Cubs' Prospects FUTUREBONER thread

[Quality Start Machine]

Bump for the Cubs holding 5 of the first 100 picks in the draft (24,63,76,79,98 - Thanks, Wade and Jake) and being out of the International penalty box come July.

The hits just keep on coming.

I laugh a lot because there's a general consensus among Cardinals fans (probably among Brewers fans and Pirates fans) that this Cubs window ends in 2021 and the Cardinals just need to keep their MUCH BETTER FARM SYSTEM going and pounce when the time is right. I don't get it. The Cubs aren't some small market team, they have the resources to extend members of the current core, supplement with guys like Harper when possible, and most of all the Cardinals having a "better farm" right now (one that still lacks any real star potential beyond the reddest of red flags in Reyes) means nothing when most of the Cubs core is younger than 26. The idea that Theo can't re-stock the cupboard without a top 5 draft pick every year is very weird and inaccurate historically.

Long story short they may not stay as good as they are with this core forever, but the odds that they do anything more than drop down into wildcard contention for a few years in 2021-2023 before gearing up for another run in 2025-On seem higher than the odds that once (or if) a bunch of this group leaves after 2021 they'll just tank again.

I do think that there is a bit of a level-setter in the recent CBA...while the richer teams could use the international pool of players to buy prospects (Moncada, Soler, the serial killer with two first names the Sox signed last year are examples), the new CBA disallows that sort of spending.  It really evens the playing field a lot.  Of course it only serves to suppress amatuer signings but the days of the Cubs getting the top two international free agents, like with Gleyber and Eloy, are probably over.

That is of little concern as I think about the future but it is something.

I think in the event that they curtail the amount of money teams can offer then the importance of your program, your recruiting pitch, your recent success at developing and getting guys to the majors, etc will take precedence. In which case the Cubs should remain a prime destination anyway.

These are 16 year old kids.  All the care about is money and broads.

They have agents to take care of the other stuff.

[SKO]

Bump for the Cubs holding 5 of the first 100 picks in the draft (24,63,76,79,98 - Thanks, Wade and Jake) and being out of the International penalty box come July.

The hits just keep on coming.

I laugh a lot because there's a general consensus among Cardinals fans (probably among Brewers fans and Pirates fans) that this Cubs window ends in 2021 and the Cardinals just need to keep their MUCH BETTER FARM SYSTEM going and pounce when the time is right. I don't get it. The Cubs aren't some small market team, they have the resources to extend members of the current core, supplement with guys like Harper when possible, and most of all the Cardinals having a "better farm" right now (one that still lacks any real star potential beyond the reddest of red flags in Reyes) means nothing when most of the Cubs core is younger than 26. The idea that Theo can't re-stock the cupboard without a top 5 draft pick every year is very weird and inaccurate historically.

Long story short they may not stay as good as they are with this core forever, but the odds that they do anything more than drop down into wildcard contention for a few years in 2021-2023 before gearing up for another run in 2025-On seem higher than the odds that once (or if) a bunch of this group leaves after 2021 they'll just tank again.

I do think that there is a bit of a level-setter in the recent CBA...while the richer teams could use the international pool of players to buy prospects (Moncada, Soler, the serial killer with two first names the Sox signed last year are examples), the new CBA disallows that sort of spending.  It really evens the playing field a lot.  Of course it only serves to suppress amatuer signings but the days of the Cubs getting the top two international free agents, like with Gleyber and Eloy, are probably over.

That is of little concern as I think about the future but it is something.

I think in the event that they curtail the amount of money teams can offer then the importance of your program, your recruiting pitch, your recent success at developing and getting guys to the majors, etc will take precedence. In which case the Cubs should remain a prime destination anyway.

These are 16 year old kids.  All the care about is money and broads.

They have agents to take care of the other stuff.

Yeah and if you sell a kid on how well you develop prospects and get them to the majors, where they get big league salaries and perks and fame, you can probably convince them your 650 K is worth more than the Orioles 675 K since that's likely the only money you'll ever make after they f--k you up and your career plateaus in AA.

[Quality Start Machine]

In the first round of this year's draft the Cubs selected SS Nico Hoerner.

From Stanford.

Has anybody checked on Stew to make sure he's OK?

[SKO]

In the first round of this year's draft the Cubs selected SS Nico Hoerner.

From Stanford.

Has anybody checked on Stew to make sure he's OK?

I did see one normally sane person ranting that "singles hitting shortstops are available in the 20th round." For sure, dude. You know the MLB draft pool better than Theo and Co.

