In episode 166, Crawly and Dustin share their takeaways from Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins speaking at a panel during Cubs Convention in which they discussed bullpen depth, the slow-moving offseason, the club’s recent moves and how it can improve in 2024. Crawly then interviews Baseball Prospectus lead prospect writer Jeffrey Paternostro to discuss a variety of young Cubs. The guys also examine the latest Cubs news, including the possibility of Wrigley Field hosting a Winter Classic and/or an MLB All-Star Game in the coming years and the Ryne Sandberg statue dedication ceremony.
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Segment 1: Jed & Carter at Cubs Convention
0:00 — Crawly and Dustin share their takeaways from Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins speaking at a panel during Cubs Convention in which they discussed bullpen depth, the slow-moving offseason, the club’s recent moves and how it can improve in 2024.
Segment 2: Interview with Jeffrey Paternostro
29:57 — Crawly interviews Baseball Prospectus lead prospect writer Jeffrey Paternostro to discuss a variety of young Cubs. Baseball Prospectus just released its top 101 prospects, and the Cubs’ future looks bright.
Segment 3: Cubs news
56:17 — Crawly and Dustin examine the latest Cubs news, including the possibility of Wrigley Field hosting a Winter Classic and/or an MLB All-Star Game in the coming years. They also discussed the Ryne Sandberg statue dedication ceremony and Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner getting snubbed by MLB Network experts.
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You are listening to the fly the w670 podcast this is season 3 it’s episode number six Jed and Carter on the 2023 the off season and the path forward don’t forget to download listen review most importantly subscribe to the podcast follow us on the socials follow
The fly the w67 on Twitter Instagram of course we’re on Facebook and email us at fly w670 gmail.com Crawley happy Thursday pal oh man my voice is slowly coming back I sound I I don’t sound like a frog as bad anymore so I think it uh the recovery from Cubs con every year
Every year takes a little bit longer for me so what are you saying it takes a little bit longer to recover huh little little bit longer I don’t have youth on my side anymore you know I got to find some like young interns to help me out at Cubs con
So that uh I get a little bit of rest maybe a nap or two in there yeah little uh nap never hurt anybody there’s no doubt about that so we’ve got a lot to talk about starting with what we heard a little bit deeper dive with Jed and
Carter yeah on the last podcast you know we had the show managa press conference which was awesome Opening Ceremonies we talked with Cole Wright but in this episode we’re going to look a little bit deeper into those comments made by Jed and Carter now we heard from Jed when
The season ended he does this you know the autopsy and then we heard both of them in the winter meetings but to me Dustin it’s like the Cubs convention this what’s special about it allows fans to hear you know their thoughts and and they have to be careful about what they
Say there’s certain rules regarding what they can say as far as free agents and stuff like that and tampering but you know that they’re pretty honest when you listen to what they have to say and and so you know we took some of the clips uh from last weekend Jed Carter talked with
670 The Score was it Molly and HW show right and uh on different panels and all that stuff so we got some good things and there was just kind of some themes that we kind of grouped things into um we talked about 2023 coming up a little
Bit short and you know I think the a real big part of that was the amount of blown leads at the beginning at the end of the season Dustin and some of that was due to free agents not panning out players that took a step back some young
Players couldn’t get it done at the major league level and then obviously overuse and injuries and so when we looked at all the problems that they had you know this is what one player said about the bullpen I mean if you look too when we were playing our best ball other
Then kind of right after the All-Star break right we were scoring you know 40 runs a game almost like I feel like we were pummeling teams but a lot of you know when we started having that success I want to say it was the early parts of
June I think we were out in San Francisco that’s kind of when the Run started it wasn’t just like a nine to2 Cruise games right like there was a lot of 5 to threes 4 to 1es you know 7 to six there’s a lot of close games so when
That happens no one’s able to get off their feet um the bullpen guys are having to be ready the position guys have to stay um there there’s just so many things of like well I got to keep my best players out there even for the duration of the game uh because you’d
Like to be able to you know be up 10 to one take a couple Innings off and that really kind of helps add some fuel at the end of the year uh and same for the bullpen guys right like you know weather lighter and Alay are having to throw you
Know each and every day and Fulmer stolen a ton and we had so many guys that were warriors for three months but we just couldn’t sustain it at the end because we just didn’t do a good enough job on ourselves to you know early on to capitalize on that and I think that
That’s where we’re just talking about with the depth with sha and um you know you you hopefully they can build some depth in the bullpen and all of a sudden you can put different guys in different spots to be able to trust that they can
Get out and we can have a better year I mean if you look too when we were playing our best ball other than so as as we kind of listened to that clip right there I mean it was clear like at the beginning of the Season you didn’t
Have like the bullpen wasn’t established right it really and there was a lot of blown saves I don’t think anyone really knew their role and part of that big run that they were talking about there happens around June on a West Coast trip and San Francisco is accurate and then
All of a sudden they go on this run but they were 10 games under dust and they look dead in the water and now they had to work their tail off to get back into it and every guy has to play every game just to get back into it and then you
Know those names that he mentioned I think when when the Cubs were doing their best you had some combination of you know Merryweather lighter and aleli you know 7 eight n but but those are guys that weren’t used to having to go all those High leverage Innings and and
Sure enough you know alai was down at the beginning of September you you know you you saw Merryweather was the one that stuck around but uh it looked like lighter Jr ran out of gas it did he seemed to have some bumps and bruises I don’t know if you know everyone does at
That time but he just kind of ran out of gas themselves and so I think you know when you think about it these are the people Dustin that were all in the bullpen aleli Assad Nick birdie Jose quas Jeremiah Estrada Michael Fulmer Brandon Hughes Anthony K Caleb Killian Mark ligher Luke little Julian
Merryweather uh Michael Rucker Drew Smiley and so there was just this big kind of like you know rotation but it wasn’t like anybody you could really there wasn’t a lot of confidence in a lot of guys not name uh aleli and ligher and Merryweather right and a lot of guys
They also had made the point that they wanted to have all their best arms all their best arms up at the major league level and guys have to learn right that these are new things like you said lot of guys in you know it seemed like everybody was probably in one inning
Earlier than they probably should be in a perfect setup right right and so you know everybody was pitching in one Higher of a leverage situation than they’re probably set up to do at least at this point in their career and we saw that when the Cubs got Chapman and then
That P that pushed um rondone back to eight and it put stroke back to seven and it just lengthened out the bullpen like you’re talking about right exactly right and this is what um you know you know Jed said that the um talking about the priority of getting more Bullpen
Arms we’ve offered we’ve offered some this offseason it’s not my not my favorite thing you know in general um but you know certainly the the bullpen is a an area of priority um It’s A Hard area you you can look at some teams that have built through multi- deals have
Struggled and you looked at some teams that have built through this smart targeted transactions that have had a lot of success so there’s a lot of ways to skin the bullpen cat but we do need to um to focus on it you know it was an Achilles heel last year for
Sure I mean that’s pretty serious when you call it Niles’s heel right yeah yeah there was no sugar coat it there very very very direct and we talked about this on the show Brandon Hughes was going to be the Lefty and he was hurt
