Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory File Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm
Speaker 1: Sadam Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your
Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic Patrick. It is
Speaker 1: trade season. The Cubs made their move, made a move.
Speaker 1: It's not their move. It's not going to be the
Speaker 1: big move. I think they you know, they've traded for
Speaker 1: David Peterson. It was out of necessity. It's a move
Speaker 1: that they had to make, but I think it should
Speaker 1: it should be an indication of what this team sees.
Speaker 1: They are in the playoff hunt. They if the playoffs
Speaker 1: started today, they would be in. They are, like you know,
Speaker 1: we're recording on Thursday morning. If they're currently tied for
Speaker 1: the second wild card spot. Is the division the long
Speaker 1: shot right now? Yeah, there's seven games back as we record.
Speaker 1: That's gonna be tough to make up. Obviously a big
Speaker 1: weekend against the Brewers. But they are competitive. And maybe
Speaker 1: it's not the World Series odds shooting those up and
Speaker 1: getting all the like, you know, the finishing touches of
Speaker 1: a team, but this team has a shot. So they're
Speaker 1: going to be adding. And this was the first if
Speaker 1: a small ads it's the first one that we probably
Speaker 1: expect of a few.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the front office has to do their part. And
Speaker 2: I think we've known Jed Hoyer long enough to know
Speaker 2: that if his team has a shot, he's going to
Speaker 2: do stuff. Now, maybe it's not always the degree to
Speaker 2: which fans hope for, but this is someone who, you know,
Speaker 2: a couple of years ago, had Cody Bellinger, maybe the
Speaker 2: best hitter on the trade market. They get hot, not
Speaker 2: only do they hold on to them, but they go
Speaker 2: out and trade for maybe the best hitter who moved
Speaker 2: during that cycle, Jamie Kendall, Larry and so looking at
Speaker 2: the rest of the National League, I get it if
Speaker 2: you're underwhelmed by this Cups team or sort of frustrated
Speaker 2: by the ups and downs, or you thought they would
Speaker 2: be better. I think the Cubs thought they would be better.
Speaker 2: Injuries are a factor. They can't be the ultimate excuse here,
Speaker 2: Like I get all that, but just look at their competition,
Speaker 2: like who scares you? Like who's gonna run away in
Speaker 2: this wildcard ice? Obviously the Brewers are kind of in
Speaker 2: the Cubs head and we'll see what happens this weekend.
Speaker 2: Up in Milwaukee, the Dodgers are the Dodgers. The Braves
Speaker 2: have bounced back in a big way. The Phillies, you know,
Speaker 2: don't resemble the team that got swept out of Wrigley Field.
Speaker 2: But like after that, the Marlins and Nationals sort of
Speaker 2: like ahead of schedule in their rebuilds. The Central bunched up.
Speaker 2: The Cardinals weren't really trying to win this year. The
Speaker 2: Pirates are always trying with limited resources to take the
Speaker 2: next step. They haven't yet. Reds five gave them under
Speaker 2: five hundred at the moment. The Padres will probably do
Speaker 2: something crazy at the deadline, because that's what aj Peller does.
Speaker 2: But at the Diamondbacks still, you know, hovering slightly over
Speaker 2: five hundred. So you know, you're looking at you know, Giants, Rockies, Mets,
Speaker 2: you know as kind of your you know, likely sellers,
Speaker 2: teams that could match up with the Cubs on some deals.
Speaker 2: And obviously the Cubs and Mets have already lined up
Speaker 2: for at least one obvious trade like something. You just
Speaker 2: they had to do something. You need capable pitchers, warm
Speaker 2: bodies to throw out there.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I think Peterson could be a solid pitcher
Speaker 1: for this team. Yeah, we talked about the last episode,
Speaker 1: but you know he puts the ball on the ground,
Speaker 1: you have an elite defense behind him. There are three
Speaker 1: really good teams in the NL record wise. I think
Speaker 1: Cubs fans would have hoped that the Cubs would be
Speaker 1: in that trio right now it's the Brewers, Braves, and Dodgers,
Speaker 1: or that the Cubs would be up there with them,
Speaker 1: And it certainly looked like they were going to be
Speaker 1: a month ago. But that doesn't that doesn't mean that
Speaker 1: they should be sellers. This is Cubs fans should be
Speaker 1: heartened slightly at least by the series that they just
Speaker 1: watched against the Mets. That is a team that is
Speaker 1: in disarray. That is a team who has a lot
Speaker 1: of questions that have a lot of questions facing them.
Speaker 1: They have spent a lot of money, their system hasn't developed.
