Comments on: Young Cubs: BP Wrigleyville Minor League Update

By: David Blumberg

David Blumberg — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 18:54:06 +0000

To be perfectly honest, I’m just a writer for a baseball website, at the end of the day. I don’t have a personal relationship with Baez or with anyone close to him. Besides, you can’t ever truly know how someone is feeling after a sibling dies. I can’t even imagine what Javier is going through right now. The Cubs, rightfully, told him he could take as much time as he needed. He’s coming back this week, so he clearly is ready to get back to baseball. That doesn’t mean he’s done grieving, it just means that at this stage in the process, he’s decided the best thing he can do for himself is to get back to playing.

By: David Blumberg

David Blumberg — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 06:41:37 +0000

If we count lower level as being High-A and below, the following: Duane Underwood (High-A), Jen-Ho Tseng (High-A), Jake Stinnett (Low-A), Jeremy Null (Low-A), Erick Leal (Low-A), and Justin Steele (XST). Underwood and Stinnett clearly have the highest upside of any pitching prospects in the system, even topping Sands, in my opinion (although I imagine Mauricio might disagree with me). Tseng might not be a “sexy” pitching prospect, but his high floor is rare for a young pitching prospect and I believe he’ll be a back-end rotation piece, at worst. Null is a rapidly rising star in the system, given his age, stuff, and seemingly excellent command. Leal is only 20 and already in A-ball and has stuff that could crystallize into a mid-rotation or higher profile. Steele is very high upside, but we won’t really know where he stands until we see him pitch a bit more later in the season. The reports on him have always been glowing, though.

By: lipitorkid

lipitorkid — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 04:55:11 +0000

How is Baez doing? Not just baseball doing, how is he holding up?

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 20:29:54 +0000

Besides Sands, which lower level pitching prospects intrigue you most?