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Outshined_One

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Everything posted by Outshined_One

  1. Outshined_One
    The fact that you're the level-headed voice of reason in this thread speaks volumes here.
  2. Outshined_One
    The 2006 Cardinals had an 83-78 record, five games worse than any other team in the playoffs that year. Doomerism is to be expected during slumps, but try to keep things in perspective.
  3. Outshined_One
    This cannot be emphasized enough. The Cubs were able to paper over their rotation deficiencies through trades and FA acquisitions over the last decade, but this team was unable to develop starter quality pitching prospects up until recently, be it due to inability, injury, or luck. Steele was a middling LHP prospect until he somehow figured things out when they stretched him out (which is why I have *some* hope Wicks can turn it around) and Horton looks legit, but things were barren on the pitching front up until the last few years. Remember Brailyn Marquez and Ryan Jensen? How about Thomas Hatch? Dillon Maples ring any bells? Things seem to have improved compared to where the system was a few years ago, and I think there's room for optimism in the system right now, but right now those deficiencies are hammering the Cubs' pitching depth.
  4. Outshined_One
    Anyone have a good centralized website tracking this information? MLB.com only has Conrad signed and Google has been worthless.
  5. Outshined_One
    He needs a change of scenery.
  6. Outshined_One
    It's quietly the area that will matter the most when it comes to deadline trades. They have a ton of flexibility when it comes to moving their starters around the diamond, but the bench is trash. It's why Willi Castro makes a ton of sense, the more I think about it.
  7. Outshined_One
  8. Outshined_One
    Picture it! Myrtle Beach, 2025. The waves were cresting, and a guy named Ty was swinging a big stick. Good times, my friends. Good times.
  9. Outshined_One
    The extra wild card spots have killed the deadline. If this were 20 years ago, teams like the Diamondbacks and Guardians would be packing up shop, but they're still close enough to think they're in the race.
  10. Outshined_One
    Palencia emerged as a legitimate closer, which alleviated the need to find someone who can finish out games. Bednar is solid, but his value is as a closer. The Cubs' pen is in shockingly good shape at the moment. I'd like another power arm to give Palencia the occasional breather and to push Pressly down the pecking order, but otherwise I'd put pen arm behind 3B and two SPs at this point.
  11. Outshined_One
    Giddyup!
  12. Outshined_One
    Holy horsefeathers, that's even lower than what was speculated in the Draft Day thread. Maybe they're also going to make a big push for Barnett? 🤷‍♂️
  13. Outshined_One
    For all the early season bullpen turmoil, his emergence quieted the chatter over the Cubs needing a closer. Dude's legit.
  14. Outshined_One
    Give 'em hell, Pete.
  15. Outshined_One
    Apparently it doesn't count as a plate appearance, so no effect.
  16. Outshined_One
    Regarding Kepley, I've come to the realization that I have a visceral dislike for hitters with similar profiles. I've tried to rationalize it, but frankly, plenty of guys like him have succeeded in the majors, and diversifying talent in your system is never a bad thing. Maybe it's due to my disgust with the years of people fawning over David Eckstein or Juan Pierre? No idea. I'm unquestionably rooting for the guy, though.
  17. Outshined_One
    I don't think any of the non-Conrad draft picks would make my Top 20 at this point (assuming everyone signs). Kepley is borderline, but, Brett Bateman is at AA with a similar profile (lower ceiling, granted) and he's in my 20-30 range. Reid is tempting, but I think he'll need an offseason in pitch lab to develop. Wing and Hartshorn are also interesting, but it'll probably be a year or two before we can get meaningful reads on them.
  18. Outshined_One
    Perhaps not, but considering how easy it is to transfer, I can see how a HS kid could be convinced that he could go to, say, U Minnesota and have a guaranteed starting spot, and then transfer to a big name school after a year. I imagine there still would be *some* NIL benefit of going to a smaller baseball school that it could be significantly improved by whatever awaits for two years at Alabama/Florida/etc., so $225k might not get the job done the way it used to get done. We'll see once the signings start coming out. If more HS kids are going unsigned compared to previous years, I have a feeling we might see adjustments made to the bonus pool system to compete with NIL.
  19. Outshined_One
    Kepley, the 2nd rounder, is probably the closest to the majors of this crop. He's a contact-heavy speed guy and could be a really useful 4th OF/PH on a team with a stacked OF.
  20. Outshined_One
    The one thing about this draft is, it hinges heavily on the Cubs' medical and training staff. They've had success with guys like Wiggins and Horton so far, so guys like Coppola and Jerzembeck are intriguing as guys who could follow similar paths. Pitch lab could also have some fun with Wing and Reid. It's the hitting side that's a bit unproven. I can't think of any recent success stories this team has had with injury reclamation projects, so Conrad and Hartshorn are going to be interesting test cases.
  21. Outshined_One
    Odd draft, and not the one I expected.
  22. Outshined_One
    There's definitely something up league-wide. 2024 Undrafted Ranked Players 2025 Undrafted Ranked Players The draft isn't over yet and it's likely at least a few of those guys get popped, but there's a lot of mid-tier HS depth that's currently sitting undrafted compared to last year.
  23. Outshined_One
    Selecting multiple guys who dropped due to medicals is definitely a choice.
  24. Outshined_One
    The key thing to keep in mind with the Cubs' draft is their bonus pool is dictated by where they are picking in the draft and how many picks they have. Because they have the 17th pick and did not receive any draft pick compensation for any FAs, they are pretty much middle of the road relative to the rest of the league. In the Cubs' situation, finding 2-3 guys people are excited about in the first 10 rounds is actually a good thing. It's not ideal, I'll grant that, but they're not situated to take top end guys by virtue of where they are picking and their draft pool won't let them go completely bananas. You basically end up ragpicking in this scenario, and it's hard to find treasure among the detritus. It's worth keeping an eye on the next few rounds, though.
  25. Outshined_One
    The Tigers apparently drafted an entire college:
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