And he never got on track and so you had no Lefty out of the bullpen Anthony Kay was given a shot you know later on Luke little who again was just getting his first taste of The Bigs and so you know you didn’t have a lot of left-handed
Pitchers and then Brad Boxberger was a guy that was really supposed to be the one that was going to be the Difference Maker that was the guy that was going to kind of Be the Anchor I think in Jed’s world and bullpens Jed brings himself a
Lot or very volatile kind of like makes it it kind of evolves itself you know what I’m saying but I think in an Ideal World Jed had Boxberger at nine and Fulmer at eight and you know Boxberger was just a disaster and Fulmer had his
Moments I think he was up and down a lot he had some you know good moments some not so good moments but I thought those two were supposed to be the anchors and those were the guys with experience Dustin and and really didn’t they weren’t guys that you could count on at
All during the season really no could not um we’ll see what happens I mean there’s still plenty of time to build this thing right um yeah and you have to give him the time you know I mean there’s other pressing everything is important um this just might not be the most important
Thing right this second but it it it all it all matters it all matters at the end of the day right and one thing is is that Bruce Levine was doing uh inside the clubhouse and you know talking about the possibility of trading and then the
Name that keeps com coming up and I heard it I think it was yesterday morning Emanuel Claus from the Guardians he was up there um uh Bruce mentioned the Astros Ryan stannic and then the Mets Adam adino who I swear the Cubs were in on years ago like six seven
Years ago he was with the Mets but you know a veteran presence I think is going to be something that you really kind of want to have here and I think any one of those guys now now Claus is G from Cleveland is going to cost you that
That’s going to be a painful one but the Cubs as we’re going to talk about later have prospects if you’re willing to make the trade I I always felt that Jed really has done a good job with bullpens this was the one year that just didn’t
Happen like I said a couple guys just didn’t pan out Boxberger primarily but when when Jed and Carter were talking about um bullpens I I thought I I talked about this in the last episode I really was impressed with Carter Hawkins um he talked about the bullpen usage and how
It had changed and this is what he had to say last year I thought that we we got tired you know it was a strange season that way um early in the season our Bullpen was fine uh we had the bad 45 day stretch sort of May and early
June the bullpen struggle and then they struggled again in September um you know I think some of that was not having enough depth down there and then some of that was the fact that we just we were winning every game for three months and that takes a toll on the on the bullpen
Like I said we didn’t have the depth to get through that and that’s a big Focus both making sure our guys that come up through the the system can can handle that depth and also making sure we add that depth uh in free agency and trade
Before the season but you know the game has changed so much now it used to be that you could kind of pencil in your you know your rotation we used to always talk about you know can we get 950 to 1,000 Innings out of the rotation I mean
That feels like you know 100 years ago um you have to have so many arms to to win the battle now it’s not just about you know the the 13 guys we pencil in is probably closer to 25 or 30 and the team that can get through the the battle is
Going to is going to be effective now so um the game has changed the velocity has changed the way people people uh way people pitch I mean talking to our new manager about it I mean yeah he wants to give guys extra rest he’s not looking
For guys to be pitching 170 180 Innings he knows that you know 120 to 140 is probably a lot how do we mix and match all the guys to get through you know the 1440 of the year and it’s a real challenge now and I think that is where
The job has changed the most that almost every night we’re talking about a roster move is you know are we fresh enough do we need to get a pitcher um that was never the case you know now it’s very rare you don’t use four and five pitchers in every single game and uh
That’s not just the Cubs that’s everybody so um it’s definitely a very different perspective on team building than it used to be even you know looking at 2016 when we had you know you know you just had Lester and Jake and Lackey and Hamill and Hendrick eating up so
Many innings like no one in baseball has that anymore I mean that that’s that you know when you think about it we were talking Fergie Jenkins when he got his statue how many how many times he pitched 200 Innings and and now it’s just becoming a
Rarity and and now now jet saying 120 140 and you hear everybody talking about the fact that you’re only going to let your starter go three times through the order and so as you look at that Dustin I looked at the records of the Cubs in
2023 when they LED in the sixth inning they were 11 and 13 when they were I’m sorry when they were tied in the sixth inning they were 11 and 13 when they were tied in the seventh they were s- 12 when they were tied in the eighth they
Were seven- eight when they were tied in the ninth they were three- seven Extra Inning games they were three and six one run games they were 21 and 24 two Run games they were 9 and 17 so it seems like every close game Dustin they they
Lost a lot of close games and that’s you know part of it’s going to be on the offense you got to score more runs but at the same time if you’re tied you know you also have an opportunity to win that and they just didn’t do that a lot no no
Those some great statistics that you’re sharing about what guys did in the uh different Innings and different usages um and yeah everybody’s got to be you know of a mindset to me I don’t I don’t get it I want to talk to Tommy hotovy about it more I don’t understand why you
Can’t just be given the ball go get the guy out like why why does it matter like there’s a guy on base and it’s the ninth inning it’s the seventh inning it’s the sixth here’s the ball get on the mound get the guy out
That’s up to bat I I I just don’t I I don’t I don’t get it like you know everybody has a job to do right and like it usually doesn’t change based on the hour of the day that you’re in like okay because you’re in your seventh
Hour of your workday you’re expected to do more or less than you were in hour number two of your work day now your responsibilities could change of course but at the end of the day usually it’s it’s the same thing you know Crowley your your big boy job is to teach kids
Right it doesn’t M it doesn’t change like how you teach them doesn’t change in sixth period versus what it did in second period now it might be a different Age kid it might be a different subject but at the end of the day it’s teaching here’s the ball get the batter
Out it’d be interesting to talk to Tommy about that or or you know maybe you know and then kind of compare that to what a veteran pitcher might say you know what I mean like you know back in the day it’s just it’s a different mentality uh
I think it’s kind of you know I wouldn’t be an expert on it but maybe how they came up how they’ve been coached through all these different leagues and and everything like that I mean possibility uh two players from last year that I think are going to be a big part of the
Story this year and they talked about them was seya Suzuki and Christopher Morell Dustin if you remember seya came to Camp last season all buff ready to play in the WBC and an oblique injury knocks him off he did okay and started to pick it up but then he went into a
Horrific slump and he got benched and after that benching seya Played Like a Man possessed and this is what and there’s an interesting story of how he got back on track this is what Jed had to say about that ultimately when you look at a team that has that out
Produces its expectations you know you you look at our projections at the beginning of the year in order to win the teams that win the teams that go you know further than expected those are always going to be teams that a couple players you know they they’re projected
For two and a half they do they go to four and a half wins right and so you have to expect that and I think SE is one of those guys that can definitely do that um he’s immensely talented um he really is I think what we saw at the end
Of the year hopefully was a harbinger of things to come where he’s starting to get comfortable it kind of a funny story we’re talking about velocity and uh you know the struggle for him early last year and some of the time over here was just putting the ball
