Jason Ross

I'm just not sure what the Cubs can do unless they're willing to DFA Kyle before May 1st. 1. He can't go to Triple-A with a fake injury. The MLB just nailed the Mets for this. Kyle has been awful. It'll be clear as day. 2. He doesn't really profile as a BP arm. The velo and stuff just isn't useful there. Maybe he mops up, but it'll be hard to really get much feedback there. 3. He *could* accept a demotion. But when was the last time any MLB player accepted a demotion on their own like this? 4. Back to the original point. Are the Cubs really cutting bait on a 2.5 fWAR SP last year after 5 starts? With no velo drop? I really don't know what the Cubs can do. They're in a rock and a hard place situation. You can make an argument he's done. You can make an argument he's not. I am glad I don't have the make the choice.

They don't have any when they play, sure, but wouldn't you rather get 2-3 PAs of a LHH in a game than sit him in the bench in the event you *maybe* need one? And as @Transmogrified Tigerpointed out, other than a C, who do you really want to PH for? I don't like Tauchmann that much, bur against a RHP, start Mike.

Canario can hit against LHP. But I'd rather let Tauchmann hit against RHP. Canario just isn't very exciting as a primary OF'er. And I say this as someone who no one would classify as "president of the Tacuhamnn fan club".

Wesneski down. Mastro down. Wisdom/Taillon up. Rotation will be: Friday: Taillon Sat: Assad and Imanaga (order TBA) Sun: Hendricks

@Bertz I wanted to test your theory about the way pitchers are approaching Caissie and I think you nailed it. Below are pitch frequencies for a handful of different hitters at Iowa... The other three are different styles of hitters, some are right handed, others more power hitters, PCA a free swinger. No one is getting the refusal to come inside like Caissie.

The one thing I'll say is this: Wicks did not get a single out on the sinker yesterday. He gave up two hits on the sinker, but it was mostly foul balls and balls out of the zone. I think the sinker is a useful pitch, but the changeup got three ground balls, the fastball two, and the sinker two: both hits, one hard hit. Overall though, I agree that he's not entirely there yet, but I like a lot of the new stuff. He's clearly working on adding to the whiff and working through a new version of his fastball. A little trial and error

I was actually wondering this yesterday...it felt like maybe a one day call up and then a send down for an arm they could use over the next few days.

I think a few things are happening with Wicks: 1. He's working through an improved fastball velocity wise. Throwing the fastball up is new and I think he's struggled a bit with locatiion. 2. He's working on balancing how often he should throw the fastball. The good news is that yesterday, there was a bit of a change. First, he threw a lot more first strikes; 13 of 20 hitters saw first pitch strikes. Second, a 6:2 ground ball to fly ball rate. He also threw his changeup more, throwing it 22 times to 27 fastballs. I think he'll throw the changeup more when he's throwing more strikes in general.

I'm less worried about their current record, and more considered about their current talent level. Every team (except one) on that list is a playoff contending team, and I bet when we look back at the end of the year, at least three (and really, could be five) of them make the playoffs. Sure, they might not be off and running on 100+ game win levels, but part of that is because the Dodgers, Mariners and Diamondbacks all lost two of three to the Cubs to begin with. There's a world where the Mariners and the D'Backs are 9-7 and the Dodgers are 12-6 and we're saying the Cubs (8-9) had a really tough start because we played four team 3 of 4 teams in a row with over .500 records.

Bellibomb and the lead.

Glad to see Horton breeze through last night. The angle on his first game was hard to tell what he was doing, but he didn't look...as sharp...as he did last night his first go. That's not a critique, it was his first start of the year, but he just absolutely dominated last night. Can't remember who to give them the proper credit, but someone on twitter mentioned that what Cade Horton does is the opposite of "nibble" and I can't agree more. Horton goes through brick walls. And that brick wall is the hitter.

Welcome to the boards! While I agree, Amaya probably shoulders blame (as do a handful of others) in the game last night, you should never expect to win a game when you've given up seven runs by the fourth inning. The only reason Amaya was in a position to let a wild pitch/passed ball debate to even begin with is because the offense stormed back. And it was Amaya with not one, but two extra base hits that helped you get into that position to begin with. Could Amaya have done more on those? Probably, and they ended up being costly. Little also shoulders blame for throwing some really iffy pitches there. But saying he cost the win...I think that's losing the forest for the trees, as well. Amaya wasn't the reason they lost.

Maybe. His K/BB numbers are significantly better 1st time through. But he's still giving up a .418 wOBA against first time through. So he's getting hit still. I really don't know what you do. Maybe mop up duty, but I can't imagine his stuff ever being useful in even a 7th inning role as of right now. I feel for the guy. Always loved Hendricks. But as of right now this is a shell of the guy. Hope it's mechanical. Fear the clock is inching towards midnight.

