Jorge Soler and Cubs Make it Official
Jorge Soler has official signed his nine-year $30 million deal today. With the signing the Cubs have officially added him to the 40-man roster. Jed Hoyer said he will start in the minor leagues as a right fielder. He will report to Mesa, but where he will go after that is yet to be decided. There is no timetable on how quickly he will move through the system, but one thing is for sure the Cubs have added a top prospect, with big power potential to the club and hopefully in the next couple weeks we can add first round pick Albert Almora into the fold as well.
Thanks for Reading,
Mark
With Rizzo Promotion Imminent, What Are You Expecting?
It’s about that time, and I expect Anthony Rizzo to be called up on Monday or Tuesday of next week, the rumors floating around out there seem to suggest that Rizzo will be up and in the lineup for the Cubs on Tuesday. Of course, none of this is official, and only the Cubs truly know when they are going to start the Anthony Rizzo era. But what do you expect as a Cubs fan once he gets to the Major Leagues for the Cubs?
In my opinion the best case scenario would be Rizzo performing much like Bryan LaHair started this season, a solid OBP guy, and a true left-handed power threat. Rizzo will also provide gold glove caliber defense. Worst case scenario he struggles much like he did when the Padres called him up last year. I think the ballpark in San Diego really messed with Rizzo’s head, he launched a ball last year at PetCo and the ball didn’t get out, the look on his face said it all, this park is not a hitters park. All it takes at Wrigley is for him to get a ball up in the jet stream and the rest could be history. The thing I’m worried about is the Cubs faithful putting too much pressure on this kid to resurrect the Cubs THIS season, folks this year is a lost cause, it has been for quite some time, Rizzo will not change that. But I’m interested in what your opinion is, what do you think Rizzo will do when he reaches the big leagues with the Cubs? Sound off in the comments below, and vote!
Thanks for reading, we will keep you up to date on all things Rizzo this upcoming week.
- George
Cubs Sign Matt Iannazzo; Undrafted Pitcher
Matt Iannazzo has inked a deal with the Chicago Cubs. Iannazzo, a lefty out of the University of Pittsburgh went undrafted in this years first year player 
draft. He was awfully good at Pittsburgh during his time there, he had a career ERA of 3.95 in just over 100 innings. Command seems to be Iannazzo’s strength as he struck out 76 while only walking 22 during his career. The 22 year-old lefty has reported to Arizona to start working out with the Cubs Arizona league team, expect him to be pushed to Boise soon I would think. Can never have too many arms, especially left-handed ones, good luck to Matt.
Quotes from Matt, via Brett at Bleacher Nation.
“It’s kind of a surreal feeling. I don’t think I’ll understand or grasp what I’ve done until after I’m done playing,” Iannazzo told the Stamford Advocate yesterday. “It was a dream come true just to see the contract, let alone to sign my name on it …. I feel blessed in order to accomplish this. At the same time, I was disappointed I didn’t get drafted in the First-Year Player Draft and I have a chip on my shoulder from that.”
Thanks for reading,
- George
Kevin Rhoderick is Dealing, Who is He?
It is our goal here at Born on Third to educate Cubs fans on the talent that sits at the minor league level. With the way that Theo Epstein has molded this franchise it’s clear that the goal is to have as much talent as possible come from the draft and the farm system. Wouldn’t you hate to be that one person that has no idea who just got called up to the Cubs? It makes you look stupid, so don’t look stupid, and learn about the future of the Chicago Cubs here. Today we feature Kevin Rhoderick.
Kevin Rhoderick , or “K-Rod” is a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher from Scottsdale, Arizona. Rhoderick was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers 
in the 18th round of the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft from Horizon HS (Scottsdale, AZ). Rhoderick was a stand out at Horizon High for head coach Eric Kisler as he was a three-time all region member and earned all-state honors twice. Kevin’s senior year was a special one as he was named an All-American as he led his Horizon team to the State Championship where they won it all. Instead of signing with the Tigers Rhoderick decided to go play baseball for Oregon State University.
K-Rod made an immediate impact as a Beaver as he was named to the NCBWA Freshman All-American first team, the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American team, the Baseball America Freshman All-American Second team, and received All-Pac-10 honorable mention, not bad for a Freshman. Rhoderick didn’t have the same success he had as a Freshman during his Sophomore season, although he did have strong conference numbers. Kevin recaptured the magic during his junior year as he once again received All-Pac-1o honorable mention while going 2-2 with a
3.13 ERA with four saves. After his Junior year the Cubs selected Kevin in the 9th round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur draft.