On the ground you know his exit velocities are Elite you know he’s hitting the ball 107 mes hour but it’s on one hop to the short stop and um so that was kind of what he was working on how do I get the ball in the air more
Especially to the pole side and so things started to click for him and obviously had a monster August and September and he was getting the ball in the air more and um I was asking those guys like hey what what changed like what was the what was the big moment and
Uh the big moment was he was struggling and we’re playing the Reds uh think it was early I think it was early August like right for the deadline and it was one of those game we scored like whatever 19 20 runs in a couple of those
Games and he was facing um a position player pitching at the end of the game and he was just like okay this swing nice and smooth catch the ball out front the guyy throwing 58 miles hour and he hadit a huge home HT what that got
Throwing 58 won’t get hurt by the way yeah yeah and and so he hit a long home run against a position player and it was like that was it that that’s the swing catch it out front and from that day forward he took off which is great so
It’s it’s amazing when people talk about like what those moments are that things click it was just like thinking about catching the ball out front and so my hope and our hope obviously is that you know he had a year and a half to transition it’s a hard transition um but
That we saw the the player he can be cuz I I do think he’s got one of the best right-hand swings in baseball uh he’s so Ted up our hope is that he can really uh start taking off now did you hear that Dustin one of the best right-hand swings in baseball yeah
That’s uh mighty big praise that’s really it’s really big praise big praise but Dustin I was looking at this in the first month back for SE Suzuki in May first full month he came like mid April I just looked at the month of May he hit 319 then in June he hit
177 in July he hit 240 and then that game that Jed’s talking about was August 2nd versus the Reds he hit that home run um and from that point in July he in August he hit 321 and in September he hit 370 so you know when Jed was talking
About guys you know if you’re going to be a winning team certain guys have to outperform se’s going to have to be one of those guys no no doubt about it no doubt you know I think more in the tank and I I I’m I’m very interested to see what
Happens now one of the names that you know that we’ve kind of taken a look at is Christopher Morell and Dustin you and I were a little shocked last year start of the Season he’s in Iowa right yep gets called up in May and he does what
He continues to do hit home runs the question with Morel is where does he play now he’s been the subject of trade rumors all winter long there there hasn’t been you know he’s been tied to so many different trades with so many different teams Cleveland the Mets go go
Go down on the list but right now the Cubs saw him play first and third in the Dominican winter league but where he plays or if he plays for the Cubs in 2024 still is unknown Carter had an interesting comparison to Morell and and I really liked Carter’s answer on this
One we had similar questions and I don’t want to compare talents because it’s not fair to to Mo but similar questions of where’s Jose rir is going to play you know back in 2014 2015 he was a shortstop coming up Lindor is playing shortstop he could play second Kipnis
Was playing second can he play Third well we have some pretty good third basem can he play The Outfield I don’t know but we think this guy can hit we’re going to figure out a way to get him into the lineup and I think it’s a really similar question that we’re
Working through with with Chris which is he can hit we have to figure out ways to get him in the lineup that’s why we had him working at first base in the offseason Dominican sent coaches down there that’s why he’s working in multiple different positions you know if
You have a bat that will play in the m major leagues we will find a spot for you to play in the major leagues we’ve all seen that he’s able to move around I was talking on the score yesterday and I was saying something similar to this and
They said are you filler bustering right now and it’s like no I’m just literally going through all of our different positions and realizing like yeah like if he can step up at any of those his Bat is going to be something that just forces us to pencil him in the lineup
Worst case he dhes a lot best case he’s playing great defense for us he certainly has the athleticism the hands the ability to do it I think there’s an opportunity for him to be a great all-around player and that’s the thing that we’re going to work on really hard for this
Offseason now Dustin I’m I’m sitting here and and I’m listening to him and he’s right second and short are taken Outfield spots are taken so what does that leave him it leaves him first third and DH and so it has to be one of those three and I keep kind of getting mix
Mixed messages is it good for him to be toolsy or do they want him to play one place at the same time you know one position and just focus on that um I think with the signing of Michael Bush it doesn’t mean anything because Michael Bush hasn’t proven it in the Major
League level yet but I hope yeah right yet the key word right but I mean other than DH I just don’t see where you would put him right right well today well I mean here’s the thing if they were playing we had this on the on the score
Today David Hall and I had a little back back and forth on this the Cubs had to play a game this Sunday this Sunday opening day this Sunday who’s playing Third Base based on the roster today who’s playing Third Base I think it’s it’s one to in my
Opinion it’s one of two people but I want to hear your opinion and we didn’t plan on this so I’m kind of I apologize that I’m kind of no no no no I was listening this morning I listen this morning I heard the the the fingernail
Debate but um yeah we won’t go there but I think if you want but you I think Morel would would definitely you you got to give him a try if he’s gonna be on the team that’s where he’s got to be that that’s just where I kind of sit
There now where where is he playing Third Base Third Base okay so your opening day third basem is Christopher Morell okay that’s fine your opening day your opening day first baseman is I I would so I would say um and I’m gonna talk about this in a little bit but I
Would say I would platoon Michael Bush and Patrick wisdom okay and then who’s dhing you know at that point you know it’s have to take a look but you know I think you can kind of rotate those guys around a little bit you know what I mean depending on the situation right he’s
Left he’s playing matchups I don’t think and then PCA is obviously in center field for you yes all right and and Nick madreal is your pinch hitter you could have Nick magical as a pinch hitter Mike toan’s still on the team um couple and I think Mike toan’s going to do better so
I mean I think you could see I got a feeling we might see a couple more platoon this year in center field to start off saying that does that doesn’t really as a season ticket holder Crawley and as a longtime Cubs fan that that opening day lineup doesn’t do a whole
Hell of a lot for you does it uh not yet I I think there’s moves to be made still and so you know J I think I think a couple of the guys and part of this we’re gonna get into this later in the podcast you know we’re talking about the
Cubs having um five prospects in the top 50 okay five five prospects in the top 50 but to me two of the five are really not prospects because they need to be playing on opening day at this point right and they’ll be graduated up and the Cubs still have a lot coming through
Um but you know Jed did talk about this this slow off season and it has been absolutely slow and this is what Jed had to say some off seasons are really fast and some are slow and this is this has been a slow one and you know obviously
There’s really good players out there you know we’ve made a couple moves I think we have a few more in us for sure but you can’t speed it up you know um I think our job is to get good deals not to just do deals you know
I mean anyone can anyone can do a deal anyone can say yes you know to the agent’s asking price if you do that then you’re going to run out of money really quickly you know and so you know the the he trying to get the right deal for the
Organization that’s our job is to invest you know Tom and the family’s money as wisely as we can and we we’re going to do that so we can’t speed it up but obviously there’s really good players out there and um we have to be somewhat patient slow is an understatement Dustin I mean
It’s like you know what going uphill that’s how slow it is right basically it’s almost it’s almost in Reverse from the end of octo from the beginning of October October 1 until January 5th the Cubs did not sign a single player to their major league roster they were the
