CubsWin

I don't know why you'd have to hammer that home. It's not like you're the only one who thinks that. The Cubs spent a lot of money and signed a lot of guys in this group. Chances are 1 or 3 good prospects will come from it.

Can't argue with those numbers. If only he weren't about to turn 23. It'd be nice to see what he can do in Myrtle Beach. Which leads me to a question. This is not to say that Araujo is that good and would necessarily be high on team's lists, but with Araujo eligible to be selected in the rule 5 draft this off season, would the Cubs (or any team) leave him (or any player in a similar situation) in Low-A so as to not let other teams see what he can do at High-A or higher? It makes sense especially with IFA guys who reach rule 5 eligibility often when they're still quite young and haven't come stateside until they're 20 or so. Despite Araujo's readiness for High-A, if keeping him at South Bend improved his chances of him not being selected, the Cubs would be able to evaluate him at High-A and AA next year (assuming he earns the promotion) and be in a much better position to know whether they want to roster him. Do you think this is a common practice? The Rule 5 thing is a small issue(and definitely small, because the upshot here is already capped at reliever), but I don't particularly care about Araujo's age. He's not a 25 year old beating up on guys in Eugene, nor is he an advanced College guy killing the lower levels either. The Rule 5 question I don't have a good answer to. My guess is that it's not terribly common, I would think that if a team cared enough to hold a player back to keep him, that they'd push him forward instead. That way it'd be easier to justify rostering that player, and at higher levels they're more likely to struggle or have flaws exposed that make them less attractive to drafting teams. Leaving them to dominate the same lower level gives other teams more to dream on. Araujo was 22 (and will be for 3 more days), so the age difference in Low-A wasn't a huge deal for me either, it's just always preferable to have guys putting up dominant numbers like his against guys his age or older. Now that he'll be turning 23 in Myrtle Beach, he'll be on par or close to it with a lot of his colleagues. I'm excited to see what he can do in the CL. The timing is hilarious. It's like the Cubs were reading our conversation! As far as being picked in the rule 5 draft, I find that reliever is the most common position selected. 10 of the 16 players selected in the major league portion of the draft last year were pitchers. 7 of those 10 pitchers were relievers in the minors. Having your upshot capped at being a reliever doesn't seem to dissuade teams from taking you.

That's awesome. Absolutely hilarious.

Ouch, Isaac Paredes with the ol' platinum sombrero.

Contreras just refuses to change. I think my nickname for him is gonna be "Honey Badger" because he don't give a [expletive]. Cubs - .333/.429/.639 AAA - .350/.439/.591 AA - .333/.413/.478 http://www.jukani.co.za/userfiles/content/grp3/honey_badger_4.jpghttp://www.trbimg.com/img-56de2952/turbine/ct-royals-cubs-photos-20160307-017

I know they're both in the majors and this is the minor league forum, but man, both Edwards and Almora are looking good in small samples so far. Almora - .286/.327/.449 with 1 HR and 5 2Bs in just over 50 PAs. Edwards - 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB, 8 Ks, OppBA .105 with a 0.53 WHIP. Given that CJ only gave up 4 HRs in 317.2 minor league IP, it's odd that one of his 2 hits allowed this season was a HR. Let's hope these 2 can continue at this something close to this pace.

Can't argue with those numbers. If only he weren't about to turn 23. It'd be nice to see what he can do in Myrtle Beach. Which leads me to a question. This is not to say that Araujo is that good and would necessarily be high on team's lists, but with Araujo eligible to be selected in the rule 5 draft this off season, would the Cubs (or any team) leave him (or any player in a similar situation) in Low-A so as to not let other teams see what he can do at High-A or higher? It makes sense especially with IFA guys who reach rule 5 eligibility often when they're still quite young and haven't come stateside until they're 20 or so. Despite Araujo's readiness for High-A, if keeping him at South Bend improved his chances of him not being selected, the Cubs would be able to evaluate him at High-A and AA next year (assuming he earns the promotion) and be in a much better position to know whether they want to roster him. Do you think this is a common practice?

