Alfonsin Rosario – Pic by Stephanie Lynn
One thing that’s getting to be exciting every month is seeing certain trends in the system. Now that May is here, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been in centerfield for the Cubs filling for a couple of weeks. It’s gone much better than last fall and he will soon be coming back down to Iowa with a wealth of knowledge and a load off his shoulders after getting his first hit as a professional in Chicago. Seeing how he reacts is going to be one storyline as well as seeing when he gets back to Chicago. It’s not a question of if.
PCA is not gonna be the only storyline for Chicago this month.
With Cade Horton now at Iowa, the one question that will also rear its head is how much seasoning is he going to need at the AAA level? Seeing when the Cubs call him up could be the main storyline of the month depending upon how well he does in Des Moines. If I had to predict, I would say in late May or in early June would be the time.
One other key storyline to watch regarding guys who make it to Chicago is that of Michael Arias. The former shortstop turned starting pitcher turned reliever had an excellent month in April and should be headed to Iowa at some point this month. And when he does get there, I’m excited to see how that changeup plays along with his slider and what exactly his fastball is going to do against Triple-A hitters
Down in the minors…
Seeing how many dingers Alfonsin Rosario hits is going to be a favorite storyline.
Seeing if Brennen Davis’ comeback can stay on track and if the power comes back fully will be fun to watch. So far, so good.
One name that sort of slipped under the radar in April was starting pitcher Nick Dean in Myrtle Beach. He wound up with a 3.56 ERA, but was the strikeout leaders in the lower part of the system for April. Except for one inning, he could’ve been the pitcher of the month, and I’m excited to see if he can get to South Bend by the end of the month, if not sooner. Dean was taken in the draft by the Cubs last year as a senior sign. The University of Maryland product has amazing offspeed pitches that he uses to offset his low 90s fastball. However, pitchability plays at almost any level, and we’ll see how Dean does as he moves up the ladder.
Why is no one talking about reliever Shane Marshall? The former catcher from Georgia was drafted by the Cubs in 2022 and missed all of 2023 after undergoing surgery. He’s in the bullpen in Myrtle Beach and he has an ERA of 1.00 with 11 Ks in 9 innings. Last night, he got a save, his second on the year. He bears watching this month.
Will Sanders and Mason McGwire struggled in their first two outings. Sanders was dynamite yesterday for South Bend and looked like the pitcher I envisioned when he was drafted. As for McGwire, he’s a work in progress but he will get there. He’s not afraid of putting in the work and work ethic goes a long in this industry. I am more excited see what Mason is like in August, but seeing how Mason improves in May will be fun, too.
Another underreported story in April was the acquisition of left handed pitcher Mitchell Tyranski. The 26 year-old was signed by the Cubs after he was released by the Dodgers. He was assigned to Myrtle Beach and since then he’s been making mincemeat out of hitters at two levels. The thing about Tyranski is that he really hasn’t pitched much as a pro. In fact he’s only thrown in games that matter in two seasons, 2019 and 2023. In both those seasons, he work was limited. He looks to be fully healthy and seeing how he does at South Bend is going to be interesting, considering the lack of lefties in the upper part of the system.
Matt Shaw got off to a terrific start to the year and then has been slumping the last two weeks. We will see if he can rebound and get back on track this month. Some scuffed at the idea of him starting out in Tennessee, including myself. I am sort of interested he’s struggling because he’s going to have to adapt in the majors constantly. This is good learning experience for him.
Owen Caissie contains immense power potential. But he only hit one home run in April. Seeing how that power could come around in May is going to be fun. Remember that he is kind of a slow starter as it takes him a month to adjust to each level. Hitting his second dinger of the year yesterday bodes well.
The Arizona Complex League starts on Saturday. While Rich Biesterfeld will have a preview of the squad tomorrow, I’m gonna be focusing my attention on five guys. They include rehabbing pitcher Jaxon Wiggins, rehabbing pitcher Nazier Mule, shortstop Derniche Valdez, infielder Angel Cepeda, and catcher Adan Sanchez, I don’t have any expectations other than seeing how they do on a daily basis. If you wanted a bonus name to watch, I will give you two – Infielder Eriandys Ramon and outfielder Joan Delgado. It should be an exciting few months as they’ll finish sometime around the draft.
Sam Armstrong has been nails at South Bend this past month. I’m hoping that continues into May.
Which Kevin Alcantara will show up in May? Are we going to see the Kevin Alcantara that showed up for the first 26 ABs of the year or the Kevin Alcantara of the last two weeks? I’m hoping we see the latter.
I’m curious to see how Jefferson Rojas does as it gets warmer. People have talked about his bat and he has made some flashy plates at shortstop. My only concern with him at this point is just him constantly making the routine plays routine. There for a while, he had a few errors the first couple of weeks just on normal grounders where he would either lose concentration or make a poor throw. To me, that’s really the only thing he needs to work on.
Will the Cubs make a trade this month? And if they do, how much prospect capital will they use? Jed has been known for going out and getting players that he needs early in the year. Given that they’ll have a third of the season complete by the end of May, that’s a pretty good point to make a determination about whether they need a certain type of guy.
Towards the end of the month, we will get close to the end of the college baseball season and the beginning of the College World Series we will start to see some guys pop up. In fact, we’re starting to see several names rise up into the top 20 this month. I will have more on that on Sunday in “The Weekly.”
In addition, don’t be surprised to see more signings down in the Dominican as those two squads get ready to play at the beginning of June. The Cubs signed six pitchers this week. However, we should be honest that we are now 30 days closer to “The Summer of Fernando.”