Only they were the last team to sign a team to the major league roster and so if you’re looking at that you know the clbs made their first move on January 5th claiming Brian severed off waivers from Colorado the first big move came with the signing of shy managa that’s
January 9th hustin that’s three days before Cubs con little over a week ago and then they made a trade the same day to get Michael Bush and reliever yans alonte giving up Jackson Ferris was the big piece on that one and then poor Brian s who was the first one that they
They the waiver claim they had to DFA him for imanaga so I mean there are players out there and and you know know it should be interesting when you talk about imanaga we talked about him last time you know you have more lefties in the rotation this year than righties
Technically uh if you’re talking about today’s rotation and you know the pitching philosopher I mean I think he’s a guy that we’re both excited about and from the clip that we played earlier about Jed 140 Innings I think IM imanaga can hit that I don’t think he can hit
You know 180 or anything like that I think 140 is more reasonable the other one Dustin that you talked about was was Michael Bush he’s a 26-year-old who was one of the Dodgers top prospects one of the top prospects in all baseball but he was blocked by Freddy Freeman you know
What I mean you’re not playing ahead of Freddy Freeman and so Bush they tried playing him in second base he’s 61 210 pounds he’s a lefty much better hitter than a Defender so to speak and so like I said the Dodgers tried to shoehorn him
In at second where they had a need and that’s very similar to Morell you know what I mean like sometimes you try to shoehorn a guy in he played first base and left in college he hits well off of right he’s as expected he struggles against lefties so Dustin that’s where a
Platoon with wisdom could really be something that cup fans could be interested in because we know wisdom obviously is the opposite he’s a righty who hits really well off of lefties and so you got a guy with wisdom who can hit for 20 some home runs and if you get a
Guy like uh you know Bush who can maybe I don’t know it’s it’s projecting but if he can maybe hit 20 home runs which isn’t a lot for a first baseman right but between the two of them you might be able to get 40 45 home runs out of the
First base position yeah and that and that’s you live with that right it’s just a matter how many strikeouts go along with that right right but you gotta get you know there has to just be some fear in that some guy’s G to take you deep and
When wisdom gets hot he gets hot and and hopefully Bush can do the same um but you know there’s still players out there there’s wins that are are we could still have you know we looked at we we created this chart to to kind of take a look at
Everything and a lot of those names are still out there when you look at a lot of those names are still out there right Blake SN uh Jordan Montgomery Matt Chapman Cody Bellinger but Dustin when you talked about the prospects and I know sometimes we fall in love with our
Own prospects there’s just something in me that keeps thinking that maybe they just don’t want to make a big splash and block guys where you’re talking about Matt Shaw one of their top prospects is going to be playing more third you know some of some of those guys now first
Base I mean bush is a guy you know but if you’re telling me that you can get Cody Bellinger and he’d be happy playing first I would be happy with that decision 100% um I I still think I don’t think Matt Chapman’s coming I still think Cody
Bellinger is going to be a cub I could be wrong and again Bellinger was clearly the elephant in the room at Cubs con and you have to be careful about what you say but I think that Jed Hoyer summed it up perfectly uh when he said this about
Cody Belling no I think in general you have to um there’s a lot of paths that can lead to for winning there’s not one path that that leads to winning obviously um I really like Cody we’ve got a great relationship and he’s a great player um but yeah all the all
Roads can’t lead that direction you know you have to have a lot of contingencies and that’s not just about him it’s about anyone you know that um if you build a team where one player gets hurt and you can’t win that’s not a very good team
You know this isn’t the NBA uh you got to build a team that has depth you got to build a team that you know if someone goes down you have to have a next man up mentality and you know depth is really important so you know if if you can’t
Build a team that if you take one play player off that team they’re not very good well you have to look at free agency kind of the same way um so I think that’s how I see it there’s a lot of paths for us to be really good um
Excited about our team and you know we have more moves in store this offseason for sure you know we’re certainly not done but it can’t be a one player makes the offseason type deal Dustin if if uh sh Otani got injured in April would you still think the Dodgers are favorites to
Win the World Series I don’t know about win the World Series but definitely be in the postseason still yeah yeah I would say get far if you remember when the Braves won a few years ago Ronald aunia was injured he didn’t play and they still won the World
Series it makes sense but you have to have a lot of talented players I don’t think the Cubs there are yet there there’s got to be some more moves because as of right now the Cubs biggest move was signing manager Craig Council away from the Brewers and we’ll dive
Deeper into what Craig had to say at Cubs Con on the next podcast you are listening to the fly the W 670 podcast season 3 episode 6 ched and Carter on the 2023 the off season and the path moving forward don’t forget to listen download subscribe to the fly the
W podcast of course we’d ask you to leave a five-star review baseball prospectus Crowley has just released their top 101 prospects and let’s just say the future looks bright for Cub fans in this segment you are talking to Jeffrey paternostro lead Prospect writer of baseball prospectus to talk about the
Young and upand cominging coachs joining me now on the Fly of the W podcast we’re plead to have on Jeffrey pastro lead writer for baseball perspective Jeffrey how you doing tonight good we’re getting to the end of the the prospect season I guess it is our last list goes up uh
Week from Monday we just published the 101 so close to the Finish Line yeah and and we appreciate all the work you do kind of keep keeping us informed but I got to ask you why 101 instead of 100 is there is there a reason uh there there
Is one I don’t know it that goes back to Kevin Goldstein who was lead Prospect writer four Prospect writers before me I think that’s right four or five uh I assume it is it just you know it’s one more than 100 right it’s like a marketing thing more or less so we had
We had one extra name to the end it works it works you know but uh you know I always tell Cub fans hey the future looks bright you know it was weird we got in that weird you know 2021 and you’re selling off world series Heroes and you’re just kind of looking
At Jed Hoyer you know is this what are you doing here and at the time you know there’s a lot of frustration but now you’re kind of seeing a little bit of you know the fruits of all that labor whether it be trades whether it be good drafting whether it be good development
On the last list the Cubs had the most prospects on your top oneon-one list with nine prospects that is an unbelievable amount of prospects at least in my opinion I mean it’s one of the higher I think we had probably had maybe nine Padres at one point or nine Rays some when they
Were the system were their peak in the in the late 2010s but yeah this is a very very strong system and it’s not just you know sometimes like the Cardinals have six names and some’ll be and they there was nobody else really in consideration but the Cubs have nine and
I mean nine they had eight and then they had nine because they traded for Michael Bush but even the names uh beyond that initial group you know Jefferson roas Jackson Ferris had some uh some uh support within our staff and we’re discussed in the in the list process so
It does go even deeper than that right and so I’m just gonna kind of go backwards from the highest and get us to the top rated Cubs here we start out at number 91 um with 91 right uh Jord or I’m sorry 94 Jordan Wicks at 94 and we
Had a chance to see a little bit of Jordan wicks in the majors I want to say seven starts and you know it looked like he was able to hold his Zone and you got to figure he’s going to be up probably one one of the first guys to get called
Up if if there’s a need right yeah absolutely um you know he could injuries happen in spring training you know he could be is not impossible he’s in the opening day rotation he’s a difficult type of prospect to rate I should say that sort of Major League