On April 8, 2011 Rhoderick made his Chicago Cubs professional debut out of the bullpen for the Daytona Cubs. Rhoderick was stellar out of the pen for the D-Cubs as he tossed 14.1 innings giving up only two earned runs on seven hits. He was missing bats as well as he registered 19 strike outs over those 14.1 innings. The Cubs were also impressed with his performance as they promoted Rhoderick to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies at the beginning of May. The Smokies got much of the same results from Rhoderick as the D-Cubs were enjoying, although Kevin struggled just a bit. This was to be expected as he was only one month into his professional career and already pitching at Double-A. Rhoderick’s biggest issue was command, as he walked 37 guys in 57 innings of work. That was the only issue for K-Rod as he finished the season at Tennessee with a 7-0 record and a 3.47 ERA. I’m not sure Kevin knows what it feels like to get hit hard, as he only allowed 38 hits in those 57 innings of work. The final numbers for K-Rod for 2011 were a record of 9-0 with a 3.03 ERA, with 77 strikeouts in 77.1 innings, and he only allowed a total of 45 hits. After the season baseball america awarded Rhoderick with the “Best Slider” in the system award.
Kevin started this year in Tennessee, and is still currently pitching for Tennessee in Double-A, but if he continues pitching the way he has he might 
have a spot in the Iowa Cubs bullpen or even the Chicago Cubs bullpen by September. Un-hittable might be an understatement when describing Rhoderick’s 2012 season so far. In 25.2 innings he has only given up two earned runs on 13 hits, he has a 0.70 ERA, and has seven saves. Beyond impressive right now, what’s more impressive is he seems to be cutting down on the walks as he has only walked 12 guys so far this year compared to 24 strike outs. In those 25.2 innings he has only given up one home run, in fact over his entire professional career to date (97 innings) he has only given up four home runs, four! That is a valuable stat for a late inning guy, when he comes in you don’t have to worry about the long ball.
I’m really excited to see Kevin’s progress this year as I think he has a great shot to help this organization and very soon too. One of the Cubs biggest weaknesses is organizational pitching depth, and the bullpen has struggled this year as well. This could be the perfect opportunity for Rhoderick to really get noticed by Cubs brass if he hasn’t already.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Jorge Soler Signing “Imminent” – Cubs Favorites [UPDATE]
It’s been a long drawn out process but it appears that there is finally a light at the end of the Jorge Soler signing tunnel. The Cubs are hoping that is a good 
sign and not another missed opportunity. News broke over the weekend, specifically yesterday that Soler and his representatives were accepting final bids and that a deal could be signed within the next 24-36 hours per Jon Heyman of cbssports.com. Before that, the New York Post broke a story that Soler would be signed, sealed, and delivered to a team before today, the terms would be for four years and around $20 million up to what Cespedes got ($36 million). Finally, last night Buster Olney tweeted that a handful of teams were after Soler and that final bids have been submitted, with the Cubs and Yankees at the top, but many teams exec’s feel that the Cubs are the favorites.
So it seems that either today, or at the latest tomorrow we will have some finality to the Soler situation, here’s hoping it’s the Cubs that come out on top, but you always have to be hesitant when the Yankees are involved. Sure they can offer a lot of money up for Soler, but so can the Cubs as they have very little money committed to the team after this year. I will update as soon as I hear something.
[UPDATE] 9:18 AM CST – Your Anon Sports is reporting via Twitter that the Cubs and Yankees are the finalists in the Jorge Soler derby.
[UPDATE 2] 12:28 PM CST – The Dodgers are officially out of the running, and it might have been because of the price going way up. Soler is the last “bonus baby” before the new CBA kicks in, that means the price might be somewhere near $40 million, but who really knows at this point.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Chicago Cubs Draft Recap…So Far
With how bad the Cubs have been all year and the promise of a bright future, yesterday was like Christmas morning. Well, I guess it was more like what we might get on Christmas morning 3-5 years from now. Still an exciting day for fans as right now it’s one of the few things we can get excited about.
The draft kicked off with a surprise as Carlos Correa was selected number one overall by the Houston Astros. In fact the guy most, if not everyone thought was going number one, Mark Appel, didn’t get selected until number eight by the Pirates. The concern with Appel is his sign-ablity because he is represented by Boras. Before the draft started if you would have told me that the Cubs would have a shot at Appel at number six I would have thought you were crazy, but there he was. The Cubs however went a different direction, and I think the correct one.
Cubs 1st pick, number 6 overall: Albert Almora
I love the pick, the kid is pure character not to mention an elite talent in the outfield.
Scouting Report from Baseball America..
Albert Almora combines a high school player’s upside with the polish of a college hitter. He’s headed to Chicago after the Cubs selected him sixth 
overall.
Almora has tools, game instincts and makeup; his lone weakness is his fringe-average speed, which some scouts describe as below-average. Scouts give him 60s across the board otherwise, with some giving him higher grades for his arm strength. His instincts allow him to play center field at a high level; one scout said he was a 40 runner with 80 range and said he played center field like some players do shortstop, being instinctual rather than reactive like almost all outfielders.
Almora has played for team USA six times already, he’s only 18. I’m very excited to see this kid progress through the system.
