Author: myles

Kris Bryant: NL MVP front-runner?

As we start to turn the corner to the final stretch of the baseball regular season, people’s thoughts inevitably turn towards the MVP and Cy Young discussions. We’ve already seen at least one HOT TAEK in that regard, and I’m sure there will be plenty more. In the NL, however, there seems to be a 2-horse race between Kris Bryant and Corey Seager. I’d like to run down the top 10 candidates for NL MVP, and then focus on those 2.

Daniel Murphy leads the NL in slugging by nearly 50 points. Inexplicably, he’s been the best pure hitter in the NL with a 159 wRC+, and only a surprising lack of walks (especially for someone with his power numbers) puts a slight damper on his offensive ability. That said, he’s a butcher in the field.

Nolan Arenado is  having a Larry Walker year – that is, Coors is making him look like this offensive juggernaut. 1.042 OPS at Coors, .745 OPS everywhere else. He’s a great defender, probably better than Bryant, but you almost have to hit .360/.440/.620 to get MVP consideration from Colorado. It’s just too easy to hit there.

Freddie Freeman is the best player in the league that over 75% of casual baseball fans have never once heard of. He’s hitting .288/.384/.543 for the worst team in baseball, and he improved his hard hit ball% to near the league high. He’s probably not the best 1B in the league this year, but he deserves a passing mention in hack MVP articles like this one.

Anthony Rizzo has basically been Freddie Freeman this year (.290/.394/.563) but a little better everywhere. That makes Freddie Freeman Pareto-suboptimal. Rizzo gets the standard “he’s a 1B” penalty to his MVP case, but he’s (as usual) one of the 5-10 best players in the league.

How’s Andrew Cashner doing?

Matt Carpenter is as annoyingly good as he usually is. He’s played all over for the Cardinals, and would perhaps be the MVP favorite had he played all season, but an injury has put him firmly in second-tier category.

Paul Goldschmidt and Joey Votto both have trinity lines this year (.3xx/.4xx/.5xx). They are so freaking good, as they are every year. This might be the first year where I can say I’d rather have Rizzo then Pauly G, but it’s super close. Votto struggled early this year, and then decided he was still the best hitter alive.

I’d be remiss not to include Clayton Kershaw at some point. His injury is the only reason he isn’t the actual favorite to win the MVP this year. It’s a legit argument to never vote for a pitcher for MVP, but he was having the best year since Pedro and it’s a real bummer he’s not healthy right now.

Those 8 are in some fungible order in competition for the 3rd through 10th slots. You could even put some random guys on there (Wil Myers, Buster Posey, Brendan Crawford) if you want to spice it up a bit. In my mind, though, 1st and 2nd are spoken for. It’s either Seager or Bryant.

The two batters have different profiles this year. The case for Bryant is that he’s simply the better player offensively.

Bryant: .289/.386/.544, 28 HR, 8 SB, .393 wOBA
Seager: .309/.362/.530, 21 HR, 1 SB, .376 wOBA

 

Cubs trade bevy of prospects for Aroldis Chapman

I’m going to break this article into three parts. First, I’ll talk about what the Cubs gave up. Second, I’ll talk about the on-field potential of Aroldis Chapman, and what it means for the Cubs in 2016. Lastly, I’ll talk about the off-field potential of Aroldis Chapman and what this means (to me) about this team.

The first thing we need to realize when we look at what the Cubs traded is that only Adam Warren had a chance to play a single game for the Cubs the rest of 2016. If you take this as just a referendum on 2016, they’ve “traded” Adam Warren for Aroldis Chapman. Warren was a pretty nice pitcher who nonetheless struggled mightily for the Cubs in his limited time here. He walked a ton, gave up way too many home runs, but still profiled as a potential innings-eater for an ok team.

Billy McKinney’s star collapsed after his injury. He’s more-or-less a lottery ticket with the potential to be a second-division starter even if things break right for him and he reclaims all of the power that he lost. Rashad Crawford was a toolsy guy who is basically an organizational player. He is a complete lottery ticket and the Cubs have a ton of those; he won’t really be missed. I would value the combination of Warren, McKinney, and Crawford at roughly a bottom of the Top 10 prospect in a mediocre farm system. I’d rather have all three of those guys than Duane Underwood, probably, but I’d think hard about it.

