Jump to content
North Side Baseball

Bertz

Old-Timey Member
  • Posts

    13,308
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    37

 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 Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Blogs

Events

Forums

Store

Gallery

Everything posted by Bertz

  1. Rojas another dong, Ayers another double. Yeesh
  2. Carter Trice is probably the most underrated guy on the farm, but Christian Olivo feels like he's in the discussion. I think there's a good bit to like there. Very good BB/K numbers dating back to last year, power that this year looks ~average, plays both SS and CF, and totally age appropriate at SB.
  3. Ayers' big game has his AA OPS over .900 He turns 25 tomorrow, so his age is still a knock but as a catcher at AA no longer a ginormous one.
  4. Through 4 PAs tonight, last not quite 10 full games for Eli Lovich: .371/.488/.800, 4 dongs 8 BB, 9 K
  5. Seeing that SB had 8 runs early and then seeing how that translated in the box score was cruel. Ayers dong was majestic, hit the scoreboard.
  6. I'm more surprised Alcantara is already considered graduated. I guess he spent more days on the roster last year than I realized.
  7. Like others I like Detmers. He feels like the closest analogue to where Cabrera/Gore/Ryan were at this time last year. I like getting someone with control because like last year you need them now and you already know you need to trade for a SP next winter too. And with the lockout this winter I'm not sure you can just wait it out like you could a year ago. Sonny Gray's my guy as far as rentals, though I hope we don't have to settle for a rental. Pie in the sky...Chase Dollander? He'd cost a shitload, but Depodesta's probably clear-eyed about how much farther he has to go in this rebuild and the odds of Dollander surviving through all of that. And because they are that bereft of talent a 5 for 1 is probably much more on the table than it might be with some other partners.
  8. Yeah after clearing up some of the infield logjam Kepley sould be next on the sell high list. To your point it's not totally fair but the existence of PCA does materially impact how much value he can provide here. I don't know if it's bad swing decisions/passivity or if it's good swing decisions but a swing that's mediocre. I think you look at what he's doing and you can see paths to something like Brett Gardner, Steven Kwan, or Nico Hoerner. But I think you can also see what he's doing and imagine some Sal Frelick/Chad Durbin type who has a little success and implodes once pitchers start challening him consistently. The defense and baserunning provide some floor even in that scenario, but I'm nervous enough about the bat that when I rank guys in the system I definitely have Kepley much closer to 10 than 1 despite the production to date.
  9. I think you have to be a little worried he's not hitting. Like his offense is plus because he's walking like crazy, but when you make him actually swing the bat he's been...fine. And better pitchers will force him to do much more. Kepley has an 86% contact rate, that's very good but it's not elite. He's hot a 45% groundball rate which is high but not quite problematic. He's got 14 XBHs including two dongs. Jeff McNeil, who the big club just saw, has an 86% contact rate, 45% groundball rate, and 11 XBHs including two dongs. Now good CF defense and a 50+ steal pace would changs the calculus even there, but it's worth noting that it's not all sunshine and rainbows even with his production so far.
  10. It's still a tiny sample, today makes 9 games, but Eli Lovich breaking out the instant Hartshorn got promoted is one of my favorite stories on the farm this year. What a weird season, he started off really well, then went into a deeeeep slump, and now he's looking amazing.
  11. The spring breakout game with the huge promise but the wild inconsistency *even within an inning* was fun and exciting. Now he's consistently throwing strikes and, while we don't have pitch tracking, seemingly having fewer dips in stuff. It's only been 2.5 months. Really exciting.
  12. Matt Shaw is rehabbing with Iowa. If he was a full time guy Id assume he'd be back at Wrigley on Friday but given he could use some ABs I wonder if he spends a full week down there.
  13. He gave up 1 run over 15 innings in his three starts prior to getting called up. He's got 37 starts at Iowa in his career. I don't see any developmental point to him being at Iowa. Like I agree it's ultimately a confidence issue but IMO you break through that with the Ben Brown playbook. Throw him at the end of the pen in long relief, slowly ratcheting up the leverage as he earns more rope. It probably won't progress as quickly as it did for Brown but that's okay.
  14. Rolison should go back to Iowa. The pixie dust has clearly worn off there, and with Milner looking fixed and Thielbar healthy he's been relegated to garbage time. Even if you don't like Wicks the team is better served with a legitimate long guy. And frankly I don't think Jordan Wicks optimism takes a ton of mental gymnastics.
  15. Almost certainly is coming up for Wicks, which annoys me.
  16. Yeah homerun rates are mostly noise but even level-setting that the xFIP you site shows he's still been very bad. I think he goes on the IL when Boyd is back. The team shouldn't DFA any warm arm but he clearly can't keep going every 5 days like this. What's been most interesting to me is he's gotten his 2025 velo back over the last few starts and not only has it not helped it's made things worse.
  17. This will be the Cubs' fifth series of the year against a team that is as of today under .500
  18. Oh and Devers became a star bat post WS, he had a 90 wRC+ in '18
  19. Turner and Bogaerts were star caliber players but not star caliber bats. I thought our problem was we needed a star caliber bat?
  20. This explains a lot
  21. We know the Angels like close to the majors prospects too so if you're wanting to use the Shaws and Alcantaras of the world instead of the Hartshorns and Conrads they're probably a good partner.
×
×
  • Create New...