The minor leagues are one of my favorite parts of major league baseball. No other sport has such an extensive feeder system for each team, so only in baseball do you get to effectively root for 5-6, or more, teams. This is especially wonderful on days (or nights) when the parent club doesn’t do so well – it’s pretty rare for every team in the system to lose on the same day, so you can usually find a win to be happy about somewhere.
All of my favorite Cubs blogs do a wonderful job covering the minors, from Luke Blaize at Bleacher Nation, to Todd Johnson at Cubs Insider, to Michael Ernst at Cubs Den, and Tim Huwe at The Zygote 50. And, of course, the guy everyone follows, Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter. If you are into minor league baseball, especially of the Cubbie variety, you need to follow these sites.
Because of their coverage, I consider myself pretty well-informed. But also because of their coverage, I very rarely write about the Cubs’ minor league system. What could I add that they haven’t already written? But back in the shadows, I’ve become pretty good at honing in on guys who later blossomed into big-time prospects and big-league players. I was tracking Willson Contreras back when I thought the second “l” was a typo, names like Adbert Alzolay and David Bote stuck out to me two or more years ago, and I would tell anyone who would listen (i.e. nobody) that Kyle Hendricks was the real deal. I don’t have any special insight or knowledge, I just follow this system obsessively, so certain players catch my attention when they start to perform.
So, heck, maybe I can contribute to the wider community. This year I’m going to try. I’ll start today, by picking a few guys on each Cubs minor league team that starts their season today and I will keep an eye on them throughout the season. I’ll try to stick to names that even the guys up there don’t mention too often (though they mention pretty much everyone at least once). And some of these names are just guys I want to see succeed for one reason or another.
Let’s see if I’m as good as I think I am.
Iowa Cubs
At AAA (and AA) it’s pretty hard to find “unknown” players, so at Iowa (and Tennessee) this is more about guys who I think could be a little bit more than most seem to believe. Or just guys who I want to do well. These are all players I’ve followed since they entered the Cubs system and, what can I say, I’ve grown a little attached.
Jacob Hannemann, OF – At this point I can’t remember the last thing I read that didn’t peg Hannemann as a fifth outfielder/pinch runner type. Why would anyone think he could be a major league starter? Well, for one thing, he’s consistently moved up the ladder, so while he’s never dominated, he’s never exactly failed, either. His defense and baserunning are, from all accounts, major league ready now, so the question is if his bat can catch up. It may never catch up enough to make him a star, but I think he can be close to a league average bat (think 90-95 wRC+). That will be enough to make Hannemann a regular in someone’s outfield, some day, for at least a couple of years.
Bijan Rademacher, OF – Look, this guy can hit. Since Advanced A ball, Rademacher has never hit below .280, gotten on base less than 35% of the time, or slugged less than .418. Detractors seem to think he won’t hit enough to justify his bat in a corner outfield spot, and to be fair I don’t think he’ll ever be a centerfielder, but my understanding is that he has a cannon for an arm in right field and I think his power is only going to get better now that he is really hitting his physical prime.
Jen-Ho Tseng, RHP – Ignore all of his minor league success. He doesn’t throw hard enough. He only gets by on command. He has an outstanding change-up, but it’s his only effective secondary pitch. He’ll never be more than a fifth starter, if that. Oh, look, I just wrote everything that was written about Kyle Hendricks five years ago. Tseng may never be The Professor, but he might be The Adjunct.
Tennessee Smokies
Carlos Penalver, 2B/SS – I have no rational explanation for this, but his name has always jumped out to me for some reason. Hey, if Rey Sanchez can play 15 years in the majors, Penalver can play one. He will play at Tennessee for the second straight year, the first time that he’s ever repeated a level. If that helps his bat take a step, his defense will get him a cup of coffee one day.
James Pugliese, RHP – He’s the pitching version of Bijan Rademacher, with nothing but success in his entire minor league career. From all accounts, he is a proverbial bulldog on the mound. I will be absolutely shocked if he isn’t a major league middle reliever at some point.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Alex Lange, RHP – Everyone knows Lange is one of the Cubs best prospects, so this isn’t coming out of left field. And full disclosure, I’m a rabid LSU fan, so I’m sure there is some homer-ism at work here. But Lange is going to be an All-Star in the Cubs rotation in a few years.
Tyler Alamo, 1B – Maybe I just have a hard time believing someone with a name that awesome won’t play in the majors one day, or maybe it’s that his bat has improved every single year. I think he’s this year’s version of Jason Vosler. You won’t forget Tyler Alamo (no, I’m not proud).
South Bend Cubs
Tyler Thomas, LHP – Is he Tyler? Ricky? Ricky Tyler? For this year, at least, it looks like he’s Tyler. I’m not going to make any predictions, but I am going to drop the Dontrelle Willis comp. And I’m going to keep a close eye on the funky left-hander this year. I love me some funky left-handers.
Elvis Diaz, RHP – I had literally never heard of him until just now, even though he pitched at Eugene and South Bend last year. He’s 25 years old and repeating Low-A. I think, in a weird way, that’s actually a plus – if the organization didn’t see something there, why the heck would he even be around? If he gets off to a fast start, maybe he rockets up the system. Or maybe we never hear from him again. I have no idea, but I will be watching to see.
Rafael Narea, SS – Only 20 years old, Narea got of to a blazing start at Eugene last year before tapering off. Still, it was enough to get his name on my radar and my instincts tell me to keep an eye on him. He played mostly second base last year, when the shortstop position was taken by Aramis Ademan, but he is listed as a shortstop this year. The dream is a middle infield defender with speed and patience at the plate.
