Cubs Prospect Notes: Howard’s Injury, Sanders and Swarmer and Kilian, Outfielders Raking, Award Winners, More
A variety of Cubs prospecting bits to get into on your Monday minor league off-day …
⇒ The Cubs aren’t yet officially saying what last week’s evaluations of shortstop prospect Ed Howard revealed, but it still doesn’t sound good for the hip:
"There's never good timing for an injury like that, but it's a shame. He worked so incredibly hard this winter."
On Saturday, Jed Hoyer spoke on prospect Ed Howard's hip injury. Cubs still gathering info, but the shortstop will miss significant time: https://t.co/bqW7lVbai0
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 15, 2022
“There’s never good timing for an injury like that, but it’s a shame,” Hoyer said. “He worked so incredibly hard this winter. He got stronger than anyone at our camp this winter. You look at the exit velocities, he brought his strikeout rate down, he was playing his typical good defense.
“It’s a shame that his season’s going to be cut short. He’ll work really hard. His attitude has been really good, despite the fact that he’s been really bummed out about the injury. His attitude’s been good, and I think he’ll come back strong.”
⇒ It doesn’t sound good if you were hoping Howard could come back for any meaningful portion of the regular season. His wording was tricky there, but I don’t think Hoyer was saying Howard’s season is over. At least not yet, and not publicly. HOWEVER, that is now how I’m proceeded mentally. Based on the tenor of the comments, I am anticipating that Howard will not return this year.
⇒ White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who has been a big supporter of Howard’s, offers to Howard that you have no other choice but to keep going in these situations, and try to use the downtime to study the parts of your game that you can (NBC).
⇒ Cam Sanders made his Triple-A debut this weekend, and he showed out a pretty good example of what he is right now (mostly for the better, though the walks – and the control, in general – are gonna be the threshold question on whether he can start in the big leagues or if he moves into the bullpen):
The entire Cam Sanders arsenal all in one strikeout. pic.twitter.com/xuOu7YNFiK
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) May 15, 2022
Final line for Cam Sander: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 K. Threw 86 pitches including 55 for strikes.
Pretty impressive evening. Touched 98 a couple of times. Showed a nice curve and changeup as well.
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) May 15, 2022
⇒ Matt Swarmer followed Sanders in the Iowa rotation with yet another great outing of results:
It's time to start talking about Matt Swarmer being a big leaguer.
Today w/@IowaCubs: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 K
This year w/@IowaCubs: 34.0 IP, 21 H, 7 ER, 39 K's, 1.85 ERA.
Last 22 outings w/@IowaCubs: 104.1 IP, 76 H, 32 ER, 111 K's, 2.76 ERA.
I mean..
— Alex Cohen (@voiceofcohen) May 15, 2022
Matt Swarmer got 8 swinging strikes on his slider *in the first inning* of yesterday’s 5-scoreless start for @IowaCubs.
Out of extreme over the top slot; the pitch is a straight-downer at about 79-83, extreme vMov and little hMov.
His last 100 AAA IP have been excellent.
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) May 16, 2022
⇒ For those who are unfamiliar, Swarmer, 28, was the Cubs’ 16th rounder back in 2016. He reached Triple-A as quickly as 2017 for a fill-in start, and then in 2019 for a more permanent stay. But that season went poorly, and then you had the pandemic year in 2020, and another stop at Triple-A in 2021 also came with bad results. He was already 27 at that point, so he wasn’t going to get a lot of prospecting attention. This year, Swarmer is finally getting results at Triple-A, but there’s not necessarily a lot of “scouting”-oriented belief that it’ll play at the big league level. There’s a lot of deception in his extreme delivery (funky leg kick, very over-the-top), and that doesn’t always translate. This would really be the first year that the Cubs would realistically think about giving him a big league look, though, so I suppose we’ll see what comes.
⇒ Staying in the rotation at Iowa:
What will it take for Caleb Kilian to reach The Show this season?
"Keep dominating and make it obvious."
On that and more in the latest Cubs Beat newsletter: https://t.co/AFfECvorSK
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 15, 2022
“Once you get to Triple-A as a pitcher, so much of it is about refining your craft,” Banner said. “He has the stuff, so it’s about hitting your spots, executing game plans, things like that. And he’s done a really good job with it. He’s in great shape, great arm, knows how to pitch, does everything we ask.”
Using an approach centered around a sinker, cutter and curveball (plus a changeup still in development), Kilian has turned in a 1.57 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 12 walks in 28 2/3 innings (seven starts). It is still very early in the season, and the righty is not currently on the 40-man roster, but the big leagues are only a phone call away.
What will it take for Kilian to get to Chicago?
“Keep dominating and make it obvious, you know?” Banner said. “That’s really the messaging. And he knows. He knows he’s close. So, it’s just a matter of going out and performing and getting a little bit better every day.”
⇒ Yohendrick is still Yohendingering:
Yohendrick Pinango's three most recent plate appearances with the @SBCubs have ended the same way.
It hasn't been good for the opposing pitcher.
There goes dinger No. 5 for the @Cubs' No. 20 prospect. pic.twitter.com/VWtK8ypaUD
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 14, 2022
⇒ Pinango, who only just turned 20, is hitting .252/.314/.432 at High-A (110 wRC+), with an 8.3% BB rate and a 19.8% K rate. That .180 ISO is what you love to see from Pinango. If that power comes along at all, he’s gonna keep climbing the minor league ladder at a young age.
⇒ Speaking of young outfielders at South Bend … you don’t want to yet say Owen Caissie has “figured out High-A” or even “turned the corner,” but after a miserable April, the signs are so much better in May:
Night and day difference for Owen Caissie once the calendar flipped to May: pic.twitter.com/4sVcqLqWqD
— Brad (@ballskwok) May 16, 2022
Big thing you'd like to see now is him hitting the ball in the air more frequently. Has been hitting the ball hard but on the ground a lot.
— Brad (@ballskwok) May 16, 2022
Three Hits today and now hitting over .500 on the week. Another biscuit for breakfast and this one would’ve been his second home run of the week. He looks locked in. I can’t wait to see him next week in Appleton, Wisconsin. <drink> pic.twitter.com/wzrZiUIb0D
— Todd ⚾️🐻🦌 (@CubsCentral08) May 15, 2022
⇒ I suppose I should be similarly cautious in saying guys like James Triantos and Kevin Alcántara have figured things out at Low-A, but I feel like all they do now is hit. Every time I check in. Alcántara is going to be so powerful when he fills out:
Kevin Alcantara has the sweetest of swings pic.twitter.com/nmHDmjhW2M
— Todd ⚾️🐻🦌 (@CubsCentral08) May 15, 2022
⇒ Go on a homer binge, win honors:
JUST IN: #SBCubs first baseman Matt Mervis (@mmervis12) has been named the Midwest League's Player of the Week. He hit .415 and had a walk-off home run versus Fort Wayne in our last 12-game homestand.💥
STORY ➡️ https://t.co/NOigeYHYHj pic.twitter.com/WM2HhS3w00
— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) May 16, 2022
Today, @MiLB named Robel Garcia International League Player of the Week. Check out why 💣⬇️ https://t.co/ZI6KvwdxRQ pic.twitter.com/znlHnpi21z
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 16, 2022
⇒ Garcia, 29, is hitting .291/.410/.686 (181 wRC+, 35.2% K rate, 17.1% BB rate) at Iowa right now. Mervis, 24, is at .350/.389/.650 (186, 24.1, 4.6) at South Bend.
⇒ If you missed it, the Cubs’ farm system as a whole had a scorching hot week.
