
Brandon Guyer
Cubs Attracting Attention in Venezuela
Several Cubs minor leaguers who can be an MLB Rule 55 minor league free-agent (6YMiLFA) or who are eligible for selection in next month’s MLB Rule 5 draft are making noise in the Venezuelan Winter League (VWL).
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2011 Cubs Top 15 Prospects
Here are my “2011 Cubs Top 15 Prospects.”
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Archer and Guyer Earn Top Minor League Honors
The Cubs named outfielder Brandon Guyer their 2010 Minor League Player of the Year and Chris Archer was named the pitcher of the year.
Guyer and Archer are still competing for the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League champioship that begins tomorrow against the Jackson Suns.
Morelli Extends Hit Streak to 14 As Cubs Tarnish Angels at Fitch Park
Runey Davis drove-in four runs with a bases-loaded triple and an RBI single, Sergio Burruel knocked-in two more with a two-run single, and Jesus Morelli extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an RBI double, leading the EXST Cubs to an 8-4 victory over the EXST Angels in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #2 this morning in Mesa.
Cubs & Giants Play Two at Extended Spring Training
The EXST Cubs and EXST Giants played a Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader at Indian School Park in Scottsdale this morning, with the Giants rallying with two runs in the bottom of the 7th to take the game played on Field #3 by a score of 4-2, while the other squads of Cubs and Giants played to a 4-4 tie on Field #4 as the Giants scored the tying run in the bottom of the 8th. (The game on Field #4 was stopped after eight innings).
Guyer Lone Bright Spot in Cub Loss
The EXST A’s defeated the EXST Cubs 5-1 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Papago Park Field #2 in Phoenix this morning.
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Morelli and Guyer Clutch Hits Save the Day at Extended Spring Training
Jesus Morelli drilled a two-run single to right with two outs in the top of the 9th to plate the tying run, and Brandon Guyer followed with an RBI double off the CF fence to drive in Morelli with what turned out to be the game-winning run, as the EXST Cubs rallied for four runs in the 9th to edge the EXST Angels 6-5 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Diablo Park Field #3 at the Tempe Buttes this morning.
Cuban Defector Makes U. S. Debut at Fitch Park
Jae-Hoon Ha went 4-4 with two triples, a double, and a single, scored three runs, and drove-in two more, Jesus Morelli reached base four times on a single, a double, a triple, and a walk, scored twice, and knocked-in three, and George Matheus had two singles, a double, and two RBI, but it was left to Wes Darvill to drive-in the winning run as the youngster bounced a single through a drawn-in infield with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th, rallying one squad of Cubs to an 8-7 victory over one squad of the Giants on Field #3, while over on Field #2, Alvaro Ramirez doubled and tripled, drove-in one run, and scored another, Chris Huseby doubled, walked and scored a run, and Pin-Chieh Chen had two hits, a run scored, and an RBI, but the other squad of Giants clubbed five triples, a double, and a home run, and took advantage of two costly Rafael Disla errors to score four unearned runs, en route to an 8-4 victory over the other squad of Cubs, as the EXST Cubs and EXST Giants split a Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader this morning at Fitch Park in Mesa.
21-year old RHP Juan Yasser Serrano made his debut with the Cubs on Field #3, tossing a 13-pitch, ten strike, 1-2-3 inning (4-3, 4-3, and 5-3). Serrano is the Cuban Defector who was signed by the Cubs for a reported $250K bonus this past March, and he appears to be a polished hurler who should advance quickly through the system. I would think he will probably get assigned initially to Daytona (fellow Cuban Defector OF Smaily Borges is already there), once he has gets his arm strength up to where it needs to be. Serrano is not a big guy (maybe 6’1), and he has a solid (almost stocky) build.
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2010 Cubs Top 15 Prospects
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Dolis Shines in the Fitch Park Sun
Rebel Ridling had three hits, drove-in three runs, and scored two, and Rafael Dolis and Brooks Raley combined to throw six innings of one-hit shutout ball, as the Chiefs Cubs drubbed the A's 12-4 in AZ Instructional League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this afternoon.