You can second guess front offices and I certainly do but when half of the first round picks in the MLB draft won't even make the majors I really don't see the point about getting mad about individual picks. Nobody knows what any of these kids are going to do. The Astros are as well-run and analytical as any team in baseball history and they fucked up the number one overall pick two years in a row, passing on the chance to play Kris Bryant next to Carlos Correa in the process.

[Quality Start Machine]

In the first round of this year's draft the Cubs selected SS Nico Hoerner.

From Stanford.

Has anybody checked on Stew to make sure he's OK?

I did see one normally sane person ranting that "singles hitting shortstops are available in the 20th round." For sure, dude. You know the MLB draft pool better than Theo and Co.

You can second guess front offices and I certainly do but when half of the first round picks in the MLB draft won't even make the majors I really don't see the point about getting mad about individual picks. Nobody knows what any of these kids are going to do. The Astros are as well-run and analytical as any team in baseball history and they fucked up the number one overall pick two years in a row, passing on the chance to play Kris Bryant next to Carlos Correa in the process.

All I know is, all the Cubs have to do is draft this kid for this year's draft to be declared a rousing success.

[CBStew]

In the first round of this year's draft the Cubs selected SS Nico Hoerner.

From Stanford.

Has anybody checked on Stew to make sure he's OK?

It will be a while before he gets to the Majors, and when he does it may not be with the Cubs.  So I have a little breathing room.

[Quality Start Machine]

Dakota Mekkes is done toying with AA hitters. He and the suddenly-utterly-fucking-dominant Dillon Maples (last 10 outings - 10IP, 5H, 0ER, 5BB, 18K) are going to have to duke it out for a chance to make the Cubs.

[Saul Goodman]

Quality international talent added to the system today, including the #5 overall rated prospect by MLB.com.

[Quality Start Machine]

Quality international talent added to the system today, including the #5 overall rated prospect by MLB.com.

The Cubs' desire to sign above-average athletes with above-average baseball skills is one of the main reasons why they have been so successful on the international market.

Don't let anybody else know what Jepstink's strategy is, man!!!

[Saul Goodman]

Quality international talent added to the system today, including the #5 overall rated prospect by MLB.com.

The Cubs' desire to sign above-average athletes with above-average baseball skills is one of the main reasons why they have been so successful on the international market.

Don't let anybody else know what Jepstink's strategy is, man!!!

"We noticed there's a market inefficiency in that a lot of teams invest in below-average players," said team president Theo Epstein.  "We realized we could exploit that inefficiency by acquiring above-average players instead."

[PenFoe]

We don't have a Penstory thread, so I'm going to post this here, since there is some relevance...

I live across the street from a former Cubs prospect. We live in a cul-de-sac on a quiet street in suburbia outside of Boulder. It's a very close-knit street and most of the neighbors are pretty close overall. Kids playing together in the street, neighborhood BBQs, etc.   Said prospect is also the head coach of the local high school baseball team.  He has another job as well, though I don't know what it is.  Overall, we're not that close with him and his family, but certainly friendly (borrowing various household goods from each other on multiple occasions.) 

Multiple times he has seen my son and I in the street, practicing baseball. Hitting off a tee, playing catch, etc. He never offers any advice, and one time when I specifically asked him if he had any tips, he basically brushed it off and went inside. Not a bad dude, just a bit distant. 

Backstory: He has a teenage son (big baseball player) and his wife died about 5 years back, before we moved in.  Super sad.  I think it was breast cancer.  After his wife died, her sister moved in to help raise the boy.   She doesn't have a family of her own.  The relationship between Dad and Sister-in-Law is super weird. We assumed for the first couple of years that they were a married couple and she was the boy's mom.  We're still not 100% sure what the relationship is between the adults, in terms of intimacy, but it's ultimately neither here nor there. It's weird and fun to speculate, but doesn't change the day-to-day dynamics whether she sleeps with him or she has her own room or whatever.  Still, for those of you for whom this is relevant, imagine your brother dying and then you drop everything in your life and move in with your sister-in-law to raise their kid.  It's at least a little bizarre.

Fast forward to about 18 months ago...

They get their car broken into in the driveway. We live in a very safe neighborhood, but it's the suburbs so this shit happens sometimes. The car was unlocked in the driveway and the robber(s) stole some golf clubs.  I think that was it. They didn't open the garage or enter the house.  Still, plenty invasive and scary.  The entire small-town police force was on the street in the middle of the night.