Ready you know he’s not going to be a top of the rotation starter with that stuff but he’s going to be a major league starter probably a good one he’s ready you know former first round pick so he’s not kind of out of nowhere or un heralded or anything like that but just
Been very steady throughout his minor league career you know you look College arm College Lefty good change up never really had any issues at any level in the miners because you’re College Lefty with a good change up you’re any guy swinging through that but also never really dominated a level to the point
Where you’re like okay this is a potential top of the ration rotation starter one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and he’s been around this range on Cubs lists over over the last few years since he’s been drafted you know a little bit higher a
Little bit lower as the the strains of the system have have ebbed and flowed but just a really a really good Major League ready arm that I think can start and you’ll see a lot of these uh names in that area even the top 50 are guys
That don’t have a ton of minor league track record either from injuries or just their your younger pitchers that have been brought around brought around slowly um but Wix I think is ready to you know take the ball every fifth day at some point in the season and be
Pretty above average Major leag starter when he does it I can’t complain with that now a guy that you know comes a little different right out of high school James triantos and he’s was at number 91 and I remember I interviewed him when he started out at Myrtle Beach
In Lowa and I’m just thinking to myself my God this you know just so young he’s 18 years old yeah and then you know I really feel like you know a lot of people really started paying attention to him after this recent Arizona fall league yeah we liked him out of the
Draft he was a name that actually got uh highlighted for us is you know a guy to keep an eye on right uh you know second round pick or maybe supplemental first but not a particularly high draft pick but a guy that can just really hit and you mentioned you know Myrtle
Beach it’s a very difficult place to hit and I think because of that his 2022 like statline wasn’t as uh impressive as you might have hoped but again again high school bat you know coming going right into full season ball hell own really hit better this year uh Nathan
Graham who sees a lot of our does a lot of our Midwest League coverage saw him and really like the bat and yes Arizona fall league you got more you got more Scouts and Prospect Riders per capita in one spot than you’ll get any other time
During the year so if you showcase there uh guys are going to take notice but I think the breakout for him really started uh earlier in the season he’s another one too where it’s tough there’s not a ton of power he did start to hit the ball a little bit harder this year
So again early 20s you can see power growth is not uncommon in those ages so maybe there’s a little bit more there but I don’t know if he’s gonna be really be a slugger not really going to be a short stop but again a very nice everyday player right I guess for Cub
Fans everyone’s just kind of trying to figure out where the glove would play you know what I mean I know they tried him out a little bit in center field yeah in the AFL and stuff like that so it’ll be interesting to see what happens now I think his best position I
Think is second base obviously that’s going to be occupied for a bit but he is enough of a of an athlete that I think you could definitely play him in the Outfield he can play some Third Base too so and maybe a guy that just moves around as needed all right Moises B
Esteros first time on your list at 84 I saw Moises at Myrtle Beach this year I went and and I saw him and Michael arus and that was a fun combination to watch but I I mean he’s another young guy that to me though just showed like a lot of
Maturity Beyond his years just really kind of seemed to be the the field General if you will down there yeah I said it is hard to hit at Myrtle Beach it was not that hard to hit at Myrtle Beach for bias this year yeah uh he’s another one he came onto our radar
Pretty quickly um you just don’t find this kind of bat or this potential bat and a catcher when we are going through the list process and comparing him to Samuel baso who’s a top 15 Prospect in the orial system right now kind of similar trajectory by is a little bit older but
The same kind of like like wow this is this is it’s everything’s here offensively uh he’s very precocious for his age it’s it’s good contact rates the approach is good the swing decisions are good there’s already present power there and maybe some more to come and then the
Question with this kind of prospect is you know can he stick at catcher and he’s pretty good for his age uh you know big guy but again somebody that that Nathan saw this year a fair bit in in the high in the highi and you know
Gave him a chance right it wasn’t like okay he’s going to be a first baseman there’s decent amount of flexibility back there he moves well he throws well he receives well like you’ve got building blocks there a lot of these catcher defensive skills are very teachable too like you can
See the Brewers come to town a lot and the Brewers are able to really develop these defensive catcher skills and the other hidden thing and we don’t consider this for our list and we’ve talked about it the last couple years and it does make sort of long-term catcher
Evaluation and applies to bios who’s probably a year or two away it’s like what’s it going to look like if there’s automated ball strikes in the majors and the ex basically the way we evaluate catcher defensive profiles has to completely change uh and you know teams
Are have to figure that out too like how look if bios’s receiving doesn’t quite get there but he doesn’t have to worry about that he’s a good catch and throw guy the bats good like they that really does change the the defensive Outlook but that’s like a global thing that you really just
Can’t consider when Vol you have to kind of assume that it’s going to be what it is and it’s going to be a process for him but he’s got a shot to stick a catcher and be like a middle of the lineup bat doing it right now I just
Came from Cubs convention last weekend and all the prospects were up there and there’s one guy and I’ve seen him around I’ve seen him at Cubs convention I’ve seen him play Kevin Alcantara is just a guy that just I don’t know he stands out
And and you got to at number 80 I mean it’s like some guys you’re like is that a ball player is that you know if Kevin alcantar that that’s a physical freak right there speci right there and you know really since the Rizzo trade like
We had looks on him going back to his time in the in the Yankees complex and the the tools have always been there it’s just a guy with limbs that long there’s so many levers in the swing you do Wonder like what’s the swing and Miss
G to be like and we’ll talked about that with Owen Casey a little bit too but just the the power potential there is frightening and he is a guy where he improved over the course of the season so his numbers are a little you know he was
Better than his numbers like a better Prospect than perhaps his numbers show because of that Improvement at at high over the course of the Season yeah I was talking to Brendan King the one of the play-by-play announcers for the Southbend Cubs and he was telling me look that first month and
And i’ I I’ve been to South B that that’s that’s a real tough adjustment to make it is and and and then what what BK told me is the second April’s done all of a sudden he’s hitting 500 foot bombs that that’s just what he does and it’s it’s really fun to
Watch now probably the Cubs prospect that we’re all at least familiar with at least in in Cubs world right now is Michael Bush you know just got him the other day in the Jackson Ferris steel tell us a little bit about Michael Bush and you know obviously he blocked a lot
As far as in Dodger land but what what does he like as far as a player is concerned so he is a very good hitter uh again you look at his stat stats have always been good and he like the the Dodgers brought him along very slowly because the Dodgers do
Tend to do that with their hitters and also because you know they just didn’t really have a place for him on the major league Rost over the last couple years where in most organizations he would have been the everyday second baseman or the everyday third baseman or the
Everyday left fielder like you would would have just found a spot for the bat uh his approach is excellent he hits the ball pretty hard uh you know he’s like a 20 25 home run guy probably maybe even a little bit more uh the question with him
Is going to be and we haven’t seen it very little time at the majors we got a couple cup of coffee with the Dodgers didn’t play great and again you know it’s wasn’t necessarily getting regular playing time or having a having a clearly defined role on that team
