There’s a lot of stuff to dig in here, so let’s get right into it.
The Week That Was
| Top 10 | ||
| Name | Level | Stats |
| Gleyber Torres | Low-A South Bend | 2-for-12, 3 SO, 1 BB |
| Kyle Schwarber | MLB | MLB |
| Billy McKinney | Double-A Tennessee | 5-for-13, 2 RS, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO |
| Albert Almora, Jr. | Double-A Tennessee | 7-for-15, 2 RS, 1 BB, 0 SO |
| Pierce Johnson | Double-A Tennessee | 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO |
| Dan Vogelbach | DL | DL |
| Carson Sands | Short Season Eugene | 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO |
| Jen-Ho Tseng | High-A Myrtle Beach | 6,0 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO |
| Carl Edwards, Jr. | Triple-A Iowa | 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO |
| The Others | ||
| Name | Level | Stats |
| Javier Baez | Triple-A Iowa | 2-for-9, 1 RS, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO |
| Jeimer Candelario | Double-A Tennessee | 1-for-13, 1 RS |
| Ian Happ | Low-A South Bend | 2-for-12, 2 RS, 6 RBI, 1 GS |
| Arismendy Alcantara | Triple-A Iowa | 1-for-7, 1 RS, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SO |
| Christian Villanueva | Triple-A Iowa | 1-for-7, 1 RS, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO |
Notes: Happ hit himself a grand slam; he has clear baseball skills but my first impression is a 6/4 hit/power bat with a questionable defensive home; that’s a useful player, for sure, but keep it in mind as he climbs the ladder…Almora, Jr. has been red-hot in recent weeks; he has the latent talent to develop a plus hit tool but his poor development of the tool has blunted the shine on his projections some; I don’t think plus hit is in his future given his approach, but I can see a situation where he actualizes a merely average hit tool, which will make him a solid starter given his center field defense…Candelario’s career has been a veritable roller-coaster, as he’s oscillated between good, bad, and terrible at different points in his young career; ultimately I don’t see him hitting enough to start…That’s back-to-back seven-inning starts with one walk for Johnson; I’ve said this before, but the stuff is major-league caliber; he has four pitches with a plus fastball and curve combination, and an emerging cutter; health and command are the issues with Johnson, so seeing him go deep into starts with one walk is encouraging…Tseng was roughed up this week, but he managed to post a 5:0 SO:BB ratio…I wrote a report on Torres that you can read here…Once Schwarber earns enough MLB plate apperances, he’s going to be gone from the list and then Brandon Decker and I will be debating the top tens; rest assured, they will be revamped.
| Teams | ||
| Name | Level | Standings/Notes |
| Eugene Emeralds | Short-Season A | 8-7, 2 GB |
| South Bend Cubs | Low-A | 23-23, 6 GB |
| Myrtle Beach Pelicans | Hi-A | 28-19, 1 GB |
| Tennessee Smokies | Double-A | 23-23, 5.5 GB |
| Iowa Cubs | Triple-A | 65-53, 6 GB |
Just a quick note on the Smokies: it’s astounding, given the talent that is on that team, that they are 23-23.
What to Watch For: Eugene vs. Everett (Short Season). It’s rare that we write about OTP (other teams’ prospects) in this space, but you’re going to want to get in on Drew Jackson of Everett. He’s hitting .398 with 34 stolen bases this year (which is pretty good, I guess). I’ve heard good reports on him as well: the speed is legitimate and he can stick at short. Keep an eye on him.