Outshined_One

The HS players in my hat for #16 are fairly limited. Justin O'Connor's name jumps out at me, but I'm also thinking Dylan Covey, AJ Cole, and Yordy Cabrera could all be possibilities. In the second and third round, Tony Wolters, Matt Lipka, Junior DeShields, Aaron Shipman, Ryne Stenak, Drew Cisco, and Cam Bedrosian are all on my list for those picks. It's difficult for me to know what HS players the Cubs like since there aren't a whole lot of previous picks to guide me. My Top 5 looks something like this right now... 1) Brett Eibner - I like him better as a pitcher, but if he's a hitter, he's still intriguing 2) Kolbrin Vitek - From what I've read, his bat should play anywhere, even if he has to move to the OF 3) Brandon Workman - He's a big conference name with a plus breaking pitch and a pretty good FB 4) Justin O'Connor - He's athletic, a really good bat, and supposedly signable 5) Anthony Ranaudo - I just can't shake him; the LSU connection plus being a big-bodied power pitcher just seems to fit I don't see Michael Choice making it to #16 any more. Matt Harvey's been all over the place from what I've read, although I'm still considering him. Christian Colon represents a safe bat, but I'm unsure if he's got the kinds of tools and upside the Cubs like in early draft picks. In addition to Harvey and the aforementioned HS players, Asher Wojciechowski, Gary Brown, Ryan LaMarre, and maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe James Paxton are guys I could see as options at #16. Apparently the Cubs have been linked with Wimmer...but, eh. I've seen him pitch on the Big Ten Network and I was underwhelmed.

Frankie Piliere's latest.

Box Scores Iowa lost 9-3 Box Score CF S. Fuld 1/5, K SS D. Barney 0/5, K, E (6, fielding) 3B C. Tracy 1/5, R, RBI, HR (2), K 1B J. Dubois 1/4, K, HBP, E (1, fielding) RF B. Snyder 2/4, R, 2B (13), 2 K, SB (5) DH B. Scales 1/4, K LF J. Adduci 0/3, BB, R C C. Robinson 1/3, BB, RBI 2B M. Camp 2/4, RBI, CS (2), PO (1B) SP M. Atkins 5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2/3 K/BB, HR, 7-5 GO-FO RP J. Samardzija 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/2 K/BB, WP, 5-2 GO-FO RP B. Parker 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO Tennessee won 3-0 Box Score CF T. Campana 2/5, RBI, 2 K SS M. Gonzalez 2/5 LF T. Wright 1/4, 2B (15), K DH R. Canzler 2/4, K RF M. Spencer 1/4 3B J. Vitters 1/4, R, 2 K C S. Clevenger 3/4, R 2B M. Smith 2/4, R, 2B (1), K SP A. Bibens-Dirkx 7 scoreless, 2 H, 4/0 K/BB, 7-9 GO-FO RP D. Cales 1 scoreless, 0 H, 1/1 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO Daytona won 9-3 Box Score CF B. Jackson 2/4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (2), 2 K SS DJ LeMahieu 1/5, R, RBI, 2B (7), E (5, fielding) 2B R. Flaherty 1/5, R, RBI, 2B (8), K, E (3, fielding) 1B R. Ridling 1/2, 3 BB, R RF K. Burke 1/4, R, 3 RBI, HR (4), K 3B J. Opitz 3/5, R, 2B (5), 2 K, CS (1), E (2, throw) LF J. Valdez 0/4, K, E (3, fielding) SP DE Rhee 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1/3 K/BB, HBP, 8-3 GO-FO, E (3, throw) RP J. Beliveau 1.2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP D. Patton 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 4-0 GO-FO RP M. Perconte .1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB RP M. Carrillo 1 perfect, 2/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Peoria lost 7-3 Box Score SS HJ Lee 0/3, BB, 2 K, 2 SB (15) CF L. Watkins 1/4, RBI, SB (6) 2B M. Cerda 0/3, BB 3B G. Rohan 0/3, BB, R 1B J. Bour 0/4, 2 K DH DJ Fitzgerald 0/4, RBI, K C J. Mota 1/4, R LF R. Jones 2/3, R SP SM Jung 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2/2 K/BB, WP, 5-7 GO-FO, E (2, fielding) RP L. Suarez 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1/3 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO RP R. Morla 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1/1 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP J. Leverton 1 perfect, 0-1 GO-FO OVERALL: 2-2

Meanwhile, this team is only 2 games under .500. What the hell.