Speaker 1: I think the way they had hoped. I think they
Speaker 1: had a lot of hype with some pitchers coming into
Speaker 1: the season. McLean looks good. He's a really good pitcher.
Speaker 1: Some of the other youngsters haven't really popped as hope.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean that they won't. Sometimes pitching takes a
Speaker 1: little while. We just saw it with Ben Brown, right,
Speaker 1: It can take a little while to figure things out.
Speaker 1: But that's a team that where the fans should be
Speaker 1: booing them and not saying you can't boot the Cubs.
Speaker 1: If they stink in and they're playing poorly and you're frustrated,
Speaker 1: go boot them if you want. My point is like
Speaker 1: that that's a team that, Yeah, like talking about them
Speaker 1: as contenders or buyers would be silly right now. They
Speaker 1: have a lot of work to change that narrative. The
Speaker 1: Cubs don't have a lot of work to change the narrative.
Speaker 1: They have a lot of work to do because they're
Speaker 1: banged up and there are major concerns with the pitching
Speaker 1: staff and the bullpen. But they're not out of it.
Speaker 1: They're they're in this race. And and I think it's
Speaker 1: it's easy to fall into the trap of seeing what's
Speaker 1: what you're like taking what you just saw, and and
Speaker 1: that's that's the full reality. But Dance beats and stunk
Speaker 1: for a month, and now he's the hottest hitter we've
Speaker 1: ever seen. It feels like these like you just don't
Speaker 1: know how baseball is going to turn, whether it's injuries
Speaker 1: that pop up or hot streaks that pop up. Right now.
Speaker 1: The way I feel when I watch Alex Bregman, I'm like,
Speaker 1: I don't know when this guy is going to hit.
Speaker 1: But like I just said with Dansby Swanson, it can turn.
Speaker 1: We don't know what hit it's going to be. What
Speaker 1: line Drivy hits that makes him feel more confident the play.
Speaker 1: But baseball is weird like that, and this offense is
Speaker 1: built to really, you know, produce at a high level.
Speaker 1: They are statistically one of the best offenses in baseball.
Speaker 1: They take a ton of walks, they they're starting to
Speaker 1: hit for more power. It is a it's a type
Speaker 1: of offense that could carry them for a stretch of play,
Speaker 1: and I think that's what they need and then they'll
Speaker 1: be They will continue to buy as we get closer
Speaker 1: to the deadline.
Speaker 2: Jet Hoyer said it the Cubs were struggling, like pitching
Speaker 2: is going to be our focus at the deadline, even
Speaker 2: though he said the trade deadline is the furthest thing
Speaker 2: from his mind at that moment, But his point was,
Speaker 2: at the backbone of this team is its position players
Speaker 2: that you know, it's the best players on offense have
Speaker 2: to be their best players, period. And they do have
Speaker 2: a lot more optionality on the hitter side. Like, I
Speaker 2: think his general point was, like the offense put him
Speaker 2: in that spot for that ten game losing streak, Like
Speaker 2: everyone just went cold that once, almost everyone. But the
Speaker 2: longer range concern was the pitching staff, and that was
Speaker 2: like maybe five pitching injuries ago, maybe, Like, so what
Speaker 2: the point is being is like, I think if you're
Speaker 2: a Cub's officially you're a Cubs fan, I think you'd
Speaker 2: be okay if like Moisi's biasteris gets called up this
Speaker 2: weekend and then gets like three hundred bats in the
Speaker 2: major leagues. I think you'd be willing to, like see
Speaker 2: what that is. I don't think you're comfortable giving Jordan
Speaker 2: Wicks fifteen starts the rest of the year, and that
Speaker 2: even within that position player group, you have very versatile
Speaker 2: athletic players who can make can play multiple positions. If
Speaker 2: Alex Bregman, like if these injuries happened on the position
Speaker 2: player side, the Cubs could, you know, it wouldn't be comfortable,
Speaker 2: it wouldn't be ideal, But you could play Matt Shot
Speaker 2: at their base. You can. He's already being moved around.
Speaker 2: You know, we saw Nico spell Dansby for a bit
Speaker 2: of a reset here recently, like they're just isn't that
Speaker 2: on the pitching side, particularly when you're talking about you know,
Speaker 2: all these depth starters who are now like front of
Speaker 2: the rotation starters, and you see all these names on
Speaker 2: the injured list.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's let's take a quick break and talk about
Speaker 1: one of those guys that the Cubs had hoped to
Speaker 1: be back by now, and then we'll see if he's
Speaker 1: back at all this season.
