Matt Mervis – Pic by Rich Biesterfeld

Finally! The off-season is now here! The big league club can begin adding to the roster through free agency, trades, and minor-league free agency. Here at North Side Bound, we will be tracking how each transaction impacts the minor league system. Just a reminder, the now four of us work full-time jobs but we will have analysis at some point on every deal.

Stephanie Lynn Joins North Side Bound!!!

It officially came out in a tweet last night as Stephanie Lynn announced that she has joined North Side Bound!!! She has done some amazing interviews of Myrtle Beach players for several years while at “Cubs Den” and we are excited to have her as part of our team!!! We almost feel like Stephanie has been part of North Side Bound from the beginning as we have used her pics of Pelicans since our inception. Now, we should have more pics and more details! You can follow Stephanie on Twitter and you can learn more about her in an interview I did with her last fall. I am pretty pumped about her choice to join us!

AFL Update

There is now less than a week to go in the Arizona Fall League. It ends next week with the championship and this week was a busy week. Last night, Matt Mervis and Bailey Horn participated in the fall star game.

The week began on Monday, as most weeks do, when BJ Murray went 2-for-3 to raise his average up to .250. Murray is only playing about once a week, mostly at third base. That same night saw Riley Martin go two innings and strike out for, but he did give up a run. 

Owen Caissie went2-for-5 on Tuesday and he also scored two runs. After his rough start, he’s really settled in to a nice groove to raise his batting average was up to .255 after that night. When I see that, I’m pretty sure that’s how it’s gonna roll at Tennessee next year for him. He’ll struggle at first and then he’ll make the adjustments. Or, his experience in Arizona might negate any need to adjust.

Bailey Horn also pitched that night and gave up his first earned run of the year. His ERA was still at 1.50 which is outstanding for the fall league where the ball flies little bit more than usual.

The Solar Sox were off on Wednesday and only Owen Caissie played on Thursday as he went 1-for-4. Friday saw Matt Mervis crank his league leading sixth home run. On the day, Mervis went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .291 and his OPS to .999 which is just plain awesome.

On Saturday, Mervis participated in the home run derby. he hit 19 dingers in 2 rounds falling two shy of the finals.

Today, Mervis will be playing the Fall Stars Game before the last week of the AFL begins. Reliever Bailey Horn will also be playing in the game.

Zumach Speaks

Our own Greg Zumach appeared on CHGO this week to talk Cubs and also prospects. You can check out a brief snippet in the video below and that also has a link to the entire episode.

Draft Odds

Yesterday I began compiling where certain players are ranked for next year’s upcoming draft. I wasn’t really looking at any specific player and I ran across the odds for where the Cubs will be picking. It is not looking good for the top 6. The odds are that the Cubs will be picking 12th or 13th. After those two slots, the best chance will be at six. Odd how those odds lay out there.

1. 1.10%
2. 1.2%
3. 1.4%
4. 1.7%
5. 2.0%
6. 2.5%
12. 64%
13. 23.7%
14. 2.3%
15. 0.15%

Cards of the Week

I am enjoying making cards again especially with some new templates.

Coming Up on North Side Bound

There are some things brewing on the old North Side Bound stove that could come out this week. Greg Huss has a major announcement coming soon and you need to make sure and follow him on his Twitter account for that. Greg Zumach has been looking at some data and will report to you soon. As for me, I’m enjoying taking some time off. Don’t know when I will publish again except next Sunday, but I have been thinking about some things like the draft, the youth in the system, and some position depth. Right now, I am enjoying being busy doing nothing for a change.

Jam of the Week

This might be one of the top 3 basslines ever recorded in a song. I just love it! Here is Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold.”