CubsWin

Wonder what's going on, as he's clearly not in the DR. Probably just getting a chance to watch. Gleyber showed himself to be ready in EXST, Jimenez not so much.

Soler can't not hit doubles. 9 hits so far this season, 8 of them are doubles.

And despite his success, his K and BB rates make me wince a bit. They've been improving in each successive month. 3 BB/20 K in April, 8 BB/30 K in May, 7 BB/17 K in June, 5 BB/6 K in his last 10 games. When players are in their first season at a particular level progression is key, slow starts can be taken with a grain of salt.

It's a possibility now that he's actually in the country and pitching well. But he needs to move quickly. When does he get exposed to the Rule 5 draft? Do the 2 years he spent in the DSL with the D-Backs count? This is 3rd year in the Cubs organization... If I remember correctly, the previous contract he signed with the D-Backs was nullified and his clock restarted when he signed with the Cubs as a 22-year-old. If that's correct, then according to AZ Phil's excellent explanation of Rule 5 eligibility, Paniagua can be selected in the Rule 5 draft after the 2015 season. FWIW, AZ Phil says he's not eligible to be taken this year, so 2015 is the worst case scenario. So, if he continues to perform, he'll likely be promoted to Daytona fairly soon. Again depending on performance, he would presumably start 2015 in AA. That should give the Cubs enough time to determine whether to place him on the 40-man heading into '16.

It's a possibility now that he's actually in the country and pitching well. But he needs to move quickly. When does he get exposed to the Rule 5 draft? Do the 2 years he spent in the DSL with the D-Backs count? This is 3rd year in the Cubs organization...

He could just be on the bench. He's still listed on their roster per their website...

Outside of Kyle Crick, who do you find interesting? I think Susac can be a decent major league catcher, but after that Escobar and Mejia are really struggling. Even Crick's walk rate is way up. Blackburn is currently on the DL. Who do you like?

Assuming all of the top ten picks sign, the Cubs now have 21 of their 40 picks in the fold.

Martarano plays in Mesa this year. After his sophomore year at Boise St., stays in Boise to play there next summer. Then after his junior football season he has a decision to make. Picture should be a lot clearer for him by then. Works well for both parties. Pretty smart pick and signing by the Cubs.

Yeah he's definitely pissed. Even angrier with a 2-run HR...

I think Beloit was happy to see Tseng reach his pitch limit.

Even with a fantastic outing today (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K), I'd be surprised if it happened that quickly (the MWL all-star break starts in 2 days). With the patience of this FO, I could see him being promoted in a month if he continues pitching well. Pierce Johnson moved up at this time last year, but he was 22 and Daytona was likely headed to the playoffs. Tseng is 19 and will be all season plus Kane County is already in the playoffs. It seems the Cubs value getting top prospects playoff experience so, given his age, perhaps he stays at Low-A all year. Then again, what do I know? I have no idea what developmental milestones the Cubs want him to hit before advancing. They always say regardless of a player's numbers, him checking off the boxes in his developmental plan is what ultimately calls the shot.

Weird stat of the day so far. The VSL Cubs stole 10 bases today.

Seconded Done and done. Thanks, Raisin.

Could someone with the ability to do so please sticky the top 50 prospects list we created this spring?

He *was* elite. The injury lowers his value significantly. At the time of the draft, yes. But once he heals, according to historical data, he's got an 80% chance or better of being what he was before the injury. If a player's value were locked in time as to what it was when he was drafted then your point would hold up. Man, today, your glass isn't even half empty. It's bone dry.

This is easily the most exciting thing a farm team can actually announce. True. I guess I confused exciting for them as exciting for ME. Is that exciting for me or the Major (League) Equivalent of exciting...?

Zobrist minus 100 points of OBP Quite possibly true. Over 4 minor league seasons, Zobrist never had less than a .400 OBP. Of course, he was 23 while playing in short season, Low-A ball, and Alcantara is 22 and playing his first season in AAA, but whatever.

Nice job, Tim.

Sorry, Kyle, you're just wrong on this one. I'm not going to comment on what size your hope should be that the Cubs front office thinking is better or worse than "public consensus". That's completely subjective and everyone can hold their own opinions there. But where are you getting this half dozen number? Schwarber's $3.125 million falls in between 8th and 9th slot value. The highest Schwarber was mocked was 8th to the Rockies, and it happened with consistency as the draft picture gained focus. There's a slight chance he could've gone lower, but both the June 3rd Law mock and the last Callis mock had him going 8th. That's 4 picks after the Cubs, not 6. You can call him a mediocre underslot if you want, but who was better when you consider a player's floor? Who checked more boxes when you consider what Theo & Co. value (control of the strike zone, hit tool, power, mental make-up)? All the pitchers available at that spot had question marks and just by virtue of being pitchers were more risky than a college hitter that can hit, hit for power and has an excellent approach. Of the players that were drafted immediately after Schwarber (Gordon, Jackson, Nola, Freeland, Hoffman and Conforto), who stands out as the clearly better choice when we consider floor? When taken in context, Schwarber looks like the best, safest, most undervalued prospect available with equal or better likelihood of succeeding as a hitter at the major league level who by selecting would also allow the Cubs to take 3 upside prep arms instead of one or none. Calling him a "mediocre underslot" is excluding the context. In a draft that fell off in upside after the first three players chosen and was deep in talented high school arms (risky and thus should be taken in numbers to mitigate that), would you have preferred to draft Gordon or Jackson at slot and not have the money to go after 3 upside prep arms? Would you have preferred to take a stab in the dark at maybe just one of them or cover your bets by having three? We both know the attrition and fail rates of prospects. Would you have wanted to take a risky/question marked or injured pitcher with the 4th pick and then follow it up with more risk later on? Or would you have preferred making sure you get the best value you can get in the 1st round and save money to get more value in picks 4-6? This is the real world context. Your comments are being made as if all of this happened in a vacuum. And as far as the top 200 draft prospect equaling a top 2000 prospect? Your math/logic, if indeed you used any in that statement, is just dumb. You're better than that.