The real loss here is Gleyber Torres, and it will hurt a lot. Torres was having a great year, growing into more power and patience while maintaining a glove that should allow him to stick at SS for the long-term. He’s at least 2-3 years away from contributing at the majors (when Russell or Baez will be getting MVP votes at that position – a guy can dream), but he’s a very real upper-echelon prospect. He was the Cubs’ #1 prospect and he’d be the #1 prospect on around half the teams in baseball. The Cubs have basically set the market for impactful relievers with the Vogelbach and Torres trades; if other teams follow suit, perhaps this is just the new price of doing business. It’s also slightly important to note that the Giants (who are absolutely in dire need of relief pitching) are the Cubs’ likely NLCS opponents and now they CAN’T acquire Chapman (who is likely the best reliever on the market).

Still it’s not a stretch to call Torres the best prospect of the entire Carolina League. One of my favorite things to point is if anyone younger than you was a higher wOBA in a given league. For the Carolina League:

21+: Yoan Moncada (leads the league with a .417 wOBA)
20+: Bobby Bradley (5th in league with .395 wOBA)
19+: Gleyber Torres (15th in league with .364 wOBA)

When it’s all said and done, I think Torres has a good chance to be a starting shortstop for a dozen years. Is it guaranteed? Definitely not. Could he be the next Barry Larkin? Sure, I guess, but we already have one. I was reasonably confident that Torres would be traded this deadline for something.

The return, of course, is Aroldis Chapman. Let’s get a few things out of the way right now: Chapman is the best reliever in baseball. You can get cute and say that Davis or Betances is better, but over the last 3 years Chapman has them both by 30 points of FIP. Betances is utilized more and is more valuable as a result, but for each inning they throw, Chapman is better. Hands down.

Chapman works around 100 mph with his fastball. Here’s something cool: Hendricks has an 88.63 mph fastball, and Chapman clocks in at 89.14 mph with his changeup. It’s sort of unfair how fast he throws it, and there will be an added bonus to Chapman relieving games that Kyle Hendricks starts. Chapman uses his fastball 75-80% of the time, his slider 15% of the time, and his change 5-10% of the time. Whatever he throws, opponents don’t make contact with it. his career swinging strike rate is 17.6%, which is the highest rate in baseball over the past 6 years. They also make contact at the lowest rate all-time over that same span.

(Aside: those stats are not identical. Swinging strike rate is how often you can entice them to swing (and miss). Contact is the rate at which they swing and miss. If you get them to swing at 50% of your pitches, and their contact rate overall is 70%, your swinging strike rate is .5 * (1 – .7) = 15% and your contact rate is 70%. This means that Chapman both gets people to swing at his pitches AND that they suck when they do choose to swing. Carlos Marmol would have a low contact rate but a low swinging strike rate. People just don’t swing at his pitches.)

The knock on Chapman is that he does walk guys; or, he did until this year. After rates of 11.2, 11.9, and 11.9 percent, this year he cut that to 6.7% It’s come with a corresponding diminution in strikeout rate (52.5% to 41.7% to 36.7%), but I’ll trade 5% of K rate for 5.2% of BB rate any day of the year. It’s also been 31.1 innings, so it’s safe to assume he’s the same pitcher he’s been for 6 years. You wonder when his arm will explode, but the Cubs are only betting that it doesn’t explode in 2016.

 

 

Unfortunately, something else exploded in 2016 (well, technically December 2015); Aroldis Chapman’s firearm. Not only is it impossible to gloss over his domestic violence problems, it’s important that we address it. Here are the relevant facts as Deadspin found them:

 

Cristina Barnea (Aroldis Chapman’s girlfriend and mother of his children) called 911 and told them “He was hitting me in front of everyone and he’s going crazy.” and that he “choked” her (though it seems that there is some potential for miscommunication on whether or not it was a choke or a poke). 2 weeks later, she’d say that she WASN’T choked, but that he poked her and she “lost her balance and fell.” Chapman admitted to firing his gun 8 times, but the Florida police department didn’t find a basis for prosecution and there were “no cooperating witnesses.”