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Speaker 1: Okay Patrick, Justin Steele, we've talked about this quite a bit.
Speaker 1: Who knows when he's coming back, But Jed Hoyer went
Speaker 1: on the radio on Tuesday, I believe it was when
Speaker 1: on The Score. Our friends at the Score talked to
Speaker 1: him and he basically said, you know, it's a long
Speaker 1: shot for Steele to help this team as a starter,
Speaker 1: for him to get lengthened out and rarely help this
Speaker 1: team as a starter. He could give them some innings,
Speaker 1: possibly out of the bullpen, but the timeline just doesn't
Speaker 1: you know, it's not realistic for him to do that.
Speaker 1: I think we've kind of been if we haven't flat
Speaker 1: out said that, I think we've been kind of hinting
Speaker 1: at that. It didn't make sense. The timeline just didn't
Speaker 1: make a lot of sense. But Hoyer's come out and
Speaker 1: said it plainly now there. I think he said some
Speaker 1: things about like let's hope for a healthy twenty twenty
Speaker 1: seven season, things like that. But we're supposed to talk
Speaker 1: to him on Thursday. We're recording on a Thursday right now.
Speaker 1: So maybe when this comes out fans will have more
Speaker 1: reaction from Hoyer and see if he regrets saying that
Speaker 1: on the radio or anything like that. But I think
Speaker 1: he's just stating the facts and not trying to like
Speaker 1: put a spin on on what's realistic here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was still just odd timing of like Steel
Speaker 2: restarts his throwing program, and Jed sort of just sounded
Speaker 2: a little, I don't know, annoyed by the topic or
Speaker 2: just it just seems like, you know, he's been very
Speaker 2: much like take it's low, we can't over promise, like
Speaker 2: let's maintain or temper expectations. And Steele obviously wishes he
Speaker 2: could have been pitching weeks ago, like he was shooting
Speaker 2: for late May early June, had the setback with the
Speaker 2: flexer strain, and you could see how you know, enthusiastic
Speaker 2: he is, like this happened as sort of happened in
Speaker 2: spring training when he saw doctor Meister and is like, oh,
Speaker 2: I'm cleared now, and it was there there was some
Speaker 2: confusion because he was so excited to share that news
Speaker 2: on social media, and he talked to us subsequent to
Speaker 2: that of like, you know, the ideas we're gonna be
Speaker 2: pitching in the biggest games of the year, and this
Speaker 2: was reassuring, and the Cubs were just kind of like,
Speaker 2: you know, comes officials were like, well, nothing's really changed.
Speaker 2: It was like good to hear it was positive reinforcement,
Speaker 2: but this doesn't really change the timeline. And I think
Speaker 2: some of this is natural, Like I think that tension
Speaker 2: is like the player feels a certain way, and obviously
Speaker 2: the guys in khakis and polls have to look at
Speaker 2: a different way. If you're a Craig Counsel in the dugout,
Speaker 2: you're kind of balancing both of those viewpoints all the time.
Speaker 1: And so.
Speaker 2: I'd ask Stele a version of this question during the
Speaker 2: last home stand and he said, I'm building up to
Speaker 2: be a starter, and you know, he thinks there's time.
Speaker 2: We know how Counsel likes using his outgetters, like he
Speaker 2: can get creative with that and you know, still also
Speaker 2: re emphasize that his goal is to be pitching well
Speaker 2: and feeling strong for the biggest games of the year,
Speaker 2: and I think that's still in play. I don't think
Speaker 2: there was some sort of like setback that made Jed said.
Speaker 2: I think, you know, we've known him a long time.
Speaker 2: It feels like if he finds a certain topic or
Speaker 2: questions somewhat repetitive, sometimes he will just be a little
Speaker 2: more candid and you know, maybe a little more frustrated,
Speaker 2: just like you know, and again it's all these injuries
Speaker 2: piling up to you know what I mean. It's just
Speaker 2: like if Steele has a setback, but everyone's healthy and
Speaker 2: things are going well, maybe he's I don't know, maybe
Speaker 2: his messaging is a little bit different. Like Jed's very composed,
Speaker 2: He's been doing this a long time. He's very savvy
Speaker 2: with the media. To his credit, he is very available
Speaker 2: as an executive. It's not like that in certain sports
Speaker 2: or certain organizations within baseball like it is much appreciated.
Speaker 2: I think he benefits from how available he is and
Speaker 2: how he's willing to explain the organization's point of view.
Speaker 2: But yeah, every once in a while he says something,
Speaker 2: you're like, oh really, that seemed, you know, pretty pointed, right.
