HossmanGT

My wish list is focused on three pieces right now that should come at low/moderate cost, but I believe could really help the club in the second half: 1) Ian Kennedy - like most, I'm in favor of adding some depth to the starting rotation. Kennedy has had a rough first half of the season, but his peripherals aren't bad and he's been pitching well for the last month. He will be a free agent at the end of the season and I believe San Diego would be willing to trade him for a reasonable prospect or two. He could slot into our rotation as a #4/5 with some upside. 2) Ben Zobrist - I've always liked Zobrist and feel his versatility could serve us well. The tricky part about improving our offense is that we still need to give our young players time to develop and work through their struggles. Insert Zobrist and he can spot guys like Russell, Soler, Castro and Coghlan throughout the summer. As we get into September, perhaps he takes over everyday at a position if one of our younger guys has hit a wall. He also provides great insurance in case of an injury. I'm assuming Zobrist would cost us the most in terms of prospect(s) amongst the targets on my wish list. 3) Lefty reliever (Diekman, etc.) - I like the way our bullpen is shaping up for the second half of the season, but it would be nice to add a situational lefty that we can match up when needed. Russell is serviceable at times, but that's a spot in the bullpen we should be able to upgrade at minimal cost. As for CF, I may be in the minority but I'm willing to give Dexter Fowler some more rope. His track record of getting on base is so strong and I'd give him a chance to turn the corner in the second half. We shall see.

I would be mildly surprised if Javy is getting called up. As much as he's struggled with his swing since last year's promotion, I would have thought the front office would like to see him continue to swing well in AAA for a longer period before putting him back in the show...particularly when there isn't an obvious spot on the big club. If I'm not mistaken, aren't there also some service time implications by calling him up now? If we wait until June 5th, I was under the impression we could delay his free agency until after 2021.

If it's possible to be thrilled and nervous about a prospect at the same time, that's where I currently stand with Baez. His rare skills will undoubtedly land him in the majors, but his K/BB development could be the difference between a dangerous free swinger and one of the top players in the game. Question - as a 20 year old playing AA, can we reasonably expect his K rate to improve as he gains experience? Are there good examples of young players that have improved their K rates as they move through the minors? If you look at the progression of most minor leaguers, it's not uncommon to see K rates stabilize as players advance levels....but it seems rare to actually improve them.

Completely agree on the Braves being a potential trade partner. See the article linked below from today's AJC: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/11/07/braves-might-trade-pitching-for-lineup-needs/ Would Soriano + cash + a mid-level prospect be enough to fetch Delgado this time around? It would certainly fill a big need for the Braves with Prado moving back to 3B.

Am I the only one that still thinks Dempster will be in a Braves uniform when its all said and done? The Braves are desperate to add a starting pitcher and until they do, they would absolutely still entertain the idea of a Dempster deal. Frank Wren has to publically state they are moving on with other options, but if Dempster takes a couple days and realizes Atlanta is his best option I think the deal will still be struck.

Use the link below for a replay of Frank Wren's interview. The Dempster subject is touched on at the beginning and again towards the end of the interview. Sounds like the deal expired yesterday and the Braves are moving on. http://www.680thefan.com/audiovault/rude_awakening.php

So does a 9/30 contract to an international player effectively override any rules in terms of his free agency clock, arbitration increases, etc.? In other words, does this guarantee he will hit free agency after nine years, but also guarantee that he will only be making ~$3M per season even if he turns into a perennial all-star?

McNutt's line is currently 4IP, 3H, 0BB, 2K. Interestingly, he's thrown 58 pitches and only gotten one swing and miss.

How about Buck Farmer in the 5th round from Georgia Tech?

Speaking of Vitters, I also noticed he's only committed six errors in 51 games. How encouraged should we be about his defensive improvements at 3B? There were points last year where I had resigned myself to thinking he would wind up at 1B or LF.

I don't think the Cubs care about Super Two nearly as much as pushing back FA. +1. I'm far more concerned with delaying his free agency than super two status. Considering that we're going nowhere this season, there is absolutely no reason to call up Rizzo before late-June and accelerate his free agency....and I would assume Theo feels the same way.

