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allen6510w

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  1. ... presumably the same Tadeo who debuted in the Mexican league last summer as a 15 year old ...
  2. Rich Biesterfeld posted a picture of Fernando Cruz in Mesa yesterday. So .... that may answer the question as to whether Fernando will repeat the DSL this summer.
  3. With Vidal Brujan being out of options, the Cubs may opt to begin 2025 with Luis Vazquez as the AAA SS.
  4. Baseball America has released their depth chart for the Cubs. Thought this was interesting. The depth list for LHSP is 1) Drew Gray 2) Marino Santy 3) Evan Aschenbeck 4) Cameron Sisneros Their top 30 included Nick Dean at 27 (Depth starter upside unless he adds 3-4 mph to each of his 4 pitches - CU is bread and butter pitch), Sam Armstrong at 28 (throws both 2 and 4 seam FBs from 3/4 arm slot; slider works against both lefties and righties), Brett Bateman at 29 (no surprises here; 70 speed but 20 power; 55 hit tool is encouraging), and Kenyi Perez at 30 (70 FB 30 CTRL (better than expected?), the spin rate of his 4-seam FB was better than that of any ML pitcher in 2024).
  5. The recent signing of Carlos Perez gives the Cubs the option of leaving Pablo Aliendo in AA to begin the season. Arm permitting, Cole Mathis could slide into the 1B position at low-A to start the season, with a mid-season promotion to high-A and shift to 3B possible. Drew Bowser and Matt Halbach are two recent draftees that could move into starting roles this spring with a strong spring if others falter. Fernando Cruz signed for a heck of a lot of money. Will he be given a mulligan for last year and given a shot to earn a starting spot in the ACL this spring?
  6. As we await the signing of MiL FAs and additional trades, here is one possible arrangement of players. It'll be interesting to see when Cole Mathis is cleared to play IF and whether he starts at 1B or 3B.
  7. Yes, AA is the most likely starting place for Cam.
  8. With Alfonsin Rosario gone the Cubs need a new CF at the high-A level. The Cubs could go many ways here. In my relatively uninformed depth chart, I've shifted Wetzel to CF (he played a plurality of his games there last year), moved Ivan Brethower up from low-A (that would be a big challenge for him but he will be 22 in February), and moved Geuri Lobo into the OF rotation at low-A (he had a pretty good season in the ACL last year, adjusting to his new role as an OF). Of course, the Cubs could move Reggie Preciado from 3B to the OF, give Jordan Nwogu another chance, sign a MiFA, or other. What would you do?
  9. The Cubs re-signed a couple of potential miFA that should compete for starting roles in 2005. Antonio Santos, a 28-year old who posted an impressive 80/25 K/W last year in 70 AA IP; he also had a good playoff start. Over the last few years he has pitched in the Dominican Republic, Japan, China, and the majors. ... and Kohl Franklin who was ranked as the Cubs 13th, 6th, 18th, and 29th best prospect by Baseball America between 2020 and 2023. He injured his forearm last April 13th and should return to action sometime next year Finally, as expected, the Cubs re-signed C Pablo Aliendo who begin 2025 in AA or AAA. In theory, any of these players could be plucked in the Rule 5 draft.
  10. Thanks for the write ups! Ramirez's need to develop some power ( he had a 0.097 ISO last year) despite his small frame is reinforced by the fact that he played more 3B than 2B last year and did not play SS at all.
  11. Yes, if the Cubs keep Rodriguez in high-A or move him to the pen, the Cubs could move Nahas back into the rotation. Other possibilities would include Chris Kashmir if he doesn't make the AAA roster, Manuel Espinoza depending on his free agent status, Walker Powell if he is healthy, etc.
  12. Since it's quiet here, I though I'd list my starting pitching list, which is very similar to California Raisin's and an update on my latest thoughts wrt position player placement,
  13. Matt ShawCade HortonMoises BallesterosCam SmithOwen CaissieJames TriantosKevin AlcantaraBrandon BirdsellJaxon WigginsJonathon LongJefferson RojasCole MathisAlfonsin RosarioCristian HernandezAlexander CanarioTy SouthiseneDrew GrayChristian FranklinPedro RamirezMichael Arias
  14. Baseball America (Josh Norris) just posted a list of the top 31 prospects in the DSL this summer. No Cubs made the list but there were 4 players from the Orioles, 3 from the Guardians, 2 from the Brewers, Cardinals, Angels, Rangers, Twins, Red Sox, and Pirates and 1 from the Marlins, Rays, Dodgers, Astros, Nationals, Yankees, Giants, Rockies, Royals, and Reds.
