Carl Edwards Jr. has been widely considered the top arm in the Cubs farm system for the past two seasons. Edwards, who was impressive in his first big-league spring training, spent half of last season on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation that occurred in April. This undoubtedly was a major concern for many scouts […]
Author: Brandon Decker
Scouting the ‘Pen Arms in Iowa
Photo courtesy of Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports Carl Edwards Jr. was just promoted to Triple-A Iowa this and many are speculating that he may eventually be an answer to the many issues facing the big-league bullpen. That unit has been a hot topic this season as it’s had its ups and downs, due to both […]
Early Season Stock Report on a Trio of Top Prospects
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports We’re a little over a month into the 2015 season, so I thought I’d take a look at a few guys whose career paths seem to be going in different directions. We’re talking about the red-hot Billy McKinney, the forever slow-starting Javier Baez, and the guy who just […]
Kyle Schwarber and the Decision Ahead
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports The Chicago Cubs surprised many when they selected Kyle Schwarber fourth overall in last year’s amateur draft. Many considered Kyle Schwarber a mid-to-late first-round pick, but Chicago liked what they saw and grabbed him early. Chicago signed him to a $3.125 million deal, which was well below the […]
Jorge Soler’s Kryptonite
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports Jorge Soler started the season playing pretty well—he had an .894 OPS through the first 13 games of the season—but has fallen into a bit of a slump of late, and we can’t blame it on bad luck as his BABIP is an astonishing .412. What’s been alarming […]
Maddon Has the Cubs Running Wild
Joe Maddon was well-known as one of the funkiest managers in baseball during his time with the Tampa Bay Rays. Maddon often implemented the infield shift before it was popular and even batted his pitcher eighth in interleague games. The Rays are well-known as one of the more sabermetricly inclined organizations, and Maddon was a […]
A Look at the Cubs Early Season Plate Approach
The season is still young, very young. We’re only 10 games into the season, and only two games into the Kris Bryant era. However, something has stood out in the early portion of the season. The Cubs are striking out a lot. In fact, they’re striking out in 23 percent of their plate appearances, […]
What to Look for If You Find Yourself in Des Moines
If you’re unsure as to which team may be more exciting to watch in April, the Chicago Cubs or the Iowa Cubs, you’re not alone. A Triple-A infield featuring Kris Bryant, Addison Russell (who hasn’t been assigned to a level, but is likely heading to Des Moines), and Javier Baez is arguably better than what […]