Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2014 23:29:12 GMT -5
After one month of the season in the books, let's take a look at how the Cubs top prospects are faring.
1-Norm Cash-55 top pick absolutely destroying AA pitching in Des Moines to the tune of a triple slash line of .347/.431/1.154. 17 of his 35 hits have been for extra bases. He's even stolen a base. Cubs brass were intent on making him get some AB's in AA, but it looks like it won't be for long. Look for a promotion to AAA soon and Cash to be manning 1B for the Cubs as soon as next year.
2-George Altman-54 top pick picking up where he left off last year after his promotion to AAA.
.300/.426/.986 with 5HR and 3 SB's. Cubs seem pretty intent to keep him at AAA this year unless he forces the issue or injuries to the major league roster force their hand. May be up late this year but most likely makes his debut with Cash next year.
3-Bob Thorpe-Takes over as top SP prospect after injury to Stanka, still 5 weeks short of his 20th birthday, pitching much better at AAA than expected this early. 2.48 era with a 35/13 K/BB ratio in 36+ innings while only giving up 27 hits. Cubs have no plans to call him up this year, but with Stanka's injury, a look in the Cubs pen before moving to the rotation next year is not out of the question.
4-Joe Stanka-Cubs had high hopes for Stanka, thinking he may be up this year. Started the year horribly in AAA leading some to believe he was hiding an injury. April 25 went on DL with ruptured elbow ligament. Out for a couple of months, undoubtedly pushing off his debut. Look for a 56 debut at the earliest now. Slides down prospect list.
5-Jim Brosnan-Hard to have a reliever on the top prospect list, but Brosnan has kept up his dominating performance from the spring and has absolutely dominated AAA hitters. Has 6 saves over 19 innings, striking out 21 while walking only 7 and giving up only 12 hits. Brosnan will be up soon, most likely later this month to give the Cubs 3 top shelf righty arms in their bullpen with Klippstein, Elston and Brosnan.
6-Bill Mazeroski- Seems to have taken a step back after a strong debut in A ball last year. Cubs wanted to get a little longer look at him at this level, hoping he would continue upon last years success and move up to AA. At this point, it may be later in the year if at all. Only hitting .208 after hitting .297 last year. His K/BB ratio is still stellar, 13/15, just like last year. Still shining with the glove. Little luster off the star, but Cubs still optimistic. Still only 18.
7-Mike Solomko-Struggling with the bat in first extended look at AA pitching. Could be mental as Cubs have him moving to LF this spring since Cash seems to be the 1B of the future. Could be the change of position is leading to struggles at the plate. Only hitting .204 with 2 HR's, Cubs may send him back to A ball to get his head on straight. Still young at only 18.
8-Tom Cheney-Acquired from the Cardinals late last year, off to a decent start at AAA, 3-0 with a 2.34 era, but the periphials are not nearly that good. Only given up 29 hits in 34 innings, but has walked 21 men while striking out 17. Will most likely spend all year at AAA and could make his debut before the AS break next year.
9-Jake Striker-Acquired from Indians late last year in Dee Fondy deal, Cubs anticipated that he may end up being a lefty reliever, but has pitched very well in a starting role for AA Des Moines. 2.12 era, has struck out 36 men in only 34 innings while walking only 16 and giving up 26 hits. Very well could move up to AAA at some point this year and potential 57 debut.
10-Paul Toth-Cubs 3rd round selection this year has fared very well in his A ball debut. 2.35 era in 30 innings giving up 30 hits, striking out 17 while walking 18.
Surprise performances:3B Rudy Regalado, considered to be a throw in in Fondy deal with Cleveland, hitting .314/.390/.876 at AAA. OF-Don Robertson, once one of the Cubs better prospects, had fallen off of all of the lists as he aged and his performance lagged. May be regaining prospect status after a strong start at AA. .287/.391/.870 with 3 HR's and 12 XBH. The defense has always been there, looks like the bat is catching up. Will he make it in time? A SP-Jim Proctor. Cubs GM Andersen had his eye on Proctor in this year's draft, making sure that he was on top of his 4th round list and he has not disappointed, going 4-1 with a 1.78 era in his first A ball go round.