First, let’s take the thought exercise that everything we don’t know is beneficial to Chapman. He still cheated on his wife (which I imagine plenty if not the majority of baseball players do), and when confronted about it, he pushed her and then fired a gun into the house where his 4-month old child was (to his credit, 7 were into a garbage can and one was out a window (which is peculiar).

Two problems here. First, there is plenty of evidence that (on the whole, and not this specific instance) victims of domestic violence are either coerced into recanting/modifying their stories; the examples of this are so common as to not exactly require explanation. Second, he still FIRED 8 SHOTS IN HIS HOUSE. That’s not healthy behavior. It just isn’t. There are kids in that house and who knows what outside.

This isn’t the only problematic behavior that Chapman has displayed.  To be frank, he throws at people’s heads. That isn’t machismo (especially for a fucking reliever); it is an assholish, awful thing to do. If Schierholtz doesn’t move out of the way of that second pitch, he could have fucking DIED. I don’t want that shit on my favorite team and I don’t want it in my favorite team’s clubhouse.

As a person, Aroldis Chapman seems to be a shitty person on the field and a shitty person off of it. Does he make the Cubs a better team? Sure. Do I have to like the person on the mound if the Cubs win the World Series this year? Absolutely not. I can think the guy is a turd blossom and still love the team. That said, my opinion of the Cubs has gone down. How can it not?

I’m not going to tell you how to feel how about this move. You can hate it or love it for whatever reason you want; it’s your right as a fan to feel however. We should all extend the same courtesy to others. If you can get past Aroldis Chapman’s misdeeds (or if you even think there were no misdeeds at all), that’s your prerogative. I’ll just say one last thing and tie this into Sammy Sosa. There IS no moral high ground to hate Sammy Sosa for what he purportedly did and still love Aroldis Chapman. These are people you can more or less safely excise from your brain space. This is an excellent litmus test.

Do you love Sosa and hate Chapman? Reasonable.
Do you love Sosa and love Chapman? I don’t agree, but reasonable.
Do you hate Sosa and hate Chapman? Ok…are you sure you’re a baseball fan? In any case, reasonable.
Do you hate Sosa and love Chapman? Kindly get the fuck away from me.

 

Series Preview: Cubs (55-36) vs. Mets (49-42) (7/18-7/20)

I hate these fuckin’ Mets. Relevant passage:

“HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I’VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR YOU. HATE. HATE.”

-Harlan Ellison, I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

Team Leaders

Cubs

Mets

  • OBP:  Yoenis Cespedes (.370)
  • ISO: Cespedes (.278)
  • HR: Cespedes (21)
  • R+RBI: Cespedes (99)
  • wRC+: Cespedes (154)
  • BSR: Curtis Granderson (1.1)
  • SP K/9: Noah Syndergaard (10.90)
  • SP BB/9: Thor (1.53)
  • SP FIP: Thor (2.04)
  • RP K/9: Addison Reed (11.09)
  • RP BB/9: Reed (1.88)
  • RP FIP: Reed (2.23)
  • WAR: Thor (4.0)

Pitching matchups

FIP, Myles’ arbitrary 1-10 rating (with 10 being the best) listed for each pitcher

Steven Matz (3.42, 5.28) vs Jon Lester (3.95, 6.50)

If you look up “#3 starter” in the baseball Almanac, you’d see a picture of Steven Matz. I really like him, though he has no real defining traits (maybe his very good walk rate); he’s just a little better than average at everything. I’d like Matz to be a Cub one day.

Lester has had the last few starts get away from him, but before that he was the Cubs’ best pitcher by a mile. Even with the duds, he’s had a good year. The only real issue is HR/FB%. They have been FLYING out of the yard this year. It seems like he’s been favoring the fastball in high-leverage spots, and the numbers say he’s been using it a lot more than he has in the past 8 years. That surprises me, because his fastball is only so useful when not set-up by the off-speed stuff. Keep an eye on his fastball usage tonight.

