Love for Nico, Trolling the Cubs, Funniest Cardinals Take Ever, and Other Bullets

Oct 20, 2018

As far as I know, Luis got me in on a group of Mega Millions buyers, and I haven’t yet heard this morning if I’m a bajillionaire yet. Alternatively, I’m going to assume that Luis has already won, packed up and moved to Maldives and I’m never going to see him again.

Great stuff right here on Cubs prospect, Nico Hoerner:

After an injury shortened his 1st @MiLB season, #Cubs 1st-rounder Nico Hoerner got an unexpected trip to the @MLBazFallLeague, where he's the only hitter from the 2018 #MLBDraft. @jimcallisMLB looks at the @Cubs' AFL contingent: https://t.co/uH8ysoA6rQ pic.twitter.com/t5JIAOQuJL
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 19, 2018

Hoerner knows he wouldn’t be in the AFL right now if not for his elbow injury, and he’s taking the best possible approach given that fact: “It made sense to me, just to have a chance to really push my limits and see where I’m at right now. They were quick to move me through the first couple levels, so if it goes well, it goes well. If not, then I have a lot to work on going into the rest of the offseason, either way, so I think it’s a good spot to be.” Frankly, it might be best for his development if he struggles against the higher-end, experienced professional pitching he’s seeing right now.

Hoerner, a shortstop by trade, also demonstrated some maturity in understanding that, whatever happens with his development, if he’s going to make it at the big league level with the Cubs, he’s probably going to have to play all over the field, and he’s happy to do that. Naturally, then, he played second base last night for the Mesa Solar Sox, while his org-mate Trent Giambrone played shortstop (and homered, singled, and walked).

Speaking of Giambrone, man, he’s gonna be a fun one to follow next year after his 2018 breakout at AA Tennessee (.251/.333/.440, 118 wRC+, 17 homers, 26 steals, 10.1% BB rate, 19.5% K rate). He’s on the older side – 25 in December – but he was in just his second full professional season this year, already reaching and succeeding at AA. He can play all over, and may well be at AAA to start next season. That’s key, because they Cubs are sorely lacking in upper-level dedicated shortstop depth. So, depending on what the Cubs do this offseason, it may be up to Giambrone and David Bote to be the “shortstop depth.” Glad to see Giambrone getting some AFL time at shortstop.

More from the AFL, Erick Leal got the start last night, and continued his stellar 2018 season with three more scoreless, two-strikeout innings. He’s going to be a tough Rule 5 decision for the Cubs, as he’s eligible this year. On the one hand, the 23-year-old was brilliant this year, getting great results and posting great peripherals. On the other hand, it was at only High-A, it was only 63.2 innings, and he was coming back from missing all of 2017 with injury. Would another club really grab a guy like that and try to keep him on a big league roster all season? Can the Cubs put him on the 40-man roster right now, given the other needs they’ll have to fill and other prospects to protect? I tend to think if Leal keeps looking good in the AFL, though, that the Cubs may very well need to protect him.

(Bonus note, in case you’d forgotten: the Cubs got Leal in February 2013 in a trade for … Tony Campana!)

I totally get trolling Cubs fans given the rivalry and how the season ended, but to make this the sign you bring with you to Game Six of the NLCS? Weird, man:

having a normal one pic.twitter.com/MopYOahjzR

— Robert O'Neill (@RobertONeill31) October 20, 2018

Expect to see a lot of Josh Hader tonight:

Asked how many innings Josh Hader can pitch tonight, Craig Counsell quickly responded, "12."

By not being forced to use Hader yesterday, the Brewers put themselves in prime position to win the pennant. For @WSJSports: https://t.co/cQqNXMl0q0

— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) October 20, 2018

As much as I may dislike the Brewers, I’ve always loved this logo:

The Brewers’ ball-in-glove logo has become one of the most iconic in all of sports. But the logo, much like its creator, is far more complex upon further inspection. On the inspired and melancholy life behind a symbol that goes beyond baseball: https://t.co/1DvZHgi4qF pic.twitter.com/JPL479BPGe
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) October 19, 2018

Heh. After some love for Manny the Villain this morning, there’s more to share from The Onion:

Manny Machado Denies Playing Dirty After Late Slide Into Pitcher’s Mound https://t.co/wcJrZo7LSV pic.twitter.com/KawrK9D9Or

— The Onion (@TheOnion) October 20, 2018

Here it is, the most spectacularly, gloriously, hilarious Cardinals take ever:

My pants. They have been peed. pic.twitter.com/4IHSLgvzuj

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) October 19, 2018

Great set of Deals of the Day today at Amazon: blowers, juicers, slippers, kids crafts, and costumes.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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