I’m finally going to see ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ today after weeks of avoiding spoilers. I don’t see too many movies in the theaters these days, so I’m pretty excited.
- Matt Garza threw yesterday, but not for as long as he or the Cubs might have hoped. The birth of his daughter this week naturally caused him not to do much work for a few days, so he was coming in pretty cold. He’ll throw again today, and the Cubs are still waiting to see if he can start on Tuesday. At this point, the Cubs would be best served letting him get to 100% before he starts. A dominant stretch of starts from here on out would be quite the good thing for both Garza and the Cubs.
- As I hinted at in the post about Chris Volstad’s call-up, and then again in the post about the Cubs looking at Derek Lowe, Sveum says he anticipates giving Chris Volstad a long look in the rotation from here on out so the Cubs can see what they have.
- Cubs’ brass and Dale Sveum met yesterday, as planned, to discuss the organizational plan for guys like Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters. “We didn’t determine anything, but we had some good conversations about some of the guys that will be up in September for sure,” Sveum said, according to the Tribune. “But when and how all that’s going to play out … they’re still in the development process … The development clock is where we want it …. [Jackson and Vitters] have gotten their development in. It’s just a matter of when we decide to do it- this month or wait until September.”
- Javier Baez and Brooks Raley are your Cubs’ position player and pitcher of the month for July. From the announcing press release, on Baez: “Baez, 19, batted .368 (39-for-106) with six doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 20 RBI and 21 runs scored in 28 July games for Peoria. Last month he led the Midwest League in hits (39), total bases (72) and slugging percentage (.679), and was second in extra-base hits (16), batting average, runs scored and OPS (1.076). Baez was named Midwest League Player of the Week for July 9-15, and his 39 hits were the most in a month by a Peoria player since Justin Bour had 40 in August of 2010.” On Raley: “Raley, 24, posted a 2.12 ERA (7 ER/29.2 IP) in five July starts for Iowa, walking just 12 while striking out 28 and limiting opponents to a .254 batting average. His 2.12 July ERA ranked fourth-lowest among Pacific Coast League pitchers. Raley allowed two or fewer runs in each of his five outings while recording three quality starts, and surrendered just two home runs in 132 batters faced.”
- Ben Badler chatted at Baseball America, and there were plenty of nice Cubs-related tidbits. The best? It wouldn’t surprise Badler if the Cubs had a top 5 farm system by next Spring. (Edit: I’m awesome at reading. Ben said that WOULD surprise him. I say it depends on the trades the Cubs can make, but quite unlikely. That’s why I thought it was so nice of him to say….)
- A feature on former Cubs prospect/player Adam Greenberg, who’s still playing baseball after his scary debut with the Cubs (he’s the kid who had one plate appearance in the bigs, and it was a fastball to the helmet).
- A feature on Boise prospect Dan Vogelbach, including quotes from his hitting coach, Bill Buckner.
- Tim Sheridan over at Boys of Spring has an *excellent* video package on Cubs’ prospects who’ve made their way through Arizona this year, including an interview of Albert Almora. It’s pretty much 7+ minutes of Cubs prospect porn, and if you’re remotely into that kind of thing, you should get some popcorn and enjoy:
You read Badler’s chat wrong:
He would be surprised if teh Cubs have a top 5 system next year.
Brett, I think you may have it backwards on the Baseball America chat, he is asked if the Cubs may have a top five system next year and he replies ‘that would surprise me.’
Bruce Wayne is Keyser Soze. Sorry, should have said spoiler alert.
actually…
“jb (Iowa): Any chance Cubs could have a top 5 system by next spring ? t hanks
Ben Badler: That would surprise me.”
but i bet bottom 10 is within reality. which would be awesome work for just over a year’s worth of building.
First three comments. Must be a record.
it’s because we love you.
It’s ok Brett. Sometimes we only see what we want to see.
Where is rookie ball ? Is that AZ ? is there not 1 or 2 fans that can fill the seats ? That is so sad..
The quote from Ben Badler is that it would surprise him if the Cubs had a top 5 system next year.
4 outta 5…damn this kid has a good hit tool…
Yeah I was late to the party. Wasn’t trying to be a jerk just didn’t refresh in between reading the bullets and posting.