Rookie of the month for May-Bob Hazle. Cubs only have one rookie on the roster, although that is likely about to change. Hazle held his own in his first exposure to major league pitching, batting .283 with 6 doubles. Also got on base to a .356 clip and has only struck out 5 times in 53 AB's. Started the season batting 7th, recently moved up to 5th. Cubs seem confident the power will come and are happy to put up with the growing pains for the time being with Hazle.
News and notes:Johnny Groth seems to be bouncing back after a disastrous first season with the Cubs, leading many to question GM Andersen's giving a 5 year deal to Groth coming off his gold glove season. Off to a hot start .303/.350 with 4 HR's already, surpassing his total of 2 for all of last year. .837 OPS, Cubs would be more than happy with this level of production for the next 4 years. Ernie Banks is off to a much better start than last year when it took him a couple of months just to get his batting average above .200. Batting .257 with 3 HR's, still not nearly as much as he's capable of, but good to see him get off to a better start. Many wondered what kind of performance the Cubs would get out of Randy Jackson in his walk year, and it seems like the lure of a big free agent contract in a league with a shortage of quality 3B have Jackson "concentrating" a little more. Jackson is off to his best start in his Cubs career, batting .291 with a couple of HR's. Bob Serena is off to a terrible start coming off of his career year last year. After an .811 OPS and 20 HR's last year, Serena is only batting .165 with 1 HR thus far this year. Andersen moved him down to the 8th spot in an effort to get the bat moving.
Comings and Goings:Cubs signed 1B Dick Kryhoski after Preston Ward's slow start. Kryhoski hit .286 with 20 HR's last year in his first year of full time duty at 29 years old. Surprisingly he got no FA offers this offseason. With Ward off to a slow start he was demoted to AAA and Kryhoski will get a chance to prove that last year was no fluke.
Cubs end the month at 8-18, had some good and lots of bad. The pitching has been terrible as had been expected, the batting has been just OK. Help is on the way and the performance of the youngsters in the minor leagues give reason for optimism.
1-Norm Cash-55 top pick absolutely destroying AA pitching in Des Moines to the tune of a triple slash line of .347/.431/1.154. 17 of his 35 hits have been for extra bases. He's even stolen a base. Cubs brass were intent on making him get some AB's in AA, but it looks like it won't be for long. Look for a promotion to AAA soon and Cash to be manning 1B for the Cubs as soon as next year.
2-George Altman-54 top pick picking up where he left off last year after his promotion to AAA.
.300/.426/.986 with 5HR and 3 SB's. Cubs seem pretty intent to keep him at AAA this year unless he forces the issue or injuries to the major league roster force their hand. May be up late this year but most likely makes his debut with Cash next year.
3-Bob Thorpe-Takes over as top SP prospect after injury to Stanka, still 5 weeks short of his 20th birthday, pitching much better at AAA than expected this early. 2.48 era with a 35/13 K/BB ratio in 36+ innings while only giving up 27 hits. Cubs have no plans to call him up this year, but with Stanka's injury, a look in the Cubs pen before moving to the rotation next year is not out of the question.
4-Joe Stanka-Cubs had high hopes for Stanka, thinking he may be up this year. Started the year horribly in AAA leading some to believe he was hiding an injury. April 25 went on DL with ruptured elbow ligament. Out for a couple of months, undoubtedly pushing off his debut. Look for a 56 debut at the earliest now. Slides down prospect list.
5-Jim Brosnan-Hard to have a reliever on the top prospect list, but Brosnan has kept up his dominating performance from the spring and has absolutely dominated AAA hitters. Has 6 saves over 19 innings, striking out 21 while walking only 7 and giving up only 12 hits. Brosnan will be up soon, most likely later this month to give the Cubs 3 top shelf righty arms in their bullpen with Klippstein, Elston and Brosnan.
