Instructional Leagues and More on Free Agents

The benefits of Instructional League are numerous, and InsideTheIvy.com has a piece up on some of the things players have been working on. Felix Pie and Ryan Harvey are mentioned among others.

Over at The Cub Reporter, there is more on minor league free agents and on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

21 Cubs' Minor Leaguers Opt for Free Agency

Twenty-one Cubs minor leaguers opted for minor league free agency after the season:

C Jon Sprowl
1B Brandon Sing
2B Andrew Lane
SS Pedro Lopez
SS Augie Ojeda
OF Jeff Deardorff
OF Nick Jackson
OF Luis Montanez
OF Mike Restovich
OF Gordon Weston
OF Jake Whitesides
RHP Hugo Castellanos
RHP Wilton Chavez
RHP Brandon Emanuel
RHP Mike Garcia
RHP William Gwaltney
RHP Kerry Ligtenberg
RHP Brian Reith
RHP Mac Suzuki
LHP Cliff Bartosh
LHP Carlos Perez

AFL Update

Eric Patterson - After a slow start, Patterson has rebounded nicely to a line of 292/370/333 and also is 2 for 2 in stolen base attempts. Patterson has gone 6-12 over his last 3 games, but also leads the Mesa Solar Sox in errors with 3.
Scott Moore - Moore currently has a line of 200/375/400 and has 1 of Mesa's 4 homeruns on the season. Moore has also driven in 5 runs, primarily hitting 4th in the order. Moore is second on the team in stolen bases with 3 in 3 attempts.
Jacob Fox - Fox is hitting 357/357/500 in 14 at-bats in 4 games. It appears Fox may not be playing everday for the Solar Sox with the limited ABs he is getting. In the 14 at-bats, Fox does have 2 doubles, and has seen time in the outfield, behind the plate, and at first base.
Adam Harben - The player the Cubs received for Phil Nevin started the season opener and took the loss. Harben is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 4 IPs in 2 appearances, both starts.
Lincoln Holdzkom - Perhaps the most impressive appearance by a Cub so far in the AFL has been Holdzkom. The big, hard throwing righty has thrown 4 IPs in 3 relief appearances, giving up just 1 hit, no walks, and has struck out 6.
Clay Rapada - The sidearming, lefty is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.00 in 3 appearances. So far Rapada has been pretty decent giving up 1 hit, walking 2, and striking out an impressive 5 in 3 IPs.
Carmen Pignatiello - Another situational lefty, Pignatiello has thrown 1.2 IPs, giving up a walk, a hit, and has struck out 3.

Mesa Solar Sox Team Stats

Update on this site

As I thought might happen, I'm struggling to manage consistent updates to this site, while continuing content updates and development on my other site, SCACC Hoops. SCACC Hoops is a college fantasy basketball site, which is currently concentrating on ACC Fantasy Basketball, although there is a hope to expand to other conferences very soon.

Anyway, if your a college hoops fan, check it out.

If your looking here for some minor league baseball info, then be patient, I will return soon!

Oh yeah, looks like it's Lou Piniella, kinda disappointing if you ask me.

AFL Update for 10/13

Mesa 7 Grand Canyon 7 - The game was suspended after 11 innings and will resume at a later date. Scott Moore played third, while batting cleanup and went 1-4 with 2 walks, and drove in 2, while Jake Fox batted 5th and caught and went 1-3 with a RBI. Eric Patterson was moved down in the order to 9th while batting 2nd in the first 2 games and went 0-5 and is now 1-12 in the AFL. On the mound, Carmen Pignatiello pitched 0.2 IP striking out 2, giving up 1 hit.

AFL Update for 10/12

Mesa 3 Pheonix 0 - Scott Moore went 1-1 with a double and a RBI, while Eric Patterson went 1-4, while Jake Fox pinch hit and went 0-1, striking out in his only appearance. On the mound Lincoln Holdzkom made an appearance throwing a perfect inning in relief striking out 2, while Clay Rapada pitched 0.2 IP, giving up a walk and striking out 1.

