Yohendrick Pinango – Picture by Todd Johnson

I started having some really strange thoughts about some posts that I normally write at this time of year. It’s usually in early August that I put out who I think is going to go to the Arizona Fall League, who I think the Cubs will protect on the 40 man roster, and I usually rank the different position groups in the system. As well, I also start thinking about which players in the DSL are close to earning a trip stateside.

I’m not quite ready to do any of those four yet for the reason that it means that the season is almost over. It’s not. There’s still a lot of baseball left to be played and I still have a couple games yet to see in Appleton, Wisconsin and hopefully Cedar Rapids, Wisconsin. There should be even more new faces to join Porter Hodge and Kevin Made including a draft pick or two.

I feel like everything is kind of in a hurry up and wait kind of mode because of the trade deadline. I, for one, am ready to move on. We saw how rough it was last year in trading Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez. It’s not going to be much easier trading Willson and Happ. I’m at the point where I just want it over with so I can check out the new prospects. It also means it is all uphill from here on in for the rebuild. At least I hope.

There was some cool news this week that didn’t have to do with the draft, trades, or free agents.

Alexander Canario made three lists this week. He was named to MLB Pipeline’s prospect team of the week. MLB Pipeline named him the Cubs’ hottest hitter in a different article. And he was also named to Baseball America‘s Hot prospect list. He also won the Player of the Week award last weekend for North Side Bound.

It was also cool to see Yohendrick Pinango get named Player of the Week in the Midwest League for South Bend. I got to see a couple of those games and it was a lot of fun seeing him just get up to the plate every time and rake. Even when he made it out, he hit the ball hard.

The Best News One Could Hope For…

Reggie Preciado posted some video on his Instagram of him working out. That is some good news. Even better news came from Rich Biesterfeld, friend of NSB, who stated that Reggie hoped to be back and playing next month!

IFA Deadline

Tomorrow is also the deadline for Major League Baseball and the Players Association to agree or not agree on the concept of an international draft that would last 20 rounds. Whether that draft would be in January or July, that has yet to be determined. Right now, the sticking points are basically money, or the totality of the bonus pool for the international players. If the two sides do agree on implementing an international draft, the first one will be in 2024. As well, the compensation draft picks for free agents will disappear immediately next year. Right now, I’m not too hopeful about them reaching a deal. If they don’t, everything stays the same as it is for the rest of the current collective bargaining agreement.

Draft Signings

Haydn McGeary was the first Cubs’ pick to sign and he inked up for the full slot value of $125,000. You can check out our draft database to see who has signed and for how much!

Draft News

I know the draft just ended and it did not take long for Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Prospects Live to get started on the 2023 draft. Depending on where the Cubs land in the lottery, they are going to get a very good player. The 2023 draft reminds me of 2013 when the Cubs landed Kris Bryant. I would expect the Cubs to go out and get that type of “impact” player. I have some names I am thinking of, but a lot can change between now and next summer. So, I will keep Dylan Crews to myself…oops!

Coming Up on North Side Bound

The plan for next week was sort of up in the air. It’s hard to transition from “draft draft draft draft draft” back to games. I will have a post on the exciting performance of Luis Vazquez this month. Another article will be about where the draft picks should go this year and next spring. As well, I am working on a post about the Cubs moving towards drafting prep pitchers more and more. Greg Zumach will also have a couple of exciting articles coming up about Gyro Balls and Drafting Cade Horton. Some good stuff is headed your way.

Jam of the Week

When I was 15, we moved from the sleepy rural hamlet of Polo in northwestern Illinois to a town in western Illinois called Rushville, which had one high in the whole county! Anyway, my best friend was the music of the time period. From Rush to The Police, Cheap Trick, and many more. For today, I am going to harken back to that period and rock out with “Red Barchetta” from Rush about a future where driving a car is illegal.