Noah Syndergaard (2.04, 9.37) vs Jake Arrieta (3.04, 6.14)

Thor is the 2nd best pitcher in the majors and it is NOT close. There’s an argument for Jose Fernandez (though he walks way too many) and the “arm-owie” factor is always there, but holy hell can he just dominate a game unlike any other (in the non-Kershaw league).

Arrieta has had a pretty low-key year. Sure, he’s still among the game’s best. He’s just not a Cy candidate – not particularly close this year, either. The walks are just too high this year, which extends his innings, which gets him out of games earlier. Flyballs are also finding the way out of the park, and that’s not good.

That said, if Arrieta fixes that, he’s awesome. Make Arrieta Great Again. (ducks)

Bartolo Colon (4.03, 4.31) vs Kyle Hendricks (3.45, 5.16)

I don’t care what you think – I don’t like Bartolo Colon. His “elder statesman” schtick has been laid on so thick that he’s crossed over back into grating. This year, he’s had a pretty high number of home runs allowed this year, and he’s still at just 16.1% K rate. He’s also at a huge number of line drives. Basically, Colon has been crazy hit-lucky this season and he isn’t actually that good.

Hendricks has actually also been lucky. My proprietary, not-at-all-just-K/9-subtracted-by-BB/9 ranking reflects that. Ask yourself this question: does a .241 BABIP for Hendricks feel right to you? Not to me. His walks are up a bit, his strikeouts are down a bit, and his step forward this year is almost all just a huge BABIP drop brought on my a dramatic increase in Soft%. If he can keep up the soft contact, he’s an All-Star. If not, he’s still useful, just as a back-end innings eater.

There’s also a dirty little secret; batters just don’t swing at pitches in the zone. It’s almost mind-boggling; he nearly leads the league in that stat. Perhaps the most Maddux stat he has.

Will the Cubs Win?

trump shrug

Cardinals @ Cubs 6/22/2016

How To Watch

1:20 PM CT, ABC 7
670 the Score

LINEUPS

st-louis-cardinals

Matt Carpenter, 2B
Aledmys Diaz, SS
Matt Adams, 1B
Stephen Piscotty, RF
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Brandon Moss, LF
Yadier Molina, C
Kolten Wong, CF
Michael Wacha, P

 Cubs logo

Chris Coghlan, LF
Jason Heyward, RF
Kris Bryant, 3B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Miguel Montero, C
Javier Baez, SS
Matt Szczur, CF
Jake Arrieta, P

Will the Cubs Win?

It could go either way.

Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (33-32) @ Chicago Cubs (44-20)

The Cubs stand ready with their boots on Pittsburgh’s neck. A Cubs sweep and the Pirates’ divisional chances are essentially over. Pittsburgh has played poorly over the past few weeks while the Cubs suddenly look merely very good (as opposed to historically great). The Cubs welcome the Pirates for three games in this one.

Cubs (100 PA)

 

Pirates (100 PA)

  • OBP: Matt Joyce (.423)
  • ISO: Jung-Ho Kang (.321)
  • HR: (three players) (9)
  • R+RBI: Gregory Polanco (83)
  • wRC+: Joyce (173)
  • BSR: Starling Marte (3.8)
  • SP K/9: Juan Nicasio (9.15)
  • SP BB/9: Gerrit Cole (2.63)
  • SP FIP: Cole (3.06)
  • RP K/9:  Neftali Feliz (10.65)
  • RP BB/9: Feliz (1.90)
  • RP FIP: Andrew Schugel (2.86)
  • WAR: Polanco (2.5)

Friday’s Probables (1:20 PM) (ERA, FIP, xFIP, K/9, BB/9, Fastball velocity)

Francisco Liriano (4.92, 5.52, 4.46, 9.04, 5.45, 92.3) vs. Jake Arrieta (1.89, 2.59, 3.12, 9.31, 2.90, 94.1)

There was a nice little run when Liriano was able to keep his walks in check. When that happens, Liriano is a very good pitcher, maybe even a #1 starter. He certainly hasn’t been this year. The issue with these types of pitchers is that you know they have the stuff to be dominant, so if you get them on the wrong day, you can have a really tough time. All things considered, I’m not especially worried about him. He also is going against Jake from State Farm, who is about as dominant as last year. In my hot take land, I think Arrieta is at the bottom of the “ace” category, but that’s still an ace. Something to watch for: Arrieta usually throws around 28% cutters, but this year it’s down to 20%. I don’t know if that’s a weather-related decision or what, but his pitch mix is as Baltimore-esque as it has been since he arrived.

