Cubs' Prospects FUTUREBONER thread

[Quality Start Machine]

Albert Almora to the 7-day MiLB DL with a concussion. Jacob Hannemann to AA Tennessee.

Schwarber got hit so hard his teammate got a concussion.

[PenFoe]

Speaking Schwarber, McLeod was on the radio the other day and said he's confident Schwarber can stick at catcher.

"It's been a great year of development for him. And this is no knock on anyone that was at Indiana but just what he had to do receiving wise to catch what we feel is at the Major League level in time, he's worked his tail off. You see it every single day now. When he was in big league camp he was catching [Jake] Arrieta and all of those guys there. He's got tremendous hands and he's moving very well behind the plate. Last night he had a sub-2 throwing time on a runner down to second base. So the process has been great with him. I know I can speak for all of us in the organization, we feel very confident that he is going to be able to catch in the Major Leagues and be a force at the plate."

That would be cool.

So that raises the question...could Vogelbach play LF?

And before any of you spit-take your microbrews at the suggestion, consider that Greg Fucking Luzinski was a starting left fielder for a World Series winner in 1980.

Nobody uses the term "microbrew" anymore, Old Man. 

It's Craft Beer.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Speaking Schwarber, McLeod was on the radio the other day and said he's confident Schwarber can stick at catcher.

"It's been a great year of development for him. And this is no knock on anyone that was at Indiana but just what he had to do receiving wise to catch what we feel is at the Major League level in time, he's worked his tail off. You see it every single day now. When he was in big league camp he was catching [Jake] Arrieta and all of those guys there. He's got tremendous hands and he's moving very well behind the plate. Last night he had a sub-2 throwing time on a runner down to second base. So the process has been great with him. I know I can speak for all of us in the organization, we feel very confident that he is going to be able to catch in the Major Leagues and be a force at the plate."

That would be cool.

So that raises the question...could Vogelbach play LF?

And before any of you spit-take your microbrews at the suggestion, consider that Greg Fucking Luzinski was a starting left fielder for a World Series winner in 1980.

Nobody uses the term "microbrew" anymore, Old Man. 

It's Craft Beer.

Oops.

[SKO]

Schwarber homers again.

[Yeti]

Jacob Hannemann is already better than Almora

[Bonk]

So that raises the question...could Vogelbach play LF?

Not even on Mars.

If they wrapped the baseball in bacon maybe.

[Powdered Toast Man]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

If I recall correctly, John Kruk--who was always fat-- started his career as an OF for San Diego.

I'm not pretending Vogelbach would be great, but I imagine it's possible they could get by with it, at least for a little while, early in his career.  Like I said, Luzinski was fat and old but it didn't prevent him from playing LF on a World Series winner.   

I'm not pushing for it, I'm just positing that it's not out of the question...or at least shouldn't be.

[Tonker]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

If I recall correctly, John Kruk--who was always fat-- started his career as an OF for San Diego.

I'm not pretending Vogelbach would be great, but I imagine it's possible they could get by with it, at least for a little while, early in his career.  Like I said, Luzinski was fat and old but it didn't prevent him from playing LF on a World Series winner.   

I'm not pushing for it, I'm just positing that it's not out of the question...or at least shouldn't be.

If Vogelbach can't play LF, he needs to be in the AL.

[Powdered Toast Man]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

If I recall correctly, John Kruk--who was always fat-- started his career as an OF for San Diego.

I'm not pretending Vogelbach would be great, but I imagine it's possible they could get by with it, at least for a little while, early in his career.  Like I said, Luzinski was fat and old but it didn't prevent him from playing LF on a World Series winner.   

I'm not pushing for it, I'm just positing that it's not out of the question...or at least shouldn't be.

If his bat is this advanced and can hold up at the MLB level, I'm all for the Cubs inventing ways to get him in the lineup in the future. There is also the chance the Cubs get him on a dietary and weight program to increase his mobility and range, but I think they would have tried that by now...if they haven't already.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

If I recall correctly, John Kruk--who was always fat-- started his career as an OF for San Diego.

I'm not pretending Vogelbach would be great, but I imagine it's possible they could get by with it, at least for a little while, early in his career.  Like I said, Luzinski was fat and old but it didn't prevent him from playing LF on a World Series winner.   

I'm not pushing for it, I'm just positing that it's not out of the question...or at least shouldn't be.

If Vogelbach can't play LF, he needs to be in the AL.

Agreed.  Just throwing it out there for consideration.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

Also, the National League DH would come in 2017 at the earliest (current CBA expires after 2106 I believe). 

Vogelbach will be in the bigs before then.

[Tonker]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

Also, the National League DH would come in 2017 at the earliest (current CBA expires after 2106 I believe). 

Vogelbach will be in the bigs before then.

It may make me a MEATBALL but I am absolutely dead set against the DH in the NL, and probably always will be.

[SKO]

I don't want to say Vogelbach can't play left field without actually seeing it, but I do think it would at least be a hilarious Spring Training experiment. FWIW, I did see a few pictures of Vogelbach and Schwarber standing next to each other in the Smokies' locker room and their body types are not very different at all...and one was supposed to be able to play LF without many limitations. I saw Vogelbach run the bases and he moves well for a big guy, but that in no way means he can play the outfield. It at least tells me he doesn't move like John Kruk.

I don't think Vogelbach has much of a position other than 1B and DH (duh), so we really just have to hope the DH comes to the NL before Vogelbach does if we want to see him in a Cubs uniform. Rizzo is under contract until 2019 with two club options for 2020 and 2021, so Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

Also, the National League DH would come in 2017 at the earliest (current CBA expires after 2106 I believe). 

Vogelbach will be in the bigs before then.

It may make me a MEATBALL but I am absolutely dead set against the DH in the NL, and probably always will be.

I used to be that way but I'm kinda with Len Kasper in that with interleague being a year long thing now it just doesn't make sense anymore to have two different sets of rules. So either get rid of interleague (never happening) or bring the NL the DH. Having guys like Vogelbach and Schwarber sure makes it more appealing now than it was before, too.

[Chuck to Chuck]

Vogelbach is very blocked at the MLB level if we assume Rizzo continues his awesomeness.

Sounds like the perfect guy to include in a deal for Cole.