Since then, she has gone into epic paranoid mode. 

At least once per week now, she stops my wife to ask her if she's seen (insert Car X here, this week it's a black Escalade) driving up and down the street.  She is 100% convinced that there are people stalking her and casing her house. She has set-up many, many homemade "alerts" to see if people are on her property.  Things like Kathy Bates in Misery with the hair in the book.  Strategically placing branches in the backyard and then being terrified because they weren't exactly how she remembered them. Putting fishing wire on the back gate (the house backs to a walking pathway) and saying the line was snapped.  While I can't see them, she apparently has cameras all over the outside of the house and spends much of her nights watching the cameras from the inside, looking for shadows (of which she has seen many.) On a couple occasions when Dad and Son have been away at a baseball tournament, she'll stay in a hotel because she can't handle being in the house alone.  She texts my wife regularly to ask if there are any cars parked in front of her house.  She confronts landscapers in the neighborhood and yells at them to get away from the area (we have a park at the end of the street that the HOA maintains.) 

Yesterday, she saw my wife in Whole Foods/Target/Safeway (I wasn't fully listening) and said "I KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME BUT THIS IS TRUE."  Aggressively. 

It's a really sad situation, living across from the street from someone who truly never has peace in life because she's terrified of everyone.

So, Penstory short, I live across the street from a former Cubs prospect who won't ever fucking help my kid play baseball and his psychotic sister-in-law who has turned her entire house into a panic room for fear that "men" are out to get her.

Turns out she wasn't his sister-in-law, she was his girlfriend. We ended up getting to know her really well. She just killed herself.
It's all really sad.

[Canadouche]

We don't have a Penstory thread, so I'm going to post this here, since there is some relevance...

I live across the street from a former Cubs prospect. We live in a cul-de-sac on a quiet street in suburbia outside of Boulder. It's a very close-knit street and most of the neighbors are pretty close overall. Kids playing together in the street, neighborhood BBQs, etc.   Said prospect is also the head coach of the local high school baseball team.  He has another job as well, though I don't know what it is.  Overall, we're not that close with him and his family, but certainly friendly (borrowing various household goods from each other on multiple occasions.) 

Multiple times he has seen my son and I in the street, practicing baseball. Hitting off a tee, playing catch, etc. He never offers any advice, and one time when I specifically asked him if he had any tips, he basically brushed it off and went inside. Not a bad dude, just a bit distant. 

Backstory: He has a teenage son (big baseball player) and his wife died about 5 years back, before we moved in.  Super sad.  I think it was breast cancer.  After his wife died, her sister moved in to help raise the boy.   She doesn't have a family of her own.  The relationship between Dad and Sister-in-Law is super weird. We assumed for the first couple of years that they were a married couple and she was the boy's mom.  We're still not 100% sure what the relationship is between the adults, in terms of intimacy, but it's ultimately neither here nor there. It's weird and fun to speculate, but doesn't change the day-to-day dynamics whether she sleeps with him or she has her own room or whatever.  Still, for those of you for whom this is relevant, imagine your brother dying and then you drop everything in your life and move in with your sister-in-law to raise their kid.  It's at least a little bizarre.

Fast forward to about 18 months ago...

They get their car broken into in the driveway. We live in a very safe neighborhood, but it's the suburbs so this shit happens sometimes. The car was unlocked in the driveway and the robber(s) stole some golf clubs.  I think that was it. They didn't open the garage or enter the house.  Still, plenty invasive and scary.  The entire small-town police force was on the street in the middle of the night.

Since then, she has gone into epic paranoid mode. 

At least once per week now, she stops my wife to ask her if she's seen (insert Car X here, this week it's a black Escalade) driving up and down the street.  She is 100% convinced that there are people stalking her and casing her house. She has set-up many, many homemade "alerts" to see if people are on her property.  Things like Kathy Bates in Misery with the hair in the book.  Strategically placing branches in the backyard and then being terrified because they weren't exactly how she remembered them. Putting fishing wire on the back gate (the house backs to a walking pathway) and saying the line was snapped.  While I can't see them, she apparently has cameras all over the outside of the house and spends much of her nights watching the cameras from the inside, looking for shadows (of which she has seen many.) On a couple occasions when Dad and Son have been away at a baseball tournament, she'll stay in a hotel because she can't handle being in the house alone.  She texts my wife regularly to ask if there are any cars parked in front of her house.  She confronts landscapers in the neighborhood and yells at them to get away from the area (we have a park at the end of the street that the HOA maintains.) 

