From Myrtle Beach to Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Joined May 2023
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Pete Crow-Armstrong cut his Swing rate by 9.7% this season, and saw his wRC+ climb from 109 to 157.
That’s the largest year-to-year Swing% drop among all hitters (Min. 400 PAs each season) of the last 10 years!
Remarkable profile change in such a short time.
Unc still got it
Officially official, pasttheeyetest.com has expanded its fielding dashboard. Get all you need from SIS, Statcast, and Baseball Prospectus defensive valuations to get a holistic view of player defense and how they grade out compared to the rest of the players at their position. Live now!
Cubs UDFA Harrison Feinberg with a 108.7 mph 2B today in the AFL. He has destroyed baseballs so far.
16 Batted Balls so far in the AFL:
109.6 mph
109.2
108.7
108
107.5
105.9
105.6
104.4
102.1
97.8
97.1
92
89.7
85.6
80.4
75.8
(98.7 mph Avg EV | 68.8% Hard Hit%)
The Cubs obviously need a better bullpen in 2027, but it’s pretty amazing how much their defense can make up for.
5th worst RP xwOBA in MLB last season and still managed a top half bullpen ERA!
This is going to make a ton of people angry but it’s pretty true (giant asterisk) given health.
Remember getting Aroldis Chapman in 2016? Don’t expect that this offseason... 😬
@sahadevsharma says the Cubs are “very happy with the base that they have,” and aren’t looking to spend big on bullpen help.
Roughly 2.5 weeks into the Dominican Winter League, Kevin Alcántara sits atop the HR leaderboard with 3! All 3 in a classic, pulverizing Jaguar fashion.
Northside Soundtrack retweeted
Ty Johnson struck out 11 batters in his brief 7.2 IP MLB sample this season. In 62.1 IP with Durham before the call-up, he posted a 3.03 ERA, a 34.3% K%, & held opponents to a .161 AVG. Two-pitch mix (FF & SL) with high whiff (36.1%) & chase rates (~32%). Impact arm in 2027.
You could tell me Teruaki Sato and Kaima Taira get the Seiya Suzuki contract, or you can tell me they get the Murakami contract, and I wouldn’t be surprised either way.
If it truly is a Dec. 1 deadline for them, think it probably brings their projected $ down a bit.
Just for comparison, here are @TimBritton’s projections for the same group of players.
⚾️ Teruaki Sato: 5 years, $105 MM
⚾️ Randy Arozarena: 4 years, $108 MM
⚾️ Seiya Suzuki: 4 years, $108 MM
⚾️ Kaima Taira: 5 years, $50 MM
⚾️ Brandon Lowe: 3 years, $63 MM
⚾️ Jake Bauers: 2 years, $33 MM
⚾️ Ryan Jeffers: 3 years, $45 MM
⚾️ Kevin Gausman: 2 years, $40 MM
⚾️ Sonny Gray: 2 years, $55 MM
⚾️ Clay Holmes: 3 years, $57 MM
With 4 OFs hitting Free Agency, I expect the Cubs to be active in that market.
2 names that stand out to me from a plate discipline / power standpoint, and aren’t projected to land 2-3+ year deals are Trent Grisham and Lane Thomas.
Northside Soundtrack retweeted
Just how aggressive is Teruaki Sato?
Since 2021, Sato's 51.3% overall swing rate is the highest among notable Japanese hitters (Suzuki, Yoshida, Tsutsugo, Murakami, Okamoto, Kondoh, Morishita).
Several successful former MLB import players are also plotted as a reference point.
- Coming off the worst defensive season of his career (-5 DRS, -6 OAA)
- Has never walked, K% skyrocketed in ‘26
- Chases and Whiffs at a high clip
- Subpar contact quality
Not even close to who ‘24 Tucker was, color me skeptical he’s dealt if that’s the comp/ask here.
If the Astros trade Jeremy Peña, the return needs to be similar to what Kyle Tucker netted, says @Chandler_Rome.
Hard to believe the Cubs snagged Miguel Useche out of Indy Ball.
Has mirrored his A+/AA breakout so far in the AFL. The EVs aren’t crazy, but an extremely disciplined profile who doesn’t whiff or chase.
Pair that with a C/1B/OF defensive profile, and this is a guy to know!
Cubs declined Javier Assad’s $3.3 million Club Option, but he remains under Club Control.
According to Fangraphs, his estimated arbitration cost for 2027 sits at ~$2.3 million.
Saves the Cubs roughly $1 million if I’m interpreting this correctly.
Northside Soundtrack retweeted
An intrepid young reporter wanted to know about roster turnover so I ran a query for them. Here's how many players per team were on the 40-man roster the day after teams got down to 40 or fewer this time last year (November 7th) and are still on the 40-man today:
Northside Soundtrack retweeted
Mariners To Hire Jason Kanzler As Manager mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/m…
Among RPs (Min. 40 IP), Eric Orze had the 2nd biggest ERA - FIP gap in 2026!
5.66 ERA - 3.34 FIP
Absolutely the type of claim the Cubs should be making with the defense they have.
Meyers is an awesome Cubs fit, imo. Injury-riddled 2026, but a fantastic defender at all 3 spots, and someone who makes excellent swing decisions. Would love a claim here.
Could easily fill a platoon spot, while serving as CF insurance to PCA.
2025 Season ⬇️
It’s not a Cubs deal without a player / club option!
Cubs save $500K in 2027 by turning down a $2.5 million Club Option, and reworking it into $2 million for 2027 with a $4 million Club option tacked on for 2028.
