Outshined_One

Happ's stuff is kind of eh. He has a fastball that runs in the high 80s/low 90s with some movement and deception, while his change and slider are decent offerings. As far as pure stuff is concerned, he profiles in the back end of a rotation at best. He could tune up his delivery and spot his fastball better, but I don't see much more of a ceiling with him. Again, I'd be fine building a package around him in exchange for Lilly, but I wouldn't do Lilly for Happ straight up.

Rough Draft: 1) Brett Jackson 2) Hak-Ju Lee 3) Jay Jackson 4) Josh Vitters 5) Chris Archer 6) Trey McNutt 7) Chris Carpenter 8) Dae-Eun Rhee 9) Reggie Golden 10) Junior Lake 11) Hayden Simpson 12) Jin-Yeong Kim 13) Darwin Barney 14) Ryan Flaherty 15) Rafael Dolis 16) Casey Coleman 17) Chris Rusin 18) DJ LeMahieu 19) Matthew Szczur 20) Micah Gibbs Honorable Mentions: Aaron Kurcz, Kyler Burke, Robinson Chirinos, Tony Thomas I'll be very curious to see what BA's Top 20 lists for the AZ League and the Northwest League look like. The Cubs have some guys down there who are intriguing, but, right now, it's hard to tell whether those guys could be any good based solely on their statistics. We've gotten some reports on guys like Kurcz and Szczur, but that's about the extent of it. I may have missed a few guys, but general thoughts and rationale on this list will be forthcoming.

FIP and BABIP disagree. He got really lucky last year. He also has a history of elbow injuries (this year and 2007), which makes me really leery. Now, granted, Happ could be a workable #4 starter in his career. I wouldn't mind trading Lilly for Happ and another prospect or two. However, I wouldn't do Lilly for Happ straight up.

FanGraphs was a big fan of his 2007-2009 years. Given his numbers, previous production, and the fact that he'll be 35 for a good chunk of next season makes me think he'd be worth a 2-3 year deal in the offseason.

Anyone else joining me on the Lake in the top 5 bandwagon yet? Top 10? Probably. Top 5? Nah.

Junior Lake with HR #8 on the season.

We're boned.

I see the Cubs are back to get away day forfeit lineups.

Maybe Cook could be used as part of a three way deal, with the Rockies picking up part of his salary?

