Before this season, both dmick/Uncle Dave and I made our prospect lists. These aren't the only prospects in the Cubs system, but they are nearly all the ones worth talking about. I might have missed a prospect here or there, but it's a good jumping off point. The list of the first 21 is right here: Javier Baez 65 Jorge …
JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 5-13-13
Iowa Cubs 6 @ Reno Aces 4 Brett Jackson 2: The Second Part of the Tragedy went 0-4 with a walk. Logan Watkins had a single, a walk, a strikeout, and a run. Dave Sappelt hit cleanup, and went 0-3 with a walk and a run scored. Josh Vitters had a single and a run scored. He also had an RBI. Donnie Murphy had the best day, going 2-4 …
Journeymen of Tomorrow: Week 6 Prospect Watch
Sorry it's late, and sorry about Week 5. I'd say it won't happen again, but with Leah on the warpath, I'd probably be lying. AAA Brett Jackson 2: Des Moines Nights has been incrementally better than he was two weeks ago. His peripherals are still bad (8.7%, 28.3% BB/K) and his BABIP is still .358, but he's good for a .259/.341/.432 …
Cubs under contract for 2015
With the Anthony Rizzo signing, I thought it'd be sweet to show you the "Cubs Core;" players under team control for 2015 (when we should EXPECT a competitive team instead of just hoping). Anthony Rizzo: 2021 Starlin Castro: 2020 Welington Castillo: 2017 Edwin Jackson: 2016 Luis Valbuena: 2016 Travis Wood: 2016 Darwin Barney: 2016 Jeff Samardzija: 2015 James Russell: 2015 …
JoT: Cubs Minor League Recap 5-11-13
Iowa Cubs 4 @ Reno Aces 1 Logan Watkins had a very un-Watkins like day. He went 1-4 with no walks or strikeouts. He was also hit by a pitch and had his 3rd error. Brett Jackson 2: Revenge of the Fallen Prospect Status went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI. He also struck out once, for old times sake. Josh Vitters …
JoT: Cubs Minor League Recap 5-10-13
Iowa Cubs 1 @ Colorado Springs Sky Sox 11 Logan Watkins had an RBI double. It was the only run the Cubs scored. Brett Jackson 2: Their First (Designated For) Assignment was 0 for 4 with a SO. Josh Vitters had a walk and went 0-3. Forget everyone else. Brooks Raley has a 40-man spot, just thought I'd remind you. He went 4 …
Is Travis Wood “outstanding?”
On Bleacher Nation, Brett had some very kind words to say about Travis Wood: "I’m not sure I’d say he’s even the best starter on the Cubs at this point, but Wood’s ridiculous start to the year can’t be ignored. And, as I pointed out previously in the Bullets, it isn’t just the start of this season: Wood has been outstanding …
JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 5-7-13
Also known as Shitstravaganza 2013! Iowa Cubs 0 @ Colorado Springs 5 This was bad. Dave Sappelt went 1-3 with a strikeout. It was the best offensive performance on the team. Interestingly, Logan Watkins played SS. He got on via FC (0-4) and stole a base. Only Luis Flores, Nick Struck, and Edwin Maysonet reached base otherwise; everyone else went 0-fer. As a team, the Iowa …
Relegation in Baseball
If we're talking about ways to shake up baseball, I've got a pretty off-the-wall idea. It's adding relegation (or tiered leagues) to baseball. Here's one way it could work. Take the 15 teams in each league and put them in one mega-division. Then, organize them by record and make 3 new 5-team leagues. From 2011 records: Philadelphia 102-60 Milwaukee 96-66 …
Sweeney up, Sappelt down
From cubs.com: The Cubs are expected to call up outfielder Ryan Sweeney from Triple-A Iowa and option Dave Sappelt to the Minor Leagues on Monday. This is an interesting move. On one hand, Sweeney is almost certainly the better baseball player at this point. Sappelt just hasn't really made an impact at the major league level, for one reason or …