Cubbies Gazette

  Alright, y'all. I'll start out with some MLB news that isn't really related to our topic today, but it is interesting to note. The Brewers traded for Mike Brosseau, the Ray's utilityman.  Brewers Acquire Mike Brosseau From Rays https://t.co/SQ2ScOlSps pic.twitter.com/wTOs7396AN — MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) November 13, 2021 The Rockies have signed free agent Jhoulys Chacin (who was a reliever for the Rockies in 2021).   . @Jhoulys45 is back in purple👏 pic.twitter.com/oLfWRyqAFm — Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) November 13, 2021 Astros, along with the Phillies, Marlins and other teams, are showing interest in FA Starling Marte. I thought about him as a potential Cubs target, but I'm inclined to think he'd be too expensive and not the kind of guy they would be targeting.   Astros met with the agents for free agent CF Starling Marte. Seems like a potential fit but there’s competition, including Phillies, Mets, Yanks, Marlins and others. — Jon Heyman

Just a quick update: I'll be uploading more frequently now, but quite a few will be shorter articles with a few quick updates. Velazquez is unbelievable, if you haven't heard anything about him... ⚠️CAN’T. BE. STOPPED.⚠️ Nelson Velazquez destroys his league leading 9th homer of the season. The @cubs prospect is shooting you the tannings ⬆️ @MLBPipeline @NBCSChicago pic.twitter.com/96kLpub5Ny — MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) November 12, 2021  Here's Velazquez's overall stats for this year: Feels like the right time to check in on Nelson Velazquez’ 2021 (A+/AA/AFL), which is now 125 games and 533 plate appearances. 289 AVG 363 OBP 542 SLG 29 2B, 2 3B, 29 HR 80 R, 93 RBI 8.8 BB% / 30 K% 17 / 20 SB — Cubs Prospects - Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) November 12, 2021 More AFL star players who just happen to be Cubs...    Cubs prospect Andy Weber led the charge in Mesa’s 11-run comeback with a grand slam and his fourth AFL triple: https://t.co/0GHf62SkxO

  I know, it's the middle of November and not much trading or signing has even been done yet, but I'm going to try to predict every teams' 2022 final standings. Lets start with American League, because I want to save best for last... AL Central  1. Chicago White Sox (91-71)  The White Sox will have most of their 2021 players back, and will probably add a few more as well. So, I expect them to still be in the top of a weak division right now, but one that will be heating in the near future. 2. Detroit Tigers (85-77) The Tigers are already making some moves and are rumored to be interested in FAs like Correa and LHP Rodriguez, and they're going to be ready to start competing before we know it. 3. Cleveland Guardians (83-79) They have a lot of prospects ready to make a difference and are going to keep building up their team little by little. I expect they'll be hovering around 80-87 wins in the next couple years. 4. Minnesota Twins (76-86) The Twins had an extremely of

  The first big free agent signing of the offseason came with Andrew Heaney signing a 1-year deal with the Dodgers, and I can assure you it won't be the last, with the Cubs having their fair share of it as well. The minor league free agency came today, and the Cubs lost 21 guys and retained 10. I'm not really sad about most of them, but surprised by a couple guys they let go. We'll be talking more about minor league and AFL updates in the next article. The Cubs still need pitchers to fill in the rotation, and right now only Hendricks and Miley are penciled in as definite starters. Mills is definitely an option too, but I think they are trying to move away from soft-throwing pitchers like Mills. I made my opinion known that the Cubs might be looking for mostly short-term pitchers to fill the rotation well in 2022, and focus on securing position players long-term. Miley was an indication of that possible goal, but the Cubs still need other pitchers to fill it. There have been

  To start out today's article, LHP Rex Brothers was outrighted to Iowa and has elected MLB free agency. Brothers was given the chance to prove himself as a solid reliever in 2021, but walks, homers, and hard contact made him not-so-efficient. Not really sad or surprised here, the Cubs can find other and better relievers yet. Rafael Ortega was a sudden yet pleasant surprise in 2021, being in a similar case as Schwindel- around 30 years old, picked up off waivers in the beginning of 2021, and really broke-out when he was called up in the latter half of the season.  Overall, he hit .290/.360/.463 with 86 H and 11 HR in 296 AB. That is pretty impressive for a guy who had a .205 BA with the Braves last year, and didn't seem too promising. We'll start by discussing the good things about Ortega that we see. First, I see a good strikeout and walk rate. I usually like bringing this up about almost every player because this really determines how they control the zone. He had a 21% K