Things have been fairly uneventful for the most part over the last few days, but things are going to be shaken up a bit in the near future. First off, the Bulls summer league team is now playing in a tournament to try to become the champion of the Vegas league. They need to win this game as well as 3 more to win the tournament, but they've been the best team in the Vegas league so far. Also, a rarity tonight in the Cubs system, and great performances outside of that. I'll also talk about the double cycle from the other night too.
So first with the Bulls stuff. First thing I will go to is actually what happens tomorrow. There will be a press conference to introduce Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic to the media. One thing about the Gasol signing that I haven't said much about is that I honestly could not stand Gasol for the longest time. He seems like a good guy and all, but it was just a pain watching him with all of the dramatic faces he would constantly make. Now, I know that's a stupid reason to not like a player, especially one that is so good that he was robbed of a Finals MVP that was incorrectly given to Kobe Bryant, but he really was annoying to watch. It was to the point of where it was just plain annoying. Anyway, he can easily redeem himself by being a good mentor to Nikola Mirotic and playing fairly well himself. It looks like both deals are 3 year deals. This might be Gasol's last contract, but I can see Mirotic being around for a long time if he plays well. It will be interesting to see what they have to say about just about everything tomorrow since it's rare for a young player coming over to have such a good mentor from their own home country as they come over.
Moving on to the tournament. It was actually on NBATV a little bit ago, but they cut away to show the Developmental League Select vs. the Knicks instead (rolls eyes). Anyway, the short bit that I watched saw McDermott get two blocks down low, then on the other end drill a 3 right in a guy's face, followed by him getting 2 on a goaltending call a minute later. The current score is 36-36 almost at halftime. McDermott and Snell are doing their part, with 9 points a piece right now, both shooting 50% from the field or better, but the bench is shooting 1-5 at this point after many of those guys put on a clinic the last couple of games.
One thing that I cannot emphasize enough is that this is just the summer league. This isn't even preseason yet. While a step forward from Snell is expected, especially with the work he put in during the offseason, to see McDermott playing at virtually the same level as him during the summer league is exciting. Sure, Snell was not a superstar during the regular season last year, but he did play very well at times, and a few of his problems are very easily corrected, like just being more assertive. He has a very nice game that can play well in the NBA for a long time. Either way, it's not just how he's playing right now, it's his makeup. He is showing that he's learning from the gym rats on the team, he shows that he wants to continue to be better, and he even shows a reasonable chip on his shoulder with how he seems like he really wants to show that he's an all around type of player, not just a shooter. While it's just talk, the walk so far is matching up to it, and he's shown the walk about as much as he can at this point. Once he hits the preseason, then the regular season he'll be able to show the walk more. Anyway, he's doing a great job so far, and that's all we can ask at this point.
Other players who have looked good include second round draft pick, Cameron Bairstow, who has looked very solid, and who I am starting to call the Anti-Taj. His game reminds me of Gibson's in a way, but at the same time, instead of being long and skinny, he's more stout and strong. However, he can still defend down low and has a very nice mid range jumper. Billy Baron was a guy I was seriously looking at, but he's gone from pretty good to pretty average. I'm not sure he's a guy that will stick with the Bulls if they give him a chance.
Moving on, the Cubs had an interesting night tonight on the farm. Tonight has seen Jorge Soler, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez all hit home runs. The only person missing from that group is Albert Almora, but really, you can't complain, especially since he was part of the double cycle the other night. Anyway, hopefully this isn't the first time we see this happen, and hopefully we see it happen where it really matters before too long. Either way, it's Bryant's 10th home run (already) since joining the Iowa Cubs. It's Baez's 15th home run on the year, which is starting to look like a nice total after that disastrous first half of the season. Also, it's Soler's 6th home run in 53 total at bats with the Smokies (a side note, Soler's actually been better than Bryant when he's been healthy this year, which is something that I picked up today from an article on Bleacher Nation that you can see here). To give more love to Soler, he's hitting .415 and has driven in 21 runs. Just to give an example, over 500 at bats, at that pace, that's 198 RBI, which would beat Hack Wilson's record, again, over just 500 at bats. That tells us 2 things. That Soler is absolutely murdering AA pitching, and that this is a small sample size that is showing results that are likely unsustainable. Still, fun to play around with the numbers. He's also on pace for 57 home runs over 500 at bats, just to keep having fun, and that's after he went through a drought before getting hurt the second time. Anyway, with Russell it may be a little bit less exciting, since he's not as well loved due to his power, even though he's seen as a prospect that should have some power. Still though, it's his first home run as a Cub, and given his early struggles, it's good to see him starting to look better as a Cub. Another note on those games tonight, Baez and Bryant also both had a double.
