allen6510w

Boo! In retrospect, it might have made sense to wait for him to be ready to play in the field before activating him.

Yes, I wonder if the Cubs will consider moving the fence back at Iowa. In a hitter's league, the park effect is 117 for HRs. By comparison Knoxville's is 69. What a difficult transition for pitchers.

That's good to hear!

I'd guess the latter although his experience/polish is part of the reason. He will be 26 this summer but has many option years remaining (so no need to push). With Tyler Schaffer, Evan Aschenbeck, Brody McCullough, and Drew Gray are all opening the year on the DL, at least one pitcher from the Rojas, Knapp, Mule group has to play up.

Southisene is where he belongs (0.032 ISO). Of course, last year he started in the AFL and was moved up after one game. Mathis is a shock. Hopefully, the Cubs are just sending him a message.

Yes, with F. Cruz, A. Hernandez, and Y. Melendez injured, his main competition may have been Eriandys Ramon - who posted a 0.508 OPS in low-A last year. I see there are 7 IFs in high-A so there is a small chance one of the high-A infielders could get moved to low-A and one of the low-A infielders gets moved to XST when the final rosters come out later this week.

Riley Martin is also in the mix.

Will be fun to see how this plays out and whether players such as Cam Sisneros, Alex Madera, Jordan Nwogu, Derik Alcantara, Michael Carico, Jan Luis Reyes, and other carve out a spot this spring. Luis Ghisays & Chaily Ramirez are also likely to be starting pitchers in the DSL, assuming they aren't late adds to the ACL team. Kohl Franklin, L. Martinez-Gomez, Daniel Avitia, Hayden Franks, and I'm sure others are also options.

Thanks for the video. It appears that Leonel was added to the Domestic Roster about a week ago. Last year he spent a plurality of DSL games at 1B but also played SS and a little bit of 3B. He had a solid ISO last year and didn't strike out very often. Lanky and 6'2" - good to see that his swing looks good too. If he ends up at 1B this year, his competition could be sometimes catcher Ivan Cespedes and Josias Ramirez. With more prospects playing college ball, a shorter draft, and a tighter cap on the number of players on the Domestic Reserve List, I feel the competition level of the Rookie Leagues is at a low ebb. On the flip side, the weakness of the league will encourage teams to start players such as Josiah Hartshorn in low-A, another league that is also weaker than in the past.

Yes, the possibility that Martinez-Gomez could start this year was the most interesting part of his write-up. Maybe the following in high-A Or, maybe he'll follow the Koen Moreno path - i.e., 3 inning stints.

Some questions I'm pondering this morning: 1. Will Moises Ballesteros open the season behind the plate at Iowa or will he begin a career as a DH/1B// emergency C type in the majors? 2. Will Owen Ayers pick up where he left off in the AFL? 3. Will Michael Carico’s wrist and other injuries turn out to be career ending? 4. Is Jairo Diaz someone to watch or were his low-A numbers a SSS fluke? 5. Will Ariel Armas continue on track to be a defense-first backup C? 6. Will Ethan Conrad spend most of 2026 in the OF, at 1B, or at DH? 7. Will Josiah Hartshorn show up healthy and look more like a $2M signee than a 6th rounder? 8. Will powerless Kane Kepley continue to walk more than he strikes out against high-A and/or AA pitching? 9. Will Alexander Ramirez activate his 5:30 power and get enough playing time to threaten the Cubs minor league strikeout record? 10. Will Eli Lovich emerge as a prospect or continue to struggle against class A pitching? 11. Will Cole Mathis remain at 3B and re-gain his plus exit velocities? 12. Is Fernando Cruz a bust or will his bat come alive during his second crack at the ACL? 13. While Juan Tomas showed “you can walk off the island”*, will he become more aggressive stateside and show more than a major league glove? *if you have a great glove and signed for $$$. 14. Will Juan Cabada’s quick compact swing produce enough power for him to stay on track to make the majors as a bat-first second baseman? 15. Will Derniche Valdez remain in the infield, get regular playing time, and show that 2025 was just a nightmare?

According to Arizona Phil, Saul was released today.

Yes, that would certainly help with the roster crunch. and could move him into top 100 prospect status by year end if it works. Another less exciting option is to start Kade Snell there as he is a a year-and-a-half older. With the expected promotion of under-performing Juan Tomas to Mesa, it seems more likely that the Cubs will promote Fernando Cruz to low-A. and Yahil Melendez to 3B or SS.

It must be fun to watch youth baseball in the Dominican Republic. One pitcher, one centerfielder, 6 shortstops and presumably a first baseman. Seriously, it is kind of fun to sign so many prospects to 5 digit contracts. There may be some real competition for promotion. In the past few years, the top $ signs have been promoted to the state's despite dismal performances in their first DSL year (Fernando Cruz last year and apparently Juan Tomas this year). Obviously, tools are much more important than DSL stats but does it make sense to promote a play on tools alone. Not sure.

With minor league signings trickling in - lineup options abound -