Notes: Over at Project Prospect, the one of the guys took a look at minor league prospects that have 30/30 potential, and Felix Pie shows up on the list. Although a couple days later than promised, Baseball America has released their Top 20 Pacific Coast League prospects. As we linked to earlier, Felix Pie was listed as the #11 prospect, while Rich Hill was #17.

Cubs sign Matt Harrington; Update on Brackman

The one time #7 overall pick in the 2000 draft, Matt Harrington, was signed by the Cubs on Tuesday. Harrington doesn't have the 97 MPH fastball he boasted coming out of high school, where he was labeled the Baseball America high school player of the year, and is coming off of 4 consecutive seasons in the Independent League.

This is a good gamble on a player that is finally devoted to baseball, after a strange past.

Speaking of the draft, Andrew Brackman, who I mentioned just the other day, has finally committed to baseball. Brackman decided to not play basketball for NC State this season, although it does sound like he is open to possibly playing next fall, which shouldn't conflict with the baseball season.

Update
Phoenix 3 Mesa 0 - No Cub farmhands had a hit with Eric Patterson going 0-3, Scott Moore going 0-4, and Jake Fox didn't make an appearance. Adam Harben (0-1) started going 2 innings, giving up an earned run and striking out 3 while taking the loss. Carmen Pignatiello pitched an inning in relief walking run and striking out 1.

Some AFL News

Grant Johnson has been removed from AFL roster, and Adam Harben will replace him on the Mesa Solar Sox roster for the Cubs. Harben was acquired from the Twins for Phil Nevin, and will start on Tuesday in the AFL opener for Mesa, according to manager Pat Listach.

Just as a reminder, here are the seven Cubs represented in the AFL:

Jake Fox
Eric Patterson
Scott Moore
Adam Harben
Carmen Pignatiello
Lincoln Holdzkom
Clay Rapada

The 2007 MLB Draft

With the Cubs having the #3 overall pick in the 2007 draft, CubsHub.com looks at a few players that could merit the Cubs' selection.

Southern League Top 20

Baseball America posted their Southern League Top 20, and just as AZ Phil posted, the Cubs had to players on the list. At #12 Sean Gallagher showed up again, after showing up at #11 on the FSL list, while Eric Patterson was placed at #17 on the Southern League list.

Browsing for my other site, SCACCHoops.com, I noticed an article on NC State center, Andrew Brackman. In the insider info section, there is a mention from Scouts Inc. on Brackman's baseball career, where he pitches for the Wolfpack, and notes that he could be the top pick in the 2007 draft. Brackman is 6'10" with a repeatable delivery, giving him good command to go along with a mid 90s fastball and a good breaking ball as well. Brackman is a Scott Boras client, which may work favorably for the Cubs.

BA Top 20 lists (Warning Spoilers Ahead)

Over at The Cub Reporter, AZ Phil has released the remaining rankings for the Cubs organization in the Baseball America lists. AZ Phil also posts quite a bit of info in the comments, particularly about how certain players are doing in Instructional Ball. Definitely worth checking it out!

On another note, the offseason is off to an interesting start for the Cubs, and its this pages hope that Joe Girardi will be coming back to Chicago next season.

I fondly recall watching Cubs games in the afternoons in the late 80s with Joe Girardi working with Maddux, Morgan, and Bielecki. Girardi was a manager on the field in those days, and he will hopefully resume his managerial skills in Wrigley sometime soon.

Florida State League Top 20

Baseball America has released their Top 20 FSL prospects, and 2 Daytona Cubs have made the list. As I suggested, Donald Veal jumped up a few spots from #9 in the Midwest League to #5 in the Florida State League. Also joining Veal was Sean Gallagher at #11, who may show up on the Southern League list as well.

Cubs will pick #3

In an exciting race for last place, the Cubs failed once again finishing 3rd to worst, and will pick #3 in the 2007 MLB draft. Over at MinorLeagueBall.com, one poster has determined the draft order.

Worth noting is that the Royals and Devil Rays pick ahead of the Cubs, and if history is our guide, the Cubs could still get the best player in the draft if money is an issue.

Also, if you read Cubs' blogs, you know team president Andy McPhail resigned and John McDonough will be replacing him on an interim basis. McDonough says all the right things, but we shall see what this all means throughout the winter.

Update: Dusty Baker follows McPhail out the door.