Over three seasons I have ranked Cub pitching prospects according to the Marmol Index, or strikeouts per nine innings minus hits per nine. This has been a good predictor of success for pitchers likely to join Marmol in the Cub bullpen, such as Maine, Gaub and Beliveau, three lefties on the current 40-man who have [...]
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Posted 21 February 2012
† Phil
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prospect
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Also tagged: andrew cashner, austin kirk, cameron greathouse, casey coleman, casey weathers, chris archer, dae-eun rhee, eric jokisch, john gaub, luis liria, matt loosen, rob whitenack, scott maine, trey mcnutt, zach cates, zachary rosscup
The Cub organization has been ready with three young outfielders, Colvin, Campana and Jackson, over the past two seasons, although Campana is still waiting for a position to open up and Jackson needs a roster spot and a position. The high minors were generous in providing the Cubs with two solid middle infielders, Castro in [...]
After consulting, apparently, the Mayan calendar, baseball’s cognoscenti determined that Sunday, July 31st, would be the end of the world for the Chicago Cubs, coinciding with the major-league trading deadline; or, less metaphorically, that the Cubs’ GM would dispose of every remotely tradeable player on the team just before being disposed of himself. Management would [...]
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Posted 07 August 2011
† Phil
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Hendry § prospect § Quade § soriano § trade
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Also tagged: alfonso soriano, aramis ramirez, brandon guyer, brett jackson, carlos pena, darwin barney, geovany soto, jim hendry, marlon byrd, mike quade, ryan flaherty, starlin castro, tim wilken, tyler colvin
Here are a few predictions about various Cub players and about the team as a whole in 2011. Some of this might sound more like admonition than prediction, more a question of what the team should do than what it will do. But I am prognosticating, not giving advice. I have confidence in Cub management [...]
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Posted 01 April 2011
† Phil
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Hendry § prospect § Running § soriano
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Also tagged: aaron shafer, alfonso soriano, brett jackson, carlos zambrano, david cales, jeff baker, josh vitters, kosuke fukudome, marquez smith, michael brenly, rebel ridling, ryan flaherty, sam fuld, tyler colvin
I fancy myself a bit of a scout–a scout of the armchair, box-score persuasion, one who never set eyes on any of the players mentioned in this post unless they happened to be on WGN on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in March. The results of my scouting are tabulated, weekly during the season, in [...]
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Posted 12 March 2010
† Phil
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prospect
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Also tagged: alex maestri, alfonso soriano, andrew cashner, aramis ramirez, blake parker, brad snyder, brandon guyer, brett jackson, carlos marmol, chris archer, chris carpenter, chris huseby, david cales, derrek lee, dexter fowler, dustin sasser, geovany soto, greg reinhard, hak-ju lee, james adduci, jay jackson, jeff stevens, jeffry antigua, john gaub, jose valdez, josh vitters, juan pierre, koyie hill, kyler burke, logan watkins, manolin de leon, marlon byrd, matt camp, micah hoffpauir, michael bourn, nyger morgan, ryan buchter, sam fuld, starlin castro, tony campana, tyler colvin, willie taveras, xavier nady
Prospects are ranked according to my Marmol Index, strikeouts-per-nine-innings minus hits-per-nine-innings. These are the best arms in the Cub minors, not necessarily the best pitchers. For one thing, I don’t use walks in the formula, although I list walks and calculate K/BB. Perhaps the Marmol Index slants toward relief pitchers, who throw harder when they’re [...]
Lou said recently he was not averse to “bringing up some young kids with good arms and seeing what they can do.” If Lou wants to make the rounds of the Cubs’ farm teams and bring back quality arms, he should send a bus. It’s early, but right now the Cubs appear to have a [...]
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Posted 13 May 2009
† Phil
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prospect
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Also tagged: alberto albuquerque, blake parker, brian schlitter, carlos marmol, chris archer, chris carpenter, chris huseby, dan mcdaniel, david cales, erik hamren, greg reinhard, henry williamson, jake muyco, jay jackson, jeff stevens, jeremy papelbon, john gaub, jose ascanio, josh whitlock, kevin hart, kevin kreier, marcos mateo, mitch atkins, rafael dolis, ryan buchter, steven vento, vince perkins