NEWSLETTER
It’s not quite a matter of “prospect” note, but it’s a minor league thing: Sean Newcomb has cleared waivers and been assigned to Iowa (Maddie Lee). He can accept the assignment and pitch for Iowa the rest of the way, or he could reject it and start looking for his next opportunity. He is set to be a minor league free agent at the end of the year either way.
Elsewhere around the farm system …
Mervis has always believed that he could do this, and you can see and hear the confidence coming through in everything he says. I also love his attitude with respect to not getting called up to the big leagues this year, via that Cubs.com piece:
This year, Mervis’ play has pushed him swiftly up the organizational ladder. He is not among the crop of players in need of Rule 5 Draft protection this offseason, though, so Mervis has not been among the high-priority promotions for September evaluation in the Majors.
After Mervis’ experience with the MLB Draft, he has a better grasp of how to handle the absence of such a call. He knows it might still be just around the corner.
“I let it get in my head for probably two days,” Mervis said. “Like, ‘I really want to be up there. I think I’ve earned it.’ You know, that sort of thing. But at the same time, I’ve taken a day-by-day approach every day this year, and I just I want to have a good game every day.
“So if I have a good game, then my numbers get better and I improve in the eyes of the system. So once I got that out of my head, I got back to playing baseball every day, instead of worrying about things I can’t control.”
Which Cubs prospect improved his stock the most this year, according to MLB Pipeline? Probably not who you’d guess first:
Cubs: Ben Brown, RHP (No. 7)
A Phillies 33rd-round pick out of a Long Island high school in 2017, Brown had Tommy John surgery in 2019, lost the 2020 season to the pandemic and worked just 16 innings in 2021. He came out this year firing mid-90s fastballs that top out at 98 mph, not to mention a pair of power breaking balls, which is why the Cubs sought him in the David Robertson trade in July. He has compiled a 3.42 ERA, .216 opponent average and 141/34 K/BB ratio in 100 innings between High-A and Double-A.
