Aaron_Kennelly

I forgot to mention about the South Bend game I went to on Friday. Pereda was catching and he looked good behind the plate. He's got a lot of tools and some sneaky athleticism. He reminds me a little of Willson. He's got a freaking cannon. He threw behind a runner at second, and, though he didn't get him, it was a really strong throw -- right on the money. There was a lot of zip on that thing, too, and it elicited a number of gasps from people around me in the stands. He also did a nice job of blocking a couple of pitches in the dirt. And he made a nice leaping snag of a wayward pitch way above the zone. I couldn't tell much about his framing, as I was right behind the plate and blocked by the ump. But he looked pretty quiet when he was receiving the ball. I thought he had some nice footwork around first when I've seen him play there, too. With the bat, I wasn't very impressed. He takes some nice ABs, but he doesn't do much beyond just putting it in play. Zack Short was playing short, and he looked good. He ranged way over to make a play on a ball on the other side of the second base bag. I've mentioned before that he has a strong arm, and it's looked accurate every time I've seen him. I'm more convinced that both he and Paredes could play short after seeing them a couple more times. Their arms can play anywhere on the infield. And they both look smooth and fluid. I don't know enough about scouting and haven't seen them enough to be positive, but, sure, I can buy it. I'm not a fan of Yeiler Peguero. He just doesn't do anything well enough to intrigue me. And he doesn't seem to have his head in the game very often. Parades is composed at the plate, seems to have a good idea of what he's trying to do, and hits the ball hard. I'm not sure why the results haven't been there. I like him quite a bit. I've mentioned how I was wowed by D.J. Wilson's tools. And I still believe he is the best prospect on the team. I haven't seen where the strikeouts are coming from. He's looked fine at the plate when I've seen him. I know Tom asked about Vladdy Jr. I can't believe that kid just turned 18. He's so freaking big. He's a grown-ass man. And he's definitely the real deal. He's got a great approach, a great eye, good bat speed. His swing is a lot like his dad's, but it doesn't look as effortless. Still, he's the real deal at the plate, and I can only imagine what kind of a beast he'll be if he starts tapping into that power. He didn't look very smooth at third. I'm not sure he'll stick there. It wasn't too terrible or anything. He might just need some more work over there. I'd read his arm wasn't that great -- certainly not like his father's -- but, it actually looked strong to me.

We Got The Whole 9 mentioned how he'd like to see Trackman data from minor league stadiums. And Zagunis is a guy I'd like to see that data on. It definitely seems like he's trying to get the ball elevated more, based off of that Fangraphs batted-ball data you mention, and the simple fact that he's hitting for more power. He might be trading some BABIP for some ISO, but I'd wager it would be worth it if he keeps driving the ball out of the park. Maybe it's just a product of the PCL and those changes won't benefit him at the major league level, though. From seeing him in person, I was surprised by how hard he hit the ball. But it was definitely more of a line-drive swing. If he is hitting the ball hard, and can elevate it without sacrificing too much contact, he's definitely interesting with his on-base skills.

Well, that sucked.

Why did Joe waste Schwarber when we were down 5?

Very nice

Inflict pain on Law please.

Are you horsefeathering kidding me?

Albert...

How in the hell does Javy know he's safe on that?

That's awfully mean of them to make Eddie Butler catch for his replacement.

I haven't been able to watch much since we started scoring 10 runs every game. So this one is definitely going to be a 3-1 game with the wind blowing out, since I'm watching.

Oh wow.

At least it was a solo shot, I guess.

I'm not trying to bite your head off. It just seems like you worry about stuff a lot: "Zobrist's contact% is down after 10 games... We don't have any of the league leaders in average exit velocity... Our line drive% is down..." I keep seeing you harping on peripheral stats that may or may not mean anything long-term, without ever seeing you mention, say, that Kris Bryant's contact% is above 80%. You seem to pick and choose which peripheral stats to care about, and you always seem to pick the ones that look bad for Cubs' players. I don't think you are too negative or anything. You are a knowledgeable poster, and you aren't exclusively negative or anything. I think you've been a good addition to the board. I just think you worry too much.

Yep, Ks and BBs (Ks being at the forefront) are my two go-to stats for both pitchers and hitters, most especially in the minors, since hitters will often develop more power as they get older.

Is there nothing you don't worry about?

So Justin Grimm sucks.

Of 272 players with 200 batted balls last year, no Cub ranked above #100 in average exit velocity, and they won 103 games.

I'll be at the South Bend game tonight.

Good for the Brewers that they got to enjoy first place for a day or so. Back to the middle of the pack you go.

We could just send Happ back to the minors, where he had a .733 OPS in AA last year. It's not like he's going Trout right now. He looks kinda shaky in the outfield himself. He's made contact on like 55% of his swings, and one of his home runs was a fly out on any other night of the year. He's played well and is hot, but some more seasoning might suit him well.

There is a 0% chance Schwarber gets sent down.

I still don't know what to think. I never thought he'd have a serious role on this team, barring injury. So I'm not sure how to proceed. But I'm afraid he will strike out too much to be too much of an asset, if he's mainly playing a corner outfield spot.