Jason Ross

Gracia is probably my favorite "if he's there, you just take him" pick. I just don't think he's going to be there, but a combination of a pitcher-run and just over thinking could leave him at 23. Run to the podium.

Ah, a perfect, no issue, low pressure, scoreless inning.

Not the worst send. Required a really well executed play.

A good reminder that last year Pedro Ramirez was barely a top-10 prospect organizationally and had zero PA's above Double-A and Matt Shaw, while he had a promising run of games in the second half, had a 93 wRC+ on the year. It's easy with hindsight to see Cade Horton blowing out his arm, Steele's slow recovery, Ramirez's breakout today and Bregman's poor start in Chicago and yell this from the rooftops, but it's not so clear cut. None of this is saying that Bregman has been good, that the Cubs' did enough to address the pitching last year, or anything, only that posts like these ignore how people would have probably felt had the Cubs left 3b open to not block Pedro Ramirez in January.

I'm not super worried about the BABIP. He's pulling the ball a lot with solid to better than solid batted ball data. That's a recipe for running high BABIP (minus the speed). As is being on the older side of things in terms of "a prospect" and being a repeater. That said, I could see him being like Patrick Wisdom (not in player comp, but career arc) where he farts around in Triple-A for years posting good numbers, finally gets a shot to stick around and does so as a useful player for a few years. A Jeimer Candelario-Lite, perhaps?

Greg mentioned today in his discord that the feeling he gets is that the Cubs think Jackson sticks at catcher. One thing that I've wrestled with this AM is that the two red flags within DJ's profile are: receiving as a catcher and contact/approach. Internally, the Cubs have done pretty wonderfully recently with working with catcher defense (Amaya has come a long way, Owen Ayers, etc) as well as molding hitters within their best profile both mechanically and approach wise. Many time a pick, especially at 23, is as much about the player as the organizational fit, and the two feel like they fit together well. And to be fair, Roboscout projects DJ as the best hitter in this draft. There are plenty of flaws in that, but it's a fun thought especially considering Andrew Fischer was your top spot last year and that's working out well so far.

I'm feeling like we're starting to finally see the smoke on the Cubs' pick. Based on some things I've read in Greg's Discord server, the comments from Broz and Kantrovitz, and now even BA changing from Mason Edwards (who had been a consistent picker) to now, Daniel Jackson, I feel like for the first time all cycle, I think I have a decent guess as to where they'd go. I had predicted gun-to-head yesterday Deitz just because I could see people getting wow'd by the potential upside, but I think today I'd guess it's going to be DJ. This matches up well with comments across the board. And while the Cubs don't normally go with a lot of capital into the catcher's position, I think the power/speed/arm combo here lends you to believe a corner OF bat is more than possible making it a bit more of a "Cubs" hitter profile. He doesn't have to be a catcher due to other circumstances, and because of that, could break that mold.

To be fair to Preller, everyone said the same thing about Juan Soto and their eventual trade. Less control is less control, and Leo de Vries was both a shocking send at the time and today, a sunk cost.

I'm fine if he wants to pull a Chris Flexen; be useful when the team needed a body until, one day, he just couldn't keep it up any more. Really they need like, 7-8 more good results-appearances before a blow out or two would make him a DFA candidate come the deadline. All of this assuming he doesn't keep getting better, obviously.

Not sure how Trent Thornton has kept this up, but hey, keep going buddy.

The hope is that he can be more like this more often. He has had such a start-stop nature to his year.

Boyd dealing.

There also weren't many good rental SP's available. Merril Kelly and the coming off TJS Shane Beiber were all you had. Mize, Gray, Peralta, etc, are all better than anyone there, That doesn't even factor in Skubal. So I do think the SP market will be different. We may not see the controlled ones go, but most of the rental market will have to go. It should help prices a bit.

