CubsWin

The Stinnett we had hoped for: [tweet] [/tweet]Any reports on Stinnett's velocity/stuff?

Yeah, I agree he's not ready yet. Someone who looks like he's getting closer is Armando Rivero. In his last 4 appearances, 4 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 1 walk, 4 Ks. Don't know what's up with Carl, could be pressing, but really his control hasn't been right since returning from injury. Rivero and Rosscup might be the best shots at internal bullpen help right now.

There's certainly room for disagreement here. One, he could still improve, and two, you're correct that his velo is a bit better than Hendricks', but, for me, having a 91-92 FB with decent location abilities isn't as rare as having 89-90 FB with very good location and a plus CU to go with it. They have similarities for sure, but I wouldn't quite call it apples to apples. Perhaps I'm misinformed as to Ryan's scouting report. Correct me if I am. Right now, I'm happy and surprised but still skeptical of any meaningful ceiling.

I can see getting excited about a 10th round college senior turning into anything that can contribute at the major league level, but I wouldn't expect Willams to turn into anything more than a 5th starter and even the odds on that are slim. The fact that he's done as well as he has thus far is a surprising victory of sorts, and he certainly has a better chance now in my mind than at the beginning of the season.

Take that TomtheBombadil!!... Nah, you're right, this day still sucked. And it's been this way for a couple days now. McKinney's slumping. Alcantara is meh. Ian Happ hasn't been playing. It's been...downright boring. But regardless of these last few uninspiring days, I'm not worried about what other teams might be seeing. Yes, the halcyon days of Bryant, Soler, Russell and Schwarber might be gone but the cupboard is far from bare. Less exciting? You bet. Were we spoiled? Absolutely. But the Cubs will likely still have 4-5 top 100ish prospects at year's end and a lot of very youthful depth beyond that. That said, we may never see this system graduate the type of talent it has over the last 12 months ever again.

Happ's getting acclimated to Chicago as we speak. Just like the weather in the windy city, if you think you know the reason why Happ's missed the last few games, wait a couple hours. It'll change.

Thanks for your insights, davell. As of now, the Cubs have reportedly come to agreements with 4 IFAs. SS Aramis Ademan SS Yonthan Perlaza C Miguel Amaya 3B Christopher Martinez Adding Cubans Vladimir Gutierrez, 19, RHP and Norge Ruiz, 21, RHP would round out that list nicely. I guess there's hope for this class yet... :wink:

Yeah, that was the other possibility that clearly I don't want it to be. They already didn't sign a guy that they were reported to have an agreement with in Amarista. That got me thinking...and hoping. Don't know the story behind that though. Well, there goes that theory. The Cubs scouts have been doing a very good job lately. Sometimes the big name guys are high ceiling but low floor. It seems like the guys the Cubs are rumored to be signing all have a solid floor. Perhaps that's where their emphasis is. With players this young, present baseball ability shows an aptitude for the game that other, more raw prospects might not every acquire. Though probably more talented than many of the guys the Cubs will get this signing period (he was ranked 2nd overall), Gleyber Torres' quick rise likely had a lot to do with his present baseball ability and "polish". Maybe that's the direction the Cubs are going with this class. Or maybe they just plain lost out on all the top end talent.

I can't remember an IFA signing period where nothing has been announced this late in the process. I have to believe there's some sort of Epstein/Hoyer strategy behind it. I know many of us, myself included, have suggested the Cubs forgo going over the limit this period so that they have less competition next year as well as a lesser pool amount making it more advantageous to exceed the limit at that time rather than when you actually have a decent pool amount to spend. The main arguments against this were that the Cubs would be burning a lot of bridges by backing out of the deals they've made, that there might be an IFA draft by next season, and that the big prize, Kevin Maitan, was rumored to already have an agreement with the Braves. 1. I think the league would have announced by now if an IFA draft was coming as soon as 2016. 2. Other prospects have come to light, Cubans mostly, that are highly touted (many thought to be clearly better than what the Cubs would be getting this season) but because of some rule can't be signed until next year. 3. I don't really buy the burning bridges thing. If the Cubs do back out of a lot of their deals and keep their powder dry this year, they'll go all out next year. Top prospects, even the ones trained by the same guys who may have gotten burned this year, would be stupid to turn down the biggest offer if it's by the Cubs. Plus, the draft will be instituted soon, and dealing with these "representatives" will become less important. 4. Lastly, we've seen assumed "deals" fall apart last minute this year already. The Giants signed Lucious Fox "away" from the Dodgers who were also rumored to be the leader to get Eddy Julio Martinez yet he's still unsigned. Maitan is still on the market until he signs on the line which is dotted and that hasn't happened yet. Interesting...

