Get to Know: The Daytona Cubs (Minor League Preview)

This is the third of my previews of the Cubs minor league system.  I have to apologize in that I'm not going to get Peoria done tonight or before the Midwest League season starts tomorrow.  I will do Peoria by Friday at the latest.

Thank you all for the kind words for the first two previews and again, please recommend these diaries!  I do spend a couple of hours writing each one, and each one seems to get longer as I get more into it.  I do this for other people to read and not for my own amusement, so the more people who get a chance to see them, the better. 

Who are they?  The Daytona Cubs are the Cubs farm team in the Florida State League.  They are a "High A" team, or Class A Advanced, as they call it now.  The players on average are in their third season in professional ball.  They play in Jackie Robinson Ballpark, which was built in 1914 (although remodeled many times since.) The park is named after Robinson because it was the first ballpark in Florida that would allow Robinson to play during spring training in 1946.

Who's in Charge?  Long-time Cub fan favorite Jody Davis returns for his second season as the manager of the Daytona Cubs, and his third season overall as a manager in the Cub organization.  His D-Cubs (No one calls them that but me.  They should.) went 57-80 last season in what can only be described as a tough season.  He led the Peoria Chiefs to a 75-64 record the year before.

His batting coach is former Pirate, White Sox, Ranger and Mariner outfielder Richie Zisk.  The pitching coach is Dave Rosario, who was a farm hand in the Yankees and Expos system.

Fun Fact:  Jody Davis spelled backwards is Sivad Ydoj.  We miss you everyday, Harry.

Who will pitch? The Daytona Cubs may not have the prospects that the Tennessee Smokies have in their rotation, but without a doubt they have the most interesting pitching staff in the Cubs system.  The D-Cubs staff ace is likely to be left-hander James Russell, a fourteenth round pick out of Texas last season.  Russell lasted until the fourteenth round because he was expected to return to the Longhorns for his senior season, but the Cubs bonus offer of $350,000 changed his mind.  Russell's best pitch is a nasty change-up, which he uses to make his more pedestrian 88-91 mph fastball more dangerous.  His curveball improved last year and is now a solid third pitch.

Fun Fact:  James Russell, like other Cub pitchers from years past, worked with pitching guru Tom House as an amateur.  He should immediately be known by the nickname "The Intern."

After Russell, the Cubs rotation, at least in the beginning, will have two of last season's best right-handed minor league relievers.  Both Jose Ceda and Alex Maestri are being asked to make the transition from the bullpen to the rotation. Ceda, of course, is a big 6'5" flamethrower whose fastball has been clocked at as high as 99 mph.  His slider is decent but his changeup is lousy, and he'll have to develop that third pitch if he wants to stay as a starter.  The other issue Ceda has is command, as he walked 31 batters in 46 innings last season in Peoria.  In his defense, the Midwest League could only manage an .093 batting average against him.

In contrast, Maestri is a control pitcher with a nasty slider that eats up right-handers.  His fastball is improving as he gets better instruction than he received in his native Italy.  Last season he struck out 83 and walked only 15 in 83 innings in the Midwest League.

Both Ceda and Maestri have started before to poor results, but the Cubs want to give both of them one more shot to make it as starters.  If they succeed, then they're more valuable to the organization and themselves as starters.  If they don't, then they can just go back to the bullpen anytime.  The Cubs see this as a low-risk/high reward move.

Rounding out the rotation will probably be righty Adam Harben, who is coming back after missing last season with Tommy John surgery, and right-hander Marco Carillo.

Another possibility for the rotation or the closer job is Jeremy Papelbon.  Unlike his brother, Jeremy is left-handed.  Also unlike his brother, Jeremy is not a hard thrower, relying more on a splitter that he uses to get ground outs.  He started and closed last season, and could do the same again this year.

The rest of the bullpen includes three more lefties.  Darin Downs is back for his second season in Daytona.  Last season's sixth round draft choice, Casey Lambert, pitched successfully in Peoria and Jayson Ruhlman has moved up one level each of the three seasons he's been in the Cub organization.

Right-hander Ryan Meyers came over in the Angel Pagan trade and Michael Phelps is starting his third season in Daytona.  Colombian right-hander Esmailian Caridad pitched briefly for the Hiroshima Carp last season.  The Cubs signed twenty-four year old right-hander Dumas Garcia out of the Dominican Republic this off-season.

Fun fact:  You now know as much about Dumas Garcia as I do.

Who will hit? The D-Cubs have two very interesting prospects behind the plate.  Wellington Castillo has a reputation as a defensive wizard and often gets compared to Yadier Molina.   If he can learn to hit a curveball, he'll have a future in the major leagues.  Steve Clevinger was drafted as a middle infielder, but the Cubs decided to make a catcher out of him last year.  He took to the position fairly well, and he's a line drive contact hitter who can draw a walk and almost never strikes out.  His ability to improve behind the plate will determine whether or not he has a major league future, because he looks like a potential OBP machine.  Mark Reed is just a backup.

The infield is anchored by the middle infield combo of Darwin Barney and Tony Thomas.  Shortstop Barney was the hero of Oregon State's back-to-back CWS championship teams.  He doesn't have any one skill that jumps out at you, but his baseball intelligence allows him to get the most of of his just slightly above average skills.  Second baseman Tony Thomas was on a roll all last season, performing magic with his bat.  After hitting .430 at FSU, the Cubs took him in the third round and sent him to Boise, where he hit .308 with a .404 OBP.  He reminds me a bit of the Angels' Howie Kendrick, but he draws more walks and has better speed than Kendrick.  Some scouts think he'll end up being a better hitter for average and on-base percentage than first round pick Josh Vitters.  Defensively, he's challenged at second base and some think he'll have to move to centerfield.

Third baseman Josh Lansford is considered a defensive wizard with the ability to hit from gap to gap.  First baseman Russ Canzler doesn't get much attention, but he's young, he's a big guy and he can hit for power.  Keep an eye on him.  The backup infielders are second baseman Ryne Malone, who played in Peoria last season and Matt Matulia, who is repeating Daytona.

The outfield just couldn't be as prospect-packed as the infield, but it has some interesting players.  Center fielder Jonathan Wyatt was a defensive wizard at Georgia, and he has good OBP skills and can steal a base.  He spent four years in college, so he's a bit behind and need to quickly show he can play at this level, but he's a potential lead-off hitter.  Ty Wright also spent four years at Oklahoma State before being drafted in the seventh round last year.  He'll need to show some power this season to move up.  Jim Adduci and Yusuf Carter are the other two outfielders.

Fun fact:  The Daytona Cubs are the nepotism team.  Jeremy Papelbon is, of course, the brother of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Josh Lansford is the son of former Oakland third baseman Carney Lansford.  James Russell is the son of former Texas closer Jeff Russell (where Tom House was his pitching coach).  Yusuf Carter is the nephew of former Cub, Indian and Blue Jay outfielder Joe Carter.  The Daytona Cubs radio announcer is Chip Caray's daughter Summerlyn.  (I just made that last one up.)

Fun Fact:  Despite being born and raised in Texas, Ty Wright is a lifelong diehard Cubs fan.

What to look for:  The Daytona Cubs are the most interesting team in the Cubs minor league system.  They're loaded with interesting stories and prospects at turning points.  Without question, they have the most legitimate major league prospects of any team in the system.  The warning here is that the toughest jump in the minors is the one from High A to AA, so even if these players have a successful seasons, they will still have a lot to prove before anyone should be pencilling them into the lineups at Wrigley Field.  But they're going to be fun to watch this season and Cub fans in Florida should get out to see them early before some of the better prospects get promoted to Tennessee.