Cubs Roster (offseason)

[JP Hochbaum]

I am surprised in the lack of interest on this board in Henderson Alvarez. 26 years old, throws 98 mph, ground ball pitcher, and very cheap as he has been hurt the last two years.

Sign him on a 1 year prove it deal for minimum and have him battle it out in ST for that 5th spot. If we can get him back to 2014 levels, when he was 12th in Cy Young voting we could have our depth that is needed.

 

[CSF77]

Largely agree where you p ut guys but I imagi ne they probably push clifton to AAA.. As for the TOR debate, my book is Albertos has the tools. Obviously we need to see more long term before you go proclaiming him to be there but I've seen scouting reports that put him with 3 60 grade pitches and I've seen comparison to him and Urias. I think De La Cruz has potential to be a #1 but he looks more like a good #2 if things go right in my eyes. Only other guy I'd put there from what I've seen is lange. If you strike out 10 per 9 in 3 straight years in the SEC you're seriously good. Alzolay to me is a #3 with #2 top end. Cory Abbott looked fantastic in limited action. Want to see more before I judge him. Keegan Thompson is also someone I want to see more of. Statistically(college numbers) he looks like Hendricks only the scouting has his stuff being a touch better. Plus like Lange he comes from a background of solid competition with good results.

Alozay needs to refine his change. That pitch will make or break him.

Albertos is still raw. Needs to improve his command. As far as the raw tools he has ace projection

De La Cruz is the closest in terms of refinement. He needs to prove he is healthy. This year I see him pushed to Iowa if he is able to get deep into games. That is going to be a telling card for me. If they are PC him to death then honestly this will be a get into shape season. And honestly that is back burner stuff and not pushing guys out of his way issues.

So I’m looking more into the nuts and bolts with them this year. Are they getting 100 pitchers per game or not? How many innings are they avg per game? Are they getting starts skipped etc.

 

[CSF77]

On Underwood, he capped out then added a cutter so he reinvented himself. I’m feeling bi-polar about him atm because of his results in a pitchers league. He should start at Iowa.

Clifton will be lucky to be a Grimm 2.0. He has capped also and really is questionable why he is on a top 30 list. Pushing a 5+ ERA in a pitchers league is unacceptable