Is this a thing now to spell McKinney's last name McKinnie? I mean, Albert is spelled Reinaldo...

This made my week. If Schwarber can hit at an all-star/elite level as a catcher from the left side in the bigs, the Cubs chances of winning a world series are greatly improved.

The Cubs may have something with this Reinaldo guy. He's hitting .400/.400/.800/1.200 as a 21-year-old in AA.

Indeed, but may be even more tantalizing to envision their line-up with him at catcher.

Peitzmeier just signed for $5000. That's another $156,800 into the kitty. Cubs now with $689,100 in under slot savings and another $361,805 in overage for a total of $1,050,905 to spend with Morrison's savings still to come.

Seriously Happ? Another HR? Man have we been spoiled with how the Cubs 1st round picks have gone lately. Bryant spent 18 games in the NWL before jumping straight to High-A. Schwarber played 5 games before being promoted. I don't know if I can take it if Happ follows their lead. It'd be too much good fortune for a Cubs fan to take. It's just 3 games. Let's see how the next 2 go. If they go well, I'll have a mini-freak out again and then say it's just 5 games. Top 10 pick college position players with good plate discipline should be able to handle short season baseball very well. I suspect Happ will be in South Bend within the next few weeks. Of course they can. I'm just used to the Cubs getting it wrong from time to time.

Seriously Happ? Another HR? Man have we been spoiled with how the Cubs 1st round picks have gone lately. Bryant spent 18 games in the NWL before jumping straight to High-A. Schwarber played 5 games before being promoted. I don't know if I can take it if Happ follows their lead. It'd be too much good fortune for a Cubs fan to take. It's just 3 games. Let's see how the next 2 go. If they go well, I'll have a mini-freak out again and then say it's just 5 games.

Makes sense. Paulino didn't complete 5 innings in any of his 5 EXST starts, so even doing that was stretching him. Going two outs into the 6th, he was likely gassed. As an underdog DSL guy (no IFA signing bonus of note), I'm a big fan. He sits 92-94 on his FB and keeps it down with good control. Not only has he had good K-to-BB ratio his entire career (except for last season, his 1st in the states), but he has become a ground ball machine. His G0/AO has risen every year (last year's was a very impressive 2.68). In EXST he had 35 ground outs to just 11 in the air. In tonight's start, it was 7 to 1. A guy who can miss bats, doesn't walk a lot of guys and can induce a lot of ground balls? I'll take it. Let's hope he continues to do well the rest of the season. His first start was very encouraging and picked up right where he left off in Mesa this spring.

There's not much unique about being a baseball player from Curacao. Awesome. Exactly what I was going for. Thank you, JCF.

The curious case of Chris Pieters continues. First off, Pieters is left-handed so we should expect him to be a bit odd. Secondly, he's a baseball player from Curacao, so that makes him even more unique. (I had to look it up. It's a small island nation just off the northern coast of Venezuela.) Thirdly, he has been one of the worst Cubs prospect pitchers, statistically speaking, I've had the privilege of following. He was a member of the not-so-prized Cubs 2011 IFA class (the last one of the Hendry regime) and signed for $350,000 (not an unsignificant amount). At 6'3", he had a big arm, but, like a lot of 16-year-olds, he was raw. The Cubs were about to find out how raw. In 77.1 IP over 3 seasons, Pieters has walked 119 guys. That's almost exactly twice as many men as he struck out (119/61). Last season, he had a WHIP over 3, and ERA over 11 and for every 3 Ks he got, he walked 5. And this year, it's even worse...sort of. This year his strikeout to walk ratio is 2:5. He has 6 Ks and 15 walks. Except this year, that's as a batter. The Cubs figured, hey, athletic southpaw with major control problems? Sounds like a CFer to me. I mean, they're trying to emulate the Cardinals in so many other ways (hopefully not in the hacking department), why not follow what they did with Rick Ankiel. Chris Pieters currently has an OBP of .466. He can hit for crap, batting just above the Mendoza line, but that's to be expected. Not because this is his first season as hitter, but because everything else has been wacko-koo-koo-bird with this guy, why should his slash line (.211/.466/.237) be any different. I'll be keeping a close eye on Mr. Pieters development. Not because I think he will ever be any good, but because I can't wait to see what happens next.

