Author Topic: On The Farm  (Read 324146 times)

ben

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10635 on: September 23, 2022, 02:07:10 pm »
Bennett, thanks for that hilarious video!  The poor kid will need a strong constitution to live that down!
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Reb

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10636 on: September 23, 2022, 02:31:28 pm »
Kaplan Youtube interview with Iowa Cubs broadcaster about prospects.

Raves about everybody but comments about Rule 5 eligible Danis Correa interesting, and other tidbits.

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Ron

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10637 on: September 24, 2022, 09:34:35 am »
Thanks for sharing that video, Reb. I found it both interesting and fun. The Iowa broadcaster seemed pretty sharp.
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craig

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10638 on: September 24, 2022, 11:21:09 am »
Yes, reb, thanks for that interview.  Several things that struck me:
1.  Enthusiasm for Danis Correa's stuff.
2.  What a good hitter Hill is, comparing him to LaStella.
3.  Brennen Davis; corner outfielder, not a 35-HR guy. 

Dave23

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10639 on: September 24, 2022, 04:30:30 pm »
I promise I won’t be disappointed if Davis is only a 30 HR guy…

Chris27

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10640 on: September 24, 2022, 11:06:00 pm »

Reb

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10641 on: September 25, 2022, 12:45:35 am »

1.  Enthusiasm for Danis Correa's stuff.


I think that AZ Phil has tagged Correa as a likely 40-man addition and this interview kind of firms that up.

Correa is exactly the kind of guy who otherwise would be selected in the Rule 5:  already has AAA experience, high ceiling, and a bullpen guy that can part of a multi-reliever mix for virtually any club. So, seems very likely to get selected in the Rule 5 if not protected.

craig

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10642 on: September 25, 2022, 09:38:27 pm »
Baseball America “Under the Radar Prospects With Great Curveballs”

Riley Martin, LHP, Cubs

The lone lefthander on this list, Martin also throws the most traditional downer style curveball, getting more than a foot of vertical drop on the pitch. ... . Martin works primarily off of a low-to-mid-90s four-seam fastball, mixing in a trio of secondaries in a mid-80s slider, a mid-to-high-80s changeup and a low-80s curveball. Martin sits 80-83 mph on the pitch, generating over a foot of vertical drop with average spin rates in the 2,600-2,700 rpm range. Batters struggled against the pitch this season, hitting just .120 against it with a whiff rate above 40% and a groundball rate north of 50%. An older small school college arm with a unique lefthanded pitch mix and an innate feel for spin, Martin could carve out a role as a matchup-driven lefthanded reliever capable of getting six outs each outing.

Thanks, reb.  That's pretty cool that a biochemist with a $0.001M signing bonus, the smallest signing bonus in his draft class, actually has a great pitch worth mentioning.  Reference to a low-to-mid-90's fastball, that's less slow than I expected?  Doesn't seem inadequate for a potential reliever with a deadly curve? 

BA mentions mixing in both slider and change.  My understanding is that the slider is the new development; and he's been using it after visiting the pitch-lab for a couple weeks at the end of June.   

A funky thing with him is how much they pitched him.  Even with 19 days at pitch lab, he racked up 83 innings, and now has another handful between South Bend and now Tennessee playoffs.  Only a couple of starters have that many.  And still they assign him to AFL for more.  Very  unusual, he must be some biochemist rubber-arm?

As with most relievers, control remains a challenge.  49 wild things in 83 innings is kinda high.  (43BB/6HB, plus 7 WP besides.). Hopefully his control is sufficient, or else he'll improve it further.   

 

craig

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10643 on: September 25, 2022, 09:39:58 pm »
While the biochemist got the win, my guy Bailey Horn closed with 4K/1H/2IP.  Strikes/pitches 21/29.  What a K-run he's been on lately.  A tweet mentioned him hitting 96 tonight. 
« Last Edit: September 25, 2022, 09:42:11 pm by craig »

dallen7908

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10644 on: September 26, 2022, 04:16:43 pm »
One encouraging feature of Horn's performance in AA was that his K/W improved each month.  Although, a Debbie Downer might note that his K/IP drove the improvement his W/IP was basically unchanged at least until September.

K/W in X IP
9/5 in 8.2 (June)
15/8 in 12 (July)
16/6 in 10 (August)
15/4 in 8 (September)


guest405

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10645 on: September 26, 2022, 07:02:10 pm »
Matt Mervis just hit one 450 feet.

Chris27

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10646 on: September 26, 2022, 07:29:26 pm »
Mervis has one of the quietest swings I've seen.

https://twitter.com/IowaCubs/status/1574549613884866573
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craig

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10647 on: September 26, 2022, 09:30:20 pm »
Mervis has one of the quietest swings I've seen.

https://twitter.com/IowaCubs/status/1574549613884866573
I like that observation, Chris.  This is not the big-leg-kick of the Javy prospect era.  The hands don't have a lot of movement or load complexity either.  Two-handed swing, not dependent on the longer one-handed follow-through. 

Always hard for me to tell; highlights usually only show HR's, where swings always look balanced and efficient.  How does a guy look on the other ones?  Easy to keep both hands on the bat when you've timed the pitch; if his weight is out in front on a change or off-speed, does he still keep both hands on the bat? 

A pitch like that isn't 98, but it seems a number of his HR's are on upper-half pitches.  In the world where so many pitchers throw high strikes, his stroke seems better aligned for high-strike power than was true with the 2016 Cub stars, who I think were all drafted and developed in the swing-to-lift-low-strikes era. 

It also seems to me that he's got extended pull power.  In this HR, the pitch looks a bit on the outside half of the plate.  But he's still willing and able to reach out and pull it.  I've kinda noticed that in some other of his HR's, he's willing to start his bat early enough and get to middle-outside pitches in front of the plate with pull power.

It he's a pull-power and swing-to-pull lefty, the anti-shift rules might help him?  Maybe a lot?   

davep

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10648 on: September 26, 2022, 10:23:56 pm »
Interesting comment from ArizonaPhil about a player who got a inside the park homer.

"Jaque may be the fastest runner I have ever seen on a baseball diamond. He is really, really fast. That said, there may be some issues with his hit tool. Despite the blazing speed displayed with the inside-the-park job, he also struck out swinging against DSL Cubs Blue Pitching Coach Jose Zapata."

Deeg

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Re: On The Farm
« Reply #10649 on: September 26, 2022, 10:35:48 pm »
I don’t see the bat speed with Mervis to be an elite power guy at the big league level, but plenty of guys have certainly made a good living punishing mistakes.  He seems smart enough to adjust to what the league throws at him, even if he’s always going to struggle against really good pitchers.  We’ll see - you certainly can’t argue with the results so far.
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