Because the Dodgers just didn’t really have room for him last year is that can he handle Major League velocity and that’s kind of been the question they like 95 plus you know does he have the bat speed for it and you just one of those things where you don’t know until
He’s playing there day in and day out but he’s very good at picking what pitches to swing at he’s very good at doing damage when he does so maybe the batting average won’t be super high but he’ll get on base he can hit for power
Um you know I guess I I guess the Cubs that were talking about playing him at first base which you know it’s fine you’d rather he can play you know second third or left but really you’re just trying to get the bat in the lineup and
Hoping he can be a middle of order order hitter for you well right now the Cubs are looking for a first basan and a third baseman so hopefully you know one of those works and then Owen Casey is at 65 and and you know I said you know boy
The the last kind of the ud darish trade and and seeing what he did with great with England Great Britain and the World Baseball I’m sorry with Canada and the World Baseball clanic uh World Baseball Classic it just really felt like you know the spotlights never too big for
Him he just has a confidence in him that like is fun to watch so I’ve liked him a lot even since the draft and he was the guy that did get flagged me you know Canadian prep so a little maybe a little more raw in baseball terms but you just like watch
His batting practice you watch the ball jump off his Bat and whatever he’s had strikeout issues uh in the miners pretty much every year and I say strike out issues like he he’s gonna strike out you know 25 30% of the time in the in the
Majors when he gets there but he just does so much damage when he makes contact and that’s one of those things where that will cover for a lot of other flaws if you hit the ball as hard as he does like he still has to hit it a
Little more often but he’s a good right fielder good athlete good arm and he is you know we talk a lot about middle of the order hitter so this is a cleanup hitter this is the guy that can hit 30 plus home runs for you and look this the
Swing and Miss can can eat into that uh we still need to see him in the upper miners in a little more extended period and he’s got to he’s got to go step by step but this a guy for me like outside of the I mean we ranked him the highest
Outside of the top two bats but this is the guy that sometimes it’s like okay you know we talked about Jordan Wicks and James triantos who are who are pretty safe Major Leaguers Michael Bush is that too this is the guy where you’re dreaming on the upside and the the
High-end outcomes here are you know perennial Allstar wow that’s exciting to hear and that you know like you said we’re getting in the 60s to the 90s is what we’re just talking about in this tier but then you kind of jump up and this is where it really gets interesting for me
Because everybody is been super excited about Kade Horton and what he’s been able to do since coming through the Cubs I mean just flying through the system and being part of the Tennessee Smokey Championship you got him at 27 and I mean he just he looks like a high-end
Starter I mean he just looks like the real deal right now yeah absolutely and when the Cubs drafted him last year I was like that was a pick that raised a couple eyebrows right not a guy that had a ton of college success had had dominated at the at the end of the
Season and in the college World Series with a new slider but you’re kind of like okay is is that a starter like that’s pretty early for for Kate Horton and that was the feeling you know I got from some amateur Scouts I talked to it’s like yeah I lik them but I would
Have you know I liked them in the 20s where you kind of see that picture taken and then this year was just from from almost day one really I was getting reports that like oh this is this is for real and the other thing too is there
Were very few and this is this is something that again happens in Cycles there were very few starting pitching prospects this year that were that were this good as good as Horton was and threw as much as Horton did he didn’t throw a ton but he was healthy the
Entire season and he was sort of stretched out as you would stretch out a you know a top level pitching prospect there just aren’t that many uh you know up until Paul SK was drafted you know Andrew painer in the Phillies organization was the we had him as the
Best pitching Prospect he didn’t pitch all year from Tommy John surgery you can look in the you know a few of the names ahead of him Ricky tietan had uh arm issues this year as well so it’s just unusual to find a at least this time around find a pitching prospect that
Combines his stuff his level of performance and his I I hesitate to use the word durability because it threw like 100 Innings but that was this level of Health I guess uh you know it’s a guy again that could certainly be a 2024 like impact arm in that rotation at some
Point now you know a lot of people have been talking about Horton as the number two Prospect couple people put him as the number one Cubs Prospect but you guys had Matt Shaw ahead of him at 21 another guy that just you know absolutely tored up this year and the
Miners again came came up as part of that group that helped Tennessee Smokies win it all you know and and just a fun young bat and and and the question I guess for a lot of cubs fans is can he play Third will the glove play a third
That’s the big question and if you can get Nick magical to play a decent third base hopefully you can do the same with Matt Shaw right right right I I I will say at the outset like I I don’t have a problem with with the somebody’s telling
Me Kate Horton’s the best Prospect in the system I think these three are all pretty close and they’re all a tier above the other names we’ve talked about so far and sha Horton actually have a lot in common because I I liked the shaw pick we liked Shaw going into the draft
But it’s another guy where they gotta Prospect I think a little bit better than you expected at at at that pick right with that name right because like Matt Shaw was a was a good college hitter we had him like a tier behind uh Tommy Troy and
Chase Davis of the tier behind uh Wyatt Langford and Dylan Cruz but I caught him I did catch a game of his actually in the uh in the complex when I was down in Arizona I think it might have actually been his Pro debut and it’s one of those
Things this is very this is very qualitative obviously I have the you know talk to the amateur Scouts and we have and we again uh I believe daythan saw him briefly as well uh in the midwest league but I have like the data the reports to back this up but it was
Also like one it bad in I’m like that’s a major leager and that’s like very qualitative and like more art than science but you could just see it with the bad I think he was dhing I don’t think he was playing the field at the
Time but it was just like oh this is this is not just like a first round pick this is a this is a top of the first- round pick and it it was kind of that obvious I think he’ll be fine at third base uh when I worked him up on video I
Didn’t mind him at shortstop um I obviously I don’t think he was going to be a majorly shortstop but he could play there for you in a pinch so I think everything will translate fine to third I don’t think that’ll really be an issue there it will put a little bit more
Pressure on the bat again he’s another guy we need to see there were some we we had him a little higher on earlier drafts of the 101 to just the little insight how the sausages made and we got a little bit of push back just from sort of chopping that ranking around where
It’s like there’s some concern about the the swing decisions basically the Approach at this point against better pitching and again you don’t know until you see it and you had a very small uh post draft Pro sample so that we cooled our Jets a little bit there but this is
Another guy where I think there is star potential uh overall in the profile well speaking of star potential you know when you can go by three initials and everybody knows who you are I think that really kind of helps the situation the highest rank cubed at number 20 Pete
Crow Armstrong um like I said I was at Cubs convention this last weekend he had the fro Hawk going on so he had the the curls and the I mean it was it was a whole thing baseball players have minori have a lot of time on their hands to to do things
Like that I find you know he he kind of joked about it I saw him one time he had his head shaved you know died blue I mean he he’s he’s he’s just an electric kind of player and it’s so funny when he got called up and then they were playing