Saturday’s Probables (7:15 PM)

Jonathon Niese (4.60, 5.21, 4.24, 6.37, 2.95, 89.2) vs. Jon Lester (1.89, 2.85, 3.18, 8.93, 1.79, 92.0)

Jon Niese is what every Cubs pitching prospect would look like in the majors. He doesn’t strike anyone out, can’t overpower anyone, and because of those two things, he walks a good amount of people despite decent control. Niese isn’t throwing his curveball that often this year, instead relying on a 89 mph fastball to put people away. For some reason, no one is running on Lester. Good for him! He’s having the best season of his career right now, though he’s clearly been sequence-lucky. I think he’s had demonstrably better control this year than last, and the familiarity with the National League helps him be the team’s second #1 starter.

Sunday’s Probables (7:08 PM)

Jameson Taillon [2 starts] (1.93, 3.78, 3.67, 5.14, 1.93, 94.9) vs. Kyle Hendricks (3.05, 3.30, 3.64, 7.45, 2.32, 87.3)

I’ve seen Taillon in person (AAA). He looked impossible to hit. I’m really looking forward to this game. He features two main pitches: a huge fastball and a huge curveball. Always love these types of pitchers. Hendricks has been steady as usual. Hope he has his change working in this one; anecdotally, it seems to desert him last start.

 

Journeymen of Tomorrow: Special Draft Edition

The Cubs finally had some picks in the draft and their strategy was extremely straightforward: draft right-handed college pitchers.

3. Tom Hatch, RHP, Ok State

Hatch was the Big 12 pitcher of the year last year. As a redshirt sophomore, he has some leverage to return home, so this isn't likely to be an underslot pick. Hatch is still playing in the Supers right now, so even if he signs quickly, he won't report any time soon. He wasn't very highly regarded, which I like because that means the Cubs saw something other people didn't (?) Hell, I don't know.

4. Tyson Miller, RHP, Cal Baptist

This is a pick made in the same mold as Hayden Simpson. Wait, don't go! I just mean that a D II standout that isn't physically overpowering should go in about the 4th round. From the scouting reports, he's a 4-pitch guy who can get it up to 93. Doesn't walk a lot of people, but probably doesn't have the stuff to get a ton of whiffs. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, that's everyone in our system.

5. Bailey Clark, RHP, Duke

Clark features a 96 mph heater (at peak, sits 93), and a changeup. Pitchers that rely on changeups to succeed usually take a really long time to develop, so I'd imagine Clark will take his sweet time in the system. The stuff indicates that maybe he'll strike out more than 8 per 9 in the majors. That'd be a nice change.

6. Chad Hockin, RHP, Cal State Fullerton

Hockin is strictly a reliever candidate with a huge fastball (97) and a slider and that's it. I don't think he'll sign with the Cubs and will instead return to Cal State Fullerton for his senior year.

7. Michael Cruz, C, Bethune-Cookman

Cruz is the best hitter the Cubs drafted in the first 10 rounds. All jokes aside, he looks like he was not challenged in college, walking 13 more times than he struck out, hitting 16 HR in 200 AB, and even getting 16 HBP (!). No idea if he'll be a catcher in the minors, but the bat seems about as intriguing as a 7th-round pick gets.

8. Stephen Ridings, RHP, Tom Haverford College

The Cubs thought "Treat yo'self" and picked up "Rough" Ridings in the 8th round. Just a flier who dominated DIII and is likely just a $10k bonus guy.

9. Duncan Robinson, RHP, Dartmouth

Org guy who should sign for $10k. Good control, "meh" stuff. Doesn't walk guys, which is good.

10. Dakota Mekkes, RHP, Michigan State

Absurd numbers as the Spartans closer this year. Very erratic, but literally paces the league in K/9 AND H/9. Love this pick as long as they just put him a bullpen and let him climb the ranks.

