Cubs' Prospects FUTUREBONER thread

[Eli]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

[R-V]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

[SKO]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

This, for sure, but also there's the fact that I think the numbers say Albert Almora probably isn't gonna be very good and people on this messageboard (not just the imaginary demons I battle daily) have thrown out what I consider to be weak arguments in his defense, and I've never yet met an argument I've been able to let go before exhausting all opponents into submission because that's who I am, dammit.

[R-V]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

This, for sure, but also there's the fact that I think the numbers say Albert Almora probably isn't gonna be very good and people on this messageboard (not just the imaginary demons I battle daily) have thrown out what I consider to be weak arguments in his defense, and I've never yet met an argument I've been able to let go before exhausting all opponents into submission because that's who I am, dammit.

But really, so what if people think Almora might be good? I think those same people would probably say that there's no way in hell we should *count* on him being good and being a long-term answer at a key position, like (I think) we are with Bryant and Soler and Russell. I think you're conflating "hey let's not give up on this guy because Jason McLeod is a pretty damn good scouting director and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt" with "this guy is going to be the Cubs centerfielder of the future and they should absolutely NOT pursue any good major league players to man the position."

[SKO]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

This, for sure, but also there's the fact that I think the numbers say Albert Almora probably isn't gonna be very good and people on this messageboard (not just the imaginary demons I battle daily) have thrown out what I consider to be weak arguments in his defense, and I've never yet met an argument I've been able to let go before exhausting all opponents into submission because that's who I am, dammit.

But really, so what if people think Almora might be good? I think those same people would probably say that there's no way in hell we should *count* on him being good and being a long-term answer at a key position, like (I think) we are with Bryant and Soler and Russell. I think you're conflating "hey let's not give up on this guy because Jason McLeod is a pretty damn good scouting director and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt" with "this guy is going to be the Cubs centerfielder of the future and they should absolutely NOT pursue any good major league players to man the position."

Oh, you got all of that from Huey saying:

Fine. I'll just predict that he'll make the majors in 2016 as a barely average offensive player.

In 2017 he'll be good.

Happy?

Because I got Huey predicting that Almora will be good and is presumably the Cubs centerfielder of the future. But what is our Huey known for if not layers of subtlety and nuance?

[R-V]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

This, for sure, but also there's the fact that I think the numbers say Albert Almora probably isn't gonna be very good and people on this messageboard (not just the imaginary demons I battle daily) have thrown out what I consider to be weak arguments in his defense, and I've never yet met an argument I've been able to let go before exhausting all opponents into submission because that's who I am, dammit.

But really, so what if people think Almora might be good? I think those same people would probably say that there's no way in hell we should *count* on him being good and being a long-term answer at a key position, like (I think) we are with Bryant and Soler and Russell. I think you're conflating "hey let's not give up on this guy because Jason McLeod is a pretty damn good scouting director and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt" with "this guy is going to be the Cubs centerfielder of the future and they should absolutely NOT pursue any good major league players to man the position."

Oh, you got all of that from Huey saying:

Fine. I'll just predict that he'll make the majors in 2016 as a barely average offensive player.

In 2017 he'll be good.

Happy?

Because I got Huey predicting that Almora will be good and is presumably the Cubs centerfielder of the future. But what is our Huey known for if not layers of subtlety and nuance?

Are you sure that was actually Huey that typed that? Because I see no grammatical errors and no mention of Ron Coomer.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

This, for sure, but also there's the fact that I think the numbers say Albert Almora probably isn't gonna be very good and people on this messageboard (not just the imaginary demons I battle daily) have thrown out what I consider to be weak arguments in his defense, and I've never yet met an argument I've been able to let go before exhausting all opponents into submission because that's who I am, dammit.

But really, so what if people think Almora might be good? I think those same people would probably say that there's no way in hell we should *count* on him being good and being a long-term answer at a key position, like (I think) we are with Bryant and Soler and Russell. I think you're conflating "hey let's not give up on this guy because Jason McLeod is a pretty damn good scouting director and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt" with "this guy is going to be the Cubs centerfielder of the future and they should absolutely NOT pursue any good major league players to man the position."