Yesterday, she saw my wife in Whole Foods/Target/Safeway (I wasn't fully listening) and said "I KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME BUT THIS IS TRUE."  Aggressively. 

It's a really sad situation, living across from the street from someone who truly never has peace in life because she's terrified of everyone.

So, Penstory short, I live across the street from a former Cubs prospect who won't ever fucking help my kid play baseball and his psychotic sister-in-law who has turned her entire house into a panic room for fear that "men" are out to get her.

Turns out she wasn't his sister-in-law, she was his girlfriend. We ended up getting to know her really well. She just killed herself.
It's all really sad.

Man, that sucks. I feel bad for the teenage son - he's had two mom figures in his life, and they're both gone. That can't be easy.

[CBStew]

We don't have a Penstory thread, so I'm going to post this here, since there is some relevance...

I live across the street from a former Cubs prospect. We live in a cul-de-sac on a quiet street in suburbia outside of Boulder. It's a very close-knit street and most of the neighbors are pretty close overall. Kids playing together in the street, neighborhood BBQs, etc.   Said prospect is also the head coach of the local high school baseball team.  He has another job as well, though I don't know what it is.  Overall, we're not that close with him and his family, but certainly friendly (borrowing various household goods from each other on multiple occasions.) 

Multiple times he has seen my son and I in the street, practicing baseball. Hitting off a tee, playing catch, etc. He never offers any advice, and one time when I specifically asked him if he had any tips, he basically brushed it off and went inside. Not a bad dude, just a bit distant. 

Backstory: He has a teenage son (big baseball player) and his wife died about 5 years back, before we moved in.  Super sad.  I think it was breast cancer.  After his wife died, her sister moved in to help raise the boy.   She doesn't have a family of her own.  The relationship between Dad and Sister-in-Law is super weird. We assumed for the first couple of years that they were a married couple and she was the boy's mom.  We're still not 100% sure what the relationship is between the adults, in terms of intimacy, but it's ultimately neither here nor there. It's weird and fun to speculate, but doesn't change the day-to-day dynamics whether she sleeps with him or she has her own room or whatever.  Still, for those of you for whom this is relevant, imagine your brother dying and then you drop everything in your life and move in with your sister-in-law to raise their kid.  It's at least a little bizarre.

Fast forward to about 18 months ago...

They get their car broken into in the driveway. We live in a very safe neighborhood, but it's the suburbs so this shit happens sometimes. The car was unlocked in the driveway and the robber(s) stole some golf clubs.  I think that was it. They didn't open the garage or enter the house.  Still, plenty invasive and scary.  The entire small-town police force was on the street in the middle of the night.

Since then, she has gone into epic paranoid mode. 

At least once per week now, she stops my wife to ask her if she's seen (insert Car X here, this week it's a black Escalade) driving up and down the street.  She is 100% convinced that there are people stalking her and casing her house. She has set-up many, many homemade "alerts" to see if people are on her property.  Things like Kathy Bates in Misery with the hair in the book.  Strategically placing branches in the backyard and then being terrified because they weren't exactly how she remembered them. Putting fishing wire on the back gate (the house backs to a walking pathway) and saying the line was snapped.  While I can't see them, she apparently has cameras all over the outside of the house and spends much of her nights watching the cameras from the inside, looking for shadows (of which she has seen many.) On a couple occasions when Dad and Son have been away at a baseball tournament, she'll stay in a hotel because she can't handle being in the house alone.  She texts my wife regularly to ask if there are any cars parked in front of her house.  She confronts landscapers in the neighborhood and yells at them to get away from the area (we have a park at the end of the street that the HOA maintains.) 

Yesterday, she saw my wife in Whole Foods/Target/Safeway (I wasn't fully listening) and said "I KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME BUT THIS IS TRUE."  Aggressively. 

It's a really sad situation, living across from the street from someone who truly never has peace in life because she's terrified of everyone.

So, Penstory short, I live across the street from a former Cubs prospect who won't ever fucking help my kid play baseball and his psychotic sister-in-law who has turned her entire house into a panic room for fear that "men" are out to get her.

Turns out she wasn't his sister-in-law, she was his girlfriend. We ended up getting to know her really well. She just killed herself.
It's all really sad.
I was going to write a long screed about Henry the Eighth and Catherine of Aragon, but fortunately I came to my senses.