The offensive firepower for this team is starting to really make me drool. Given, there's no guarantee that it ever really comes around, but I remember a couple of years ago Jesse Rogers even said that he thought that Soler was very MLB ready and thought that he might be the best of what was, at the time, the big 3 (since have added Russell, Bryant, and Schwarber (who went 2-4 tonight)). Soler is starting to look again like he could be the best of the bunch if he can stay healthy. I have a feeling that hacks like a couple of those guys on Sports Talk Live that use Soler's name sarcastically when talking about guys like Abreu and Cespedes (who they drool over due to 1 play), will be shutting their mouths soon. Soler is once again really looking like the real deal. Still, I don't think it's time to promote him yet, let's give it some time to make sure it's not just a good run and that Soler really is just that much better than the competition, which shouldn't be too far off. I can see him finishing the season at AAA as part of a lineup consisting of him, Baez, Bryant, and possibly even Russell (unlikely) or Alcantara (if the Cubs can't trade Bonifacio, Ruggiano, or any other position player and don't just release any of them). Either way, next season could see an invasion of talent, which means that the Cubs are very close to starting the march towards being contenders. Just think, a year from now the Cubs could have Castillo at catcher, Rizzo at first, Baez at 2nd, Castro at short, Bryant at 3rd, Alcantara in center, and Soler in right. Plug anyone in at left (potentially Bryant, which could mean Russell at 3rd, or any order of the 3 shortstops, mix and match yourself). That's a huge step forward, assuming those guys wind up panning out within another year or two, to really bringing out the potential in the system. Soon after that they'll have Schwarber and Almora ready as well. At this point you almost hope the DH comes to the NL just because of how much it would help the Cubs so they could throw Schwarber at catcher, Almora in center, Bryant at DH, then have Alcantara move over to left, or something like that. The final lineup there would be Schwarber at catcher, Rizzo at first, Baez/Russell/Castro covering the rest of the infield, Alcantara in left, Almora in center, and Soler in right. Of course, in order for this group to actually happen and remain, all of these guys would have to pan out, and I'll bold this so that people don't get the wrong idea, I know that not all of these guys will pan out, the lineup I mentioned is pure fantasy, but being used to drive a point forward that the Cubs have really set up a strong group of guys in their system. Anyway, behind those guys are guys like Vogelbach, Villanueva, McKinney, Rademacher, Hanneman, Candelario, Jimenez, Torres, and so on. If one guy doesn't work out, there's more who can step up.
That whole thing can go on for hours, and I could bring up many more guys. However, I want to move on to what else the Cubs have, and that is pitching. Yes, you heard me right. The Cubs actually do have a lot of very good arms. I'm not just talking about the run on good arms that the Cubs went on in this year's draft, but also guys that have been throwing for some time. CJ Edwards will be back soon, and according to the Chicago Tribune, is back into the mid 90's with his fastball. Pierce Johnson is back, just working his way back up, but has been good. Beyond that, the Cubs, over the last few years, have drafted a lot of high ceiling arms. The most notable of those being Duane Underwood, Paul Blackburn, and Dillon Maples. Of those three, Underwood and Blackburn have been very good at Kane County this year, and Maples has been good as well, but has no played much this year. On top of that, Corey Black and Jen-Ho Tseng have pitched very well. Black was picked up in the Soriano trade and has been at AA this year, and Tseng has been very good at Kane County. He was one of the big Cubs international signings last international period. The only downside right now is that of that group, everyone except for Black is a long way from seeing time at Wrigley. Even Black is probably not going to see Wrigley until 2016. Still, the Cubs have a solid group at AAA. The only issue with that group is that they are all 3-5 type guys. Beeler, Hendricks, and Wada are ready to become full time major league pitchers. They should all be solid pitchers as well, and have all had at least one start this year. Wada is probably a short term solution for the Cubs (he's 33, so it's pretty clear), but those other two look like very good back end guys for a rotation. If they don't work out, Dan Straily and Chris Rusin are both there as well. While I'm not certain about the future of either, Straily may figure things out in the Cubs system, which has been very friendly to pitchers lately, and Rusin should at least be able to be the 5th guy in a rotation. Beyond that, there's still a lot of solid Cubs pitching prospects that I haven't brought up. Josh Conway, Erick Leal, Ben Wells, Tyler Skulina, and Juan Paniagua are all guys to keep an eye on in the future. As for bullpen guys, the Cubs are going to be fine for a while.
Now, to the double cycle. Almora got his in a 5-7 performance (sure, it took 7 at bats, but he still had 5 hits either way). Zagunis got his as part of a 4-5 performance, getting one of each. The purpose of this isn't as much to be excited about it, which it is plenty of a good reason to be happy, but it's more to say that I think that the cycle is still overrated. While I think it's a great accomplishment, I also see it as more of a rarity than a great accomplishment. I'd much rather have a guy get two home runs and two doubles than a cycle. Even like with Kris Bryant's line of a home run, two doubles, and a single is just about as good as a cycle. Sure, it's one base short, but it's just one base short of the cycle. It's still 2 doubles, which can drive in just as many runs as a double and a triple. It's not quite as good, but it's still very good. 3 doubles and a home run are just as good. I remember Todd Walker having a single, triple, and 2 home runs a while back, which in itself is even better than a cycle, but people talking about how he fell a double short of a cycle when what he did was actually better than that cycle. It's one of those things where people get too caught up in specifics and forget what's actually better. In basketball there's the triple double. If a player gets 30 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists in a game, some people will view it as a game that isn't as good as a player getting 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists because it doesn't match up to the certain numbers to get even a double double, despite the first set of statistics really being better, assuming those 30 points are not an inefficient 30 points. I did want to throw that out there. Still, 4 hits in a game, even in 7 at bats, is a great accomplishment, no matter what kind of hits those were. It's a great accomplishment, but just don't get too caught up in the oddity part of it.
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