Speaker 1: I think it's also important to note that as much
Speaker 1: as I don't think players are lying to us, you
Speaker 1: have to take what a player says about their injury
Speaker 1: with a grain of salt. They are they want to
Speaker 1: be more positive, and they should be like the part
Speaker 1: of like rehab is like there's a mental grind. I
Speaker 1: talked to Steel briefly on Tuesday, I think, or no,
Speaker 1: it was it was Monday, because we were in the
Speaker 1: clubhouse Monday before the game got rained out and and
Speaker 1: you know, he was just happy to be back with
Speaker 1: the guys and and and not like siloed off in Arizona.
Speaker 1: Rehabbing it's it's can be depressing, Like frankly, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's like a hard mental grind. Uh. So they have
Speaker 1: to look at it in a positive manner. So if
Speaker 1: we just take their word for it, we're going to
Speaker 1: get the positive spin. You have to be really careful
Speaker 1: listening to players because players will say I'm fine, I'm good,
Speaker 1: and then X rays will come back and and it's
Speaker 1: like you're actually out for three months, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: And that's not to say that what you said is
Speaker 1: absolutely right. There was no step back there, like he's throwing.
Speaker 1: He threw again. I saw him throw again Wednesday. So
Speaker 1: through Monday, he through Wednesday. He's out there. He's trying
Speaker 1: to build back up. We'll see where this goes. I
Speaker 1: still think the math makes it really hard for him
Speaker 1: to be this sixth inning starter for the team this season.
Speaker 1: But you know that doesn't mean he's not going to
Speaker 1: try and get to that and prove the doubters wrong.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think you're right. Like sometimes Jed, like
Speaker 1: here's this stuff and it's like that's not really like exactly,
Speaker 1: that's a little bit too positive, or you know, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure if that's gonna happen, and he feels the
Speaker 1: need to kind of correct the narrative.
Speaker 2: Well, it was certainly revealing just tying it back to
Speaker 2: the idea of the trade deadline here of like the
Speaker 2: Cubs aren't looking at it like, oh, we have an
Speaker 2: all star pitcher in reserve who's gonna be healthy, like
Speaker 2: fully healthy and operational August Fifth, Like that's not how
Speaker 2: they're viewing it. I know. Sometimes you know, executives like
Speaker 2: to say that, like you know, that's kind of the
Speaker 2: trade deadline cliche of well, once so and so get healthy,
Speaker 2: that'll be like a trade deadline acquisition. And you know,
Speaker 2: maybe that's what still becomes. I think the Cubs could
Speaker 2: deploy him in some big moments and he could pick
Speaker 2: you know, pitch and some really enormous innings and situations
Speaker 2: for them. But I think they're going to be careful.
Speaker 2: I you know, I tend to doubt the Cubs, say,
Speaker 2: trading for a Cy Young Award winner who's about to
Speaker 2: be a free agent like that just doesn't seem like
Speaker 2: kind of in their DNA. That's not the team that
Speaker 2: we're seeing on a field right now. That's certainly not
Speaker 2: what the math says in terms of their odds to
Speaker 2: win the division and secure that first round by that
Speaker 2: Jed has trumpeted as a very important part of their calculus.
Speaker 2: But you know, would not be surprised if at some point,
Speaker 2: you know, in the second half of the season, Steel
Speaker 2: does re emerge and looks pretty good. I mean, that's
Speaker 2: you know, certainly what they're hopeful, hopeful for. But they're
Speaker 2: not banking on It's not like they pass on a
Speaker 2: trade because oh well, we have justin Steel coming back
Speaker 2: by this date. Like, no, it seems like they're just
Speaker 2: hoping for a pleasant surprise rather than like penciling his
Speaker 2: name into any sort of you know, major plans for
Speaker 2: this season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's let's talk a little bit about potential I
Speaker 1: guess prospects that you could look at. Let's take to
Speaker 1: the temperature of this system. Essentially, I don't know if
Speaker 1: they're going to trade every single one of these guys
Speaker 1: we talk about. In fact, I think they're going to
Speaker 1: cling to some of them. But let's touch on that.
Speaker 1: Take a quick break first.