  15. I hadn't realized how stark the contrast is: 56/28 K/W in 71.2 IP with a 0.246 BAA in 15 starts and 43/20 K/W in 35.2 IP with a 0.358 BAA as a reliever. By month 2,0,5,3,1,4 starts and 6,8,1,1,3,0 relief appearances
  16. Riley Thompson pitched well in April and September - will it be enough for him to get an MiFA offer next year from the Cubs? LHRP Blake Weiman who signed for $3K in 2018 out of UCS Upstate. and RHRP Blake Whitney who signed for $150 K in 2017 are two others who will be MiFA at the end of the year. Both are old for AA and spent nearly the entire year there despite pitching well.
  17. With respect to fewer DR/VZ prospects appearing in the top 100. Are there fewer prospects from the Dominican Republic/Venezuela or are there just fewer getting recognized early in their minor league careers because of the loss of short-season A. In the past, some players may have made the top 100 list partly due to appearing on top 10 lists for short-season A leagues that no longer exist. In some ways the Arizona League is serving as a short-season league in the new setup because it starts earlier than in past seasons and ends earlier. This should increase the competition level of the Arizona League and its Florida equivalent ... but the number of opportunities to play has been cut in half. I wonder if more DR/VZ players are being held back an extra year in the DSL due to a shortage of state-side playing opportunities. You wouldn't think this would affect true prospects but perhaps it is difficult to identify the true prospects at such a young age. A skeptic could also argue that the decrease in top 100 prospect from DR/VZ could also be due to ages being more accurately recorded today or to the continuing issues in Venezuela affecting the strength and conditioning of Venezuelan prospects.
  18. So ... if I'm reading the schedule correctly, Tennessee is about to play 8 or 9 straight games versus the Barons. We'll find out how much familiarity with the pitcher matters
  19. Yes, it was just last fall when the Cubs planned on moving Escobar to the OF to make room for Alexei Hernandez? He has played some OF this year but is still primarily a second baseman. His transition to low-A seems to be going well although one wonders which is the fluke his low-A BA (0.203) or his unrealistically high 0.281 ISO. SSS beware ...
  20. His is a meteoric rise through the prospect charts. I'm sure one could point out his poor ISO numbers (until very recently) but his K/W numbers are unreal for a first baseman,
  21. When I click on may post it increases in size - does that not work for everyone else?
  22. Thanks for the pitching projections. Here is my latest hopes as to where the position players land to begin the season. I'm assuming Cole Mathis begins the year on the DL.
  23. Yes, the Cubs put nearly all of their eggs in the Fernando Cruz bucket. I'll be curious to see if Robin moves up to the ACL next season. His in-game power is more projected than real at this time. He could remain in the DSL as lesser but older "prospects" with arguably better numbers such as Derik Alcantara, Eli Lovich, Darlyn DeLeon and Alexey Lumpuy patrol the ACL outfield but perhaps the Cubs would like their stateside staff to work with him. He is a year younger than Eli Lovich. Also, Lumpuy might be given an opportunity to open in low-A - so that could clear a spot.
  24. Yes, he was in the C conversion program last year as opposed to this spring - so not a good sign. Carter is hitting well enough that he might be a better 1B option in low-A next year than the older Edgar Alvarez. However, it is difficult to see him getting an opportunity to move Cole Mathis aside in high-A. So ... it would be much more exciting to seem him competing with the powerless Frank Hernandez for a backup C position in high-A. If he needs more seasoning behind the plate he could become part of a number crunch as Low-A has several options including Ariel Armas, Adan Sanchez, Owen Ayers, and possibly Jairo Diaz.
  25. Here is the MiL placements that I hope to see to begin 2025. Of course, some of my stretches will be filled in with MiL FAs. Part of me wants Jefferson Rojas to repeat high-A and Fernando Cruz to remain in the DSL. Thoughts?
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