Getting to Know the Daytona Cubs

Brooks Raley actually features about 5 pitches (strength is supposed to be the 2-seamer/slider/change, with a 4-seamer/curve mixed in). He was considered a possible first round pick before struggling late, which led to the Cubs nabbing him later, but as a sophomore, he had a lot of power, and the fact that the Cubs got him signed was a bit of a surprise to a lot of folks, myself included (the sophomore status is the bigger factor behind why he got the big bonus – he had a ton of power. Cubs had a decent amount of overslot pickups last year). What he is, as a pitcher now, is a solid deep arsenal guy with pitchability. The reason a lot of folks are intrigued is partly due to the dearth of lefty starters in our system, but more because, like the 2008 pitching draft, he falls into a similar mold of a former 2-way player with good athleticism. A lot of folks thought Raley could be drafted as a CF/leadoff guy with some gap power, and he has plus speed (reports have put it in the 70-80 range on the scouting scale). Many thought that the wear and tear of being a 2-way guy wore him down a bit. The belief/hope is that, as a full-time pitcher, his already decent command will get better, and that his fastball (4-seamer tops out in the low 90’s, 2-seamer runsin the upper 80’s/low 90’s range) will add a tic or two, and that his fairly solid command will get sharper. It is, in many ways, the same hopes that folks had with Jay Jackson. Will it pan out? Here’s hoping. The FB has pretty good movement to it, so any velocity and development makes him fairly intriguing. I do believe that, for the Cubs, having Raley work as a pitcher instead of a position player was the right move. This might be one of the more aggressive placements to start 2010 for the Cubs.

Chris Rusin is a similar pitcher, but his ceiling is a bit lower. That said, he’s more polished, so the floor is higher and he could move faster. He’s a finesse lefty that tops out in the upper 80’s more often than not, but can squeeze some extra juice to occasionally hit 90/91. As a senior, he didn’t have much power, so he signed early, but the Cubs expect him to move fast, because up until final cuts, he was with Tennessee. It’s a deep arsenal here as well, along with his command. There’s a 4-seamer, 2-seamer, cutter/slider, and a changeup. Nothing really stands out, but combine the arsenal with approach and command, and you could see an end of the rotation lefty type if all goes well, and those guys can stick around.

Considering size/build, along with how new he is to baseball, Ryan Searle was a pleasant surprise to me. He has an excellent sinker. Not on the Justin Berg level, but it’s good. He also improved on his secondary offerings last year, showing development with the breaking ball, which is primarily a curve, although he utilized a slider before. The changeup is coming along. The arsenal is still a work in progress, but considering his baseball experience and how he was pushed (skipped Peoria), I’m pleased. He actually finished relatively well last year after struggling a bit in May/June. Repeating Daytona isn’t a problem – gives him time to work on his pitches. He was with Tennessee for a bit this spring, so strong work in Daytona could get him up to AA.

Cubs had Rafael Dolis go to instructs, and that’s where he really took off. Most people believe his future is as a power pen arm, and at instructs, as AzPhil and other sources (I believe ESPN had a guy that saw Dolis’ outing as well), Dolis showed a upper 90’s fastball that hit triple digits at times, along with better command and consistency with his arsenal. It was suggested that he would be the top pick in the Rule 5 draft if eligible, but at the very least, someone would’ve nabbed him due to upside, so he got onto the 40. So, why is he in Daytona? It’s puzzled some of us, but the likely reason (unless the Cubs really view him as a starter) is the Jose Ceda plan (a guy he was oft compared to) – get him some work in the warmer climate on his entire arsenal, before pondering moving him up and accelerating the timetable.

Rhee got back in the game after TJ late last year and was sent to instructs to get more work, where AzPhil provided a lot of useful updates. The Cubs didn’t let him use his out-pitch (the split-change pitch that’s just nasty) but he was allowed to use his fastball/curveball. When on, Dae-Eun has 3 potential plus pitches, with an out-pitch, and a case could be made that, in terms of ceiling, he has the highest ceiling of any arm in the system (Cashner has a better fastball, but his overall arsenal doesn’t compare, unless he gets his circle-change to become that good). It’s possible the Cubs are really pleased with Rhee’s progress, and hence the A+ nod, but it’s also possible that they want to keep him in a warmer climate to start the year. One thing of note is that, Rhee doesn’t have an imposing body, so there was already some past concerns on whether or not his body can hold up as a starter. If he can simply stay healthy and show his stuff this year, I’ll be pleased. No need to rush a guy with this much upside.

I don’t know if Huseby took stuff off his fastball. The low 90’s velo reports were in line with what Huseby has had post-TJ. He has two good secondary pitches, a slider and another pitch that’s slipping my mind at the moment, a cutter I think. It’s possible it’s the same pitch, because IIRC, there were differing on which pitch was his better secondary option. After his horrible control issues in 2008 where he simply couldn’t throw a strike, the Cubs moved him to the pen. Here’s my issue -as a pen arm, for him to really excel, he needs a better fastball, while maintaining his command/consistency/mechanic. I’d really love to see him get tried as a starter again, but it seems more than likely that he will stay in the pen as the Cubs hope to get something from their over-slot investment. The frustrating thing last year was hearing that he had such serious arm issues (his fb was down in the mid-80’s to end last year) and the Cubs still had him pitch. Sure, the medical staff cleared him for 1 inning work, but still.