Here’s some video of Almora…
Interview with Jonathan Mayo
MLB Netwok’s Piece on Almora (Try not to love this kid)
Cubs 2nd pick, number 43 overall (Supplemental): Pierce Johnson
Here is Jonathan Mayo’s take on Pierce Johnson…
Johnson was moving quickly up Draft boards, but a forearm strain put that on pause. He came back and threw well, with plenty of time to show everyone he’s fully healthy leading up to the Draft.
Johnson has a good three-pitch mix starting with a fastball that is plus at times, touching 94 mph. He’s more successful when he keeps it down in the zone, which he does when he repeats his delivery well. Johnson throws a hard curve that works as an effective out pitch, missing more bats than he does with the fastball. He doesn’t use the changeup as much, but it has the potential to be at least an average pitch in the future. He throws strikes and competes very well on the mound.
Assuming he’s healthy, Johnson should join a solid group of college starters who could go off the board shortly after the top tier, profiling well as a No. 3-type starter at the highest level.
The Cubs got a quite a bit of value with the 43rd pick overall, and it could turn out to be a great pick if Johnson proves to be healthy.
Pierce Johnson draft video..
Cubs 2nd pick, number 56 overall (Supplemental): Paul Blackburn
Here is Jonathan Mayo’s take on Paul Blackburn
After a big performance at last summer’s Area Code Games, Blackburn has continued pitching well this spring to keep him firmly on the prospect map.
The NoCal high schooler has a good fastball that hits 92 mph consistently and will touch a tick or two higher on the radar gun at times. His two secondary offerings – a curve and a changeup – both have the chance to be very effective pitches. He’s generally around the strike zone and thanks to his athleticism and sound delivery, his command should only improve with experience.
The Arizona State recruit has some projectability, meaning his already pretty good stuff has room to get even better. That should get him off the board early enough to keep him from heading to Arizona.
Good command and a ton of room to get better, sounds good to me. The Cubs will be hoping that they grabbed Blackburn early enough to break his commitment to Arizona.
Paul Blackburn draft video…
Round two starts today at 11 AM CST, get ready for more draft coverage as new names will start pouring in very soon.
Thanks for reading!
- George
Baez to Debut Today for Peoria
I’m excited about this, you should be too. The Chiefs announced that Baez will join the team today, I’m guessing that Baez will be in the starting lineup at short. The 2011 first round draft pick of the Cubs tore the cover off the ball in extended Spring training and was rewarded with a bump to Peoria instead of going to Boise. Exciting ballplayer here, we’ll keep you posted on his progress.
Thanks,
- George
Let the Rizzo Madness Begin?? [UPDATE]
Lots of rumors swirling right now, but it sound like Anthony Rizzo could be on his way to Chicago, here are the tweets from Iowa Cubs….
Interpret that how you want, we will keep you up to date with the latest as it happens. Go Cubs!
[UPDATE] Iowa Cubs now reporting that Rizzo tweaked his wrist on a swing, and is now day-to-day….things cannot get worse for the Cubs, this is absurd.
Thanks,
- George
The Kyler Burke Story
Peoria got another stellar outing from LHP Kyler Burke last night as he went 6 innings giving up 2 hits and allowing no earned runs. He recorded his first win of the season dropping his ERA to 2.31. The 25-year-old has enjoyed success thus far as a pitcher dating back to last year at Boise where he pitched out of the bullpen. He ended the season with a 2.86 ERA in 44 innings pitched including one save while striking out just over one batter per inning.
So what makes Kyler Burke so interesting? Well we need to get in the time machine and go back a few years to 2007 when Michael Barrett was on the wrong side of Carlos Zambrano’s fists. Shortly after that memorable June day the Cubs traded Barrett to the Padres for two players. Most of us remember or are trying to forget that we received catcher Rob Bowen, but many don’t recall the centerpiece in the deal was a 19-year-old OF who was drafted 35th overall in just the previous years draft. That player was Kyler Burke and the Cubs were very happy to acquire the talented outfielder. Burke’s next few seasons were plagued by drastic inconsistency with the highlight coming in 2009 when he was named the Cubs Minor League Player of the Year. He hit .303 with 15 HR, and 89 RBI’s in Peoria. The next year however was when things took a turn for the worse, while in Daytona Burke hit only .212 with 131 strikeouts in 135 games. The following March the Cubs and Burke, who had pitched in high school, decided it was time for a change and with that Kyler Burke began his new career as a pitcher.
The Cubs have to be happy with his progress thus far, as he is doing quite well in only his second year as a pitcher. Burke recently has moved from the pen to the starting rotation for Peoria with pretty good results. Where will Kyler Burke go from here we don’t know, but with a premium on quality left-handed arms out of the bullpen it is hard to think he won’t make it to the show as a big league pitcher sometime down the road. As long as it seems Kyler Burke’s story has been, it really has just begun. The best of luck to him on his continued development and we hope to see him at Wrigley somtime in the future.
Thanks for Reading,
Mark
