MLB: 2014 Chicago Cubs

[Bret44]

God this fantasy preview of Cubs players is depressing.

MLB.com 2014 Player Preview | MLB.com

Predicted top producer:

Rizzo - .267 80 Runs 26 HR 88 RBI 4 SB

I am sure most people are like this when looking at the roster.

[video=youtube;TR-bsTkkXVY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR-bsTkkXVY[/video]

 

[ISUCubswin]

It's not going to be a fun year. No talent whatsoever.

The last few times people have asked me who my favorite Cub was, I couldn't even answer. How can you have a favorite player on this team? None of these guys have proven they're worthy of being MLB players (yet we have the money for anything we want)

I truly believe that all our prospects are going to pan out, but we literally have no pitching.

If Castro doesn't get it going this year, we need to trade him for some prospects. Our infield is set, with or without him, in 2 years.

 

[Cy$]

Major League:The Bad News Cubs. In theaters this spring.

 

[Bret44]

It's not going to be a fun year. No talent whatsoever.

The last few times people have asked me who my favorite Cub was, I couldn't even answer. How can you have a favorite player on this team? None of these guys have proven they're worthy of being MLB players (yet we have the money for anything we want)

I truly believe that all our prospects are going to pan out, but we literally have no pitching.

If Castro doesn't get it going this year, we need to trade him for some prospects. Our infield is set, with or without him, in 2 years.

A week until pitches and catchers report and usually I am pretty pumped for the year, but this year man. It just sucks. This is truly how they felt in major league, except we ain't got no Jake Taylor, man, no Jake Taylor at all...

 

[Clonefan32]

I am a pretty ardent Cubs fan, but there were several times towards the end of last year I'd switch on a game and see the guy hitting or pitching and say "who in the **** is that guy?"

 

[ZJohnson]

At least I get to see the new spring training facility in a couple of weeks!! And then watch them lose...

 

[cycloneworld]

25 of the 28 players are worth $1 fantasy dollar. Smardzija and Castro worth $4, Rizzo worth $8.

In comparison:

Trout $49
Cabrera $48
Kershaw $34
Adam Jones $32
Jean Segura (who??) $16

Other $8 players:

Wilin Rosario
Hyun-Jin Ryu
Koji Uehara
Daniel Murphy

Good god the Cubs are going to be awful. At least tickets will be easy to come by.

 

[ISUCubswin]

A few important tidbits as we enter July

- Last year, July 2nd was a big trade day for the Cubs because of some financial reason - trading players/signing players/calling players up becomes cheaper (I think for extension or something like that) so I wouldn't be shocked to see the majority of Cubs trades happening the next week or so.

- Smardzija and Hammel are our two hottest trade commodities. Rumors popped up yesterday that Hammel was about to be traded so I'd expect him to be gone soon.

- Castro was rumored to be on the trading block at the beginning of the year, but with how hot of a year he's having, will he be traded? Here's what the Cubs need to consider: Bryant and Baez make up your third base and shortstop starting next year. Can Castro take over at second and Alcantara take on the outfield, or will the Cubs try and get some high end prospects for one of the top shortstops in the league? Alcantara's only weakness right now is he strikes out like a blind man, but when he does hit the ball, often times he reaches base, and is a threat on the base paths.

- Looks like this is the last time for awhile us Cubs fans will be in "sell" mode. Sounds like they are planning on spending a lot this offseason. They only need 2 pitchers and a corner outfielder to be a playoff contender next year.

- Could the front office look at Schwarber and see Kris Bryant? He's putting up better numbers than Bryant did his first year of pro ball (.481 BA, 19 RBI, 8 HR in 15 games) While it's unlikely the Cubs would call a guy up after just .5 years in the minors, he can already play a corner outfield spot (unlike Bryant) Also, Bryant could have played for the Chi-Cubs this year and been just fine. It would definitely be interesting to see if the front office felt he was ready to go and just brought him up.

Right now, we have a potential 2015 infield of Rizzo, Castro, Baez, and Bryant (average age: 24) and a 2016 outfield of Soler, Alcantara, and Schwarber (average age: 22) I'm sure we get some free agent vets to add to the talent and bring knowledge to the game, but damn, that is some seriously young talent.

 

[cyhiphopp]

I'm still cautiously optimistic, but it looks like they've expertly rebuilt the farm system. It's been so long since we've had real prospects on the horizon.

Really excited for the potential of the team going forward.

 

[ISUME]

When do the Cubs bring up Manny? eek:

 

[tm3308]

A few important tidbits as we enter July

- Last year, July 2nd was a big trade day for the Cubs because of some financial reason - trading players/signing players/calling players up becomes cheaper (I think for extension or something like that) so I wouldn't be shocked to see the majority of Cubs trades happening the next week or so.

- Smardzija and Hammel are our two hottest trade commodities. Rumors popped up yesterday that Hammel was about to be traded so I'd expect him to be gone soon.