6-Bill Mazeroski- Seems to have taken a step back after a strong debut in A ball last year. Cubs wanted to get a little longer look at him at this level, hoping he would continue upon last years success and move up to AA. At this point, it may be later in the year if at all. Only hitting .208 after hitting .297 last year. His K/BB ratio is still stellar, 13/15, just like last year. Still shining with the glove. Little luster off the star, but Cubs still optimistic. Still only 18.
7-Mike Solomko-Struggling with the bat in first extended look at AA pitching. Could be mental as Cubs have him moving to LF this spring since Cash seems to be the 1B of the future. Could be the change of position is leading to struggles at the plate. Only hitting .204 with 2 HR's, Cubs may send him back to A ball to get his head on straight. Still young at only 18.
8-Tom Cheney-Acquired from the Cardinals late last year, off to a decent start at AAA, 3-0 with a 2.34 era, but the periphials are not nearly that good. Only given up 29 hits in 34 innings, but has walked 21 men while striking out 17. Will most likely spend all year at AAA and could make his debut before the AS break next year.
9-Jake Striker-Acquired from Indians late last year in Dee Fondy deal, Cubs anticipated that he may end up being a lefty reliever, but has pitched very well in a starting role for AA Des Moines. 2.12 era, has struck out 36 men in only 34 innings while walking only 16 and giving up 26 hits. Very well could move up to AAA at some point this year and potential 57 debut.
10-Paul Toth-Cubs 3rd round selection this year has fared very well in his A ball debut. 2.35 era in 30 innings giving up 30 hits, striking out 17 while walking 18.
Surprise performances:3B Rudy Regalado, considered to be a throw in in Fondy deal with Cleveland, hitting .314/.390/.876 at AAA. OF-Don Robertson, once one of the Cubs better prospects, had fallen off of all of the lists as he aged and his performance lagged. May be regaining prospect status after a strong start at AA. .287/.391/.870 with 3 HR's and 12 XBH. The defense has always been there, looks like the bat is catching up. Will he make it in time? A SP-Jim Proctor. Cubs GM Andersen had his eye on Proctor in this year's draft, making sure that he was on top of his 4th round list and he has not disappointed, going 4-1 with a 1.78 era in his first A ball go round.
Rookie of the month for May-Bob Hazle. Cubs only have one rookie on the roster, although that is likely about to change. Hazle held his own in his first exposure to major league pitching, batting .283 with 6 doubles. Also got on base to a .356 clip and has only struck out 5 times in 53 AB's. Started the season batting 7th, recently moved up to 5th. Cubs seem confident the power will come and are happy to put up with the growing pains for the time being with Hazle.
News and notes:Johnny Groth seems to be bouncing back after a disastrous first season with the Cubs, leading many to question GM Andersen's giving a 5 year deal to Groth coming off his gold glove season. Off to a hot start .303/.350 with 4 HR's already, surpassing his total of 2 for all of last year. .837 OPS, Cubs would be more than happy with this level of production for the next 4 years. Ernie Banks is off to a much better start than last year when it took him a couple of months just to get his batting average above .200. Batting .257 with 3 HR's, still not nearly as much as he's capable of, but good to see him get off to a better start. Many wondered what kind of performance the Cubs would get out of Randy Jackson in his walk year, and it seems like the lure of a big free agent contract in a league with a shortage of quality 3B have Jackson "concentrating" a little more. Jackson is off to his best start in his Cubs career, batting .291 with a couple of HR's. Bob Serena is off to a terrible start coming off of his career year last year. After an .811 OPS and 20 HR's last year, Serena is only batting .165 with 1 HR thus far this year. Andersen moved him down to the 8th spot in an effort to get the bat moving.
Comings and Goings:Cubs signed 1B Dick Kryhoski after Preston Ward's slow start. Kryhoski hit .286 with 20 HR's last year in his first year of full time duty at 29 years old. Surprisingly he got no FA offers this offseason. With Ward off to a slow start he was demoted to AAA and Kryhoski will get a chance to prove that last year was no fluke.
Cubs end the month at 8-18, had some good and lots of bad. The pitching has been terrible as had been expected, the batting has been just OK. Help is on the way and the performance of the youngsters in the minor leagues give reason for optimism.