The "what in the hell are we supposed to think of Brooks Raley?" train rolls on! 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

Speaking of pitching, Casey Coleman continue his run of being a reliably good workhorse. I'm not quite sure what the Cubs could do with him considering the logjam in the rotation and the fact that he'd most likely only be middle relief/mop-up as a reliever, but it's nice to have him succeeding in Iowa.

That sounds about right for me.

Robinson Chirinos started the game at C for the Smokies, but was PH for in the 1st. Weird. Also, on a related note, I forgot to mention yesterday that LHP Dustin Sasser was taken out in yesterday's Smokies game. The recap lists a soft ground ball hit to him, he made an error, and then an injury delay occurred, with Muyco coming in to replace him at pitcher. Hope he's okay.

That's the primary reason why I'd have to stop and think about a swap like Cashner for Oswalt or Castro for Oswalt. As things stand now, I don't think the Cubs have any prospects who are surefire very good players. I really like Cashner and Castro, but the fact is, prospects are an incredibly risky proposition and all of the guys in the Cubs' system have serious questions surrounding their futures. Moreover, it is really speculative to say that those guys will be with the Cubs for 10+ years, much less be very good to great for the Cubs over that stretch. While Oswalt comes with his own risks, they are not nearly as serious as Castro or Cashner. We have a pretty good idea of what to expect of him for the next few years. Moreover, he's being paid roughly market price for that production. Regardless of the Cubs' current rotation, it can always improve. I don't think Carlos Silva will continue pitching like he has so far. Ted Lilly will be a free agent after this season. The Cubs still have an outside shot at the playoffs for 2010, but a rotation with Oswalt in it would drastically improve the Cubs' chances of contending in 2011 and 2012. Moreover, it would allow the Cubs flexibility with their in-house pitching in terms of trades and the bullpen. However, the critical point that would keep me from pulling the trigger would be this: Between escalating contracts, key players becoming free agents, and possible salary cuts from the new ownership (not saying it will happen, but I wouldn't discount it), I have trouble seeing this team as a WS contender in 2011, even with Oswalt.

Box Scores Iowa won 8-2 Box Score CF S. Fuld 2/5, R SS D. Barney 1/5, R, K 3B C. Tracy 1/3, BB, R, K 1B M. Hoffpauir 0/3, BB, R, RBI, 2 K RF B. Snyder 0/2, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, K DH B. Scales 1/1, BB, R, 2 RBI PH/DH J. Dubois 0/2, K LF B. LaHair 2/4, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B (10), K C C. Robinson 1/4, RBI, K 2B M. Camp 0/3, BB SP C. Coleman 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4/0 K/BB, 2 HR, 9-3 GO-FO RP J. Berg 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/1 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO RP J. Gaub 1 scoreless, 1 H, 0-3 GO-FO RP B. Schlitter 1 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Tennessee with an off day Daytona won 5-3 Box Score CF B. Jackson 0/2, 2 BB, R, E (2, fielding) 2B DJ LeMahieu 1/3, BB, R, 2 RBI, 3B (3), K 3B R. Flaherty 1/4, R 1B R. Ridling 1/4 RF K. Burke 1/4, R, 3 RBI, HR (3), K DH J. Opitz 0/3, K, HBP C M. Brenly 2/4, R, K SS J. Lake 0/2, K, CS (6), HBP, E (15, throw) SP B. Raley 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB, HBP, 3-11 GO-FO RP A. Shafer 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4/2 K/BB, WP, 2-3 GO-FO Peoria won 2-0 Box Score SS HJ Lee 1/4, RBI, SB (13) 2B M. Cerda 1/4 3B G. Rohan 2/4 1B J. Bour 1/4, K LF DJ Fitzgerald 0/3, 2 K RF R. Jones 0/3 DH C. Thomas 1/3, R, RBI, HR (1), 2 K SP K. McNutt 5 scoreless, 2 H, 3/1 K/BB, Balk, 5-7 GO-FO RP Y. Gonzalez 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, HBP, 1-3 GO-FO RP J. Latham 1 scoreless, 0 H, 1/1 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO OVERALL: 3-0!