You’re more than fine.
Jinx. Buy me an Old Style.
sure, you just have to get non-bleacher tickets
4 out of 5!
Sharp folks. Much obliged.
hell, I even tweeted him about it around the time he was fixing it…
My favorite part of that video is the tool on the hill behind the outfield wall trying to catch Soler’s first home run…and failing miserably.
6:18-6:30 if you don’t want to watch the whole video.
How soon do they give Raley a start for the big club?
Yeah…I was just going to say that…he is not really a prospect but he is only 24 and a lefty…Casey Coleman is a reliever…
Nice video. Vogelbach looks fat. Soler looks HUGE. I think Soler is going to move through the system very quickly.
OMG DAN VOGELBACH
Who eats popcorn while watching porn? lol
Pee Wee Herman and Fred WIllard?
buttered popcorn makes sense…
Maybe George Michael.
If that doesn’t get Cubs fans excited for the future, nothing will.
Soler looks like a beast. Almora will too when he fills out a little more.
I can’t stop watching this video. Major star quality in Almora/Soler… the future is bright. Went with corn pops instead of popcorn but it still hit the spot. Great saturday morning cubbies fodder, enjoy DKR Brett! Mrs. Gonzo and I are headed to the (robot voice and dance) I-MAX to finally see it as well.
Great video! Thanks for posting!
Vogelbach = next Kruk
HOW CAN SOLER BE BASICALLY MY HEIGHT AND WEIGHT YET BE WAY MORE RIPPED THAN ME NOT FAIR
well, I guess he’s 15 pounds heavier but I used to weigh more than him before an illness
didnt realize Vogelbach was a big boy!!!
I love how Soler and Almora seem to genuinely like each other. I hope they can develop a strong friendship in the Minors and eventually have them both make it up to the Cubs together.
Vogelbach better get comfortable… B/c RIZZO is gonna be the Cubs 1B for a looooooong time! (hopefully)
I’ve always envisioned Vogelbach being a huge (no pun intended) trade piece, but every vid I’ve seen of him I love the way he carries himself and I wanna see him around for awhile. Kinda cocky, kinda having fun. Looking forward to seeing more of him. I’m not gonna bust his balls about his weight, take care of your business and have some fun kid. Might be the downfall of following minor leaguers, I’m gonna be crushed if/when any of them are moved to another org.
I wonder if whats keeping the Cubs system out of the top 5 is strictly lack of pitching. What would he say if asked where it ranks as far as offensive prospects go.
that is maybe part of it also is the fact that almost all of cubs prospects are in A ball or lower
I never realized Vogelbach was so… so… plumpish.
Vogelbach = next Fielder, he’s probably more suited for the AL unless the NL adds a DH. With Rizzo at 1st where can they play him? Could bring back a couple high upside prospects. The Cubs now have the 3rd worst record in front of Colorado and Houston. My guess is they end up with the 2nd pick in next years draft. The rebuilding process is going as planned.
Are the rumors true about Baez being promoted today?
From Twitter:
@peoriachiefs
Chiefs fans hope you enjoyed 57 games of Javier Baez, he has been promoted to Daytona. Chiefs receive SS Tim Saunders (32nd rd ’12) from Day
In pretty sure Vogelbach has dropped some pounds recently. I can’t remember exactly but I think it was around 20lbs and he does look better. Imo
Albert says he didn’t care about the money he just wanted 2 be drafted by the cubs. Ya that’s why you told them u were thinking about college and that’s why you signed for the most u could get without the cubs losing a pick
Yeah, i know Theo thinks this guy is Pedroia, Jr., and all, but with the new signing rules in place I don’t see why you draft a Scott Boras client. If we’d been able to save a million on the first 10 rounds we could have thrown it at Rhett Wiseman and potentially had another great outfield prospect in the system.
Its the only guaranteed payday of his life. He didn’t prevent the Cubs from signing anyone, so who gives a damn?
Also, Whiseman was not a huge talent. People got WAY too worked up over that.
Thank you Boras!
So, what’s the ceiling for Brooks Raley?
That video is fantastic.
vogelbach is still fat, but he looked a lot thinner than he did in earlier videos/pictures of him. good sign.
Vogelbach=lefthanded Greg Luzinski.