Bertz
-
Posts
12,644 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
31
Content Type
Profiles
Joomla Posts 1
Chicago Cubs Videos
Chicago Cubs Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits
2026 Chicago Cubs Top Prospects Ranking
News
2023 Chicago Cubs Draft Picks
Guides & Resources
2024 Chicago Cubs Draft Picks
The Chicago Cubs Players Project
2025 Chicago Cubs Draft Pick Tracker
2026 Chicago Cubs Draft Pick Tracker
Blogs
Events
Forums
Store
Gallery
Everything posted by Bertz
-
Absolutely criminal if Wesneski isn't the #5 to start the year. And he's set up for 150+ innings this year, so it's not going to take especially complicated gymnastics to manage his innings.
-
Chicago Bears Offseason Thread (the tank must payoff)
Bertz replied to jersey cubs fan's topic in Other Sports
Yeah I think if Tyree Wilson is gone by 9 (more likely than not, but not definite?) this is the way I'd go. Let's make the offense around Justin just absolutely absurd. -
Chicago Bears Offseason Thread (the tank must payoff)
Bertz replied to jersey cubs fan's topic in Other Sports
Bears no longer on the clock, someone change the thread title I do like that this got done pre-FA. I think that makes it easier to know what needs to be done on that front. -
This is really really cool stuff. I found PitchingBot over the winter and glad to see it's going to be somewhere more easily accessible. The tl;dr is that both of these models try to break down pitching into its component parts, and granular enough to be at the specific pitch level. And because these are very process oriented metrics rather than results ones, they apparently reach a stabilization point WAY earlier than most of our other metrics. So we can start feeling more confident in some of the early season pitching storylines than we have historically.
-
I'm terrible at analyzing swings, but Mancini might get significantly more juice just from moving ballparks. I'm counting 14 outs last year that were on the Wrigley warning track or farther, and MIL/CIN are even kinder to him. The offense in general I don't worry about it being bad. There's just too much depth on the bench and at Iowa for that to happen. We do need some fortune with veteran bouncebacks or the youths for the offense to be really good though. Suzuki and Bellinger are the easiest and most straightforward to see, but Mancini putting up another 2019 would have a similar impact.
-
Starting to sound like Memorial Day is a fair expectation for him being back at Iowa. If he thinks he'll be doing baseball stuff in a week it probably means closer to end of the month in actuality. But even still let's call it 6 weeks in EXST and two weeks of rehab games from there and that still has him at Iowa before the end of May.
-
-
I read something that his numbers against fastballs 93+ were pretty pedestrian. Considering the average MLB fastball is now bumping 94 I'd be really concerned. Honestly for that reason I'd guess the WBC here is gonna either make or lose him a ton of money.
-
It does a little to affirm the quality and quantity of the depth but mostly its nothing. Feels like the bench is solidifying, with the last spot being a battle between Tauchman and Davis - Barnhart is a lock, and Mckinstry is not far behind - Heavy implications going around about Morel opening the year in Iowa - Given the circumstances around his signing, Rios was probably a near lock for the bench from the jump, but even if he wasn't before he's currently earning his way onto the roster - Madrigal is looking surprisingly solid at 3B, and the Iowa/Chicago decision for him has primarily been framed as predicated on defense - All of the guys who can play RF in Suzuki's stead range between adequate and bad defensively. It'd be weird to not have a 3rd good defensive outfielder considering all the harping the team has done about defense - That would leave Deluzio, whose lack of playing time implies he's not actually a strong contender, Tauchman, and Davis as the likely options I'd guess Tauchman's the favorite, but given he would require a 40 man move and the new CBA's service time incentives not an especially heavy one?
-
Spring training stats don't mean anything for vets with locked in jobs, but a guy competing for a roster spot probably shouldn't have a 27.00 ERA
-
-
2023 MLB Draft Thread
Bertz replied to CaliforniaRaisin's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Given the Cubs are at #13, I do wonder if the best player available might end up being the top HS Arm rather than a 2nd tier player from one of the more valuable demos. I'm probably going to be a lot more open to that demo this year than most years. -
Barnhart (#5 in baseball the last three years) and Gomes (#8) both show out really well here. Though Contreras is #17 and well in the black so not exactly an area on defense where he was lacking.
-
Seems pretty likely he's ticketed for the MLB club
-
Wick's probably always going to be a Jekyl/Hyde sort but here's hoping we get more good outings this year. Maybe the fact that there's multiple dudes at Iowa nipping at his heels will help
-
Not a routine play by any means, but if Hosmer's not gonna make plays like that to save Wesneski the error Mancini should be the one in the field
-
Wesneski looking strong again.
-
Chicago Bears Offseason Thread (the tank must payoff)
Bertz replied to jersey cubs fan's topic in Other Sports
I'd love to know the 4 teams. I guess Carolina, Las Vegas, Indi, and the Texans. The article mentions that one of the teams is farther back in the 1st round than you would expect. Not sure how I feel about that but I'm sure the haul would be massive if we moved down that far. That caught my eye too. Tampa or Baltimore? Panthers feel like the sweet spot though based on the majority of snippets that Poles said there and previously. - They're far enough back that you could reasonably see netting multiple Day 2 picks this year AND multiple future firsts - They're close enough to the top to still nab one of those "top 6-8 blue chippers" - Poles has referenced bringing back players in addition to picks, and Carolina has a few that would make a lot of sense - They appear to be sufficiently desperate to say horsefeathers it to cold surplus value calculations - They also make sense in a scenario where we trade back twice -
!!!!!
-
Adding in here, looks like Smyly's spin on his curve was way up too? 2278 yesterday, averaged 2119 last year and 2096 the year before.
-
Another positive I'd take away from yesterday is the velo. Smyly averaged 92.4 on the sinker and 88.8 MPH on the cutter. That sinker velo is right in line with what he did last year (averaged 92.7) and that cutter velo was actually a smidge better than his full-season mark (88.7). If you want some assurances that Smyly's the guy he was last year moreso than the guy he's projected to be, that velo holding is a key factor. And hell if he's at mid-season velo already in early March maybe he's got a little more in the tank heading into the regular season.
-
I’ll have an update on Riley Thompson tomorrow! He worked out at Eric Cressey’s pitching center this winter. Good stuff that gives him a chance. Oh fun! I'm excited to see that.
-
Because a couple of the Cubs' pitchers who can touch 100 MPH have gotten into the last few ST games, I've been thinking about Riley Thompson and Ryan Jensen. They're both presumed to open this year in the Iowa rotation, but how much more leash as SPs do we think they've got? Jensen reworked his delivery and it feels like there's some renewed hope for him making it as a SP. But Thompson is a really long shot at this point. I'd honestly send him straight to the pen, but certainly by Memorial Day if he hasn't changed our minds. Curious what the org's plan is for either.
-
Phillies and Cardinals are pretty easy to see missing the playoffs. Phillies are very top-heavy, and particularly coming off that deep run last year I'd be nervous about each of their stars except Turner. Cardinals pitching is riddled with red flags, and post Bader trade the defense is more good than great. Dodgers also aren't invulnerable. I could see them being pretty disappointing in the first half, with them righting the ship eventually (they have too many options not to at some point) but too late to make the playoffs. Mets are old and Padres are thin, but I think even in the worst of scenarios they maintain WC spots.
-
Iowa's going to have four guys in Correa, Burdick, Sanders, and Jensen who regularly hit 100 MPH. Riley Thompson when he shifts from starting to relief might end up there too. And Jeremiah Estrada, despite being more 96-98, has better stuff than any of them.