Just for a little retrospective, I remember when the Cubs first picked Kris Bryant and I was a little WTF'd by that pick (the Astros picked Appel, the guy I wanted, and the Cubs let Gray fall to Colorado), mainly because here came Theo and Jed riding in on their white unihorses and at the time the Cubs were in dire straights for any kind of farm system, especially pitchers.

I just remember how much fun it was to track Bryant, Soler, Baez, and Russell and daydream of a day when watching the MLB Cubs wouldn't be miserable. It has finally happened and I really think Theo and Jed and Jason need to be chained to each other and welded into their offices forever and ever amen.

[SKO]

Why are we even talking about Almora?

Because RV brought him up 4 pages ago.

And I got to come back a few hours later and read several entertaining posts! I'm getting a great return on investment from this Desipio membership.

It's so weird how this "discussion" board works.

Here's an actual attempt at a contribution: I think SKO's EPIC MESSAGE BOARD MELTDOWN can be at least partially attributed to the approach that some Cubs fans take regarding all these prospects, namely the slotting in of guys who haven't even made it to AAA yet into certain positions on the big league team.

"Well a year or so from now we'll be looking at Almora in CF and Schwarber at catcher which will put Bryant in LF and then you've gotta figure out if Baez or Castro or Russell plays third base..."

The big league team has sucked for so long that all we've been left with is prospect watching, which leads to some unhealthy expectations on translating the minor league success (or in Almora's case, not-totally-failing) that we've watched so intently into major league success.

I don't think Huey or anyone on this messageboard has that attitude *, but SKO doesn't know how to unfollow bad fans on Twitter, so we end up with him posting arguments on Desipio in response to people who don't use Desipio.

This will all be a nonissue when the major league team is balls-out awesome and we're more worried about using prospects as trade deadline bait than future assets for the major league team.

*except for Fork

This, for sure, but also there's the fact that I think the numbers say Albert Almora probably isn't gonna be very good and people on this messageboard (not just the imaginary demons I battle daily) have thrown out what I consider to be weak arguments in his defense, and I've never yet met an argument I've been able to let go before exhausting all opponents into submission because that's who I am, dammit.

But really, so what if people think Almora might be good? I think those same people would probably say that there's no way in hell we should *count* on him being good and being a long-term answer at a key position, like (I think) we are with Bryant and Soler and Russell. I think you're conflating "hey let's not give up on this guy because Jason McLeod is a pretty damn good scouting director and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt" with "this guy is going to be the Cubs centerfielder of the future and they should absolutely NOT pursue any good major league players to man the position."

Oh, you got all of that from Huey saying:

Fine. I'll just predict that he'll make the majors in 2016 as a barely average offensive player.

In 2017 he'll be good.

Happy?

Because I got Huey predicting that Almora will be good and is presumably the Cubs centerfielder of the future. But what is our Huey known for if not layers of subtlety and nuance?

Are you sure that was actually Huey that typed that? Because I see no grammatical errors and no mention of Ron Coomer.

I think it's clear we just need to codify the Desipio Rules.

1) Stick To Sportz
2) Not too much Sportz, though
3) Not that Sportz, either.
4) When discussing the Sportz, it's best to ignore Chuck, Fork, and Huey
5) Don't discuss the sportz if you're discussing parts of the sportz not deemed the part of the sportz that are relevant by IAN or TDubbs.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I made that largely modest prediction just to get SKO to shut the fuck up.

Obviously, I failed.

[Quality Start Machine]

Oh, look Almora's really good after all!!!

[SKO]

Aaaand scene.

[SKO]

Moving on from Almora, does anyone know if Frank Batista (RHP) has actual stuff or might be in any way legit, maybe even just as a future reliever? 25 years old, 2.93 ERA in 241 appearances (21 starts), so far this year has a 0.84 ERA and 0.66 WHIP, .132 BAA, and an 8-2 K:BB in 10.2 innings?

Those all look good, just haven't heard anything about him ever it seems, so does he not have the stuff or what?