It depends on *why* the command is gone. If this is a mechanical flaw then it's something that can be regained. But age and regression also hits control and command much the same way a batters hand speed dies off and if this is Hendricks at a point where it's more than mechanical it really may not come back. For the Cubs they're in a tough spot with Hendricks. Nothing he does profiles well out of the pen, but they're getting a point where he's likely not one of the five best starting options...at least not now. The league just cracked down on the Mets with phantom injuries. So I'm not sure how the Cubs get Hendricks to work on the command (if it's of the mechanical ilk).

Yeah the defense hasn't been good this year. I think he's going to end up sizing out of SS as is. so it might be moot if it's a "can't play short" more so than a "just isn't good at defense" thing. Always hard to scout defense via the potato-quality of MiLB streams, and I choose to just leave that portion of MiLB futures to the experts, so I can't really speak to which it is, however.

Not sure it means a ton, but some hopefulness coming from Hoyer on the Suzuki end.

I think the help at MB is coming, but it'll be a bit. Mule, Wiggins, Rosin, Verniche should all start to make their way to the team over the next few weeks/months. There's a few interesting names from the 2023 draft, but they haven't fully hit their stride, like Carter Trice and Bowser. The hope is that those guys graduate, but then get replaced with the next round.

Busch didn't have terrible splits against LHP in Triple-A. He actually struck out at a better rate against LHP than RHP last year. What does seem to go is the power. I don't think Busch should be treated as a full-platoon option at first and this feels like the kind of LHP that Busch should be given goes against. With the Marlins sporting a heavy rotation on lefties, he'll probably sit once or twice later in the week already. I'd be inclined to have him start tonight.