I’ll be the first to admit Alberto Cabrera wasn’t on my radar … until BA gave him the 31st overall ranking in the Cubs system. Granted, as I’ve always said, after the top level rankings, it’s basically a free-for-all in some respects (including my own rankings), but he was so far off my radar that 31st caught my eye. I know he’s always had a live arm, but the reports from instructs and this spring make it sound as if everything’s coming together, including his secondary pitches. He’ll be a fascinating guy to follow early.

I believe that Oswaldo Martinez was in the Mexican League because the Cubs placed him there. At least, I recall reading stuff about that. Perconte reminds me of Muschko a tad in that, they’ve got enough stuff. If he can tighten up his command, he’d have a much better shot. Luke Sommer is a converted OF who has shown enough to ponder as a guy who could make it up as a LOOGY. He was with AA briefly this spring, I believe. Excellent control, I want to say it’s a sinker/curve guy, and both pitches are supposed to be decent-solid. I’m honestly blanking on more information on all three at the moment.

Aaron Shafer did close 2009 relatively better, so here’s hoping he found something. Any velo improvement improves his chances, as he’s got “pitchability”. I’m not banking on it, though. Chris Siegfried was our 11th round pick a few years back. Spent early last season revamping his mechanics. Has a good fastball/curveball combination. Not sure how much to read into this Peoria numbers last year, as he was working with adjusted mechanics.

Couple quick comments on pitching – there should be some piggybacking involved. Also, system has a fair amount of possible lefty pen options, as you’ll see with the rosters. Seems like one of my favorites entering 2009 has been cut (unless an injury happened and I missed it, or unless he got sent to XST for work). Dan McDaniel had good stuff in Boise as the closer, and got off to a decent start last year after skipping Peoria. In Boise, his stuff was good, low-mid 90’s fb (4 and 2 seamer), 2 breaking balls that were solid, and a solid change, The stuff didn’t carry. I always wondered if the injury was a factor, but I am glad that the Cubs at least tried him as a starter.

Nothing much to add on the positional front. The top prospect for me is Brett Jackson. Took me a long time this offseason to come around on Brett. I was initially aghast at Jim Callis ranking him 2nd in the Cubs system, and stunned others would follow suit. Why did I change? Here’s a five tool CF who got off to a great start. Josh Vitters may have better raw power, but Brett Jackson’s baseball power is supposed to be close. Are there concerns with the strikeouts? Sure, but for now, I’m willing to wait and see. There were positive reports on his understanding of the strike zone, his ability to play situational baseball. I don’t recall bad reports from his college wood bat summer days (Northwoods and Cape) and the K issues weren’t there his sophomore year. There was some spec that he was trying to be aggressive for scouts in his draft year, and it’s possible that this was a guy that was growing into his power (his power only came last year) and having to adjust. If he has K issues this year, then yes, the concern is greater, but all the tools are there and there are enough positive scouting reports on his potential that I’m excited.

This isn’t meant as a knock on Vitters. Somehow, I’ve been tagged as a Vitters-hater this offseason by some. He’s got great natural ability, and one of the most beautiful swings you’ll ever see. Watching his bat come through the zone is a thing of beauty in regards to swings. The scary thing is that he doesn’t go up there hitting for power – and yet he generates power. He’s still an excellent prospect who has improved defensively. 3.2/3.3 pitches per at bat, though, can’t be overlooked. I don’t need to see more walks from Vitters, but rather just more pitches that he sees (hopefully that leads to more walks, but my point is, it isn’t the walks that’s bothering me, it’s the number of pitches). Any improvement there (if he can get to Pablo Sandoval levels last year (3.44 in the bigs), his chances go up astronomically, IMO.

 DJ should see some time at short, I think, considering Junior Lake isn’t a lock to stick at short either. Lake has the potential to be good, but is inconsistent. DJ, at short, is consistent, but a bit limited in regards to how good he can be defensively. The Cubs worked him at 2nd base quite a bit this winter, trying to get his footwork down, considering he played 2nd last year and was solid. There’s some hope that he can improve his power, but I have my doubts on that front. He’s so good with his approach. Somewhat akin to the Murton situation (you expect more power when you see body) … but unlike Murton, DJ is in the middle infield, so there should be no pressure. I was a bit surprised when we picked him, as he was supposed to be a tough sign, so the one thing that DJ does show is that the Hendry/Maineri relationship could help us with some LSU kids.

I think Rebel will man first at Daytona at some point this year, and Ryne really needs to perform. As numerous places have noted, he’s an odd case of a guy with some raw power that just hasn’t played. David Macias looks to be headed down the road of versatile utility guy in the system who will be moved where needed. Marwin Gonzalez shouldn’t be overlooked just yet. He’s got boatloads of “tools”, but hasn’t put it together. Cubs gave him plenty of AB’s last year, though, but he is only 21. I’ve discussed Burke above. Nelson Perez is another fascinating guy in terms of raw ability. If Burke’s arm is better, it isn’t by much, and Perez has power potential. That said, like Lake, huge discipline issues. Smaily Borges played for Cubs DSL2 last year. I’ve heard some positive things, some power potential, decent approach, decent tools … but considering age (26) and considering the options at Daytona (he won’t take time from Brett or Kyler if both are healthy), he needs to start hot. He was with Iowa briefly, before the cuts started, and moved down. At least, unlike Jason James, he stuck around, so there’s a chance.

As noted, I think Justin Bristow (one of my “breakthrough” guy possibilities this year) and Rebel Ridling will likely end up at Daytona when they are healthy.

Daytona looks to be solid club. I am looking forward to updates on Rhee throughouth the season.

I look forward to your game summaries also. I greatly enjoy those summaries, they are the first things I read in the summer mornings!