CaliforniaRaisin

Keeping/acquiring guys like Graham, Ifedi and Dalton at the expense of better players like Fuller and Leno seems like a mistake.

If rather have dumped Graham.

As suspected, Franklin and Márquez are healthy: The stuff in there about Ed Howard and Cam Sanders sounds fun too.

Patterson isn't pitching this year. Looks like he had surgery and tweeted he'll see us in 2022. Yep. That sucks.

So these are the pitchers who weren't on a roster today and reasonably should have been: Tyson Miller Brailyn Márquez - still getting ramped up Jack Patterson Brendon Little Kohl Franklin Riley Thompson - injured in his last start in Arizona Chris Clarke Michael McAvene Hunter Bigge Josh Burgmann Luke Little Yovanny Cruz I guess you could include Benjamin Rodríguez and Jeremiah Estrada on that list too. Hopefully most of these guys are just slowly getting ramped up (especially after the weird season last year) and aren't injured.

The highlights: Cam Sanders, Ethan Roberts, Manuel Rodríguez, Miguel Amaya, Christopher Morel and Andy Weber No Brennen or Brailyn

Iowa: The highlights: Cory Abbott, Keegan Thompson, Michael Rucker, Robert Stock, Brad Wieck and Trent Giambrone.

Sounds like we’ll have to wait a few more days for Brennen Davis too:

Nice list. I like Eskridge more than Brown at the end but can’t quibble. I’d trade down unless Jenkins or E. Moore somehow are still available at 52 (you can’t pass up that type of talent at a position of need). Guess you can also trade Anthony Miller for draft capital.

Kohl Franklin is the big omission for me. Hope he’s not hurt.

I've read several defenses of that and I've actually seen a scouting report that listed pre-snap reads as a strength of his ...you never know until he gets on the field. I am certainly a little concerned that if this is an issue, I definitely don't trust the Bears to coach it out of him. But I was genuinely surprised they didnt pick Jones when I found out the Bears traded up since he seems to be the opposite. Lacks things that Fields is good at but the consensus seems to be that he is really good at reading the field and going through progressions. After the Mitch disaster I figured they'd go for a safe pick. I'm personally happy they took Fields, definitely the higher ceiling and more explosive playmaking ability. But there have been many QBs that have all the tools and then struggle to pick up the mental side of the game. Defenses are going to be faster, schemes are likely going to be more complex. FWIW Watson's scouting report listed weaknesses with "Field Vision" and "reading progressions". Dak Prescott's were "can be confused with complex defensive schemes" and "makes poor decisions". Josh Allen also had the "makes poor decisions" label. Not quite the same as pre-snap reads but in a similar category of the mental side of QBing. We'll see Herbert had the same “issue” coming out. And not everyone agrees that he’s a one read QB (read the whole article - it’s great and drops a comp to a bigger Russell Wilson):

Myrtle Beach (low-A): The highlights: Richard Gallardo, DJ Herz, Ethan Hearn, Ed Howard, Luis Verdugo, Jordan Nwogu, Yeison Santana and Yohendrick Piñango.

South Bend (high-A): The highlights: Ryan Jensen, Max Bain, Burl Carraway, Chase Strumpf, Cole Roederer and Yonathan Perlaza.

Let’s go. So much happier than the Trubisky pick and trade up.

I'm amazed at how Fields has fallen from clear #2 pick at the start of the college football season to fourth or fifth QB on the board. Wilson seems awesome, but he did it for one season against weak competition. Jones seems to have a limited ceiling compared to the other four in his athleticism, and also did it for one season with an NFL roster around him. Lance hasn't played since 2019 and started for one season, too. Fields has had some awful games, but he also balled out against Clemson after taking that big hit. If he fells to 13 somehow I would expect Pace to go up and get him. And I'd be hapy about it. Not sure what it would take to get there, maybe a 2nd and next years first? What is the biggest reservation people have with Fields? I've read something about how he went to his first option like 85% of the time last season or something so there were questions about his ability to go through progressions in the NFL when the defenses are faster and the first option isn't always open like at OSU, but that's about it. Athleticism, arm strength, accruacy all see 90+ percentile. There is discussion about social biases in place and its a fair discussion but anything else from a pure football standpoint that is giving these teams pause? Herbert was largely a one read guy in college too and looks fantastic doing a lot more now in the NFL. You don't know what a guy can do in a different offense, tasked with more responsibility until he actually tries it. I'd rather take the skills and traits though (not that I think the Bears will get Fields).

Harry Ford went 18 to the Cardinals.

On AZ Phil's depth chart, Ademan was listed as the AA SS until a few days ago. He's now listed as the High-A 2B. That sounds like a decision (and demotion has been made). On that same depth chart, Luis Verdugo, who is still considered by some to be the Cubs best defensive SS prospect, is listed as a 3B in Low-A. All of this is fungible, of course. Howard will undoubtedly get the majority of starts at SS in Myrtle Beach, but I'm sure Verdugo will spend some time there as well with spot starts and rare late-inning shifts. I also asked Phil about Cristian Hernandez's status and likelihood of playing in Mesa this year (currently he's listed on Phil's Dominican roster). He said Covid rules will prohibit much, if any, movement from the DSL to stateside. But Phil's not certain what the Cubs might do with him once the full season teams ship out in a few days. His whole response was interesting:

https://www.thecubreporter.com/04272021/pelicans-know-way-beat-san-jose Lot of interesting names in the box score for Myrtle Beach (low-A): 2B Yeison Santana 0/4, K SS Ed Howard IV 1/4, 3 K, 1B DH #2 Jordan Nwogu 1/3, BB, K, 1B LF Yohendirck Piñango 2/3, BB, K, 2B, 1B 3B Luis Verdugo 0/2, BB, K C Ethan Hearn 0/3 SP Manuel Espinoza 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR RP Richard Gallardo: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K This was the last minor league ST game. The minor league season starts next Tuesday.