It ended up working out in the end, though. Still, that was a really dumb idea.

Give me some useful information from the future, o traveler of time. 2012 will be a surprisingly uneventful year.

Latest update was just posted, asking about HS players who could be options for the Cubs. Link

It's a gorgeous day for baseball. I'm envious of anyone going.

Seiler has Eibner to the Cubs...again. I'm beginning to wonder if he'll make it to 16. If he's signable for slot, he'd make sense for a bunch of teams drafting ahead of the Cubs. Keith Law also posted his mock today, but I don't have Insider access on ESPN.com. Anyone know who he has the Cubs getting?

Would you trade Castro for Oswalt straight up? At this point I wouldn't trade Castro for anyone not named Pujols, H. Ramirez, Howard, Lincecum, or Halladay. There are probably a few more, but Oswalt isn't one of them. I'd seriously consider it, especially depending on how willing Houston was to pay part of his contract or kick back another piece or two in exchange for Castro. If the trade was Oswalt for Castro straight up, I'd probably say no.

Chiefs are taking on one of the top Cardinals prospects in Shelby Miller today.

Box Scores Iowa lost 1-0 Box Score CF S. Fuld 0/4, BB, K SS D. Barney 0/3, BB, K RF B. Snyder 2/3, BB, Assist (2B) DH J. Dubois 0/3, BB, K 1B M. Hoffpauir 0/4, K 3B B. Scales 1/4, 2B (13) C C. Robinson 3/4 LF J. Adduci 0/3, 2 K 2B M. Camp 0/4, 2 K SP T. Diamond 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 8/2 K/BB, HR, 5-4 GO-FO RP J. Jackson 3 scoreless, 3 H, 2/1 K/BB, 5-2 GO-FO Tennessee won 3-2 Box Score CF T. Campana 1/3, BB, RBI, 2 K, HBP SS M. Gonzalez 1/3, BB, RBI, K LF T. Wright 1/4, K PH/C S. Clevenger 1/4, K RF M. Spencer 2/3, BB, R, K 3B J. Vitters 0/3, E (5, fielding) 2B T. Thomas 0/3, BB, R, K PH M. Smith 1/1, R, RBI, HR (1) PH R. Canzler 0/0, BB SP A. Cabrera 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3/2 K/BB, 9-5 GO-FO RP A. Maestri 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO RP J. Muyco 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO RP R. Buchter 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 0-1 GO-FO Daytona won 4-2 Box Score CF B. Jackson 0/3, 2 BB, R, 2 K 3B DJ LeMahieu 1/4, BB, R, CS (2), PO (1B), E (4, fielding) 2B R. Flaherty 2/4, BB, R, 3 RBI, HR (1) DH R. Ridling 1/3, BB RF K. Burke 1/4, R 1B J. Opitz 1/4 LF J. Valdez 0/4, 2 K SS J. Lake 0/3, BB, 2 K SP C. Rusin 5 scoreless, 2 H, 6/2 K/BB, 7-1 GO-FO RP C. Siegfried 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3/3 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP M. Perconte 1.1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO RP L. Sommer 1 perfect, 2/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Peoria lost 8-7 in the 10th Box Score SS L. Watkins 0/3, BB, R, SB (5), HBP, E (7, fielding) 2B M. Cerda 3/5, R, RBI, 2B (6), E (6, fielding) DH G. Rohan 1/5, R, 2B (13), K 1B J. Bour 1/5, R, 3 K LF DJ Fitzgerald 1/4, BB, R, RBI RF N. Perez 2/3, R, 3 RBI, 3B (1), K, E (1, fielding) RF R. Jones 0/2, K C J. Mota 2/4, BB, R, 2 RBI, HR (1), K, PB (4) 3B C. Thomas 1/5, 2 K, E (1, fielding) SP N. Struck 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2/2 K/BB, HR, 6-6 GO-FO RP R. Morla 1.1 scoreless, 0 H, 1/1 K/BB, WP, 3-0 GO-FO, E (1, pickoff) RP J. Nagel 2+ IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 1-2 GO-FO RP J. Leverton 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1/1 K/BB, 4-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 2-2