The Chicago Cubs are currently getting key contributions from rookies Michael Busch, Ben Brown, and Luke Little. How has the next wave of Cubs' prospects faired in their second week of action? And who might be next? Image courtesy of © GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK With all of the excitement of the home opener, the sweep of the Rockies, and taking two of three from the Dodgers, it would be entirely understandable if you missed that last weekend was also the first weekend of a full Cubs minor-league slate. How did the young Cubs fare? Iowa Cubs (4-2) On the road against the St. Paul Saints, the Iowa Cubs kept the good times rolling (at least in the win column) by taking four of six from the Minnesota Twins' affiliate. The Cubs will be back at home this week, playing the Reds' Triple-A team, the Louisville Bats, as they look to win a third straight series. ?Jameson Taillon: 3.2 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 0 R, 0 ER: In what will be his last minor-league tune-up before making his return to the Cubs, Taillon looked very sharp. Throwing just under 70 pitches, Taillon blanked the Saints for almost four innings. While he's still working on his stamina, his return will be good news for the Cubs, who have had a skeleton crew for a rotation for most of the 2024 season so far. ?Luis Vazquez: 324 wRC+ 21.7 K%, 17.1 BB%, 3 HR: That'll do, Luis, that'll do. The shortstop, who was added to the 40-man roster this winter, keeps putting pressure on the Cubs to eventually give him a look at the MLB level. In many organizations, that time would have come by now, but being blocked by Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner isn't making it easy. With that said, if an injury were to occur, it'd likely be Vázquez getting a call to fill in, at least partially. ?Matt Mervis: 280 wRC+, 34.8 K%, 4.3 BB%, 4 HR: Matt Mervis had a really good week in the power department, hitting four home runs. The strikeout rate is a bit troublesome, but overall on the season, the man called Mash has had a nice start. I'm giving it a few extra weeks to start to look into the Statcast data to see if there's been an appreciable change in approach, but Mervis is doing well to force himself into a position to be called up if an injury requires it. ? Pete-Crow Armstrong: -56 wRC+, 57.9 K%, 0 BB%: Eleven strikeouts in four games will land you on this list. Woof. There's not much more to say about a no-good, rough, week for the center fielder. Let's just hope it's a blip. ?‍⚕️ Kohl Franklin: If you missed it, Franklin experienced forearm discomfort in his first start of Triple-A. I'm not going to post the video, but it didn't look good. With the recent addition of Julio Teheran on a minor-league contract, I fear the worst for the right-hander. For someone who's worked very hard this year on his command/control and who will be a minor-league free agent at season's end, I sincerely hope it's not a UCL tear. It didn't look good. Tennessee Smokies (2-3) Weather played a large part in the Smokies' trip to Chattanooga this week. With wet and stormy weather early in the week, the Smokies lost two of five, including dropping both sides of a doubleheader on Saturday. The Smokies return home this week to host the Montgomery Biscuits. ? Matt Shaw: 314 wRC+, 25 K%, 20 BB%, 1 3b, 2 HR: Shaw's week was so good that when I originally looked at his stat line, I thought his 314 wRC+ was so high that it had to be his batting average. The K's are up a wee bit right now, but so are the walks. Regardless, Shaw looks like a machine at the Double-A level and I wonder just how long the Cubs will go before they have seen enough and move him to Iowa. ?Moises Ballesteros: 224 wRC+, 11.8 K%, 17.6 BB%, 1 2b, 1 HR: Much better week from Ballesteros. Big Mo hit his first Double-A home run (a shot down at his ankles, it felt like) and walked more than he struck out. ? Kevin Alcantara: -24 wRC+, 35 K%, 13 BB%: Alcantára does not have a hit yet on the 2024 season. We're just a handful of games in, so there's no reason to panic, but I think we can all agree this isn't the best start for the Jaguar. Hopefully, a good week will come next and he'll get off and running. ? James Triantos: -17 wRC+, 15 K%, 10 BB%: When you lose three of five, it's probable that your best players struggled. In this case, some of the culprits are James Triantos and the aforementioned Alcantára. Triantos had a good first series, but didn't crush it this week. That's okay! Hopefully, next week is a bounceback for him and the club in general. South Bend Cubs (2-4) South Bend had their first home series of the year spoiled by the visiting Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Much like Tennessee, South Bend had to deal with rainouts and a doubleheader. Upward and forward, the Cubs go on the road to Beloit this week. ? Brett Bateman: 123 wRC+ 30.4 K%, 21.7 BB%, 2 2b: The strikeout rate is a bit high, but Bateman has barely struck out over his MiLB career, so I'll ignore it. Bateman, a favorite of NSBB, has started the year well. I still have some hesitations over his profile, but the more he hits, the more I'm a believer. ?‍♂️ Jefferson Rojas: 202 wRC+, 4.5 K%, 0 BB%, 1 3b, 1 HR: At this point, you're probably wondering why the shrug here; Rojas crushed it at the plate. He's also up to five errors on the season. So the good news is that Rojas is killing it at the plate, but he's been a bit shaky defensively. His sticking at shortstop is a coin flip; he might shift to second or third base down the road, but if he can stay at short, all the better. Hopefully, small mistakes early in the year are just that and will be ironed out. The bat is playing well above his age group. ? Will Sanders: 2 IP, 2 K, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 ER: Making his first start since being drafted with the Cubs, Sanders struggled with command and control. The real hope here is that he's just warming up and we'll shrug this off until later. It's not a terrible outing, but it's not good. It's just one. There are many more to go for Sanders. ? Tyler Schlaffer: 2.2 IP, 2 K, 4 BB, 4 R, 4 ER: On one hand, it's really good to see Schlaffer making appearances again, as he missed the entire 2023 season. Schlaffer had some helium in 2022, so the hope is that he can recapture some of that in 2024. Sadly, this appearance wasn't it and he's still rusty. No worries yet, lots of time! Myrtle Beach (1-5) Making a trip down to face the Columbia Fireflies in Columbia, Georgia, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans struggled to get off the ground. Winning just one of six, it was a bad week for the Pelicans overall. Next up, a home series against Kannapolis. ? Reginal Preciado: 191 wRC+, 17.9 K%, 3.5 BB%, 1 2b: Okay, there still isn't a ton of power or plate discipline being shown, but this is much better from Preciado, who's struggled since the Yu Darvish trade. There were high hopes for the Panamanian a few years ago, and he's struggled. Hopefully, a quick start will get Preciado promoted to South Bend and get his career back on track. Good week! ? Juan Bello: 3.1 IP, 5 K, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 ER: Another solid outing for Bello. The right-hander is up to 12 strikeouts in just over six innings. The 20-year-old is starting to become a name to keep tabs on based on his first two starts of the season. ? Drew Bowser: -63 wRC+, 40 K%, 0 BB%: The 20th-round selection out of Stanford struggled in his professional debut in Myrtle Beach. Struggling to make contact, the first baseman is going to need to hit if he's got any future as an MLB hitter. Let's hope as the year warms up, so, too, does Bowser. View full article

Good to see Valdez back.

Yeah, I'm pleasantly surprised. His Triple-A data, especially this year, looked horrible. He looked toasted. I don't know what's happened, or why he's gone from 91mph to hitting 95mph in,,,a weekk, but Keegan at 95 mph plays. I'm more than happy to look like the idiot who wrote an article on Friday about how bad I thought he was going to do, only to end up with egg on my face.

I would guess based on the amount of time spent playing already, the answer will be "Tauchmann" most of the time, which is probably the correct call. With that said, I think Canario would be given opportunities, I'm sure, and he's got enough electricity in him that he could really add some thump.

Yeah...that feels like an injury. Who/where/what? I'm not entirely sure. But it feels like one. My best hope is that this is Mastro down, and maybe Suzuki taking 2-3 days off for Canario. What I fear is an IL trip.

It's an MiLB contract.