The Official 2016 Chicago Cubs thread...

[laughedatbytime]

Cubs and Jake avoid arbitration, 1 yr, $10.7 million.

Porcello makes $20 mil this year.

 

:rfl:

 

Lets hope Jake plays in 2016 like he did BEFORE the LCS last year. I'm sure he will though. He's just so tough and manly. Hey, do you think he could get Mexico to pay for a wall on the border?

This is just Jake's f***ing city.

[Rick N. Backer]

Cubs and Jake avoid arbitration, 1 yr, $10.7 million.

Porcello makes $20 mil this year.

 

:rfl:

 

Lets hope Jake plays in 2016 like he did BEFORE the LCS last year. I'm sure he will though. He's just so tough and manly. Hey, do you think he could get Mexico to pay for a wall on the border?

This is just Jake's f***ing city.

 

I hope not. He lied down like a dog in the LCS. Like the rest of his team did.

[laughedatbytime]

News from down on the farm...

 

Following up his Top 100 MLB Prospects list, Keith Law has just released his individual team top ten lists, with a fair bit of discussion of each (including additional info on the guys that just missed the top 100, guys that have lost value, organizational sleepers and much more), plus several prospects who are just outside the top ten.

 

Since the Cubs article is premium, I can’t give you too much besides a few interesting bits and then my own discussion.

 

You already know who the Cubs top six prospects are, because of the top 100, but you’ll be happy to know that Eddy Julio Martinez lands smack dab at number 7. Moreover, Law adds that Martinez “just missed” the top 100, which aligns interestingly with Baseball Prospectus, which has Martinez falling in at 97. Not unlike the Cubs’ uniquely vertical potential back in 2015, I think that Martinez has a big year ahead of him. Having originally been as highly touted as anyone, his stock fell a bit once the final details of his contract were announced (he was much cheaper than expected). Still, the only consistent thing we’ve heard about Martinez is that no one knows what the Cubs have in him. So few eyes have seen him play, he is a true wild card with plenty of boom or bust potential in 2016.

 

 

Oscar De La Cruz just misses Law’s Cubs top ten, but continues to draw praise from around baseball. Law calls him a sleeper, and expects that he could finish the season as the second best pitching prospect in the Cubs system, after Dylan Cease. De La Cruz needs to tighten up his off-speed stuff, but has excellent control and command of his fastball that sits 92-95 MPH. De La Cruz will start out at Low-A South Bend in 2016.

Law is a bit lower on the potential starting futures of Pierce Johnson and Carl Edwards Jr., but believes the latter could ultimately be an impact reliever as soon as this season. While we always hoped Edwards would defy the odds and stick as a starter, it was always a less likely outcome. Still, he can have a very big impact and productive career as a Cubs reliever and that would be just swell.

 

One more pitcher to mention, who falls outside Law’s top ten, but who doesn’t get a ton of attention in these kinds of rankings: righty Brad Markey. If you missed his impressive 2015 season (especially considering his draft situation), you can check out more on him here. Overslot 2015 draft D.J. Wilson also comes in for a bit of discussion, and he’s definitely going to be a player to watch this year.

 

All in all, Law’s take is a very interesting read and there is so much more in there to check out. I really agree with the order of his rankings, and I see it as close to mine as any list yet. Law is a bit higher on the Cubs system than anyone else (having ranked them the fourth best system in baseball), but that shouldn’t affect the relative order of the top 10.

 

The Cubs system isn’t what it used to be, but very few system have ever been what the Cubs were in 2014-2015. For now, they still have some impact talent at the top and as much depth as any organization in baseball.

 

If you missed any of the previous top Cubs lists this rankings season, you can see the discussion of Minor League Ball’s list here, Baseball America’s list here, and FanGraphs’ list here.

[RUSHHEAD666]

ALL THE WAY!!! FUKK THE GIANTS!!!!!

 

AMEN

[laughedatbytime]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25486491/look-kyle-schwarber-already-smashed-a-windshield-in-spring-training

 

Schwarbs is all ready to go...

