikes (yet to be seen) over two innings and has a hard slider, he becomes an interesting relief prospect to go along with Maples, Clark, Mekkes, Brooks, etc.

Cool. Are you getting that info from somewhere other than the currently listed pitcher for that game on milb's scoreboard?

Whoa. That’s a legit changeup. Huge development for him if he gets consistent with it It was just one game, but his change was consistent throughout. It wasn't just a few good ones. Every one he threw that night looked great. I was like,"where'd this come from?!"

https://www.thecubreporter.com/05262018/ryan-williams-and-erling-moreno-throw-game-riverview Moreno was consistently at 96-98? You buried the lede, Raisin...

Since (and including) his start on 4/29: 6 starts, 34 IP, 27 H, 11 R (all earned), 0 HR, 10 BB, 36 K with an ERA of 2.91 and a WHIP of 1.09. His first 4 starts were rough with only one good game among them, but if he can remain consistently good from here on out, they mean nothing. Consistency and remaining healthy are the keys for De La Cruz. If he keeps this up, he could see AAA by July. He'll be 23 years old all year. It was mentioned on the May 5th broadcast that De La Cruz was dealing with an in-grown toe nail early on in the season when he was struggling. That might be a possible explanation for the stark difference between his first 4 starts and his last 6.

Since (and including) his start on 4/29: 6 starts, 34 IP, 27 H, 11 R (all earned), 0 HR, 10 BB, 36 K with an ERA of 2.91 and a WHIP of 1.09. His first 4 starts were rough with only one good game among them, but if he can remain consistently good from here on out, they mean nothing. Consistency and remaining healthy are the keys for De La Cruz. If he keeps this up, he could see AAA by July. He'll be 23 years old all year.

Bote with his 7th HR of the year to put the I-Cubs up 2-1. Did the Orioles have scouts in attendance...?

De La Cruz just took a line shot off his knee with 1 out in the 4th inning. Hit him flush as it came right back towards home plate. He stayed in the game after being checked out and throwing a few pitches. Strike out and easy ground ball to SS to end the inning.

Cory Abbott: Fast Ball: 92-94, T97. FB is often left up inducing a lot of fly balls, some well struck. 3rd inning (in which Abbott struggled with his command) only reported FB velo was at 91. Cutter:87-89 Slider: No velo reports given. You might remember Cory found a new pitch his junior year, and it was his slider, eventually leading to a perfect game against BYU. As a result, he rose up draft boards. It didn't seem overpowering in this game, but it does have a unique shape with a sharp, downward 1-to-7 break. It can be difficult to even recognize it as a slider. Curve: 76

I can't definitely say it wasn't a blister.

Swarmer threw 4 pitches in the 7th before coming out of the game. After the 3rd pitch, with his arm down by his side, he lightly shook it like you might if you were experiencing either some numbness or some tightness. He did the same after the 4th pitch. The manager then signaled for the catcher, PJ HIggins, to go out to the mound. After a brief conversation, Higgins motioned for the manager and trainer to come to the mound. They did. The trainer never examined Swarmer's arm. Didn't even touch him, actually. He was just asking him questions and Swarmer was answering. Matt never appeared to be in any pain. He walked off the field chatting calmly with the trainer. He showed no emotion, certainly didn't seem upset or even disappointed. Can't draw any conclusions from any of that, but there ya go...

Brendon Little: Fast Ball - Was a little slower this game, but commanded better. 88-91 (He had hit 92-93 in previous games). He was throwing it for strikes in this game (not over the middle of the plate) and needs to maintain good control of it to set up his curve. The first two hits he allowed (both driven deep) was a FB up on the outer 3rd. Got a lot of ground balls on it when he kept it low. Little's FB velo drops in the later innings pretty much every game. Curve - As good as advertised. Gets ground balls and swings and misses regularly even when it's bounced. Only velo reading was 78. Change Up - Less defined shape than Lange's. I didn't get a velo reading. Notes: Miguel Amaya blocked a curve in the dirt nicely. The runner took off (perhaps a little late), and Amaya fired a strike gunning him down. Narea barely had to move his glove to apply the tag. Amaya's HR was crushed. Everyone in the park, including the pitcher, knew instantly it was gone. It landed over the seats onto the concourse about 20 feet fair in left. Ben Hecht's FB was clocked similar to Little's 88-91.

I've given Little's velo readings from previous games. They're similar to Lange's. Maybe a tick higher. I'll watch yesterday's game some time today.

Jose Paulino to the DL. Bailey Clark will start in his place on Friday.

Lange: Fastball was 90-92, sometimes hit the outside corner but was more often in the dirt or well off the plate outside. Change up looked great, breaking sharply down and away from lefties. It was clocked at 82. No velo on the curve, but it is clearly his best pitch, though the change showed very well in this game. Both pitches got lots of swings and misses. The South Bend game isn't available to watch yet (still archiving) but when it's up I'll try to watch it and relay what is said about Little's velocity.

Hey, Dan Duquette! David Bote hit his 6th HR (a 2-run shot) to give the I-Cubs the lead.