Minor League Wrap--April 9

I’m very curious why Samardzija was coming out of the pen today. There’s certainly enough options available (opening day after all), and most indications were that he was being sent down to work on being a starter. I hope that I-Cubs intern that posted in the thread is around, as I am curious about Estrada’s velocity. He’s one of those "well, he isn’t much, but if … " types. Atkins getting hammered shouldn’t surprise many, and the Astros have a decent AAA club this year, particularly on offense, with Chris Johnson, Drew Sutton, Brian Bogusevic, Tommy Manzella, and JR Towles all having varying degress of potential for the bigs. Atkins is what he is, an end of the rotation option if all goes well. Now, what was interesting were those 5 K’s, and it’ll be worth watching how his walk to K ratio, as there’s been some interesting statistics. Offensively, Sam Fuld getting off to a good start bears watching due to our CF situation. Now, if Fukudome struggles, Gathright likely gets first nod. Fuld fits into that “scrappy” offensive mold, particularly since he’s lost some speed from recent past.

James Russell’s breaking ball bears watching. He, by all accounts, showed some improvement last year, but if he can’t get it across consistently, then hitters will tee off on the fast/change combo and he may have to move to the pen, which many predicted out of college. The most interesting note from AA today? Jeremy Papelbon continuing his good work. With indications that the Cubs may be serious about trying Lambert as a starter, and that it isn’t simply a “work on your pitches” type situation, Papelbon could move ahead on the call-up ladder as a lefty option. From a positional perspective, two things stand out. One is Blake Lalli getting a pinch hitter double. I am a Lalli fan – he gets a bad rap due to ARL, but for a 3rd year pro, AA is fine. I think his bat can play for the upper minors. The other is Welington Castillo. Don’t care about the offense, as he’ll make it up if his glove is good enough, but the passed ball and catcher interference stands out in the box score. Will be interested to hear any reports on how he was for the rest of the game.

Watch Marwin Gonzalez. I didn’t predict him as a breakout, but a sleeper he is. Loads of tools. Now, I’m not trying to say 1 game makes a difference of any sort, but the fact that he got the call ahead on Samson for opening day, and that he got off to a good start, has me intrigued some more. The Cubs haven’t hit on the top Latin American names in recent years, but we’ve done good in finding raw talent to mold, guys like Marwin Gonzalez. Now, that error was disappointing, and there’s a reason he works as a utility guy, as I’m not sure he has a natural, good fit position just yet. Castro and Colvin are good signs – the former shouldn’t be expected to go beyond Daytona this year (if he does, that’s a bonus; still wouldn’t stun me if they demoted him to Peoria as the weather warmed), and if the latter gets his bat going, he’ll be back in the upper levels quick, providing another option as Colvin, while he’s a better corner OF, can spot in CF. The other positional note that intrigued me – Russ Canzler at 3rd. I don’t recall much history for Canzler at 3rd, and last I checked, he was working some OF in the spring, along with first. Is this a “we don’t know what to do with him, as Rosa has first” situation? Or is this a Matt Craig, have him learn new positions situation (Cubs demoted Craig a few years back with the intent to work him at catcher – of course, that never materialized)? I do think Canzler may be a quick call up to AA if someone gets bumped to AAA – he was demoted in the last few days of spring to Daytona again, where he had a decent year last year. Leverton was rushed, so I’m not too worried about his walks. As I noted, he throws a circle-change, a high 80’s/low 90’s fastball, and a developing curve. Without knowing the details, I wonder/guess that Leverton might’ve walked some off his curve, so I’m not worried. He’ll be asked to chuck that a lot more. I love the K’s, and the 5/3 GO/FO ratio is fine. As I’ve said before, I’m really pleased with this last draft class in terms of arms depth, and Leverton is an intriguing asset. I hope someone can provide a report on Dolis – I forget if he throws a curve or a slider, but I want to know how consistent that was. He runs it up there in the mid-90’s, and this power arm could be an intriguing pen prospect. Like Ceda, some weight concerns.

I guess I should be happy about Shafer’s start, if the velocity reports are solid. That said … I’ll be watching him closely to see if his stuff is too hittable and if he can’t K enough guys. A superb 11/2 GO/FO ratio helped him tonight. Beliveau out of the pen mildly surprised, as there were reports he might start. Kreier’s K totals are something to follow – I can’t wait to hear velocity/stuff reports, because the kid was productive last year with, by most accounts, fringe stuff, and if his stuff got better, then he deserves to be on the radar a bit, akin to Mitch Atkins when Atkins was coming up. I’ll be mildly surprised if Buchter is the closer, but he’s a solid arm with a high 80’s/low 90’s fastball, a curve, and a change. Offensively, I was intrigued with Peoria early in the year not because of Vitters/Flaherty, but rather, more out of curiousity of what a Campana/Harrison top of the order can do. It looks like Pevey will give them the green light as both stole bases (Harrison picked off once). Campana has blazing speed – Harrison is a bit average but he’s a good baseball player that knows situations, according to most indications. The fact that he’s at DH shouldn’t be a huge concern – Junior Lake is a more intriguing talent on paper right now. Flaherty’s double/triple were nice to see (I want to find out if he has power, or if he has above average power for the position, which is how I’ve seen him described before, particularly considering his swing), and I was also glad to see Rebel Ridling get off to a good start (what a name … I mean, that screams first base/power bat “Rebel”)

i can see what the mlb fellas did, even though i cranked down the number of cable channels i get this year. between wgn, espn, and other sources, i can tell how the cubs did to defend their nlc title.

but josh’s updates and the opinions from toonster and others, irreplaceable.

as for twitter-ing, do whatever keeps castro hot. castro, jay jackson, and ‘that guy in peoria, all of them are guys i will look forward to seeing in the big in the future. and with the knowledge i get from here, i’ll be able to take espn ‘experts’ as i should, with a grain of salt.

He needs to expand his pitching repetoire and gain innings under his belt. If he can help the Cubs late in the season, then great. But I am more focused on making sure he has a viable longer term future as member of the Cub staff.