In Colorado in that giant Outfield yeah I swear to God it was like it was like the flash it was like a lightning bolt going out of there that sometimes I think the the corner outfields got spooked that they just couldn’t believe he was there that quick right there on
The play backing it up and I also kind of laugh a little bit is that there were some people frustrated oh look at the offense he had 19 at bats at at Major League level and most of them were against like setup guys and closers are
You kidding me yeah I mean look there’s you can have concerns about how much he is going to hit but he is going to be such a great center field Defender I I think that’s something that can be can be difficult to really suss out when you’re making a
Prospect list right like I can talk about like Matt Shaw is probably going to be fine at third base like James jantos is probably going to be all these guys are kind of in the like average slightly above slightly below bucket and really rating uh and like comparing I
Guess an elite defensive tool to offensive tools you more offensive uh oriented players can be difficult just because we just know so much more about what a you know what a 300 hitter is and what that value is what that off and sort of how we the underlying
Offensive tools we can look at and not just hit and power but even drilling down further into things like very granular contact rates and launch angle and exit velocities and things like that we just have like it not that to be clear not that P Armstrong is a difficult Scout defensively he’s gonna
Probably win some gold gloves in the majors but just how do you want to value that against against Matt Shaw who might hit you know 290 with 25 home runs every year well you know PCA might hit more 250 with 50 to 20 because he hits the
Ball pretty hard but there are some uh contact issues because he’s a very aggressive free swinger and again that’s something that he’s going to have to I think Tamp down a little bit in the majors given more RS but again he really just needs to hit enough to keep the
Glove in the lineup which is usually it’s the other way around right you just got to find him a position because you want to get the bat in the lineup but his defense is so good that I think he’s gonna be an everyday player even if he’s
You know 10% better than or worse than League average hitter and I think he can get to at least that and I think there is some sneaky upside in the power too because he does hit the ball pretty hard for it’s not a particularly you know bigf framed guy yeah it’s interesting I
I I listen to Craig Council speak and I asked him about bunting because that was something that kind of frustrated Cub fans with David Ross the previous manager and and was weird because he did bring up PCA you know he said you know you know he didn’t like asking people
That probably weren’t good bunters you know to do but with PCA like I think that could be part of his game and that kind of surprised me a little bit but again if you’ve seen the speed you know could good runner yeah yeah well you know Jeffrey I really
Appreciate you taking some time out and and you know when you look at this Cub system you know we we got these players these nine players that are on here and they’re exciting but I think the thing to me that’s different than the last time the Cubs really kind of went on a
Run is one the depth in the system because like you said there’s guys that aren’t on this list but you know when some of these SE other guys graduate like Jordan Wix Etc PCA there’s going to be other guys that are going to get added to this list and the other thing
That really sticks out to me is is the is the way that you you know before in 2014 13 14 15 I could name you 10 to 20 Cubs hitters I was excited about I couldn’t name you five pitchers to save the life of me that I was really excited
About and I think the Cubs have done a good job at developing that yeah that’s been that’s one of I think one of the bigger uh changes the organization recently look they’re not the Guardians they’re not the Rays they’re not the Yankees but they have done a pretty good
Job bringing along a lot of uh a lot of interesting arms in in the last few seasons and like you know some of them may even like turned into relievers and that’s fine too like the ability to internally fill your own relief death and not have to go out and you know on
The free agent market and pay and pay free agent rates or even just the you know the variation you’ll get sometimes year to year with uh with relievers um it it’s it’s it’s a positive marker I think long term and like yeah they are you know they were just missed out on a
A playoff spot last year we had them as the I had to do orc rankings for the annual and we had them third uh before the Michael bus trade I think they’re actually second because the Dodger second so and it was that close when I was thinking about it so that’ll flip
When we when we publish them on site and again this is not just a you know they have the the major league ready guys right so you have you have peer Armstrong and you have Jordan Wix you have the guys in the lower minors that
Are exciting to keep an eye on Matt Shaw kind of counts in that I know he got to double a but he’s a he’s a recent drafty so you have guys that like are maybe a year away two years away you have guys that are further away too um you know
Someone like some like Michael Aras who you mentioned so it’s a pipeline and it’s guys that have it’s it’s what I call like it’s a very well-balanced system right it’s guys that have upside it’s guys that have major league floor it’s pitchers it’s hitters it’s it’s not
Just going to come in one you know two or threee window and then you have to kind of kind of figure out what you have from there where you need to fill in holes you can just have the the sustainable pipeline of prospects and look they’ll go out and spend money I do
Think they will maybe not as much as Cubs fans would like but they will I think they will go out and free agency and and fill the holes and I think they’re pretty well positioned to make a little bit of a a little bit of a run
Back to contention and even the NL Central this year that’s always a winnable division well Jeffrey you’ve given me a lot to think about and a lot to get excited about why don’t you tell our listeners where they can find your work and where you where you are on the
Socials sure uh it’s baseball perspective. we’re just wrapping up our Prospect list but you can check out all uh all 30 teams the 101 uh we have we have scouting reports for you know 21 players uh in each organization uh some not as exciting as the Cubs to be honest but they’re
They’re all there uh we also uh are we starting season previews soon uh pakota week so all our all our projections I think are going to roll out the the first week in in February as well uh I go on a a well-earned sabatical uh for
For a few weeks after that at least until the uh the prospect showcases start up uh in March in Arizona but in the inter room you can find me on Twitter at Jeff patternastra well Jeff I appreciate it and trust me anytime you have such good news you’re welcome on
The show even if you don’t we’d love to have you on’ll be it’ll be good for a while I think so all right then we’d be looking forward to seeing you again Jeffrey thank you so much for jumping on thank you this is episode six of season 3 of
The Fly the w670 p cley great job with that interview don’t forget to listen download And subscribe to the fly the W podcast and don’t forget leave us a five star review all right Crowley uh we talk about players from Cubs con and all the fun the Bingo and the autographs but
There’s some other news that comes out of that event yeah this was on 670 The Score uh you had crane Kenny there was no business Ops which was always one of my favorites and and that’s where stuff like this would come out of course right
Yeah you know but but David Hall was on it and and so there there’s a couple questions um that that that you know he was able to get to and I think one of them was the Winter Classic and Dustin I don’t I know you’re a bigger hocky
Definitely a bigger hockey guy than I am but I one of my regrets I would say is I had an opportunity to go to that first Winter Classic and I did not go um I am not a guy that would want to be sitting in the freezing snow but it
Looked like a fun experience you know but I never went to that Winter Classic so this is what crane had to say about it did you say hockey game yeah we had one in9 and I know is there one coming because just go back to connect the dots
The there was a report after the Winter Classic this year in Seattle with the Kraken that the Blackhawks might be in line because of a guy young man named Connor Bard and Chicago makes a lot of sense for the NHL to look at because of those realities Wrigley Field makes a
Lot of sense because of your history hosting hockey games is that a realistic possibility yeah we’re very hopeful so I’d say you know we we put our hat in the ring for things like the MLB allstar game clearly we put our hat in the ring for a Winter Classic um we love having