I said this on the podcast last week, but I'll say this: we are getting to a point where the reference point to what Pete Crow-Armstrong is doing right now isn't anyone other than...himself. Like, this is 1:1 type stuff. You can squint and see X or Y, but really? Pete's comp might just be...Pete for a lack of a better way to say it. Once you get in rarified air it's tough to find a comp.

As much as I continue to think Hartshorn probably is a little too high and Rojas is probably a little too low, it's impressive that the system entered the year as "one of the least exciting" and in just a few months, and even before the draft has managed to get to essentially "average".

Not saying how I fully feel about Rabe and his future as...I really don't know how I feel about him yet, but I am *strongly* against drafting any relief pitching profile in the first unless it's coming with a clear savings on slot money. I don't think Rabe is coming in that south of slot, so either you like him as a starter or I'm a big pass. I could get behind the younger Wiggins (who has reliever scouting reports) as a good underslot and then spreading the wealth with picks 2, 3 and 4 for prep guys. But at 23 it's too early to be drafting near full slot quick moving relievers. You can find relief guys in the draft up and down. Your first round pick is kind of your best shot at an impact guy. So take someone you like for around slot or go way way under. But if you're sitting on Rabe thinking "yeah probably a reliever" than I'm out as I think that's a poor use of slot.

Oh man, bummer. It's dos a cero.

Yeah. This is all nonsense. "Corruption is bad if I am not involved...but if I am and it benefits me, I'll defend it." Sadly, for everyone, FIFA wasn't going to allow the USA's new golden boy to miss the biggest match at their home world cup. They should have solved that with just a yellow card. But here we are. But this time it does benefit me haha.

Yep. He's up. One former Brewer reject for another.

Shelby Miller is throwing BP in Arizona.

Bryse Wilson seems to be DFA'd. Was seen leaving today with packed bags

Well, the results haven't been ideal for pitching. But let's also be real; where did Justin Steele, Cade Horton and Daniel Palecia come from? It hasn't been entirely barren, either. That number needs to be more, especially today, but we too often act like it's zero. And there is more coming. There are some interesting arms in the system, and I'd guess more than one will pan out in some fashion to add to the list. Plus, on the flip side, where did Ian Happ, PCA, Javy Baez, Willson Contreras, Michael Busch (acquired for drafted prospects), and Nico Hoerner come from? Among others (such as Matt Shaw, Pedro Ramirez, Moises Ballesteros...) The pitching can certainly be better. But when we complain about the pitching development it also ignores how well the Cubs have done with position players. They have drafted and developed there phenomenally. So there are two sides of the coin. If you want the Cubs to be experts at both simultaneously, then I think that's an unfair ask. I would like it a little more balanced, but because the Cubs have spent their prospect capital on hitters, they have panned out well there. Very few teams have developed as many players as the Cubs have there, as well. It's probably best to look at everything holistically. Because more lottery tickets into pitching almost assuredly means their position player output is much lower, too. With no guarantee those pitching lottery tickets panned out.

I'll agree that the Cubs should invest more in the pitching. But blaming them for "blocked prospects" is a misnomer. The "blocked prospects" are IFA guys like Rojas who they signed half a decade ago, or players like Kevin Alcantara who were traded for in 2021. Prospects are lottery tickets that don't begin to pay off for three, four, five (or more) years in the future. And it becomes impossible to guess which ones will cash out and which won't or what your organizational needs will be when they do. A good reminder; the Cubs drafted Cade Horton top-10 and he's on the shelf with TJS. Just because you invest, doesn't mean they pay out when you want them, if they ever do at all. The Cubs should definitely buy more lottery tickets into arms but there's no guarantee in four years when most start to cash in that they also won't be blocked. Or that they cash out. Their current system has meant that the Cubs have taken what looked like a bottom-5 system entering the year but has it probably sitting middle pack. Lastly, there are more than one ways to skin a cat. Prospects, are, at the end of the day, assets. They can be used directly to play for the org or to buy known quantities. The Cubs system should pay out here in one way or another.