- Castro was rumored to be on the trading block at the beginning of the year, but with how hot of a year he's having, will he be traded? Here's what the Cubs need to consider: Bryant and Baez make up your third base and shortstop starting next year. Can Castro take over at second and Alcantara take on the outfield, or will the Cubs try and get some high end prospects for one of the top shortstops in the league? Alcantara's only weakness right now is he strikes out like a blind man, but when he does hit the ball, often times he reaches base, and is a threat on the base paths.

- Looks like this is the last time for awhile us Cubs fans will be in "sell" mode. Sounds like they are planning on spending a lot this offseason. They only need 2 pitchers and a corner outfielder to be a playoff contender next year.

- Could the front office look at Schwarber and see Kris Bryant? He's putting up better numbers than Bryant did his first year of pro ball (.481 BA, 19 RBI, 8 HR in 15 games) While it's unlikely the Cubs would call a guy up after just .5 years in the minors, he can already play a corner outfield spot (unlike Bryant) Also, Bryant could have played for the Chi-Cubs this year and been just fine. It would definitely be interesting to see if the front office felt he was ready to go and just brought him up.

Right now, we have a potential 2015 infield of Rizzo, Castro, Baez, and Bryant (average age: 24) and a 2016 outfield of Soler, Alcantara, and Schwarber (average age: 22) I'm sure we get some free agent vets to add to the talent and bring knowledge to the game, but damn, that is some seriously young talent.

I'm still not sold on Baez yet. I think he's got the tools and could become an elite player, but I don't think he's going to be Major League-ready by next season. Bryant absolutely looks the part and (*disclaimer* small sample size) is already starting to tear up AAA much like he did AA.

 

[CycloneErik]

I hope we keep Castro.

I wish we were keeping the pitchers, but I'm confident that we'll get some good ones in return. It's starting to look better.

 

[Cyclone90]

I wouldn't hold my breath on the spending. Sounds like they're going to hold firm on similar budgets until the revenue stream increases (signage, TV deal, etc).

 

[tman24]

I wouldn't hold my breath on the spending. Sounds like they're going to hold firm on similar budgets until the revenue stream increases (signage, TV deal, etc).

And thats why rickets gave the middle finger to the roof top owners.

 

[Bobber]

I would like to Castro go if we can get some good trade value for him. He can hit at times, but is a liability on defense.

Barney needs to go, but we aren't going to get anything decent for him. They'll probably let him walk when his contract expires. Too bad such a great defensive player is so lousy hitting.

Nate Schierholtz has been a disappointment after such a great first year with the Cubs. Hope he can turn it on before season end.

I know they are at the bottom of the division, but the Cubs have been a lot more fun to watch this year. It's like watching a teenage kid who isn't quite coordinated yet, but you know once they get to the right age it will all click.

Don't know if we'll see a lot of trades this year(not that I'm an expert at all on this). Seems like they have a pretty good core when you factor in what's coming up from the farm system. Not sure the Cubs are going to have a lot of money to spend yet as one article posted here suggested it will be 2019 before they get out of the awful sale terms that were agreed to when the team was sold.

 

[CyCy]

Next to Bryant, the guy with great numbers this year is Alcantara. Hitting .306 with 42 extra base hits and 18 stolen bases in 80 games. Great numbers for a middle infielder.

 

[tm3308]

I would like to Castro go if we can get some good trade value for him. He can hit at times, but is a liability on defense.

Barney needs to go, but we aren't going to get anything decent for him. They'll probably let him walk when his contract expires. Too bad such a great defensive player is so lousy hitting.

Nate Schierholtz has been a disappointment after such a great first year with the Cubs. Hope he can turn it on before season end.

I know they are at the bottom of the division, but the Cubs have been a lot more fun to watch this year. It's like watching a teenage kid who isn't quite coordinated yet, but you know once they get to the right age it will all click.

Don't know if we'll see a lot of trades this year(not that I'm an expert at all on this). Seems like they have a pretty good core when you factor in what's coming up from the farm system. Not sure the Cubs are going to have a lot of money to spend yet as one article posted here suggested it will be 2019 before they get out of the awful sale terms that were agreed to when the team was sold.

It might not be quite the firesale that the past couple years have been, but I fully expect to see Samardzija dealt by the deadline. He can bring in pretty good value.

As for Castro, I definitely hope we keep him. You say he hits well at times, but he's only had one season in which he's hit worse than .283 in his time at the Major League level. He's also started to develop a little more power at the plate, which is something that absolutely makes him worth keeping.

 

[tm3308]

Next to Bryant, the guy with great numbers this year is Alcantara. Hitting .306 with 42 extra base hits and 18 stolen bases in 80 games. Great numbers for a middle infielder.

Honestly, though, that might not be where he ends up. He can play either spot up the middle, but he's been getting quite a bit of time in center at Iowa. He could very well be looked at as our centerfielder in the near future. Still, those are good numbers, regardless.

 

[Rabbuk]

Darwin barney needs to go. He's like having a 2nd pitcher bat.

 

[ISUCubswin]

My guess is we started moving Alcantara towards center because Soler can't play a whole game without getting hurt and Almora has been horrible