Kyle's magic pixie dust strikes again.

Thanks for nice summary, CubsWin. One correction, Graves is a 23-year-old college senior, so the Cubs will sign him if they want him. Thanks, Craig. I jumped down one line and put Niggemeyer's birthdate with Graves. Thanks for the catch.

Thanks, davell! Great page! 1st - Schwarber will sign and soon. 2nd - Nothing officially yet on Stinnett, but he's a senior. 3rd - Zagunis has signed for $615,000 (a little over $100,000 under slot) 4th - An MLB.com reporter who focuses on the draft and prospects tweets Sands is "really looking forward to signing". 5th - Two tweets saying Justin Steele doesn't want to say anything until he is officially signed which implies he will seriously entertain the idea and could be currently in negotiations. 6th - Nothing on Cease yet, but from @sahadevsharma: McLeod on the HS arms taken in rounds 4-6: We took them in those rounds because we feel confident that we will be able to get them signed. 7th - Norwood was quoted in an article as saying “I always thought I’d go on and play pro ball. I just can’t wait to start this part of my life.” 8th - Nothing on junior LHP Tommy Thorpe yet. 9th - RHP James Farris is a senior, but nothing on twitter yet. 10th - In response to a Cubs fan welcoming him to the team, Ryan Williams said "Thank you! I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity to play for this organization." He's also a senior. Outside of the top ten: 11th - Jordan Brink tweeted this out "Nice to wake up today as a Cubs fan!! Draft fun is over, time to work." 12th - Tanner Griggs appears to be a done deal after tweeting "Man I'm too blessed I'm officially a member of the Chicago Cubs organization". 13th - Athletic prep 3B Kevonte Mitchell also appears to be in the fold after a sports anchor from Cape Girardeau, MO tweeted "Just spoke with Kennett's @_KevonteM and he says he will forgo his scholarship to @SEMObaseball and sign with the Chicago Cubs". The coach at the college Mitchell had committed to also tweeted "Best of Luck to Semo signee @_KevonteM who will be signing with the Chicago Cubs to start his professional career." 15th - Jeremy Null posted the following on twitter: "thanks to everyone for the love and support, excited to become a member of the Chicago Cubs organization!" 16th - College junior and shortstop Jason Vosler tweeted "Thank you to everybody who has reached out to me, it really means a lot. Real excited to start this new journey of my life!" 19th - Virginia Tech Senior RHP Brad Markey was quoted in an article saying “We’re really excited,” Markey said. “We’re hoping we’re going to be on the same [minor league] team.” He's referring to Cubs' 3rd round selection Mark Zagunis who was his battery mate at VT. 20th - College senior SS Alex Tomasovich tweeted "Extremely grateful for the opportunity the @Cubs have given me to continue chasing my dream #GoCubsGo" 21st - Maryland OFer and junior Charles White posted to twitter "Awesome day-One win away from Omaha and picked up by the hometown team." 22nd - Brian Murphy, a sportswriter for the Idaho Statesman tweeted this interesting tidbit on Joey Martarano: "Martarano's dad told me pre-draft: "The Ideal situation would be the Cubs take him. ... We're crossing our fingers for that deal." 25th - Senior college C Tyler Pearson posted this on twitter "Blessed and excited to be given the opportunity to continue my baseball career with the Chicago Cubs! I appreciate all the support! #cubbies". 27th - Usually a prep player taken this late is a longshot to sign. There are two articles out on CF Calvin Graves being drafted by the Cubs. This quote from his high school coach is vague: "Another childhood dream came true today and we are so proud of the work ethic and determination Calvin showed throughout his career," said head coach Jayson King. "He will make the Cubs' organization better both on and off the field, as he is a first-class person and teammate." A second article doesn't quote anyone but makes a straightforward statement that could be a mistaken assumption "The 799th overall pick likely will report to the Arizona League or the Class A short-season Boise Hawks of the Northwest League", but who knows... 31st - Prep RHP Brad Depperman tweeted this encouraging but still vague message yesterday "Thankful for the Cubs giving me the opportunity to play professional baseball! So excited to see what future holds for me." It could mean nothing but at least it wasn't what fellow Floridian and top prep prospect Keith Weisenberg posted "Excited for the opportunity to play in the PAC-12 for @StanfordBSB". 35th - Purdue LHP Jordan Minch appears to be signed very shortly. Yesterday he tweeted that he hated airports and posted a pic on instagram (ain't the internet grand...) of a new hat he couldn't wait to purchase. http://instagram.com/p/o_mIObDv6y/

Video of Bryant's blast off the CF scoreboard. http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=33566957&sid=t553

He's slugging over .700. Downright Ruthian.