Cubs Prospect Notes: Impressive Guys at the Convention, Health Status Checks, IFA Signings, Slaughter, Triantos, Wicks, More

Some Chicago Cubs prospects bits to get into this afternoon …

  • The Cubs Convention was obviously a great spot for more fans to become familiar with top Cubs prospects, and they were everywhere all weekend, including their own panel. A whole lotta good stuff in here if you missed it, and a lot of impressive young men:
  • Brennen Davis on the state of his health: “One hundred percent, ready to roll,” Davis said. “It’s just getting back to where I was, and where I know I can be athletically and physically.” Davis had his back procedure last year, and then the stress reaction in his back in the fall. So hopefully he can have a normal Spring Training and go from there.
  • Miguel Amaya on the state of his health: “I’m ready to start doing baseball activities now,” Amaya said. “They just gave me the green light to start jogging, to start running on the ground, to start moving, to start weightlifting. Probably in the next couple weeks, I’ll start doing my defensive work and getting back on track. I’m excited for it.” Amaya, who missed a big chunk of last season following Tommy John surgery (and therefore couldn’t catch), also had a Lisfranc fracture at the end of the season from which he has been recovering.
  • Matt Mervis spoke about his opportunity to play for Team Israel in the WBC (Cubs.com): “There’s so many,” Mervis said of the benefits. “I mean, the manager is Ian Kinsler, who played years and years in the big leagues. Joc Pederson’s on that team. Kevin Pillar is on that team, so there’s guys with a lot of big league experience coaching and playing. We’re playing against super teams. I mean, it’s the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and Venezuela and Nicaragua. Those teams are full of MLB All-Stars. So getting that experience, playing in a big environment like that — I mean, it’s in Miami — the crowds are going to be loud and excited. It was really a no-brainer for me.”
  • The big IFA signings were discussed yesterday with the open of the signing period, but those three aren’t the only three new prospects the Cubs signed:
  • Jake Slaughter will be an interesting guy to follow this season as a possible depth call-up if the Cubs need him:
  • Wait, this guy can do backflips and yet people question whether he’s athletic enough to hold down an infield spot:
  • Good bet that Adan Sanchez and Alexis Hernández will be playing in the ACL this year:
  • There’s a lot to like here, but I want to note the Jordan Wicks number, because people keep sleeping on him, and aren’t giving him enough credit for being a “stuff” guy:
  • The Cubs On Deck podcast featured an interview with Wicks:
  • written by

    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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