Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2014 11:50:36 GMT -5
Thursday's trade deadline came and went and all remained quiet around Wrigley Field as Cubs GM Matt Andersen failed to pull off any deadline deals. The Cubs had made yet another trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in the month in an exchange of prospects, the Cubs sending 1B/3B Gordie Coleman and OF Eddie Haas to the Steel City in exchange for C/1B/OF Danny Kravitz, however, as the deadline approached, there were rumors of more potential deals being in the works. Andersen has made no secret of his desire to acquire young major league starting pitching to try to speed up the rebuilding process going on at the corner of Clark and Addison, but in the end the Cubs ended up standing pat. "It's certainly not for lack of effort on our part" said Andersen when asked about efforts to acquire pitching. "We have gotten to the point that the depth in our minor league system, particularly in the hitting department, will hopefully allow us to make some moves, but at some point, you have to consider the costs. Just because we have good depth in the system, I don't think we are at a point where we can greatly overpay just to address an area of need. We do have a number of good arms in our system that we are very high on, they are just a little behind some of our impact bats at this point". The Cubs were rumored to be in discussions with the Red Sox in an effort to acquire some pitching but no deal came to fruition. "There were times I felt we were close" Andersen went on to say, "but in the end it just felt like the cost was getting to the point of being prohibitive. When every time you make a counter offer you start to question whether or not the deal even makes sense, it's probably best that you step back. We did make one final push, but I think in the end, neither us or Boston were comfortable, and Boston rejected our final offer. We're very happy keeping our talent and we feel confident that opportunities will continue to afford themselves to us, possibly in the off-season, that will keep us on track with our long term and near term goals."
With that, let's get to our Cubs report. In the comings and goings department, coming, in the previous mentioned trade was Danny Kravitz. The Cubs have been concerned about the slow development of Carl Sawatski and the lack of quality backstops in the minor league system and saw the opportunity to grab Kravitz and jumped. The 24 year old was just recently promoted to AAA and had fared well in AA. He projects to be a high average/high obp bat with decent power. Some question whether his defense will ever allow him to be a full time C, and he can play 1B and the OF. Jury is out on whether he is a starter or more of a super sub utility guy. The Cubs called up OF Solly Drake on June 10 to be the starter in RF against lefties after a blazing start at AAA Los Angeles where he had batted .345 with a .933 OPS and Drake has continued his hot hitting in his first exposure to major league hitting, not only hitting for a high average (.359), but also showing surprising power, hitting 3 HR's in his first 64 major league at bats. Coming back up were relievers Turk Lown and Vern Fear after Corky Valentine failed yet again in another look at major league pitching. Cubs brass had really felt Valentine had turned it around after his conversion to reliever, especially in light of his dominating early part of the year at AAA. After this last callup one has to wonder if we've seen the last of Mr. Valentine in a Cubs uniform. As far as the goings, besides Mr. Valentine back to AAA, Gordie Coleman and Eddie Haas were shipped to Pittsburgh. Coleman was a victim of the Cubs depth at 1B more than anything. The Cubs had tried him at 3B this year and he made progress, but in the end the Cubs felt like the potential of Kravitz behind the plate probably outweighed whether Coleman ever would be defensively sound enough to man the hot corner. Haas was kind of a forgotten man in a Cubs system full of good looking OF prospects. He has had a solid year at AA and his defense certainly plays, but the Cubs had no real long term plans for him.
Down on the Farm:
1-Norm Cash. At this point there's very little doubt that we'll see Cash start the year as the Cubs starting 1B next year. The massive power has continued with his promotion to AAA, and he now has 31 homers in just 407 AB's between AA and AAA. .276/.369/.921 in 286 AAA AB's, he looks pretty close to being ready and the Cubs really have nothing to lose by promoting him. The fans are clamoring and it looks like next year some of the youth will finally start to arrive. Probably will be platooned his first year and sit vs. most lefties, but the power is real folks.
2-George Altman. Will also most likely start the year in Wrigley next year as the opening day RF. The power, while not nearly as prodigious as Cash's, is still very real. .277/.366/.867 in his first full year in AAA, and now has 28 HR's in 584 AAA AB's over the last 2 years. The Cubs are dying for his power/speed combo, so again, no real reason to hold him back.
3-Bob Thorpe. Really forcing Cubs brass' hand. Because of his age (just 20) the Cubs have really tried to take it slow with him, but he continues to pitch well at an advanced level. Initially Cubs had hoped to see Thorpe debut sometime in 57, but after going 6-7 with a 3.37 era and a 1.29 WHIP in his first AAA exposure, he's not far off. 129/49 K/BB ratio, and has only allowed 116 hits in 128 1/3 IP. May start the year at AAA next year, but some seasoning in the big league bullpen may very well be in the cards for this youngster.