Our Northwestern G Northwestern games next year with the renovation of their building uh we may have more than one so um we did top golf this year we’ll do that again I think at least once maybe twice that was a huge success so yeah
But we’re we threw our hat in a ring on the Winter Classic we’re hopeful there all right would would you like to see Conor Bard at Wrigley Field have you been to a Winter Classic I have never been I’ve watched plenty of them uh on television but never have been all right
Well if you want tickets let me know early and I’ll make sure to put some aside and maybe maybe that’s a field trip over to see that I don’t know I don’t even have a I think I have a Cubs hockey jersey or sweater it’s called a
Sweater I think I can find sweater yeah sweater yeah yeah I’m sure you’ve got a Cubs knit cap and I’m sure we’ve got a cub scarf and yeah all the things you would need to build a Crawley black Hawk snowman M absolutely that’s that’s something right there but uh allstar
Game they’re talking about security measures Dustin still and I still just think it’s ridiculous the earliest the Cubs can have the All-Star game is 2027 uh you know the last time that the Cubs hosted the All-Star Game Ryan Samberg was the winner of the Home Run Derby with three that’s 19 that isn’t
That amazing that’s that’s an amazing statistic right there you win a lot of bar Bets with that one right and and you just think about all the be how Wrigley looks so different from 1990 like if you were brought down from like a you know a
Space shuttle I mean the out it looks similar but the whole area inside outside around the ballpark looks so much better it is ridiculous the Cubs have to keep waiting 2027 I’m not getting any younger Dustin I want to get this thing going don’t start that don’t start that
I want an allar all of our biological clocks are ticking but don’t uh don’t don’t don’t get your countdown clock on just just yet now speaking of Sandberg we know I went to the session with our friend lucella he’s been on the podcast before uh for everyone uh subscribed to
The YouTube channel on 670 The Score this is a picture right here of myself with lucella and that’s a bust of the Ernie Bank statue it’s gigantic it was there and then what he kind of showed us in this was you know the glove the the
And if you got to see it up close the Rawlings glove that he had and the Franklin batting hel uh batting uh glove it’s just absolutely amazing so I mean obviously they’re going to do this on June 23d now the question is is that
Going to be a day game or a night game that’s gonna affect things but if you have not sold your tickets for June 23rd I would put them in your pocket and make sure you don’t get rid of them because that is going to be amazing there’s
Going to be tons of players from the 1984 team that are going to be there to support their teammate the first n I would say n 1960s Cub player to get their statue yep it’s a cool one it’s one that I’m really curious to see how it turns
Out now uh speaking of second baseman Dustin I don’t know if you were watching the MLB Network the other day top 10 second baseman right now the Cubs Nico horer comes in this is by the experts this is not by the fans although the fans voted him 10th place too but the
Experts voted him 10th Place do you really think there’s 10 better second baseman than Nico horer I’d have to take a real deep dive into that formula to figure that out but do I think no I do not I do not agree with that not not even a little tiny bit I
Mean is is Muki Betts would you consider him a second baseman I mean that’s the problem right I mean I mean you know mooki Betts is a better baseball player okay than Nico Herer is right he’s a better baseball player but he’s not a second baseman that’s really not is that
Really his position I I fine if but then that’s the only position you can judge him in that’s it but again like I mean Matt mcan’s better than Nico Herer really or Zack gof I’m saying I would I’m starting there I I you know I’m saying that I’m
Saying that I could I feel like you could slide him in fifth or six and move everybody down a peg 100% agree with you on that and I think a lot of it is is about you know sometimes with prospects people get excited but some of these
Guys haven’t proven anything yet where I feel like Nico has proved plenty he he did really well at shortstop and then we knew he would get that gold glove in second and he was a finalist for the Gold Glove before too so I just don’t
Understand how if a guy you know was in the running one year and was the winner this year how he can’t be any better than 10 all the stolen bases this year and just a solid hitter all around I just don’t see how that works out but
That’s just me um we do have goodbyes to say to Marcus Strow Man Dustin we weren’t sure exactly what was going to happen um with stro he opted out of his Cubs deal and we were kind of shocked you know that was what 20 you know 22
Million 2122 million but it it’s I think it’s going to be pretty strange because you know he did not leave on the best term with the Mets so he is a Native New Yorker and he is a guy that in general you know he he’s very chirpy on social
Media um I would I would be very curious to see how that reunion is going to work out I don’t know I don’t know what you’re thinking but I it’s going to be very interesting it is a two-year deal on that one so uh it’s going to be 37
Million invested 18 for 26 if stro reaches 140 Innings pitched in 2025 so hey you know what good on stro he he bet on himself once again and he did it so guaranteed bet it’s a great way he bet on himself once again yep and and here’s the thing when you’re as
Short as he is and I’m I’m not a tall guy Dustin and I’m basically I would say slightly taller about even as him and think that that guy’s throwing Major League Baseball against the best physical athletes in the you know in the world pretty impressive y pretty impressive beating uh he’s uh he’s
Beating some stereotypes no doubt about it well this was really he had a Instagram story that he put out shout to Chicago and the entire Cubs fan base organization incredible City loved every moment being there pitching at Wrigley was electric each and every time very thankful to have competed for one of the
Most historic franchises grateful for the coaches my teammates and staff there all amazing human beings thank you for the support and love over the last few years um I will say this about Marcus is is through our work in Club 400 we were able to um do a charity event for uh The
Lost Boys a great group if you can support that helps kids in the Southside um underprivileged kids with baseball life in general but through baseball baseball’s kind of the hook to get the kids in but they do reading they do life skills all sorts of things just a
Phenomenal group and um I I saw Marcus come another time to uh The Lost Boys headquarters and read his book the grip and he gave all the kids a free copy he paid for uniforms for the kids he did a lot that didn’t get reported and you
Know I mean I’m just a little guy on Twitter or something like that I mean I put out what I can but he did a lot of things that just get a ton of press that I think I will think that he was it was
Great that he was able to do that yeah very cool Y and it’s good that he’s willing to do that stuff and he’s not just doing it to uh get ink if you will nope absolutely one final note our friend Odyssey Insider uh Bob Nightingale was the first all right we
Got our first workout dates Cub fans February 14th pitchers and catchers report if that’s not true love I don’t know what is on Valentine’s Day I’m sure your wife just loves how in love you are with the Cubs Crawley oh yeah that’s been a few few therapy
Sessions but but but I regress I I am ready for pctures like I said Cubs con’s done we’re gonna be focusing pitchers and catchers man it’s almost there almost there it’s right down the uh the old calendar you can get a little warm things are warming up around here thankfully it’s not uh
Punishment to uh to go outside well that’s a wrap don’t forget to listen download review And subscribe to the fly the W podcast we’re on all the socials Facebook Instagram uh Twitter you can email crawly andly the w67 gmail.com and watch us that’s right watch us on the
YouTube channel by subscribing to the scores YouTube page Crowley have a uh fantastic weekend we’ll be following all the Cubs news and we’ll be right back at it with everybody on Monday Jed is not done ladies and gentlemen let Jed cook Go Cubs hey guys it’s Crawley thanks for
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2 Comments
Going into 2024, Mookie Betts is slotted to be the Dodgers everyday 2B. So for the purpose of the rankings, yes, Mookie is on the 2B "Right Now" list… Does that justify Nico only being #10? Absolutely not. That's absurd.
What off-season?