Bleacher Bums Forum

BA on Amaya:

Amaya used his rehab time to improve his conditioning and shed excess fat from his frame. Once an overly large backstop, he is now a sleeker, more explosive athlete. He was an average receiver and blocker with a plus arm before surgery, but it remains to be seen where he is now defensively with his new physique and surgically repaired elbow.

Thanks for those notes, reb.  As you note, the "excellent bat speed" is kinda nice to hear for Mervis.  I agree with BA's note on the shift, that could be career-changing for a guy like that.  Both the "no-shift" aspect, but also very much the "start-on-the-dirt" rule.  Even if shifting was banned, without the latter rule a good-defense 2B like Hoerner could start deep onto the outfield grass, and steal a lot of hits from a slow pull-hitting guy.  But to rifle a hard grounder or low-liner through a gap with guys starting on dirt, that's very different. 

The notes on Amaya are also interesting.  It's hard to imagine a guy who hasn't caught in over 3 years, that he'll be good or ready.  Given our recent experience with Willson, it's kinda always hard to imagine that any human being will have what it takes.  What are the odds that post-surg Amaya will ever have the magic full combination of quickness, receiving, throwing, framing, pitch-blocking, game-calling, and coaching/nagging/encouraging/nurturing/motivating/pitcher-whispering that the Cubs seem to now demand.   But man, what a game-changer that would be if Amaya was healthy all season, if his elbow was fine and his throwing is acceptable/decent, and if by August we've got a big-league catcher who'd look like a solid big-league catcher for years?  That would be such a fun comeback story. 

Did Canario miss because of injuries??

Not so hot in Wicks either:

Wicks could be a decent No. 5 starter. It’s mostly all average stuff except for the changeup (which has been more 55-60 in pro ball than the 70 it was in college) and he shows a good feel for pitching. At the same time, there’s also a real concern he’s going to start getting hit harder once he starts facing better competition, which we saw happen in his brief Double-A stint. He's a lefty with a deep pitch mix and a good feel for pitching, all of which are good traits. It’s just more in line with a No. 5 starter, which is something every team needs and shouldn't be discounted or dismissed.

Caissie-yes. Preciado-no:

Owen Caissie is still a good prospect. He got off to a slow start at South Bend but hit .273/.368/.443 after the first month. He takes good at-bats, has big power, is young and still growing into his body - there is a lot to like. Him dropping out of the Cubs Top 10 is more a function of how much talent they've added to their system, it's not him slipping. Reggie Preciado is a different story. He was getting blown away by 90 mph fastballs down the middle and just did not show anything to suggest he's going to hit. He was just completely overmatched by pitchers at the lowest levels of the minors. It's not good

BA on Kilian:

Kilian previously moved the ball around the strike zone with plus control, but he lost it in the majors and struggled to regain it in the minors. He no longer uses his lower half efficiently in his delivery and struggles to repeat his mechanics, leading to fringy control and a lack of quality strikes. Cubs officials identified the problem with his lower half and believe they can fix it, but acknowledge they have concerns.

This is the most concerning to me, on what Reb has posted so far....

Joe Doyle
@JoeDoyleMiLB
·
1h
The Chicago Cubs are the favorites to sign Dominican SS Fernando Cruz, the top prospect in the 2024 international FA period. Described as the "total package"... solid hit/solid power. Plus athlete, "true shortstop". 55 runner. Chance for 5 tools. "Consensus No. 1 guy."

Saw a note from Northside Bound's Todd Johnson that both Riley Thompson and Kohl Franklin are adding sliders to their pitch mix.  Not sure how new, how true, or how helpful those intentions might be, but I thought it was worth a mention.  Both are guys who have a chance to be valuable big-league pitchers. 

I think the Cubs pitch development guys have earned some trust, so *IF* they have analyzed that adding slider is both hypothetically possible and hypothetically helpful, I'm interested.  I, and I'm sure the pitch-devo guys, realize that adding new pitches isn't easy and only occasionally ends up being transformative.  But sometimes improbable things happen, and even incremental improvements help. 

I'm especially interested in both of those guys, because sometimes I feel like first-year-post-injury, there is more priority on just staying healthy than on actual pitch-development or success.  I'm hoping that now the priority will shift to actual results, and that we'll see good results much more consistently.