Box Scores Iowa lost 8-4 Box Score CF S. Fuld 2/5, RBI SS D. Barney 2/5, 2B (22), K RF B. Snyder 1/5, 2B (25), 3 K 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/5, R, RBI, HR (17) LF J. Dubois 2/5, 2B (7), K 2B/3B M. Smith 3/3, BB, R, 2B (17) C C. Robinson 1/4, R 3B M. Camp 0/3 PH B. LaHair 1/1, R, RBI, 2B (26) 2B B. Scales 0/2, RBI SP JR Mathes 5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2/1 K/BB, 3 HR, 6-7 GO-FO RP HW Chen 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1/1 K/BB, WP, HBP, 1-4 GO-FO RP J. Gray 1 perfect, 1-2 GO-FO Tennessee lost 8-5 Box Score CF T. Campana 0/2, RBI DH B. Jackson 0/4, K 3B R. Canzler 0/4, 2 K C R. Chirinos 0/4, K RF M. Spencer 2/4, 2 R, 2B (9) LF B. Guyer 2/3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (21), 3B (5), HBP SS M. Gonzalez 0/1, RBI SS N. Samson 0/1, K PH S. Clevenger 0/1, K 2B T. Thomas 2/3, RBI, 2B (22), K, SB (11), PO (2B), E (13, throw) SP C. Carpenter 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5/1 K/BB, HR, WP, 9-1 GO-FO RP A. Shafer 2 scoreless, 1 H, 3/1 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO RP M. Mateo 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2/0 K/BB Daytona won 4-3 Box Score SS DJ LeMahieu 0/4, 2 K 2B R. Flaherty 1/3, BB, R, CS (2), PO (1B) C M. Brenly 2/4, 2B (11) RF K. Burke 3/4, R DH R. Ridling 2/4, R, 2 RBI, 2B (25), HR (10), K 1B J. Opitz 0/3, BB 3B J. Lake 1/3, R, RBI, HR (8) SP C. Rusin 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5/0 K/BB, 8-2 GO-FO, E (2, throw) RP C. Lambert 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1/1 K/BB, HBP, 1-3 GO-FO RP J. Beliveau 1 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, 0-1 GO-FO RP D. Patton 1 scoreless, 0 H, 0/3 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO Peoria won 8-3 Box Score SS HJ Lee 1/4, K, HBP, E (27, fielding) 2B L. Watkins 0/3, 2 BB CF M. Szczur 1/5, 2 R, 2 K, E (1, fielding) 1B J. Bour 2/4, R, RBI, 2 2B (19), K 3B M. Cerda 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (14), 2 K DH DJ Fitzgerald 1/3, BB, R, SB (9) LF N. Perez 0/2, 2 BB, R RF JH Ha 1/4, RBI, 2B (8) SP R. Searle 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4/0 K/BB, HBP, 3-10 GO-FO RP M. De Leon 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Boise lost 5-3 Box Score 2B P. LePage 2/5, R, RBI, 2 2B (11) LF J. Morelli 3/5, RBI DH R. Jones 0/5, 3 K 1B R. Cuneo 1/4, BB, 2B (1), K SS E. Soto 1/3, BB 3B D. Harrington 1/4, R, 2B (1), K C J. Vigurs 0/4, 2 K CF KM Na 0/2, BB, K PH/RF C. Huseby 0/1, K SP E. Figueroa 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2/3 K/BB, 2 balks, 5-4 GO-FO RP J. Latham 1 scoreless, 0 H, 2/1 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO RP A. Kurcz 1 perfect, 3/0 K/BB AZL Cubs lost 7-3 Box Score SS V. Bieneme 0/2, K, E (2, throw) SS W. Darvill 2/2, BB, 2 RBI C S. Burruel 0/4, 4 K, HBP, PB (2) 3B D. Geiger 1/4, R 1B C. Noble 0/3, BB, R LF B. Springfield 0/1, 3 BB, R, K, CS (2) SP J. Nagel 1 scoreless, 0 H, 1/1 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP R. Hartman 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1/0 K/BB, WP, 3-2 GO-FO RP D. Beeler 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO RP J. Zeller 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3/1 K/BB, HR, 2-1 GO-FO DSL Cubs 1 lost Game 1 of its DH 2-1 Box Score CF O. Zapata 0/4 SS G. Amaya 0/2, BB, E (14, fielding) 2B M. Hernandez 2/3, 2B (15), SB (15) RF D. Arcila 0/2, HBP DSL Cubs 1 lost Game 2 of its DH 1-0 Box Score CF O. Zapata 0/3, 2 K SS G. Amaya 0/2, E (15, throw) 2B/SS M. Hernandez 2/3, K, SB (16) RF D. Arcila 0/2, BB, CS (1), PO (1B) SP R. Garcia 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2/2 K/BB, 14-2 GO-FO RP R. Diplan 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO DSL Cubs 2 lost 8-6 Box Score SS J. Rodriguez 2/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2 E (7, throw, fielding) RF/1B G. Jimenez 0/4, BB, RBI, 2 K, E (11, missed catch) SP G. Abreu 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2/2 K/BB, 6-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 2-7

Aaron Kurcz, imo.

I could see someone claiming Z on waivers, but that's about the only way I see the Cubs dealing him this year.

Tim-I know that some teams(Dodgers and Seattle) value their Far East scouting and have had success, but I don't think the Cubs are good at it. Fukudome has been a disappointment and Hee Seop Choi couldn't get out of other players way. We've had catching and pitching suspects who languish at A or AA. Are we missing out on the really good ones or just not enough to around? Hak-Ju Lee will be a Top 100 prospect by year's end (if he isn't already) and will likely be named the Cubs' #2 prospect by a number of prognosticators ahead of guys like Jay Jackson, Chris Archer, and Josh Vitters. I don't think we've missed out on that good one. Dae-Eun Rhee is another good one who looks like he might have recovered from Tommy John and is performing well in Daytona. Furthermore, it's kind of hard to tell how good an 18 year old prospect is in the Arizona League when the focus there is more on fundamentals and mechanics than it is on performance. The only information we really have on players in the AZ league are their stats and Arizona Phil. Most of the recent Pac Rim signings are currently playing there, so it's hard to tell if someone like Yao-Lin Wang will be a top-level pitching prospect two years from now or if he doesn't have much of a future. As for the guys in Peoria, aside from Lee, there's some amount of intrigue with Jae-Hoon Ha, Su-Min Jung, and Ryan Searle. None of them might pan out, but they've had some amount of success in their careers thus far; plus they're all relatively young for the MWL. The bottom line in all of this is, it's too early to tell whether the Cubs' Pac Rim efforts will have a positive impact on the major league team. However, the early signs have been positive.