4-Bill Mazeroski. Stud second baseman hasn't had the year with the bat many had hoped, although he did fare well enough early on that the Cubs felt good enough to go ahead and promote him to AA, where he's struggled somewhat. The glove has been as good as advertised and the Cubs love his makeup. Doesn't turn 19 until the end of the year, look for a full season of AA next year. Cubs will exercise caution here as they really foresee Maz being their second baseman for a very long time.
5-Curt Barclay. The Cubs staff loved this guy when they got him from the Giants last year in the Howie Pollet deal, but I think even they were surprised at how great of an arm he has. The main question at this point is can he stay healthy enough and be durable enough to remain in the rotation. At 6'3 210 he certainly doesn't look the frail part, but after missing most of last season to injury and dealing with nagging injuries the year before, and his seeming inability to go deep in games, one has to wonder. The arm is probably the best in the system, and could certainly play in a high leverage relief role, but the Cubs are really hoping he can be a top of the rotation arm. The stats are still behind the talent, but the talent is undeniable. Will most likely start at AA next year for the third consecutive year, but a promotion to AAA with health is certainly in the cards.
6-Tom Cheney. Now has 223+ innings at AAA as a 20 year old and has pitched well this year, but still has some work to do. The stats say 12-4 with a 3.28 era. The peripheral's paint a different picture. The peripheral's say he's walked 77 men while only striking out 74 in 131+ innings, which in turn say, more AAA work next year. At some point Cubs will have to promote him if he keeps succeeding and long term the picture him as a number 2 or 3 starter, but there's still work to do. Very talented.
7-Joe Stanka. It's been a lost year for Stanka, for whom the Cubs had such high hopes. He dealt with an elbow injury that cost him 6 weeks early in the season, and his results have been absolutely dreadful at AAA. Some are questioning whether the Cubs rushed him back too soon. Not sure where he goes from here. Coming in to the season the Cubs really hoped to get him some bullpen innings this year with the big league club and foresaw him starting next year in the big league rotation. Now one has to wonder if AA is closer than the bigs for Stanka. Cubs still love his arm and will look for a rebound next year with health. Timeline has been pushed back dramatically at this point and with Stanka being 24, there are already whispers.
8-Mike Solomko. Was rumored to be in package going to Boston at deadline, Cubs still love the bat, the question becomes where does he play. He's certainly not going to displace Cash at 1B, can play in the OF, but his weak arm almost certainly puts him in LF, where Bob Hazle already has a foot in the door. Cubs have started working him at 3B, but again, the arm. Part of the "trade-able" depth that Andersen is speaking of, undoubtedly has the bat to be a middle of the order 1B, just caught in a depth chart issue in Chicago. Has struggled hitting for average in his first exposure to AA, but 15 homers says the power continues to develop.
9-John Tsitouris. Long term his 175 lb frame probably paints him as a reliever, but continues to thrive in starting role in AA. 8-5 3.34 era, only allowed 127 hits in 140 innings. The K/BB ratio still needs some work, but should see AAA next year at some point, if not at the start of the year.
10-Lou Johnson. Cubs absolutely love this guy. Certainly not the scouts favorite, but has that speed/obp package with great defense and an athletic frame that has Cubs personnel thinking he has a real chance to man CF for a long time in Wrigley. After obliterating A ball pitching last year to the tune of .348/17/26 in 319 AB's, he's continued to struggle to hit for average in his first full season at AA ball. However, only 20 years old and still getting on base at a tremendous rate (.385) and 33 stolen bases in 38 attempts.
Sleeper Alert-The Cubs loved Jim Proctor on draft day, nabbing him in the 4th round after making sure the commissioners office knew Proctor was at the top of their 4th round list. Proctor has done nothing to disappoint. Has gone 9-2 between A and AA with a 2.10 era. Other teams are starting to take notice. Pirates tried to sneak him in to deal involving Kravitz and were promptly turned away.
News and Notes: Ernie Banks was the only Cub selected to play in this year's all-star game, his 2nd all star appearance in his brief 3 year career. Banks continues to have a nice bounce back year after his sophomore season disaster, but maybe most importantly is the patience he's showing at the plate. The Cubs were disappointed that Johnny Groth did not make the squad. Groth has had a great year for the Cubs after last season's disappointment with a .296 batting average and 11 HR's, and more importantly, a .354 OBP, all while playing gold glove defense. The Cubs have been unable to come to terms with 3B Randy Jackson and now it looks like they are going to let him walk. The Cubs were willing to only go two years with Jackson, and Jackson obviously felt like his improved performance in this, the last year of his deal, was worth more than the Cubs did. Rumor has it he was placed on waivers, so maybe the Cubs can pull off another waiver wire deal. They've made two waiver wire deals the last two years.
Rookie of the Month:After giving the award to Bob Hazle the first two months of the season, we're going to recognize Solly Drake. All Drake has done since coming up is hit, and he brings a contagious energy to the club house. Drake projects more of a bench guy than a long term answer in the OF, but he's been fun to watch, in this, a year, without a whole lot of fun things to watch.
