Schwindel and Wisdom Hype, Another Look at MiLB Pitching Talent, and Other Cubs Tidbits

 I was reading somewhere lately (it was a sports news website) how optimistic they are that Schwindel and Wisdom are going to do very well in 2022 and be those power hitters in the lineup. My first initial reaction is "well, *if* Wisdom figures out the strikeouts" or "well, Schwindel is getting older and...", and then I stopped. I thought to myself, why not be optimistic? Why not "assume" that they WILL do well? What Cubs fan wouldn't want to see those two players become Cubs icons in these following years?

So, I put together a short list of great things that could happen to these two in the 2022 season.

• Frank Schwindel plays at a MVP-caliber level. In his short stint in 2021, he hit pretty close to that, and what if he does it again? All season long?
• Frank Schwindel becomes the new Rizzo. Not that he exactly can replace Rizzo but become the new Rizzo in position and fan favorite. With his charisma and personality, he can easily become a Cubs icon like Rizzo.
• Patrick Wisdom hits the most homers this season. I mean among the entire MLB. Which would mean 40+ homers. You know what? I'll ignore his flaws and say that this is actually achievable for him.
• Patrick Wisdom becomes the new Bryant. Instead of Bryzzo (which can never exactly be replaced), Schwisdom has become the new icon. If Wisdom can keep up the defense and hit homers like crazy, I'm hopping aboard the Schwisdom train!

I'll add a couple of pictures to keep hyping you up:

And aren't these Schwindel jerseys awesome?

Anyway, thought I'd share that with you. Another thing that has caught my attention lately is how improved the pitching talent in the Cubs' org is from where it was before.

On the Cubs' top 10 prospects, 3 of them are pitchers. In the Cubs' top 20 prospects, 8 of them are pitchers. In the Cubs' top 50 prospects, they have a grand total of 24 pitchers. I'll list some of them here:

• The Cubs' top pitching prospect is Caleb Kilian at No.7. "An 8th round pick in 2019, Kilian had a breakout season in the Giants organization seeing a jump in velocity into the mid-90s and an improved cutter to go along with already plus command. Acquired along with Alexander Canario at the trade deadline in the Kris Bryant trade, Kilian’s velocity dipped upon joining the Cubs, but it slowly returned and while pitching in the Arizona Fall League, he perfected the knuckle curve the Cubs have been teaching a lot of their prospects. Kilian’s AFL performance was eye-opening, culminating with 6 perfect innings in the championship game. Best case scenario, Kilian slides into the Cubs rotation in the 2nd half of this season.
• The next one is DJ Herz, at No.8. I love this description of him: "Herz was named the 2021 Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year striking out over 40% of batters faced which is almost unheard of. He has an extreme cross-body delivery that has most scouts thinking he’ll wind up a high leverage reliever with an outside chance of being the next Josh Hader especially if he improves his control. He saw his FB velocity jump into the mid-90s at points this season with projection remaining. But the biggest leap forward came from his change-up which went from nascent to dominant almost out of nowhere. DJ will remain a starter for now but look for a switch to the pen as he nears the big leagues."
• Coming in at No.10 is Jordan Wicks, the Cubs' 1st round draft pick in 2021. "Wicks was not expected to be there when the Cubs took him 21st overall in the 1st round last summer. He doesn’t have an over-powering FB (91-93), but his plus change-up and future plus command will help it play up. Next to Kilian, he’s considered the safest bet to join a future Cubs rotation, perhaps as early as 2023."
• Brailyn Marquez barely missed the top 10, coming in at No.11, but he still has tons of potential. "Marquez missed all of 2021, first recovering from Covid and then with a shoulder strain. Shoulder injuries are scary, and his days as a starter are likely over as a result. The latest reports are that Brailyn is 100% and maintains his 98-101 mph FB. The Cubs will bring him along slowly this season with the hopes of him coming out of the pen at some point. Ideally, he’ll be able to be a multi-inning reliever/piggyback starter in the future. Brailyn following 5 innings from RHP Adbert Alzolay with 2-3 innings of his own could make for a dominant duo."
• Leeper, Gray, Jensen, and Vizcaino all make it in the top 20, and other arms follow.

Needless to say, the Cubs doubtless have some dominant starters and relievers in their system. Wicks and Killian will make good starters in the future and Marquez and Herz will make some *Hader* style relievers in the future. 

That's really good to see, and I'm looking forward to seeing these pitchers progress. By the way, I happened to notice this:

Record in last 3,470 games

Cubs 1,735 - 1,735
White Sox 1,735 - 1,735

— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) January 17, 2022

That's all for now!