Regular Show

[tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet] Just get it done with and relocate the franchise somewhere better.

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Right there with you. I think he's literally been walking on the court at times during games (which is prohibited for all fans courtside). He takes the annoying Spike Lee superfan schtick to whole 'nother level.

This isn’t 2000. There have been guys hitting 100 seemingly every year. Off the top of my head you have Tyler Kolek, Hunter Greene, Dylan Buddy, Dylan Cease, Riley Pint, Lucas Giolito, etc. So many arm surgeries in that group already, and those are just the ones I could think of without researching. You're right -- throwing or rather hitting 100 is becoming more common among prep arms. Last year Kumar Rocker almost reached it (hit 99 mph) and I believe Ethan Hankins also almost got there when he was healthy and at peak performance. I remember way back that Stetson Allie (Pirates 2nd round pick/2010) hit 100 in HS. It's definitely started to become a regular occurrence... The track record is very mixed (for this group of flamethrowing HS arms) and I don't know where you arbitarily cut it off either. Is it 95+ or upper 90's or hitting 100? Again, I really don't know, but I agree that that kind of velocity at such a young age is NOT a good thing. I want velocity gains to come gradually as a pitcher matures. Also, HS pitchers rarely have smooth mechanics or land on their plant foot ideally and stay on line with home plate. They usually just rely on pure arm strength/upper body strength. Espino is doing it with a long arm-action and really whips his arm to achieve those velocities. His mechanics aren't terrible, but some things need to be cleaned up. My best guess is that he'll probably require TJS at some point.

Josh Bell is doing what he can, dammit: [tweet] [/tweet] I didn't realize how insanely good he's been this year until a few days ago. It's a shame they'll probably have to trade him in a couple years just like Gerrit Cole lol.

I've seen a bunch of mock drafts and so many have Braden Shewmake falling out of the first round. Questions persist about the power and which position he settles down at or if he can stick at SS. It seems with the way the ball is "juiced" in the big leagues (and at AAA now) you wouldn't worry about that as much. You figure a great contact hitter like him will hit for more power than expected. On defense, with shifting and the increasing number of strikeouts and the smaller number of plays in the infield you can optimally play a better bat at SS without sacrificing too much. I'm still really high on Shewmake. ---- For the HS bats that might be available at #27 I'm leaning towards MIF prospects Matthew Lugo and Nasim Nunez. Lugo is the better hitter, but Nunez is the better defender. I think Nunez might be the best defensive SS prospect in the draft, and if the bat never develops enough you could always convert him to pitcher. He has a cannon for an arm.

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I doubt Hoerner would’ve been traded for bullpen help, I think the FO is too high on him, if he gets moved it will be for a controlled SP or bat. I’d say the same about Amaya but with Willy back to being good there is some redundancy there and I’d be more willing to move Amaya for “just” bullpen help (but it would have to be like Doolittle, Treinen or something elite and controlled for another year+). I don't think there was a huge chance of it happening, but Nico being out another month just drops those chances even further. To clarify, I wasn't insinuating the FO would deal him for a rental, like Gleyber was. We all know that was a perfect storm that won't come around again. But a really good reliever that is under control for multiple seasons? I absolutely could have seen the FO dealing Nico for a guy like that. Well, I hate to break it to you, but the injury didn't really affect his stock... Teams that are interested in Nico are still interested in Nico. This isn't some chronic or career-altering injury, and he's not a pitcher. I don't think this affected his chances of getting traded, unless his performance nosedives when he comes back due to the injury. I don't think the Cubs are trading top prospects to upgrade the team for a couple reasons: 1.) We don't have a top rated farm system 2.) We didn't really replenish the farm system with IFA signings + draft picks 3.) The Cubs got incredible value from journeyman Jesse Chavez (and Cole Hamels) last year by leaning on their analytics department/special pitcher "support" group that includes Hottovy, Borzello and others. The Cubs probably think they can do the same thing and improve whoever they acquire at a low cost, and that's a smart strategy (not sure it's a completely viable strategy). I would try to do the same thing this year if I were Theo.

[tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet]That is possible if Carter Stewart decides to spend the next 6 years playing in Japan before coming over. I doubt that happens and he'll probably want to come over sooner (probably has an agreement to be posted after X number of years).

[tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet]Theo's #1 priority should be signing Baez to an extension.

[tweet] [/tweet]This is a pretty cool visual project and it's shame he didn't do a breakdown of Wrigley Field. Seeing the changes over time is pretty awesome too.

I think he was never going to make the team out of Arizona next spring (no matter how good his stats are). It sounds like the plan is to keep Nico at AA for the whole year, and let him start next season in Iowa. He'll probably get called up sometime next year in May/early June is my guess. The best chance for Russell finally being excised from this team now is a trade. We just need to pray some team needs help at SS/2B before the trade deadline and is willing to take the PR hit/bad press to acquire him. The hard trade deadline (can't make trades in August anymore) could help us here in that regard.

[tweet] [/tweet] That's a bold move for both Carter Stewart and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. I guess I could see him dominating in NPB and then coming back and signing for even more than he would've gotten in the late 1st round/2nd round area. He would have to be posted and sign as a IFA for that to happen though.

Interesting names in those tweets. I'm assuming they have no shot at Brennan Milone and Quinn Priester from the early draft buzz. SS Yordys Valdez is a very intriguing player and I'm glad they invited him for workouts. He should go somewhere in the 2nd/3rd round area.

To be fair to the Cubs, I wouldn't necessarily call this a "misdiagnosis" because hairline fractures can be very difficult to discover. Sometimes a person doesn't even realize they have one or had one -- they just endure the pain (which can vary from moderate to severe). Nico probably started swinging the bat in light workouts and started noticing the pain from swinging in his wrist, but otherwise felt fine. This news sucks, but he should be fully healthy in like a month. Plenty of time left in the season at AA and we were never planning on calling him up this year. I also seriously doubt we'll include him in any trade package.

I hope this is just a rumor. I want nothing to do with Lonzo Ball. He sucks and can't shoot. There's no point in bringing Jason Kidd in as a coach if you plan on moving him.

[tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet]Not sure how serious of a prospect this guy is, but hitting 4 HRs in one game is damn impressive! Those launch angles are ridiculous. You can't swing like that in the minors/MLB and be successful unless you have incredible batspeed and amazing hand-eye coordination. I've seen clips of his swing in slow motion and it's not great -- he seems like a dead-pull hitter to me. He has good power (might be his best tool) and his overall stats are pretty good: He's hitting .314/.397/.646 with 15 HRs. The strikeout rate is too high at almost 21% and he doesn't draw a ton of walks. He probably won't hit for a good average and will have to learn to tone down the swing and make more contact. I have no clue how his defense rates. The Cubs must have seen him while they were scouting Nico Hoerner last year. Daschbach also might get the attention of Cubs' scouts because of his solid performance in the Cape Cod League: .306/.424/.515 (.939 OPS). On Fangraphs' draft board he's listed way down the list as COL-H-10 with an FV of 35+ (which isn't bad). Probably rates as a draft prospect worth taking in rounds 5-10.

Nothing too special or insightful in the article, but this stood out: Pitchers keep mentioning the pitching lab in Arizona and how much it's helped them. That was a great investment by the Cubs.

[tweet] [/tweet] This is a big deal inside MLB. For those not familiar with the technology they use it in professional tennis for challenges on line calls and it's very accurate. The technology is superior to Trackman from everything I've read, but it seems like the best solution would be a combination of the optical tracking technology of Hawk-Eye cameras and the radar tracking system of Trackman. I'm sure they'll discover problems with this as well, but if it helps make an automated strike zone a reality I'm all for it.

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[tweet] [/tweet][tweet] [/tweet]Lol... They have FIVE No. 1 starters?

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[tweet] [/tweet]That's some little league horsefeathers right there lol.

Looking forward to this start. We're going to need him later this season (probably as a reliever). Hope Alzolay dominates tonight.

[tweet] [/tweet]It sounds like Priester has a ton of helium and is moving up. He could potentially be the first HS pitcher taken in the first round now. That's crazy to me, but I guess his stuff/command has improved and the other top HS pitchers have taken a hit or moved down. This doesn't concern the Cubs, but I really hope the Orioles don't try to get too cute here with the #1 pick. I feel like they're trying to execute the same strategy Houston pulled off by cutting deals with Mark Appel and Carlos Correa to save pool money for later picks. Just take the best player (Rutschman).