In a recent extended spring training game, the Cubs beat the Angels 6-5. I mention this for two reasons. One is that, per Arizona Phil, they only played one game that day. That gives me the sads. On the other hand, I'm happy that Trevor Gretzky had a pair of runs batted in. I enjoy hearing when players the Cubs gave up do well. Depth is a good thing, though it needs to be managed. The Cubs will have plenty of prospects getting traded in the next few years. Getting value from players will be a way to add to the Cubs mosaic.
When the Cubs acquired Miguel Montero, they sent pitchers Jeferson Mejia and Zack Godley to Arizona. While Mejia is probably in extended spring training, Godley has moved from the bullpen to the rotation in the Diamondbacks system. He has won all five of his starts in the California League for Visalia. While the temptation may be to wish for failure for guys like Godley, the opposite should be the wish.
The Cubs had what they thought were better options in High-A Ball than Godley. He was considered a pure reliever in the Cubs pipeline, and is considered a starter for the Diamondbacks. The Cubs will be in discussion with the Snakes this summer. If they have positive thoughts on prospects they received from the Cubs in their last transaction, it stands to reason they might want to siphon from our pipeline again in July.
While Jose Arias (Greensboro in the South Atlantic League) and Tyler Bremer (Jupiter of the Florida State League) aren't doing as well as Godley, they are productive in the Marlins pipeline after going there in the Jacob Turner trade. Again, when a team trades with the Cubs, and doesn't get burned, the likelihood increases that they may make a trade willingly later. The Marlins badly bungled the run-up to the trade, but as the talent they received in exchange was viable, that helps for the next time.
Christian Villanueva ought to be traded before April of 2016. He is taking up a 40-man roster spot, and any number of players will have a claim a 25-man spot before Villanueva. Hopefully, he has a good year in Iowa, so he increases his value. He's better this time in Iowa, so far..
The easy comments for a trade return are "an ace" and "a reliever." The reliever seems more likely, as making a trade for "an ace"usually involves some rather amusing trade offers. Many times, online trade offers made at places like BCB involve badly dented prospects. (For instance, send them Javier Baez, Dan Vogelbach, Villanueva, and a pitcher from South Bend for the ace. Or something like that.)
I enjoy trades like the one the Cubs made for Tommy La Stella. The Cubs gave up a guy (Arodys Vizcaino) they had little use for, got back an "under team control for the next six years" guy, and he's already filled a role when healthy. The type of trade I see them doing involves them giving up some blocked players, of which they have plenty, for a guy in Theo's Little Black Book. I've started to write an article on his book a few times. However, it never gets very far. The gist is, Theo Epstein has scouts scouting professional players on the field, in the computer room, and in office cubicles. Using whatever methods possible, Epstein finds some players in each system that he wants to trade for very badly. They aren't necessarily consensus top five system prospects. If he can get one of those prospects in a trade for a few bit pieces, he pulls the trigger. Corey Black coming over for Alfonso Soriano was one of the better ones.
While the college scouts are doing their thing, and coaches and medical staff do theirs, Tom Tango and crew run computer programs and simulations to figure out the next great trade heist. That way, you might get a Jake Arrieta on the cheap. And when the principals are sent away, you might as well hope they out-perform expectations. That makes the next sting all the more enticing to the victim.
Back to the "Let's play two" aspect of extended spring training, I'm rather incredulous with teams that don't treat it that way. As your housing in Arizona or Florida is set up for housing over 100 in March, everyone ought to be able to house 60 in May. Some will be veterans rehabbing. Others will be kids rehabbing. Then, you should have quite a few not good enough to break with the full-season squads.
Granted, some of them will never reach full-season ball, and that is likely the penny-wise-pound foolish 'logic' behind only carrying forty guys in extended spring training. However, if the team already has the facilities, they might as well have a few more reasonable options around camp to give chances to in extended spring.
As it is now, the Cubs have recent prep selections on both the hitting and pitching sides getting opportunities to improve, almost daily. Kevonte Mitchell and Carson Sands represent the pitching and hitting sides. Make no mistake, they would get chances most every day to do what they are doing. Looking at this recent article from Arizona Phil illustrates how many more players get a full chance to play in a competitive game when both sides have enough players. Especially pitchers. Adding 20 extra guys or so lets almost everyone play. The teams that don't do that deserve their fate.
Playing more prospects in more games gives more youngsters more looks in more games against hostile opposition. Some will do poorly, and never advance. Some will falter to injury. However, some will improve, and get to the point where another organization considers them better than one of their existing options on a full-season squad. Then, they may offer the Cubs something of value for them. That sure beats running a cut-rate system, only interested in developing 30 or 40 players in extended spring training.
Three Up - Three Down
Three Down
Chris Valaika leads Iowa in at bats. He is hitting .211.
Myrtle Beach second baseman Daniel Lockhart is in a 3-for-34 slump without any runs batted in.
South Bend third baseman Jesse Hodges is 3-for-his-last-23, with seven strikeouts.
Three Up
Through five starts, Iowa righthander Donn Roach has won three of them, and has a WHIP of 1.09.
Teammate Arismendy Alcantara has a six-game hitting streak, and is 10-for-25 over the streak.
Tennessee starting pitcher Felix Pena has a WHIP of 0.89 and an ERA of 1.46. He's looking more like a viable relief option in the majors at some point.
Don't look now, but Tennessee shortstop Elliot Soto is hitting .351 over his last ten games, drawing six walks and driving in six as well. The 15th-round selection (2010) from Creighton has long been considered a solid glove man. That his bat is progressing is nice, although it's difficult to see him getting time with the Cubs. Perhaps he could be an 'and-one piece' at some point in a trade.
Of the starting pitchers on the Myrtle Beach staff, Jonathan Martinez leads the squad in WHIP of 0.88 and his 2.12 ERA is second in the rotation to only Duane Underwood, Jr.
I talked up Gleyber Torres last time in this section. Usually, that ends up being the kiss-of-regression-to-the-mean. However, the 18-year-old shortstop is hitting .486 in his last ten games. In that span, he's walked six times, fanning but three. He's also added six stolen bases. All four of his extra-base hits have come in that span, with a pair of triples included.
Speaking of guys I promoted last week, Ryne Williams (ERA 0.35), Jeremy Null (ERA 0.79), and Zach Hedges (ERA 3.43) have combined to walk three hitters over 69⅓ innings. By the looks of it, I might talk about them more next week.