Eloy has established himself as a top 100 talent. The way he's dominating a league in which he is 2 years young plus his pedigree of being the top IFA in 2013 makes that a certainty. Combined with Gleyber, who is already ranked top 40 (and in some cases top 25), the Cubs scouting and development staffs have proven themselves yet again. It may seem otherwise, but Jeimer was also 19 in Low-A and remains on the same timeline as Jimenez, assuming Eloy advances at a level per year rate. Candy's a different type of hitter though with less power but greater discipline and more walks. At the same age in the same league, Jeimer hit 35 doubles with 11 HRs, walking 68 times against 88 Ks hitting .256/.346/.396. I picked him to breakout in High-A the next season. I was wrong. I've since learned it's rare to have a hitter breakout in extreme pitcher's leagues like the FSL or CL. He struggled badly and was sent back to Low-A to finish out the season. The next year was a different story. He made the adjustments the Cubs were asking of him while never wavering from his work ethic, developmental plan and continuing to trust his coaches. After proving ready in Myrtle Beach, he brokeout in AA as a 21-year-old, continued it in the AFL and is now dominating AAA (in a short sample) as a 22-year-old. Is Jeimer at top 100 prospect as this point, too? At his age and level, if his production stays high, I believe he should be. Despite Candelario being a Hendry signing (his development is the clear result of the improved instruction and philosophy of the new Cubs FO), it has been night and day as far as who the Cubs have sent to Futures Game since the new regime was hired. Theo took over in the 2011 off season, so the current FO's impact didn't start to be felt until 2013. Past Cubs representatives in the Future's Game have been: 2007 - Geovany Soto 2008 - Wellington Castillo 2009 - Starlin Castro and Josh Vitters 2010 - Brett Jackson and Hak-Ju Lee 2011 - Matt Szczur 2012 - Jae-Hoon Ha 2013 - Arismendy Alcantara and Jorge Soler 2014 - Kris Bryant and Javy Baez 2015 - Kyle Schwarber and CJ Edwards Hopefully, Jimenez and Candelario can follow in the most recent Cubs footsteps.

Oh and keep an eye on Manny Rondon. He could be on par with Paulino.

Thanks! I'll add any names people want added. Echo this, Tim. Nice job! I guess maybe Carlos Sepulveda and Andrew Monasterio could be added now. If we're going to have recent college guys like Kellogg, then maybe Morrison and Bloomquist. If relievers like Pena and McNeil are there, perhaps Paniagua? If people want to make a top 50 list guys like Miguel Amaya, Aramis Ademan, Isaac Paredes, Jonathan Sierra, Faustino Carrera, Yonathan Perlaza and other higher bonus guys from last year could be placed on there. Obviously when this year's draftees sign... Thank you!

All 8 Cubs affiliates won tonight. That's somewhat of a rarity. Add in the big club's W and it's even more rare...

I read an article about Clifton's game on the opposing team's website. There was no mention of him getting injured. His performance was called "effective but inefficient" and it said he was removed after throwing 60 pitches in just 2.1 innings. My guess is the Cubs have some hard and fast rules about pitch counts in a given number of innings and Clifton simply reached it. When players get tired, their chances of getting injured goes way up.

Dewees, who was in danger of fading into obscurity, just hit a game-tying HR in the bottom of the 9th. I believe South Bend clinches a playoff spot with a win tonight...

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/06/17/haverford-colleges-stephen-ridings-ready-for-life-in-the-pros/#.V2QbNY3AgEg.twitter 6'6" RHP and 8th round pick Stephen Ridings gave an interview. He confirms that the Cubs called just before they picked him and made a contract offer. He said he accepted the offer, so whatever the number, it's agreed to. We'll find out soon. He also said he'd likely go to Mesa and then Fall Instructs. The Cubs like to give their recently drafted pitchers some rest and very light in game work. All of that is pretty well known. What was revealing to me is that he said he was hitting 96 and had topped out at 98. He also said later in the season that velo dropped a bit, but he'd learned to "pitch" well enough to get hitters out. Apparently, he was sitting more around 92 later on.

Corner OFer. Athletic but not fast enough for CF. Average arm but seemingly accurate. Obviously won't have prototypical power for a COF but if the OBP continues in the majors, he could be a 2nd division starter or even a starter for a team that has good power elsewhere in the line-up. Certainly a 4th OFer if the bat plays at the next level as it appears it will. His tippy top ceiling at the plate is likely Zobrist. Well I like the sound of that! :D Theo, Jed and Jason have placed a lot of emphasis on make up and work ethic, etc. So, while it is a tippy-top ceiling, I'd say the chances of a Cub prospect reaching their ceiling is better than those from most other teams.

Man, when is Ian Rice going to stop crushing? A double and another HR so far tonight. Does anyone have intel on his defense? From his stat sheet, he hasn't allowed a passed ball yet but guys are running on him like crazy. Only 3 caught stealing in 24 attempts in just 15 games behind the plate...

I think he meant 4, as in a 4-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Corner OFer. Athletic but not fast enough for CF. Average arm but seemingly accurate. Obviously won't have prototypical power for a COF but if the OBP continues in the majors, he could be a 2nd division starter or even a starter for a team that has good power elsewhere in the line-up. Certainly a 4th OFer if the bat plays at the next level as it appears it will.