[PenFoe]

Moving on from Almora, does anyone know if Frank Batista (RHP) has actual stuff or might be in any way legit, maybe even just as a future reliever? 25 years old, 2.93 ERA in 241 appearances (21 starts), so far this year has a 0.84 ERA and 0.66 WHIP, .132 BAA, and an 8-2 K:BB in 10.2 innings?

Those all look good, just haven't heard anything about him ever it seems, so does he not have the stuff or what?

I don't think there's much here. Converted closer.

Despite the fact that he does indeed write on a Hueyboard, Arguello is generally the best one for prospect info.
Last couple on Batista:

Frank Batista continues our run on good organizational players.  Batista has mostly been a closer in recent years but when the Smokies needed a starter, he stepped up.  He had his second solid start with 4.2 scoreless innings, walking 2 and striking out 5.  He has a 0.84 ERA on the year.

Since we've started this blog, Frank Batista has been a reliever and a pretty good one at the minor league level.  Like Negrin he is more of an organizational guy than a bona fide prospect, but that doesn't mean he can't pitch.  Batista works in the low to mid 90s with a solid slider and change.  Today he got the start and was brilliant, allowing just 3 hits and one run over 6 innings,  He did not walk a batter and struck out 3.

[SKO]

Moving on from Almora, does anyone know if Frank Batista (RHP) has actual stuff or might be in any way legit, maybe even just as a future reliever? 25 years old, 2.93 ERA in 241 appearances (21 starts), so far this year has a 0.84 ERA and 0.66 WHIP, .132 BAA, and an 8-2 K:BB in 10.2 innings?

Those all look good, just haven't heard anything about him ever it seems, so does he not have the stuff or what?

I don't think there's much here. Converted closer.

Despite the fact that he does indeed write on a Hueyboard, Arguello is generally the best one for prospect info.
Last couple on Batista:

Frank Batista continues our run on good organizational players.  Batista has mostly been a closer in recent years but when the Smokies needed a starter, he stepped up.  He had his second solid start with 4.2 scoreless innings, walking 2 and striking out 5.  He has a 0.84 ERA on the year.

Since we've started this blog, Frank Batista has been a reliever and a pretty good one at the minor league level.  Like Negrin he is more of an organizational guy than a bona fide prospect, but that doesn't mean he can't pitch.  Batista works in the low to mid 90s with a solid slider and change.  Today he got the start and was brilliant, allowing just 3 hits and one run over 6 innings,  He did not walk a batter and struck out 3.

Well if he's not a high enough prospect to give a shit about screwing him up I say call him and shoot Schlitter into the sun right fucking now. What've we got to lose?

[PenFoe]

Moving on from Almora, does anyone know if Frank Batista (RHP) has actual stuff or might be in any way legit, maybe even just as a future reliever? 25 years old, 2.93 ERA in 241 appearances (21 starts), so far this year has a 0.84 ERA and 0.66 WHIP, .132 BAA, and an 8-2 K:BB in 10.2 innings?

Those all look good, just haven't heard anything about him ever it seems, so does he not have the stuff or what?

I don't think there's much here. Converted closer.

Despite the fact that he does indeed write on a Hueyboard, Arguello is generally the best one for prospect info.
Last couple on Batista:

Frank Batista continues our run on good organizational players.  Batista has mostly been a closer in recent years but when the Smokies needed a starter, he stepped up.  He had his second solid start with 4.2 scoreless innings, walking 2 and striking out 5.  He has a 0.84 ERA on the year.

Since we've started this blog, Frank Batista has been a reliever and a pretty good one at the minor league level.  Like Negrin he is more of an organizational guy than a bona fide prospect, but that doesn't mean he can't pitch.  Batista works in the low to mid 90s with a solid slider and change.  Today he got the start and was brilliant, allowing just 3 hits and one run over 6 innings,  He did not walk a batter and struck out 3.

Well if he's not a high enough prospect to give a shit about screwing him up I say call him and shoot Schlitter into the sun right fucking now. What've we got to lose?

We're all just biding our time until James Russell comes back up and we can commence major dong chugging.