Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 8-5-22

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Scheduled Games (All Times Central):

Iowa vs Toledo, 7:08 pm
Tennessee at Rocket City, 6:35 pm
South Bend at Fort Wayne, 6:05 pm
Myrtle Beach vs Lynchburg, 6:05 pm
ACL Cubs vs ACL Guardians, 8:00 pm
DSL Cubs Blue vs DSL NYY Yankees, 10:00 am
DSL Cubs Red at DSL NYY Bombers, 10:00 am

Probable Starters:

Tennessee: RHP Riley Thompson
South Bend: RHP Luis Devers
Myrtle Beach: LHP Didier Vargas

[Bertz]

Luis Devers with 5 Ks through the first two innings. He is so damn fun

Less fun is Riley Thompson. We might be at the point of shifting him to short relief

[Tim]

Luis Devers with 5 Ks through the first two innings. He is so damn fun

Less fun is Riley Thompson. We might be at the point of shifting him to short relief

he and Hodge have been skyrocketing up my list of potential pitchers all season long

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Bertz]

Luis Devers with 5 Ks through the first two innings. He is so damn fun

Less fun is Riley Thompson. We might be at the point of shifting him to short relief

he and Hodge have been skyrocketing up my list of potential pitchers all season long

[CubinNY]

MB and SB offenses are on fire.

So sad Howard got hurt.

[TomtheBombadil]

Athletic 21 YO LHH glove first catching prospect with some size/physicality, bat speed, foot speed, walks, and a flyball approach? I pound the table for Ethan Hearn joining the order of Top 30 Prospects within the Cubs org midseason 2022

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Devers has a 0.34 ERA in 26.2 South Bend innings.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Pagán is having a good season

[TomtheBombadil]

He was off last night but some fun with small sample sizes for Ethan Hearn's season...

Overall: 267 PAs, 33% Ks (11% better than last year!), 98 wRC+, .332 wOBA, .196/.318/.382

Since May 12th (184 PAs): 35% Ks, 105 wRC+, .343 wOBA, .204/.321/.414

Since June 1 (136 PAs): 33% Ks, 117 wRC+, .363 wOBA, .216/.331/.457

Since June 30: (79 PAs): 28% Ks, 130 wRC+, .383 wOBA, .239/.354/.478

Since July 16th (46 PAs): 26% Ks, 149 wRC+, .416 wOBA, .275/.370/.550

Super hot take: The 11% and 10% improvement in K rate he and Howard made, the latter jumping up a level, are arguably the most notable/significant improvements any position player prospect in the system's made this year

Edit: Maybe an even hotter take: If his measured EVs and bat speed are there, Hearn’s combo of K rate improvement, IsoSLG improvement, double digit walks, flyball approach, defense at C, projectable frame, and even some speed on the bases make him one of the better all around players in the lower minors for Cubs

I’d also throw in that Buddy Bailey is effusive on his soft skills and mental makeup: