What you need to know: Jackson Stephens, a 23-year-old pitcher making his MLB debut, barely outdueled Eddie Butler this afternoon—more with his bat than his arm. In the fourth inning, Stephens delivered a two-out, bases loaded single that gave the Reds a 4-3 lead. They didn’t give it back. Stephens battled through just five innings and […]
Author: Nate Greabe
Young Cubs: Now Even Younger
When the big league Cubs struggle, minor league development always becomes just a bit more interesting. Nowadays, though, in the absence of the high-level, superstar prospects of years past, it can be a bit more difficult than it used to be to find the storylines and prospects to hone in on. It is for this purpose […]
Young Cubs: Cease Your Happ Puns
The big league Cubs are struggling and banged up, and so we’ve seen—sooner than we’d hoped—the callups of Iowa’s most interesting prospects. Jeimer Candelario, Eddie Butler, and Ian Happ all made their 2017 debuts last week, and each immediately afforded the reeling Cubs some much-needed support. Each, perhaps with the exception of Butler, will likely end […]
Young Cubs: Still Going Strong
In the wake of a World Series victory, Cubs fans are clearly more willing to accept a less star-studded minor league system than the one we’ve watched in recent years. Rizzo, Bryant, Russell, Schwarber, Soler, Baez, Contreras, and even Almora are gone now, replaced by prospects whose stars shine a bit dimmer, at least in reputation. […]
As Almora Jr. Takes His Spot in Center, What Have We Learned?
On November 2nd in Cleveland, I watched Albert Almora Jr. pinch run for Kyle Schwarber and tag up from first to second on a long flyball off the bat of Kris Bryant. From my vantage point, and for a brief, exhilarating second, I thought the ball was gone. Many players would likely have drifted off […]
The Tenth Percentile Cubs
PECOTA currently projects the Cubs for 93 wins, 12 more than the 81-win Pirates, who are projected for second place in the NL Central. Rarely is a team so heavily favored in a division, but for a team in the Cubs’ position, it makes sense. Centerfield is the only position that projects below 2.5 WARP, and, […]
Cactus Catchup: The Walk Before the Squat
This post-World Series offseason was the shortest in Cubs history, but in many (many) ways it felt very long. On Tuesday, though, at least a light semblance of baseball returned, and to the relief of fans everywhere. The Cubs are back in Mesa, and that means the return of our Cactus Catchup series, in which we’ll […]
Alec Mills and How the Cubs Got Their Starting Pitcher Depth
Before last offseason, I wrote about the way that Theo Epstein-led front offices tend to go about acquiring relief pitchers. The conclusion was that, somewhat surprisingly, these front offices almost never sign high-priced free agent relievers, instead electing to acquire them through trade or from the minor leagues. And the Cubs have stuck to this […]
Do the Cubs Have Any Viable Extension Candidates?
On Monday, news broke that the Royals had signed Danny Duffy, 28, to a five-year extension worth $65 million dollars. Coming off by far the best year of his career (Duffy put up 3.8 WARP and a cFIP of 91), the Royals locked him up to what seems to be a fairly team-friendly deal. Duffy—who […]
While We Have Time: A Look at Some Minor Acquisitions from the Offseason
Every team’s offseason transactions list is dotted with players who are unlikely to make an impact at the MLB level in the immediate future. But, of course, any player who is actively signed by a big league organization has at least something intriguing about them. It could be a certain rate stat, a certain pitch, and intriguing […]