Round Rock 4, Iowa Cubs 11

Ruggiano's revenge, as he hits a 2-run homer for Round Rock in this one. 

Willson Contreras continues to gently tell Jed Hoyer to call him up. 3-4 with a double in this one. Seriously, call him up already!

Jeimer Candelario went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts in his AAA debut. Hopefully he doesn't become overmatched as he did in his first AA go-round.

The only other extra-base hit was Matt Murton's double. Man, he must feel like shit if the Cubs are REACQUIRING CHRIS COGHLAN as opposed to giving him some play.

Corey Black, a real-life Cubs pitching prospect, saw his first action in this one. He was promoted yesterday. Black needs to work on his walks, but the stuff is unmistakeable. He should strike out more than his fair share, and seems to slot into the 7th or 8th inning role at the major league level. Not a bad return for the corpse of Alfonso Soriano, eh?

Chattanooga Lookouts 6, Tennessee Smokies 2

This team is pretty bereft of prospect talent now that Candelario, Black, and Zagunis are gone. Billy McKinney went 2-4 with a double and an RBI, and that was about it for good offensive performances. Ben Carhart also went 2-4, and he scored a run.

Brad Markey had a quality start in this one, going 6 IP and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, 3 walks, a HR, and an error. Of course, he only struck out 1. The whole team only had 1 strikeout. This org, man.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans 1, Lynchburg Hillcats 7

Gleyber Torres hasn't had the offensive year I was hoping. He went 0-4 with a walk, 2 strikeouts, and a run scored. In fact, the team was held to 6 hits with 3 people each notching 2: Rashad Crawford, Jeffrey Baez, and Erick Castillo. They did walk 6 times, including a pair by Ian Happ and Yasiel Balaguert

Jonathan Martinez did not have a great game, but James Pugliese went 3 innings in relief and allowed only a single run. He struck out 3 and walked none.

South Bend Cubs 6, Bowling Green Hot Rods 4

The org wasn't shut out!!!

Donnie Dewees went 0-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. He also struck out twice. Eloy Jimenez doubled and had 2 RBIs. Best performance of the night goes to Tyler Alamo, who went 3-4 with a run scored.

I literally did not know Preston Morrison was. The Cubs apparently drafted him in the 8th round last year, and he did really, really well in A- ball in 2015. Like all Cubs' minor leaguers, he only strikes out 7.52 per 9 and walks 3.08 per, but hey, he's in the minors. He had a Cubs pitcher game, going 5.1 IP with 3 ER off 2 walks and, you guessed it, 2 strikeouts.

 

 

 

 

Braves 5, Cubs 1 (6/10/16)

OSS: When you face an ace like Bud Norris, you kind of expect to get shut down like this.

Three Up

1. Albert Almora Jr. had a double! Good for him. He also assisted on a double play and did this and this.

2. Dexter Fowler drove in the Cubs' only run and added a double as well.

3. Let's give it to Zobrist, who had a nice defensive game and also had a hit.

Three Down

1. Justin Grimm has been pretty terrible this year, and he continued his Richard-esque season by facing 3 batters and letting them all on board.

2. Clayton Richard went a scoreless inning. Yay! He allowed 2 inherited runners to score. Boo!

3. Kris Bryant squandered a good scoring opportunity and also went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.

Next Game

It's Jake Arrieta Day! 3:10 PM CT

Jay Carrieta vs. Matt "Crazy Eyes" Wisler

Phillies 3, Cubs 2 (6/7/2016)

OSS: Cubs' bats fall silent as the Cubs lose another close game.

Three Up

1. Tommy La Stella was the only person to reach base twice for the Cubs in this game. It sort of stinks for him, as he'd be a starter on many, many teams. Doesn't get much run on this squad.