[The Analog Cub]

http://mweb.cbssport...spring-training

 

Schwarbs is all ready to go...

 

That didn't take long. HULK SMASH

[laughedatbytime]

The architect speaks...

 

As Spring Training approaches (Hey! Pitchers and catchers have officially reported today!), even for a relatively settled team, there’s been a myriad of open items and questions heading into camp.

 

Lucky for us, Cubs President of Baseball Operations joined Jim Bowden and Craig Mish on Serious XMs Fantasy Baseball Channel to discuss many of those questions and more. You can listen to the interview at Sirius.com – nicely transcribed by the CCO – or take in some of the highlights, along with my thoughts, below.

 

At a certain point in the negotiations with Jason Heyward, Epstein got the impression that the Cubs were his preferred destination. Because Epstein wanted Heyward as well, the impetus turned to the front office and ownership to “make it work.” Ultimately, Heyward took less guaranteed money to be with Chicago (even if some MLB execs think it was outrageous), which wound up becoming a theme with several Cubs free agents, this winter. [brett: I liked Epstein’s description of the negotiating process, and I couldn’t help but think of passing notes in study hall. “Do you like us? Circle YES NO”.]

 

Epstein expects a big season out of Jorge Soler – who is “not just a slugger,” but an advanced, polished hitter at the plate – as evidenced, for example, by the 2015 playoffs. Having purposefully slimmed down this offseason, Soler is focused on improving his right field defense for 2016 (luckily, the Cubs have the best right fielder in baseball in the same locker room to lend his advice).

 

 

Epstein really likes Kyle Schwarber. There’s a rather large segment praising everything from Schwarber’s bat, makeup, pitch recognition skills, timing, power, use of all fields and more. The plan, for now, is that he will split time between left field and catcher both this Spring and in Chicago.

 

Epstein confirms that Javier Baez was just about to be called up to the majors when he broke his finger last season. Obviously, that’s a bummer, but when Baez did finally come back, Epstein was encouraged to see him immediately accomplish one of their developmental goals: calm down in the batters box.

 

If you recall, Baez did perform quite well after his return to the Cubs, and made significant strides in nearly all of his batted ball and plate discipline statistics. Epstein ended on Baez by saying, “He’ll be our backup shortstop, our backup third baseman, our backup second baseman. He’ll be one of our backup outfielders. I think he’s going to see a lot of time this year.”

 

Epstein once again recalls the Addison Russell/Billy McKinney/Dan Strailey for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel trade from 2014, refusing to call it a bad move for Oakland. Apparently, the A’s rotation had some guys reaching innings limits and dealing with injuries that were not public knowledge at the time. Billy Beane did not want to squander the A’s legitimate competitiveness that season, so he made a gutsy move. Epstein admires it. [brett: And, to this day, I still think it was a solid move for the A’s. They had a great team that year and a particularly good chance to make a run, which would have been severely harmed if their pitching had faltered. A team like the A’s has to strike when the striking is good. Throw in the fact that Russell was dealing with a serious hamstring injury at the time, and you can understand the deal a little better from the A’s perspective.]

 

Speaking of Russell, Epstein believes that power is an underappreciated part of his game. In fact, the Cubs expect him to hit a lot more home runs and be a “pretty dynamic offensive player.” It’s easy for fans to forget that Kris Bryant, for example, had just been drafted and begun playing in rookie ball when he was Russell’s age. He has so much projection left.

 

When asked about prospects who might make an impact somewhat near-term, somewhat down the road (technically for fantasy baseball purposes), Epstein brought up Willson Contreras and Albert Almora. Both players he says – in not so few words – are extremely talented, underrated and ready for AAA this season. More importantly, both play positions that are ultimately unblocked by young players at the Major League level and are a big part of the Cubs future. I’d tentatively expect to see both in Chicago before the season is over and it doesn’t sound like they’re going anywhere after that.