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Recent comments
crunch (view)
it is taking more than a minute for me to get used to craig counsell being the cubs manager.
he's going to take the field on opening day at wrigley and get massively cheered.
that is weird. that's a thing that's happening, though.
history aside, while i am horrified at the amount of money they're paying him, i welcome his style of management over what d.ross has given the team. love d.ross and how chill + ready to deliver he kept the team, but he had a serious pitching short-hook problem that exhausted the pen and some very questionable bench/pinch-hitting use.
Arizona Phil (view)
FINWE N: If you go by what Counsell did with the Brewers, he is much more likely to go with younger players than Ross was. I think part of it was that Ross was a "veteran players manager," meaning he was well liked and respected by veteran players because he was inclined to play them over younger unproven guys.
And that actually might have been OK if the Cubs had been "sellers"at the trade deadline (as they clearly had planned to be before suddenly deciding to go fr it), because Ross would have played the veterans a lot the first four months of the season (which would have maximized their trade value), and then Ross would have had no choice but to play the younger guys the last two months after the veterans were traded.
But of course it didn't work out that way.
One thing about Craig Counsell that might have attracted Hoyer to him is that Counsel is very "collaborative" as a manager and welcomes and even demands lots of input from the analytics department. In fact I have heard tell that Counsell knows at least as much as the geeks know and that he routinely goes to them for information rather than waiting for it to be offered. So think of Ross as a Chevy pick-up truck, while Counsell is a Tesla.
crunch (view)
with candelario off the board to the reds, it looks like it's chapman or trade...or another year of gambling cheap on someone like gio urshela or a meh-D donovan solano.
of course there's also this guy with a rocket arm named morel that could have played a bit more 3rd in 2023 seeing if that could be his thing, but whatever i guess. i know accuracy isn't a strength with those throws from 3rd, but still, for his cost and a supporting middle-IF that's one of the best in MLB (if not #1) it's not the worst use of a very cheap talent.
Arizona Phil (view)
FINWE N: I believe Jeimer Candelario offers more roster flexibility in 2024 and beyond than players like Matt Chapman and/or Rhys Hoskins would, not to mention costing a lot less $$$$ (and signing Chapman would also cost the Cubs a draft pick because Toronto extended a Qualifying Offer to Chapman).
Also, I can't help but see visions of Trey Mancini whenever I think about the Cubs signing Rhys Hoskins.
Arizona Phil (view)
FINWE N: Time will tell.
Certainly the Cubs are not exactly flush with lefty relievers in the system. so Adam Laskey was not redundant.
As far as Sheldon Reed is concerned, he pitched very well the last month of the season at South Bend and I thought that would have earned him a spot on the Iowa reserve list.
I presume the Cubs had good reasons for not assigning Laskey and Reed to the AAA reserve list (thus making them available for selection in the AAA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft), but without knowing who was on the AAA reserve list instead of Laskey and Reed, I can't offer an informed opinion.
BTW, the same thing happened last year when I had LHP Luis Angel Rodriguez on the AAA Iowa roster but the Cubs left him off and then he was selected by the Houston Astros in the AAA Phase. I couldn't figure that one out, either.
crunch (view)
reds snag candelario...
Finwe Noldaran (view)
Arizona P:
Would Candelario be someone that is able to take a bench role once some of these younger players are coming up and need playing time and latitude?
So crazy that his career has come full circle like this.......
Finwe Noldaran (view)
Arizona P:
Do you feel that Counsel will be more apt to play out some of the young guys, rather than mainly sticking with veterans like Dross?
Finwe Noldaran (view)
Arizona P:
Do you think they weren't protected in the AAA phase because the organization feels they're redundant or at lesser value than other players they protected, or was this just poor managment?
George Altman (view)
Even more reason that Jed needs to bring back Bellinger and his LH bat.