2. Javier Baez had a pinch hit single that loaded the bases; at that point, I thought the Cubs were going to win.

3. Nice to give Addison Russell props here for a TREMENDOUS defensive play in the first inning. That dude is a wizard:

Three Down

1. Jason Heyward's double play effectively killed our chances of winning the game.

2. Kris Bryant did have a hit, but he also had 3 strikeouts and didn't look all that great at the plate.

3. Clayton Richard should be DFA'ed in relatively short order.

Next Game

Today, 12:05 PM CT
TV: CSN
John "The Midwest Strangler" Lackey vs. Vince Velasquez

Cubs 6, Phillies 4 (6/6/2016)

OSS: Cubs absolutely dominate the game for 8 innings, and then clench their collective butts for a 9th inning scare.

Quirky Stat: No walks in this game.

Three Up

1. Jon Lester has now been incredible for 2 consecutive games. He was very close to a Maddux and settled for 8 scoreless, with 4 hits, no walks, and 9 strikeouts.

2. Kris Bryant was pretty close to 2 dingers, but settled for 3-5, 2 doubles. He's a down-ballot MVP candidate, same as last year.

3. Nice to see Rizzo come around again. He went 3-5 with 2 RBI.

Three Down

1. Justin Grimm only recorded non-outs in his 3 BF performance, the last of which being a home run.

2. I'm getting very worried about how bad Addison Russell has looked lately. Against lefties, Russell hits about as well as I do. 

3. Jorge Soler broke again. He's getting an MRI on his hamstring, and it sounds like Albert Almora may take his place on the roster. 

Next Game

Tonight, 6:05 PM CT 
TV: WGN
Professor Changeup vs Jared Eickhoff

Cubs Minor League Update (6.1.2016)

Iowa Cubs 11, Oklahoma City 6

Iowa struck early and struck often, laying 4 down on the Dodgers in the first inning, and added 7 more over the course of an 11 to 6 beating. Everybody had at least 1 hit, and everyone except Juan Perez and Munenori Kawasaki had an RBI. 

Willson Contreras had another day, going 2 for 5 with a triple, a walk, and 3 RsBI. He's now batting .331/.421/.566 and has absolutely nothing left to prove offensively. He's dropping the PCL like its a bad habit; he's 4th overall in wRC+, behind a 26 year old, a 30 year old, and a 27 year old. Maybe he's the second coming off Ryan Doumit defensively, and if that's the case, maybe he needs reps back there. I doubt that's the case, and it is becoming more and more questionable by the day if our best 25 is really our starting 25.

Dan Vogelbach is also ready, offensively. He went 3-4 with another dinger and a walk. Like Contreras, only people older than him have a higher wRC+, and he has a 16% walk rate in the PCL right now, tops in the league. Most importantly, his power finally is starting to re-emerge, with a .199 SLG being a 45 point improvement over his last outing. I'll be very interested to see how good of a reliever Vogelbach fetches this July, because he has no spot on the 25-man roster. I know I'll be cheering for him.

Jackson Generals 10, Tennessee Smokies 5

Jeimer Candelario continues his free-fall from last year's lofty heights with an 0-4 performance. We were ready to be excited about him last season, but he's looked pretty mediocre in his 49 games thus far. His walks are up, but his strikeouts have risen to match, and he's either been hit-unlucky or making weaker contact this season. People were slightly miffed when he didn't break camp with Iowa; now it seems he might spend all season in Tennessee unless a spot magically opens up for him.

Jacob Hannemann was a 3rd round pick of the Cubs in the 2003 draft, from Brigham Young University. He signed for $1 million dollars, so he was highly thought of at the time. A mormon missionary, Hannemann was a neat story, though it hasn't translated to the professional success as of yet. He's a 25-year old in the Southern League who isn't exactly tearing the world apart there. That is generally not a good sign. At this point, he might just be organizational filler. He had a nice 3-5 game yesterday.

There was a time when Starling Peralta was well-thought after. He really shit the bed yesterday, recording 1 out and 5 not-outs. One of those not-outs was a 3-run bomb.

South Bend Cubs 1, Fort Wayne Tin Caps 5

Eloy Jimenez had a rare day of humanity in this one, going 0-4 with 2 whiffs. Bright spots included P.J. Higgins (3-5), Ian Rice (2-3, BB, SO), and Jesse Hodges (2-4, 3B, SO). Eddy Julio Martinez also singled and stole 2 bases.