Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Season Thread Vol: (17-17)

[CP1708]

The Iowa Cubs just got a little bit deeper and a little bit better today, as two hot-hitting, interesting Tennessee Smokies just got promoted up the ranks.

Third baseman Jeimer Candelario and corner outfielder Mark Zagunis will each make the trip up to Iowa, to begin (what is hopefully) the home stretch of their Minor League journey to the Majors.

Zagunis, 23, was selected by the Cubs as a catcher in the third round of the 2014 MLB Draft. After a while, Zagunis’s time behind the plate was phased out, and he was transitioned into the outfield. He has always shown excellent patience and has developed an advanced approach at the plate that likely helped earn his call up.

In 51 games (211 plate appearances) at Double-A Tennessee this season, Zagunis slashed .296/.403/.446 (.399 wOBA) with a 14.2% walk rate and just a 17.1% strikeout rate. Although his overall production had already been great, the Cubs were hoping he’d tap into the power a bit more, given his potential future as a corner outfielder (.151 ISO). That said, since the beginning of May, Zagunis has achieved a .214 ISO, while slugging .545 with 10 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs. The power arrived and he got his promotion. (Not that the first necessarily caused the second, but just noting.)

Candelario, 22, was signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in September of 2010. Always a well-thought-of prospect, Candelario really made a name for himself late last summer, and then over the winter into the spring. After a brilliant showing in the Arizona Fall League (.329/.371/.610, 5HR, 6.7% walk rate, 11.2% strikeout rate), Candelario wowed Cubs fans in Spring Training. Through 42 plate appearances, the switch hitting third baseman slashed .350/.381/.675 against some real Major League pitchers before returning to Double-A Tennessee to start the year.

He did ultimately hit a bit of speed bump upon his return, though. Across 56 games (244 plate appearances) Candelario slashed just .219/.324/.367, albeit with a 13.1% walk rate and an 18.9% strikeout rate (102 wRC+). That said, from May 19 on (78 plate appearances), Candelario slashed .278/.333/.458 with 20 hits, including 5 doubles, a triple and 2 home runs. Given his overall profile and fairly high potential, the promotion was well-deserved.

So that’s a couple more top prospects entering the just a phone call away distance to the Major Leagues. Upon Albert Almora’s eventual return to Iowa, that team is going to be flush with top prospects, and that means good things for the Chicago Cubs.

 

[CP1708]

L 3-2 at Arizona
L 6-1 vs Colorado
L 2-0 vs Colorado
L 5-3 at St Louis
L 13-5 at Cincy
L 4-3 vs Atlanta in 10 inn
L 7-4 vs San Diego (DH)
L 1-0 vs San Diego (DH)
L 2-1 vs Pitt
L 4-2 at Mil
L 5-3 at Mil
L 5-3 at SF
L 1-0 at SF
L 4-3 at St Louis
L 5-0 vs LA
L 3-2 vs Arizona
L 3-2 at Philly

The 13-5 game was 3-2 Cubs in the 6th, Lackey just had a terrible 6th inning
The 5-0 game was 0-0 in the 8th, then we pulled Arrieta for Clayton Richard
The 6-1 game was 1-0 in the 6th, Hendricks got tired after that.


How many of these should we have truly lost????? 1-2 run losses every time almost.

 

[sportsjunkie]

i can wait until Monday gets here. The Cubs will be in DC. I'm going to all 3 games. sure is.

 

[af1nike]

Plan on catching a game @ Mets when I'm in NYC 4th of July weekend

 

[CP1708]

Cubs trade Alcantara to Oakland for Chris Coghlan.

Tommy La Stella to the DL with a hammy.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Not a fan of that trade at all.
I understand that with Soler and LaStella's injuries the team is just trying to add an insurance OF, but reacquiring a guy who is having his worst season if not the worst statiscal season in all of baseball is a bad move.
Worst yet is we gave up a good young player!
Sure Arismendy struggled at the plate a bit, but he was a solid IF who had more value, regardless f how stacked we are with IF help.....just too early to give up on him and not enough on a return for trading Mendy.

Who knows maybe thi is Theos way of giving Bean back something after we fleeced them in the Shark/Addison trade.