I don't think so. Kendall and Pierre were Type B FAs who netted the Cubs an extra draft pick apiece, but that's about it, from my memory. To be quite honest, I'm not sure what to make of this information...if anything. With talented players performing well, the Cubs tend hand out extensions when those players' contracts are expiring (Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, etc.). Most of the players the Cubs have traded away were pretty much at the nadir of their careers and didn't merit much, if anything, in the way of compensation as free agents (Michael Barrett, Sammy Sosa, Corey Patterson, Greg Maddux).

Isn't Jordan Danks in the White Sox system?

I never realized it until you asked...but the answer as it relates to pocketing draft picks appears to be no. :-s

Box Scores Iowa won 14-12 Box Score CF S. Fuld 2/3, 2 BB, 4 R, 2 SB (13) SS D. Barney 2/4, BB, 3 R, RBI, 3B (3) RF B. Snyder 2/4, R, 4 RBI, 2 2B (24), 2 K, Assist (1B) 1B M. Hoffpauir 2/4, R, 3 RBI, 2B (26), HR (16) 2B B. Scales 0/4, BB, 2 K LF B. LaHair 1/3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2B (25), Assist (Home) C W. Castillo 1/4, R, 4 RBI, HR (11), K 3B M. Camp 0/4 PH J. Dubois 0/0, RBI LF T. Wright 0/1 SP J. Jackson 5 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1/3 K/BB, 2 HR, 4-9 GO-FO RP B. Parker 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0/2 K/BB, 0-1 GO-FO RP C. Zambrano 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1/1 K/BB, HBP, 2-0 GO-FO RP A. Bibens-Dirkx 1 scoreless, 2 H, 0/1 K/BB, 0-3 GO-FO RP J. Stevens 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3-0 GO-FO Daytona won 7-5 Box Score SS DJ LeMahieu 2/5, R, RBI, K, SB (14) 2B R. Flaherty 2/4, BB, R, K DH M. Brenly 1/4, BB, RBI, K RF K. Burke 1/4, R, 3B (4), K, HBP 1B R. Ridling 2/5, R, RBI, K LF G. Rohan 1/3, BB, R, 2 K 3B J. Lake 2/3, BB, R, RBI, 2B (12) SP B. Raley 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HR, 8-7 GO-FO RP M. Perconte 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO AZL Cubs won 3-0 Box Score 2B V. Bieneme 2/4, 3 R, 2 SB (10) 1B R. Cuneo 1/2, 2 RBI, K 3B D. Geiger 0/3 SS D. Harrington 0/3, K C C. Romero 0/3 DH M. Camarena 0/3, 2 K SP M. Hatley 2 scoreless, 2 H, 1/0 K/BB, 5-0 GO-FO RP H. Mayora 3 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 6-1 GO-FO RP A. Reed 3 scoreless, 2 H, 3/0 K/BB, HBP, 4-2 GO-FO RP C. Hams 1 scoreless, 0 H, 2/0 K/BB, HBP, 1-0 GO-FO DSL Cubs 1 won 4-2 Box Score CF O. Zapata 1/4, K 2B G. Amaya 1/4, R, K, SB (15) SS M. Hernandez 0/3, BB, R, SB (14), E (14, missed catch) RF D. Arcila 2/4, R, 2 RBI SP L. Villalba 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4/2 K/BB, WP, 3-6 GO-FO DSL Cubs 2 lost 13-6 Box Score 1B G. Jimenez 1/5, RBI, 3 K, E (10, fielding) PH/DH J. Rodriguez 0/1 Tennessee, Peoria, and Boise with an off day OVERALL: 4-1

E4 now.

Oh, Theriot.

He's also been a headache in the clubhouse. Link I want no part of him.

Zambrano's apology

BA has a subscriber-only puff piece on Hak-Ju Lee. There's not much of note in the article, but here's a quote.

He could just be talking about winning percentage as a way of selling this trade to Diamondbacks fans. However, if wins and losses were indeed serious considerations in making this trade, he should be fired on the spot.

The PTBNL is apparently Tyler Skaggs, not the Angels' top prospect but the 40th pick in Anaheim's 2009 draft. That makes a former first and second round pick from that draft plus Rafael Rodriguez and Saunders. Apparently Arizona likes Skaggs and Corbin more than most, so they may be viewed as the centerpieces of the deal. Link

My guess is that Siegfried is going to stay in the rotation (probably not in McNutt's spot ultimately though). Siegfried pitched 4.0 innings last week, being "stretched out" for today's start. He's had a nice season and the Cubs have always seemed high on him (starting him in the past when he was clearly overmatched). Over Cabrera, a healthy McNutt, Raley, Rhee or Rusin? I hope not. Maybe the Cubs figure a promotion is imminent? I could see Rusin going up to AA in the near future.