PJ Higgins has a bat and approach the Cubs seem to like (walked more than he's struckout, .394 OBP) in the Chesny Young/Jason Vosler mold. At 23, he's a couple years old for his league so the bat should be advanced. The reason why he's in south Bend is he just converted to catcher from 2B this year (the reverse Biggio) so I'm interested to see how his receiving is. Early reports were surprisingly good. He's thrown out 33% of attempted base stealers but has allowed 9 passed balls. There are also some interesting pen arms in South Bend. Don't know who will come into the game, obviously, but Craig Brooks and James Norwood are supposed to have mid-90s fastballs. Any radar gun readings on those guys would be appreciated. Also Pedro Araujo has been lights out since coming up from ExST 2 weeks ago. And Scott Effross, 15th rounder out of Indiana last year, has been nearly untouchable since April ended. Have fun at the game. Wish I was there.

Some interesting results already today. Jen-Ho Tseng had his 2nd consecutive strong start after coming back from rehabbing his shoulder going 6 IP allowing 5 hits, 1 run (earned), 1 BB and 2 K. Since coming back, he's pitched 11 IP allowing 7 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB and 7 K for a WHIP and ERA of 0.82. Jacob Hannemann hit his 8th HR of the season tying his previous season high from 2014. It took him 487 at bats to reach that mark 2 years ago. This year he did it in nearly half that, 249. An under the radar IFA signing this year was 17-year-old LHP Faustino Carrera out of Mexico. His signing was overshadowed by two other Mexican signings that of RHP Jose Albertos and SS Issac Paredes, both much more highly touted prospects. Carrera is slightly built (5'10", 165 lbs.) but doesn't turn 18 until next March, so he could still be growing and certainly should fill out. He's off to a good start. In his first two professional outings, he's pitched 10 IP (a 4 inning start followed by 6 innings today), allowed 3 hits, 0 runs, walked 3 while striking out 11. In support of Carrera, his catcher, 17-year-old Miguel Amaya who is primarily touted for his excellent defense, hit his first professional HR today. He's now hitting .273 with a double and a HR, 3 walks and 4 Ks in 22 ABs. He's the 1st player on his team to have homered this season.

Another HS we appear to have a chance on is 33rd rounder Nate Sweeney, who was offered flat $100k to sign. Per his interview, he's not terribly interested in the school aspect of college and is considering signing since the Cubs have an excellent development staff. High 80s to Low 90s FB, projectable http://coloradosportsnetwork.com/when-the-show-comes-callin-six-colorado-seniors-picked-in-2016-mlb-draft/ Yeah, apparently has dealt with dyslexia his entire life. I have a good friend who also deals with it. I can understand why taking classes might not be his favorite thing. It's not like he lacks intelligent. It's just reading and writing is difficult and time consuming. He sure loves baseball. Maybe there's a shot. BTW, I'd imagine this is a reason why the Cubs took him. With the bonus system, knowing a kid's financial situation and other reasons why they might sign for slot (in rounds 11-40) or under (in slots 1-10) is imperative. I'm still amazed they were able to get 7th rounder C Michael Cruz to sign for $75,000. Not only did he have a good year with the bat (.325/.461/.605 with six doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 38 walks with 25 strikeouts in 200 at bats) but he's still just 20 years old. The emphasis on mental make-up, work ethic and general background check info is taking on a greater importance these days, and it's not lost on this front office.

Another HS we appear to have a chance on is 33rd rounder Nate Sweeney, who was offered flat $100k to sign. Per his interview, he's not terribly interested in the school aspect of college and is considering signing since the Cubs have an excellent development staff. High 80s to Low 90s FB, projectable http://coloradosportsnetwork.com/when-the-show-comes-callin-six-colorado-seniors-picked-in-2016-mlb-draft/ Yeah, apparently has dealt with dyslexia his entire life. I have a good friend who also deals with it. I can understand why taking classes might not be his favorite thing. It's not like he lacks intelligent. It's just reading and writing is difficult and time consuming. He sure loves baseball. Maybe there's a shot.

I got good news and bad news. The good news is Zinn seems to be a good philosophical fit for the Cubs Way. On June 5th he tweeted... Maddon would be proud. But, as to the likelihood of him signing with the Cubs, he tweeted this two days later (and just two days before the draft)... Hope the Cubs can get him.

That makes it an 18-game hitting streak. In which time, he's hit .389 with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 6 HRs, 22 RBI, 9 BB/16 K in 72 AB. I hope he's improving his framing, working with pitchers, game-calling and controlling his emotions because the Cubs (or any team for that matter) could use his bat, especially from the catcher's position.

Good thing it's usually pretty dang cold in Chicago in October...