With Byrd being traded and the possibility of Jackson coming to Chicago soon, haven't we already delayed his free agency by a year by keeping him in AAA for the first three weeks of the season? I believe under the former CBA it only took 10-15 days in the minors to delay a player's free agency by a year (see Evan Longoria). However, I'm not sure if this changed with the new CBA.

As much as I like Jackson, I'm pretty much convinced he's going to strike out ~30% of the time as a big leaguer. If that's the case, what's the best we could reasonably hope for in terms of a projected batting average? Even with the high strikeout rate in the minors, he's surprisingly been able to put up pretty strong batting averages at each level.

I think there might have been some changes in the new CBA about guys having FA delayed through super 2 and what not. But I think it used to be around sometime in June. Are you saying June for Rizzo or Jackson? Theoretically it's only 10 days in the minors to start the year to delay FA unless that changed in the new CBA. I'm not sure how many service days Rizzo accumulated last year, but it would be that + 10 for him. According to Baseball Reference, Rizzo has accumulated 68 service days. So unless the new CBA has changed the free agency rules, we should be able to delay his free agency by keeping him in AAA for 78 days.

Does anyone know how long we must leave Jackson in AAA to delay his free agency by a year? I believe it's only a few weeks, correct? And for that matter, how long must we leave Rizzo in AAA to delay his free agency? I'm assuming we'll need to leave Rizzo in AAA for a longer period of time since he already accumulated some service time in San Diego last season.

Can you imagine how much attention/remembrance this play would have gotten had the Cubs not eventually still made the playoffs? Considering the Cubs made the playoffs, I'm always a little surprised by how much attention this play still gets.

What is the general consensus on McNutt's ceiling at this point? A low-end #2 / high-end #3 starter? Going back to last season, his numbers in AA now look as follows: 78IP, 100H, 27BB, 52SO, 7HR Granted, he has battled through some injuries and hasn't pitched consistently this season, but he has really given up a lot of hits at the AA level and his strikeout ratio is down signicantly from previous levels. It does make me wonder what his actual ceiling is as a prospect.

...and happy 23rd birthday to Brett Jackson tonight with his fourth homerun in AAA.

ouch wasnt he sitting at 92-94 at arkansas state university college prep or where ever the heck he was from? Lets hope he can get his weight back and start pitching like he was because 86 only cuts it if you are jamie moyer. Agreed - does mono and weight loss (from last off season) take 10 mph off a fastball??

The Braves are getting desperate to acquire a right-handed hitting outfielder, especially with guys like Pence and Beltran off the market. They are loaded with young pitching talent and Mike Minor appears to be the guy they were dangling for Pence. If Frank Wren comes back to the Cubs and offers Minor for Byrd, I really hope Hendry gives it strong consideration.

Im pretty sure the gun hasn't worked at Peoria all year. I know it wasn't working at the 3 games I've been to this year. Here is an article about Kirk's no hitter, and they talk about his "stuff" a little in it. http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2011/07/cubs-farmhand-austin-kirk-throws-no-hitter/ Does the Kirk description remind anyone else of Ted Lilly? Fastball 88-92mph with good location, very good curveball, good makeup and feel for pitching....I believe his frame and stature is also similar to Lilly's.

Kevin Rhoderick with another strong relief outing as well. Between Daytona and Tennesee this year, his line goes as follows: 35IP, 15H, 5 ER, 17BB, 41K, 1HR If he continues to pitch well, what are the chances he is part of the Cubs bullpen next year?

Where has Brett Jackson been the past couple nights? Noticed he was a DH on Tuesday, and has not been in the lineup since...

Can't wait for McNutt to return....getting tired of these blah pitching nights.

Overall, I like this pick. I wish one of the consensus top 6-7 had slipped to the Cubs, but given the hand we were dealt I think we made a solid pick. We needed some high upside talent in the system and Baez fits the bill (plus he was not a reach at this spot, which is always a concern with Wilken). Of interest, he attended Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville and lives with his high school coach. As someone who grew up in Jacksonville, I can say that ACD is well known for recruiting athletes, academic misconduct, accreditation issues, etc. I certainly don't mean to imply anything about Baez, but seeing he played at ACD definitely catches my eye as a Jacksonville native. Lastly, as deep as this draft is, is it safe to say that our 2nd round pick would possibly be a 1st round talent in most years?