I was at the game last night and lucked out getting to see Cashner. Got some pics that I will try to upload later. There is no doubt that he pitched a good game, but I have to question the scouting report from TCR. It is possible that Wellman brought a radar gun to the game or sat behind a scout with a radar gun, but according to the scoreboard radar gun Cashner wasn't pitching in the mid-90's. Do you happen to remember whether anyone else pitched above 94 last night? Minor League Ballparks are notorious for having inaccurate radar guns, so I'm curious as to whether it was a few ticks off.

Really? He's a 32 year old who's having one of the best seasons of his career. Plus, he's only under contract through 2011 (with a 2012 $16m option/$2m buyout). I know he wants to be traded to a contender, which likely rules the Cubs out, but if Hendry has an opportunity to get Oswalt in a fair deal, he should take it. Heck, I don't think anyone in the system should be off-limits in a trade for Oswalt.

Random question: does anyone know what happened to Aussie signees Adam Spencer and Cody Hams? Arizona Phil hasn't mentioned Spencer once this season and Hams last pitched about a month ago at EXST, but hasn't been heard from since then.

Juan Yasser Serrano should be on the "worth tracking" list, especially since he made his debut yesterday.

Box Scores Iowa won 11-7 Box Score CF S. Fuld 1/5, R, K SS D. Barney 3/5, R, RBI, 2B (9) 2B B. Scales 2/5, 2 R, RBI LF J. Dubois 0/0, 4 BB, 3 R, RBI, HBP 1B B. LaHair 1/4, BB, R, RBI, 2B (8), 2 K RF J. Adduci 3/5, R, 4 RBI C C. Robinson 1/5, RBI 3B M. Camp 1/4, BB, R, K PH C. Tracy 0/1 SP JR Mathes 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2/1 K/BB, 2 HR, 8-7 GO-FO RP J. Berg 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1/1 K/BB, HR, WP, 0-1 GO-FO RP J. Samardzija 1 scoreless, 0 H, 0/1 K/BB, 0-1 GO-FO RP B. Parker 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HR, 1-2 GO-FO Tennessee lost 4-1 Box Score CF T. Campana 2/4, R 2B N. Samson 0/4 LF T. Wright 1/4, 2B (14) RF M. Spencer 1/4, K 1B R. Canzler 1/4, 2B (6), 2 K C S. Clevenger 2/4, 2B (6) 3B J. Vitters 0/3 RF T. Thomas 0/1, K SS M. Gonzalez 0/4, E (5, fielding) 3B M. Smith 0/1 SP HW Chen 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 6/2 K/BB, HR, 2 WP, 3-8 GO-FO RP D. Sasser 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1/3 K/BB, 3-2 GO-FO, E (1, throw) RP J. Muyco .2 perfect, 1-1 GO-FO Daytona won 9-7 Box Score CF B. Jackson 0/6, R, 2 K 2B DJ LeMahieu 4/4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 SB (7) DH R. Flaherty 1/4, BB 1B R. Ridling 0/4, RBI, K 3B J. Opitz 4/5, R, 2 RBI, 2B (4), K C M. Brenly 0/5, 2 K SS J. Lake 2/4, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (3), 2 SB (7), E (14, fielding) SP C. Archer 3.1 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2/3 K/BB, WP, 7-1 GO-FO RP O. Martinez 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1/3 K/BB, 1-3 GO-FO RP M. Carrillo 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5/0 K/BB, HBP, 0-2 GO-FO RP M. Perconte 1.1 scoreless, 1 H, 3/0 K/BB, HBP, 0-1 GO-FO Peoria won 6-5 Box Score SS HJ Lee 2/5, 2 R, 2B (9) 2B L. Watkins 1/4, BB, 2 R 3B G. Rohan 2/5, 2 R, 3B (1), 2 K 1B J. Bour 2/4, BB, 3 RBI LF DJ Fitzgerald 3/4, BB, K RF N. Perez 3/5, 3 RBI, 2B (4) DH R. Jones 0/5, K SP R. Whitenack 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2/3 K/BB, 6-8 GO-FO RP J. Latham 1.1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 3-1

