Cubs System Sonogram Has Some Perspective

Baseball is about perspective. More like a real job than most sports in that fashion. Each day follows the next, and how you react, adapt, and respond to yesterday determines how good you will be tomorrow. With some sports with shorter seasons, one play can either make you a star or a goat. In one game. In baseball, you can colossally fail, or have a major high point, early in the season, just to reverse it the rest of the season. The trick with baseball is to try to separate the valid from the not-so-valid in as many instances as possible.

When you look for perspective on the first series of the year for minor league teams, some will over-react. "Javier Baez is being mercurial. Jorge Soler is hurt. The season is a failure." Perspective is realizing the following.

The #Phillies Nos. 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 18, 23 and 24 prospects begin the year on the DL.

— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) April 2, 2014

It could always be worse. Or better.

For instance, Pirates top prospect Jameson Taillon will undergo Tommy John surgery.

It's awfully early to spot any trends. I've been a bit off in getting my sleep pattern in line to adjust to 6 p.m. starts. It's spring for all of us. As I write this, I'm listening to Rob Zastryzny pitch against Brevard County in Daytona, and anticipate listening to Jen-Ho Tseng Tuesday night. Having intriguing arms throwing in at least three outposts is how it ought to be.

Albert Almora went hitless in two games, then had five hits in his third. Perspective, y'all.

Jumping right into my feature for the week: Three Up, Three Down.

Three Down

Pitchers from the second half of the top ten of the 2013 draft. While Sam Wilson (8th round) is out with an undisclosed injury, David Garner (7th) and Charcer Burks (10th) weren't assigned to full-season squads. While Scott Frazier (6th) and Trey Masek (10th) were, they have combined to retire two hitters, surrendering five earned runs.

Iowa's pitching. Kyle Hendricks and Chris Rusin were pounded in their first starts. Ugh.

Rock Shoulders (.258) and Dan Vogelbach (.368) are not hitting much yet for High-A Daytona. Those are their OPS numbers.

Three Up

Daytona announcer Robbie Aaron is giving a quarter per to a children's hospital for each rain delay minute this season. He owes nine bucks so far.

Kris Bryant (third base, Double-A Tennessee). You might think it's for his two homers. Actually, it's for his defense. Had you heard about his defense, it would be because he had botched a play. In which case, the commentary would likely be he is a hopelessly bad third sacker. Because perspective is invisible on-line far-too-often.

Oh, and he homered off a MLB pitcher.

Catching convert Ben Carhart has sounded good at digging pitches out of the dirt. His OPS sits over 1.000 as well, though he is having trouble throwing out runners.

The sonogram is a bit brief in this installment. But I trust you will keep some perspective on it.