 

[brett: Sorry I keep cutting in. I thought it was interesting to hear Epstein mention that Contreras, a catcher, has an opening long-term at the big league level. Not that it would be a huge surprise, but that suggests Schwarber as a full-time catcher, even down the road, is unlikely to materialize. He could still get in occasional starts, though, as part of a mix-and-match (which is actually what I really hope to see for him over the next five or so years).]

 

And, for fun: Epstein used to play fantasy baseball back in high school, but before that, he used to play a computer game called MicroLeague Baseball – where he purchased a special floppy disk so that he could play the “General Manager Function.” He’s since stopped playing fantasy baseball (that’s like, his life), but still does the fantasy football thing every year. In fact, he says he won the Red Sox Front Office fantasy football contest both years the Red Sox won the World Series: “Trust me, I was insufferable during those years, just walking around the office like Rickey Henderson – like I could do no wrong.”

 

http://www.bleachernation.com/2016/02/19/theo-epstein-speaks-soler-schwarber-baez-contreras-almora-more/

 

So glad we didn't trade Soler or Baez, although I don't know how close it actually was.

[laughedatbytime]

Pitchers and catchers report today.

 

Embrace the target!

[troutman]

Another year,

 

Same result.

[laughedatbytime]

Another year,

 

Same result.

Well, they do have to play in Oakland in early August, so they could pick up some infectious diseases in the open sewer that is o.Co.

 

That wouldn't be good.

[laughedatbytime]

Reason 10 billion that the Cubs are better than Boston teams...

 

Cubs owner Ricketts spending money to beat Trump

 

Most beloved player in Boston personal friend of Trump.

[troutman]

Another year,

 

Same result.

Well, they do have to play in Oakland in early August, so they could pick up some infectious diseases in the open sewer that is o.Co.

 

That wouldn't be good.

 

:sarcastic:

[Rick N. Backer]

Reason 10 billion that the Cubs are better than Boston teams...

 

Cubs owner Ricketts spending money to beat Trump

 

Most beloved player in Boston personal friend of Trump.

 

Plus, they never had a player who used PEDs.

 

 

 

[The Analog Cub]

Coghlan traded to the A's for RHP Aaron Brooks. Good luck, Cobra.

[satchmothesnowdog]

About a month from pitchers and catchers. Can you imagine how heartbreaking it would be if the Cubs don't win the World Series?

 

I can't even bear to think about it.

 

;)

 

The Cubs are definitely the well deserved favorites. But, yeah, I get what you are saying. A lot can happen and a lot of heartache can continue to happen. A Red Sox fan certainly understands this given what Boston went through before it broke through.

 

Maybe, we should let the league go ahead and play the season before giving the trophy to Chicago? Sure. Why not.

 

And, for the record, I think my Cardinals limp into a middle of the pack season. It's time to rebuild in St. Louis. There's some talent on the farm and a brighter future, but the parent clubhouse is aging and that will likely show in 2016. I think the Cardinals will be competitive, but not championship caliber.... but, again, I will go ahead and let the league play the season to see what happens.

Giving the trophy to anyone prior to the season is idiocy. At best, a truly dominant team has about a 25-30% chance of winning it all.

that's very well said. Fans are so unreasonable and unrealistic. But, the latin root for fan is fanatic and it was never meant as a complimentary term :)

[The Analog Cub]

Dexter just gave the Orioles a big "f**k you!" and turned down their 3 year offer for a 1 year deal with the Cubs.

[laughedatbytime]

Dexter just gave the Orioles a big "f**k you!" and turned down their 3 year offer for a 1 year deal with the Cubs.

I saw this. Interesting! He must have realized he'd have to face Rick Porcello five times a year and ran away in fear....

[The Analog Cub]

Dexter just gave the Orioles a big "f**k you!" and turned down their 3 year offer for a 1 year deal with the Cubs.

I saw this. Interesting! He must have realized he'd have to face Rick Porcello five times a year and ran away in fear....

 

The Coghlan trade makes a lot more sense now. So it'll probably be Schwarbs/Soler in LF, Dex in CF, and Heyward in RF. Not bad!

 

Also, our first series is at the Angels, so we'll be playing with a DH.