Box Score Iowa won 1-0 Box Score CF/LF J. Adduci 2/4, R, 2 K SS D. Barney 2/4, K 3B B. Scales 0/3, K 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/3 RF B. Snyder 0/2, BB, 2 K LF B. LaHair 0/3 C C. Robinson 0/3 2B M. Camp 1/3 SP A. Cashner 7 scoreless, 2 H, 7/0 K/BB, HBP, 11-3 GO-FO RP B. Schlitter 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 K/BB, 4-0 GO-FO Tennessee won 10-8 Box Score CF T. Campana 1/4, BB, R, RBI SS N. Samson 3/5, R, RBI, E (3, fielding) LF T. Wright 2/3, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B (13), HR (8), Assist (3B) RF M. Spencer 0/3 C R. Chirinos 4/4, 2 RBI, 3 2B (13), E (4, pickoff) RF/1B R. Canzler 1/5 3B J. Vitters 0/4, R, 2 K, HBP 2B T. Thomas 2/3, 2 BB, 2 R, 2B (7), K PH M. Smith 0/0, BB, R SP C. Carpenter 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3/2 K/BB, HR, WP, 10-1 GO-FO, E (1, pickoff) RP R. Buchter .1 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 0/2 K/BB, WP, 0-1 GO-FO RP D. Cales 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, HR, 2-2 GO-FO Daytona won 6-1 Box Score DH B. Jackson 2/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B (8), K SS DJ LeMahieu 2/5, R, RBI, 2B (6), 3B (2) 2B R. Flaherty 2/5, RBI, 2 K, E (2, fielding) 1B R. Ridling 1/5, R, RBI RF K. Burke 1/4, BB, R, K 3B J. Opitz 3/4, RBI, 2B (3) CF J. Valdez 1/4, R, 2B (1), 2 K SP R. Dolis 5.1 scoreless, 6 H, 6/0 K/BB, 6-3 GO-FO RP A. Shafer 2.2 scoreless, 1 H, 4/0 K/BB, 1-2 GO-FO, E (1, pickoff) RP L. Sommer 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3-0 GO-FO Peoria lost 4-3 Box Score SS HJ Lee 3/4, 2 R, PO (1B) 2B L. Watkins 1/2, BB, R, 2B (5), K LF G. Rohan 3/4, 2 RBI, 2B (12) RF N. Perez 0/4, RBI, K DH DJ Fitzgerald 1/4 C J. Mota 0/4 1B R. Jones 3/4, 2B (8), E (5, missed catch) 3B C. Thomas 0/4, K SP J. Antigua 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5/3 K/BB, Balk, 5-1 GO-FO RP L. Suarez 2.1 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, 3-2 GO-FO RP J. Leverton 1.2 scoreless, 0 H, 0/1 K/BB, 5-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 3-1

It's impossible to say at this point. Hell, it'll probably be impossible to say come draft day. This draft currently looks like it has a very strong Top 3 in Harper-Taillon-Machado (all of whom likely will go in the first three picks)...and then it turns into a mess. Frankie Piliere over at MLB Fanhouse said as much in a recent Live Chat: Andy Seiler echoed that today in response to a question about potential surprises in the draft. Making things even harder to predict for the Cubs is the fact that Tom Ricketts has been talking quite seriously about increasing the scouting, player development, and draft budgets for this team. The Cubs typically don't go much over slot, especially in early rounds. But this year...who knows for sure? If I had to guess, I'd probably say the Cubs take RHP/OF Brett Eibner out of Arkansas in the first round. He has #2 upside as a pitcher, although he is rather intriguing as a potential RF/CF who could hit for power. I don't like the odds of him making it to the Cubs since he's been steadily rising up the charts in recent weeks, but if he's there at 16, he'd make sense and be a very good pick.