 

[CP1708]

No sir, we had no more options left on Alcantara. We were gonna bury him in Triple A for life, or cut him eventually. So we got something for him.

Cogs was havin a bad year in Oak, a bad team. Now he's home again, where he was pretty productive with us. And he gives Joe more versatility with Soler/LaStella out. Can play LF/RF/2B and bats from the left side.

It's a good short term deal, just to help with injuries. AA was never comin up for us again.

 

[CP1708]

Rd 3 (104) RHP Tom Hatch
Rd 4 (134) RHP Tyson Miller
Rd 5 (164) RHP Bailey Clark
Rd 6 (194) RHP Chad Hockin
Rd 7 (224) C Michael Cruz
Rd 8 (254) RHP Stephen Ridings
Rd 9 (284) RHP Duncan Robinson
Rd 10 (314) RHP Dakota Mekkes

 

[CP1708]

Cubs land Big 12 Pitcher of Year with 1st pick

Third round (No. 104 overall): RHP Tom Hatch, Oklahoma State
Hatch is a horse. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-hander tossed three consecutive shutouts this spring to earn Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors. That stretch, as well as a season in which he went 7-2 with a 2.16 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 16 starts, alleviated concerns after he missed all of 2015 with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament that didn't require surgery.

The biggest change in Hatch this season was dropping his arm slot to low three-quarters, rather than over the top. The adjustment added life to his stuff, which consists of a fastball that sits 91-94 mph, a slider that can be plus and a solid changeup for which he has great feel.

"The impressive thing for Thomas, I mean he had to change his delivery and change his arm slot to do some things to free his arm up so it would stay healthy and he wasn't muscling the ball and those types of things," Oklahoma State pitching coach Rob Walton told Baseball America earlier this month. "He deserves a lot of credit for maintaining that new delivery for the first time."

 

[CP1708]

3 picks so far, all of them College Juniors. All RHP. Clear as day what Theo is doin.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Theo & Jed loading up on arms

 

[CP1708]

Rd 3 (104) RHP Tom Hatch
Rd 4 (134) RHP Tyson Miller
Rd 5 (164) RHP Bailey Clark
Rd 6 (194) RHP Chad Hockin
Rd 7 (224) C Michael Cruz
Rd 8 (254) RHP Stephen Ridings
Rd 9 (284) RHP Duncan Robinson
Rd 10 (314) RHP Dakota Mekkes

Thru round 10, I'm sensing a pattern........

 

[CP1708]

At this start to the game.

Do not sleep walk thru this game/series.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Hammel got tagged back to back early.
Almora

 

[CP1708]

Un ******* believable.

 

[CP1708]

L 3-2 at Arizona
L 6-1 vs Colorado
L 2-0 vs Colorado
L 5-3 at St Louis
L 13-5 at Cincy
L 4-3 vs Atlanta in 10 inn
L 7-4 vs San Diego (DH)
L 1-0 vs San Diego (DH)
L 2-1 vs Pitt
L 4-2 at Mil
L 5-3 at Mil
L 5-3 at SF
L 1-0 at SF
L 4-3 at St Louis
L 5-0 vs LA
L 3-2 vs Arizona
L 3-2 at Philly
L 5-1 at Atlanta

The 13-5 game was 3-2 Cubs in the 6th, Lackey just had a terrible 6th inning
The 5-0 game was 0-0 in the 8th, then we pulled Arrieta for Clayton Richard
The 6-1 game was 1-0 in the 6th, Hendricks got tired after that.


How many of these should we have truly lost????? 1-2 run losses every time almost.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Arms, Arms and More Arms for us in the draft.


Losing to these sucky teams is so frustrating.

 

[CP1708]

4 more picks so far this morning, 4 more college arms.

That Catcher must be special as hell.

 

[CP1708]

Heyward.

 

[CP1708]

Rizzo a solo shot

Montero a 3-run shot

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Heyward
Rizzo
Montero

 

[CP1708]

Now Kris Bryant goes deep!

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Bryant & Rizzo the new age Bash Bros.

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Bryant & Rizzo the new age Bash Bros.

Roids ?

I'm mad I sold my Kris Bryant jersey last year

 

[CP1708]

BS call on that DP costs Jake an extra run.