 

CF Fowler

2B Zobrist

3B Bryant

1B Rizzo

RF Heyward

LF Schwarber

DH Soler

C Montero

SS Russell

 

El Presidente or Lester on the mound.

 

That lineup is f***ing scary shit.

[Rick N. Backer]

Dexter just gave the Orioles a big "f**k you!" and turned down their 3 year offer for a 1 year deal with the Cubs.

I saw this. Interesting! He must have realized he'd have to face Rick Porcello five times a year and ran away in fear....

 

See what happens? You finally win a World Series and you become insufferable.

 

[Pssst!] What?!

 

[whisperwhisperwhisper] Really? Swept? Are you sure? But they had Jake!

 

[whisperwhisperwhisper] 7.20 ERA? Yikes. OK.

 

Sorry LABT. I forgot they sh*t the bed in the NLCS.

[laughedatbytime]

Dexter just gave the Orioles a big "f**k you!" and turned down their 3 year offer for a 1 year deal with the Cubs.

I saw this. Interesting! He must have realized he'd have to face Rick Porcello five times a year and ran away in fear....

 

The Coghlan trade makes a lot more sense now. So it'll probably be Schwarbs/Soler in LF, Dex in CF, and Heyward in RF. Not bad!

 

Also, our first series is at the Angels, so we'll be playing with a DH.

 

CF Fowler

2B Zobrist

3B Bryant

1B Rizzo

RF Heyward

LF Schwarber

DH Soler

C Montero

SS Russell

 

El Presidente or Lester on the mound.

 

That lineup is f***ing scary shit.

Don't forget Javy...

[laughedatbytime]

 

 

See what happens? You finally win a World Series and you become insufferable.

 

 

[The Analog Cub]

Dexter just gave the Orioles a big "f**k you!" and turned down their 3 year offer for a 1 year deal with the Cubs.

I saw this. Interesting! He must have realized he'd have to face Rick Porcello five times a year and ran away in fear....

 

The Coghlan trade makes a lot more sense now. So it'll probably be Schwarbs/Soler in LF, Dex in CF, and Heyward in RF. Not bad!

 

Also, our first series is at the Angels, so we'll be playing with a DH.

 

CF Fowler

2B Zobrist

3B Bryant

1B Rizzo

RF Heyward

LF Schwarber

DH Soler

C Montero

SS Russell

 

El Presidente or Lester on the mound.

 

That lineup is f***ing scary shit.

Don't forget Javy...

 

He'll probably get some playing time at 2B and mentorship from Zobrist.

[Rick N. Backer]

 

 

See what happens? You finally win a World Series and you become insufferable.

 

 

 

Great song. Shame what happened to her. She released that album, and it looked like she would go on to have a long successful career. But she didn't.

 

That happens, you know. Can you imagine running around proclaiming her the next Janis after Jagged Little Pill?

 

Except the Cubs released Presto last year.

[laughedatbytime]

 

 

See what happens? You finally win a World Series and you become insufferable.

 

 

 

Great song. Shame what happened to her. She released that album, and it looked like she would go on to have a long successful career. But she didn't.

 

That happens, you know. Can you imagine running around proclaiming her the next Janis after Jagged Little Pill?

 

Except the Cubs released Presto last year.

Did the Red Sox pick it up? Because any Cub reject would make them better.

[The Analog Cub]

See what happens? You finally win a World Series and you become insufferable.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPcyTyilmYY

 

Great song. Shame what happened to her. She released that album, and it looked like she would go on to have a long successful career. But she didn't.

 

That happens, you know. Can you imagine running around proclaiming her the next Janis after Jagged Little Pill?

 

Except the Cubs released Presto last year.

 

Explain that to me They came off a 97 win season, despite losing the NLCS it was a great year after 6 years of trash. Presto is just total shit the entire way through after a mediocre album like Hold Your Fire. How does the connection make sense?

 

A better analogy would be Def Leppard. Euphoria came out in '99 and was through and through an actually decent album after almost a decade of awful music.