First of all, thank you all for reading everything we do here at North Side Bound. We had another record-setting month in August and we just wanted to thank you all for coming back and checking us out on a daily basis.
Let’s get to today’s article.
When this article comes out, it will be the 13th day of teaching this school year for me and there’s less than 10 days left in the regular season for Myrtle Beach and South Bend. Tennessee still has 17 days left while Iowa will go to the 28th.
With those things in mind, let’s dig into what are going to be the key storylines that we’re going to follow here at North Side Bound.
1. The Playoffs
Barring a catastrophe, the Cubs will have three affiliates in the playoffs. Myrtle Beach won the first half division title and South Bend is cruising towards a second half title as their magic number is now down to 3. Tennessee, meanwhile, is also on the precipice of a playoff position by virtue of having the second best record in the division for the year as long as Rocket City holds onto first place as they also won the first half title.
Here is how this is gonna work – when Myrtle Beach and South Bend enter the playoffs in 10 days, they will each play a best of three series. South Bend will play Cedar Rapids and Myrtle Beach will play Charleston. Tennessee will face against Rocket on the 20th. We will cover those just like we do players of the day. Sadly, the players of the day articles will end on the 11th. But the nightly playoffs post will keep you up-to-date with what’s going on. It’s basically just a different name.
2. Arizona Fall league Assignments
Last month, I wrote about who the Cubs could possibly send to Mesa to play for the Mesa Solar Sox. Brennen Davis looks like a given and, according to Sahadev Sharma, Matt Mervis might be on board as well to give him a little leg up for 2023. When the announcement breaks, we will have it here.
3. Draft Pick Profiles
I’ve already written about 3/4 of the profiles for all the picks the Cubs took in the 2022 MLB draft. In addition we’ve also profiled Hayden Wesneski and Ben Brown. I’ll have to add nondrafted free agent Grant Kipp and Saul Gonzalez to our profile list this month. Those usually drop on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
4. Underreported Storylines
This will be a five or six part series where I check out some guys that we really didn’t talk up enough throughout the course of the year. We will shine them up for you and see what’s exactly going on with them.
5. Updating Databases
We will also be updating some of our databases including the prospect profile database. The draft database is good to go right now, though. The affiliate pages will probably get a new look and be a little bit more streamlined. It’s not going to be anything too drastic but simpler and user friendly.
Getting Ready for October
Even though the season will end for all four clubs this month, we are going to reserve our end of the year awards spectacular extravaganza phenomenon until October. We will have our Starting Pitcher of the Year, our Hitter of the Year, and our Reliever of the Year. Will also have our breakout players of the year to go along with affiliate reviews and what we think might be the top storylines for 2023. Even though the Arizona Fall League will be the only game in town, we will have coverage on that. When it comes to the draft, once the Cubs final position has been set via the lottery, Greg Zumach and I will begin breaking down some players who should and could be available for the Cubs to take at whatever spot they land. Hopefully, there might even be a little international free agency preview in October.
September, on its own though, is going to be a really busy month at North Side Bound and we hope you continue to join us every day!
