Cubbies Gazette

 Now before everyone is saying "now you know the Cubs can't actually sign anybody..." I want to clarify that I understand that and I'm not actually that naive about what's going on with this lockout thing. With that out of the way, lets' move on with my Christmas wish list for the Cubs. A Shortstop Every Cubs Fan Wants All I've been hearing lately is Cubs fans and writers talking about "Correa to the Cubs." And I love it. Something I want to remind Cubs fans of is that Cubs fans were doing everything they could to get Stroman and Hoyer changed course at the last minute to sign Stroman. Coincidence? I really think Cubs fans wanting Stroman so bad had an influence on the Cubs front office.  And you know what? The same can happen with Correa, so KEEP IT UP CUBS FANS! Anyway, Correa is certainly on my wish list, along with many other Cubs fans. Here's some reasons why Correa is on my wish list: He can hit well. To say the least. He batted .279/...

  Kilian was acquired in the Kris Bryant trade with the Giants and boy did it pay off (from what we can see.) Kilian played for Double A with the Giants and then with the Cubs for the rest of the season. He also played in the AFL (Arizona Fall League) and put up some amazing starts. Between both Double A organizations, he posted a final 2.75 ERA in 78.2 IP. Despite inflated numbers during the AFL (5.14 ERA), due mainly to a couple starts that he was working on some pitches, he still impressed many, especially with his final start in the AFL Championship Game where he pitched 6 innings and allowed no runs. Check out his final start here: I am super excited about Kilian's future with the Cubs, and after watching several videos of his pitching I think the dude will be ready for MLB before long.  I found this video of Kilian's 2021 Highlights, and it is a good watch, especially seeing that rising fastball (touching at 98 MPH) and the changeup which has batters swinging at the grou...

  With the news that the Cubs have "a serious interest" in Correa, a lot of Cubs fans (and players) have been going berserk about potentially getting Correa. That includes new Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman, who has yet to play one game with the Cubs but is actively recruiting. See what he said here: Need you in Chicago my dawg! @TeamCJCorrea https://t.co/JihQciRvai — Marcus Stroman (@STR0) December 22, 2021 That's right, and don't stop saying it! Correa playing in a Cubs uniform would be fantastic, and I don't want to be pessimistic, but we still have to wait until this "lockout" is over...and then the Cubs can sign him. David Bote Projections David Bote had a very bad year in 2021, like I wrote about a few weeks ago here:  What Is David Bote's Role With the 2022 Cubs?   and he ended up 64 wRC at the end of the season. Going into the 2021 season, he was projected to hit pretty well, but he really underperformed, batting .201/.280/.340 with a 68 wRC b...

 I'm guilty of getting caught up in potential Cubs rumors, but this one I can say has a little more validity to it. Let's first back up to things that have happened prior to this: Correa was seeking a big deal, apparently big enough that the Tigers shied away from it in favor of Baez. Possibly a record-breaking deal, according to some past sources. Hoyer has mentioned that he is done focusing on pitching and will move to other needy parts of the roster, specifically the infield. It's no secret that the Cubs could use a top-tier shortstop, considering the defense that will be needed and the extra power in the lineup is a need. Correa has mentioned (before the offseason started) that Wrigley is a great place to play and a lot of players would be interested in going there. He separately stated that he wanted to play for a "rebuilding team", something the Cubs are of sorts. Putting things together before this last big announcement, we can already see some "mutual...

  I just love moments like these, especially when it's against one of your top division rivals: the Cardinals. I'll take you through a play-by-play of what happened and then you can watch the video at the bottom. It's the top of the 9th inning and the Cubs are down 6-1 to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This is July 20th, 2021, and the core group has yet to be traded. It's just another game that the Cubs are going to lose, most Cubs fans are thinking, and a comeback isn't really on many minds. Luis Garcia was pitching for the Cardinals and Patrick Wisdom was leading off in the inning. He led off by a strikeout (I mean, it is Wisdom), but the ball got away from Molina, making it a wild pitch. Wisdom reached first and now the Cubs have one on base and no outs. Nico Hoerner was up next, and hit a groundball to shortstop Paul DeJong, but he threw it away and Hoerner reached first, and Wisdom took third. Now the Cubs have first and third and no outs. Now Garcia walked Ja...

  With the baseball world being stuck in a lockout and us not knowing when it's going to end, though I hope it will be over before March, it's time to take a little review of the Cubs' offseason checklist, what they have accomplished and what needs to be accomplished. Starting Pitching The Cubs added Wade Miley off of waivers in the beginning of the offseason, adding a solid rotation piece that has great durability and shown some good success in 2021. Then, right before the lockout, they surprisingly added Marcus Stroman on a 3-year deal, giving the rotation a pitcher that has had great success in 2021 and one that is now a die-hard Cubs fan (and recruiter.) The Cubs said at the beginning of the offseason that starting pitching would be a priority, and Hoyer said just recently that they were done focusing on the rotation, so we can conclude that they made the additions they wanted to for the rotation.  What are my thoughts on the final product? The rotation looks like this...

  The Cubs were not the best defensively this past season, ranking no. 20 with defense (I mean, at least they weren't no. 30!), but that doesn't mean they didn't make any good plays. I found this pretty awesome video on the Cubs defense highlights from 2021, so take ten minutes and watch this neat compilation.  I just want to make a few comments about the video and the great defensive plays: Notice how many times Alcantara got featured? I mean, I didn't think he was an awful defensive player, but after watching the video and seeing his great range and arm, I think he was one of the Cubs better shortstops in 2021. Wisdom had a few nice plays at third, and I liked his arm in throwing to first. One kind of funny moment is when he had a sweet play at third and threw Bryant out at first. I still like Bryant, just thought that was kind of ironic. Schwindel really showed he could be a solid first baseman, and in that video, you see him stretching up and down and making some ...

The last article I wrote evaluating the Iowa Cubs' roster, I analyzed the pitching depth. This article we'll discuss the infield depth of the Iowa Cubs including catcher, first, second, shortstop and third. If you are unfamiliar with the minor league system, here is my explanation from my previous article: " Players are drafted by a team from high school or college, and when that team drafts them, they start training in that team's farm system, starting with the bottom, usually a complex league or rookie league. Then they jump to the official minor leagues, starting with Low A, and they work their way up to the Triple-A level from which it is one step to reach MLB." That's just a simplified explanation, but it'll give you an idea if you are unfamiliar with the topic. Anyway, as a precursor to my evaluation, I do want to say that infield prospects do a lot of shifting around the infield instead of strictly staying with one position. While some shift around ...