Speaking of the college seniors the Cubs are likely to save some cap money on, 6th rounder Preston Morrison just beat a very good LSU team in the CWS. Here's a nice write-up on him and the game from ESPN. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/13078377/tcu-pitcher-preston-morrison-picks-right-postseason-first

There was an article on his college site reporting he turned down 3rd round money from the Cubs already. That was before the Cubs made their 3rd round selection, not after he was taken in the 26th round. He also said he wanted $800,000 which is only $69,000 more than than the 3rd round slot ($731,000) he turned down. It makes me wonder if Hudson agreed to take slot and that's why he was drafted. It also makes me wonder if the Cubs were able to save $650,000 from the 6-10 senior signs and add in $150,000 in overage money if they could still get him.

what if they signed Eddy Martinez too!? um ... I doubt Martinez, if signed, would suddenly jump to America and jump to short-season this year. I'd be rather surprised, if the Cubs signed him, if he came over before fall instructs. Why not? He's 20 years old. Soler came straight to the states at the same age and he even skipped short season (after a brief warm up in Mesa) going straight to Low-A.

He'll likely start at Mesa in the AZL. But that won't be a reflection of his level, it'll be just to get his feet wet and for the Cubs to get a better look at him and sharpen their evaluation. If they see something he really needs to work on, he may stay for more than just the token 2-3 games, but chances are after that evaluation period, he'll be moved directly to Eugene. He's likely too advanced for that level, but both Bryant and Schwarber spent time there. If he dominates there like they did, he'd probably finish his season in South Bend. And Eloy Jimenez, depending on how he's doing in Eugene, would come up with him. That'd be a heck of an OF in Eugene and South Bend. In 2016, EJM (if signed of course, please, please, please :beg: ), assuming he does well, would split time between Myrtle Beach (High-A) and Tennessee (AA). Jimenez's path would be slower unless he completely blows up. He'd spend almost all of 2016 in South Bend with a late call-up to Myrtle Beach to give him a taste of High-A to help prepare him for next season. The Cubs have followed a pretty specific pattern with their prospects in this regard. He could easily skip SS. Jorge Soler signed earlier in the year but had a longer layoff - in his age 20 season, his first in the US, he played 14 games in the AZL and then 20 in the MWL. Cubans are definitely different than other prospects of a similar age given their unique situation - high level international competition, some experience in "professional" leagues, and possibly extended time off when they defect. Yeah, he definitely could. I forgot about Soler. He's been the exception, though. But as Cuban and his similarities as a player to Soler, he easily could follow that path.

Well, then I hope they are able to land Martinez. I know they've been connected to a lot of the guys from 10-20 on the list this year, but I wasn't aware connected meant committed. Thanks, davell.

He'll likely start at Mesa in the AZL. But that won't be a reflection of his level, it'll be just to get his feet wet and for the Cubs to get a better look at him and sharpen their evaluation. If they see something he really needs to work on, he may stay for more than just the token 2-3 games, but chances are after that evaluation period, he'll be moved directly to Eugene. He's likely too advanced for that level, but both Bryant and Schwarber spent time there. If he dominates there like they did, he'd probably finish his season in South Bend. And Eloy Jimenez, depending on how he's doing in Eugene, would come up with him. That'd be a heck of an OF in Eugene and South Bend. In 2016, EJM (if signed of course, please, please, please :beg: ), assuming he does well, would split time between Myrtle Beach (High-A) and Tennessee (AA). Jimenez's path would be slower unless he completely blows up. He'd spend almost all of 2016 in South Bend with a late call-up to Myrtle Beach to give him a taste of High-A to help prepare him for next season. The Cubs have followed a pretty specific pattern with their prospects in this regard.