Hey now, and welcome to the special All-Star edition of Zack’s Sack! The Cubs made a huge trade this week, and Wade Davis blew the All-Star game for the National League. So, don’t delay, act now—let’s dive into the sack. As always, Twitter replies have been left unedited to capture the immediate nature of the medium, […]
Tag: Prospects
Prospect Update: Adbert Alzolay Is Beginning to Figure It Out
One of the bright spots in the Cubs organization this summer has been the pitching performance of Adbert Alzolay. The 22-year-old right-hander from Venezuela has a fastball that has been sitting 95 to 96 most nights. While his secondaries still need work, he is an intriguing starting pitching candidate beyond this year. With an ERA […]
Composite Top Prospect List
As an extreme prospect nerd, the months leading into the season is always one of my favorite times of year. Prospect ranking is extremely subjective, perhaps more of an art than a science, so it’s no big surprise that rankings often differ quite greatly from one another. While there is usually a bit of consensus […]
Low-Level Prospects Primed for a Breakout
Dakota Mekkes, RHP 2016 level: Arizona (Rookie), Eugene (A-) Drafted in the 10th round out of Michigan State, Mekkes was one of the better relievers taken in the 2016 draft. At 6’7″ and 250 pounds he’s an absolute monster, and he led the NCAA in K/9 in 2016. He’s all the more interesting because he doesn’t necessarily do […]
Prospect Day: The “Next Five”
To complement the main site releasing the Cubs’ top 10 prospects, the staff here has once again collaborated to bring you the 11th-15th best prospects in the Cubs’ system. Before you check out our conclusions below, head over to the main site to read Jeffrey Paternostro’s top 10 write-up of the best prospects in the system. […]
Zastryzny, Already Defying Expectations, Looking for More
Rob Zastryzny, or ‘Rob Z’ as he’s called by Joe Maddon, made some Cubs history when he was called up to the big league club in mid-August. He’s the first of the pitchers drafted under the Theo Epstein regime to make it to the major leagues, and second only to left-hander Gerardo Concepcion when you […]
Johnson, Developing as a Reliever, Awaits Wrigley Call
Pierce Johnson, it seems like for as long as we can remember, has been the Cubs’ pitching prospect. At a time when hitters dominated the ranks of Chicago’s minor league system, and not to mention all the headlines, Johnson was alone on the pitching side. The hitters have graduated, but Johnson’s trajectory toward the big leagues […]
BP Midseason Top 50: Three Cubs Feature
This morning, the prospect team over at the main site released their Midseason Top 50 Prospects List. Three Cubs feature. We hope you enjoy this preview. Let’s make a couple things clear right up top: 1) There are no recent draftees or international prospect signings in this ranking. That means no Kevin Maitan or Corey Ray. 2) […]
Young Cubs: Jimenez Powering Up
The big-league Cubs have largely struggled since I last wrote, but things are still looking very good down on the farm. A few big name prospects have made some big strides in recent weeks, while some have simply continued to play well. Let’s take a spin around the minors and catch up. Iowa Cubs (Triple-A) […]
Prospects, Now as Currency for the Future
Prospects excite us because they are in many ways the embodiment of a bright, new future—one in which anything is possible, and things can always get better. From a team’s perspective, prospects are generally good for two things: (a) turning into Major League talent that can help a team win at a controlled cost, and (b) […]