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Speaker 1: Okay, So uh Patrick to kind of like reveal some
Speaker 1: stuff that's going on with my writing. I plan to
Speaker 1: answer some mail bag questions at Cubs. Pictures keep getting injured,
Speaker 1: and I and I you know, I don't have time
Speaker 1: to fully answer these questions. One question I have seen
Speaker 1: kind of repeatedly was why does this farm Why is
Speaker 1: this farm system so bad? Why? Why are they unable
Speaker 1: to develop any talent? If you want to focus on
Speaker 1: the pitching, I think that's fair that they have some
Speaker 1: issues with player development and drafting with pictures, and and
Speaker 1: I think they've they've started to address it. We've talked
Speaker 1: a lot about the changes, but they may they're making
Speaker 1: some changes with player development, they're making some changes with
Speaker 1: the draft. We'll see how quickly. It can impact the system,
Speaker 1: but they are addressing it. I disagree that the system's
Speaker 1: like terrible or that they have no talent, and I
Speaker 1: actually think they're doing a pretty good job with the
Speaker 1: hitting talent. I mean they've traded guys, obviously Cam Smith
Speaker 1: whose other big bads higher hope, and those guys got
Speaker 1: like they got really good players for them. They also
Speaker 1: traded some pitchers. Ty Johnson is with Rays. I think
Speaker 1: he's doing pretty solid in their system. He was part
Speaker 1: of the Esa Paradis trade that ended up getting them
Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker. They traded DJ Hurs, who's gotten hurt a
Speaker 1: lot for the Nationals. I think that was Jamer Candelario.
Speaker 1: Jackson Ferris was part of the Michael Bush trade. There's
Speaker 1: some other pitchers that like. So it's not as dreadful
Speaker 1: as the system actually as some people actually make it
Speaker 1: out to be. And I think the rankings have them
Speaker 1: like in the you know, twenty to twenty five range.
Speaker 1: I think the Cubs would believe they're more mid tier
Speaker 1: like thirteen to sixteen range. And I can see that
Speaker 1: argument before I get to some of the bats. I
Speaker 1: think we can update people on Jackson Wiggins Wiggins pitched.
Speaker 1: I'm going to get the days wrong, but he pitched
Speaker 1: in the Complex League for a start, then made a
Speaker 1: South Bend start, I believe over the weekend last weekend,
Speaker 1: maybe Sunday, and I was told that his next start
Speaker 1: will be with Triple A. We'll see if that's still
Speaker 1: the plan. Sometimes these things change due to weather, due
Speaker 1: to travel plans, due to like, hey, let's just keep
Speaker 1: them with this team, and we want to see something
Speaker 1: else before we move him up. Who knows, but right
Speaker 1: now I believe the next start would be Triple A.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's like next call big leagues. I
Speaker 1: think he needs to build up some innings. And I
Speaker 1: don't want to say it's been a good thing that
Speaker 1: his elbow is barking, but also it limited his innings
Speaker 1: because he wasn't going to be able to pitch one
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty or whatever innings this season after whatever
Speaker 1: he threw last year. So you know, we'll see if
Speaker 1: he's an option. I'd be surprised if he's a trade option,
Speaker 1: but maybe you try and maximize a guy, and if
Speaker 1: there's a big you said they're not going to trade
Speaker 1: for like a rental Cy Young winner, Like I guess
Speaker 1: that would be Schooble. I agree with that, but could
Speaker 1: they Like it's really hard to pull off these deals
Speaker 1: like we saw last year. They just couldn't pull it off.
Speaker 1: But like a guy with a year and a half left,
Speaker 1: that's really good. Maybe I think that would be much
Speaker 1: more interesting for them and something that they'd pursue. It's
Speaker 1: really hard to pull those off a because it costs
Speaker 1: a lot more like teams asked for sky high prospects.
Speaker 1: And then the other thing is like in the end,
Speaker 1: like those teams just don't really want to trade those guys.
Speaker 1: Every every team's like, well, we can compete next year too,
Speaker 1: so that it's hard to pull that off.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree with you. I think the system is
Speaker 2: probably better than they're getting credit for. But I also
Speaker 2: look at the system and be like, just trade a
Speaker 2: bunch of guys, you know. I don't know if it
Speaker 2: screams a lot of like long term certainty there. I
Speaker 2: like the idea of, hey, like this guy's going well,
Speaker 2: like he sort of popped, Like you know, you need
Speaker 2: those reinforcements, like this season has not gone as planned,
Speaker 2: but it's far from over, and I do think you
Speaker 2: have to treat every season as sacred, like when you
Speaker 2: have a chance to win, to bring playoff baseball to
Speaker 2: Wrigley Field, you have to go do that. I think
Speaker 2: some of the players that are at Triple A IOWA
Speaker 2: now on the hitting side, maybe the Cups have held
Speaker 2: onto them a little too long, but they're probably at
Speaker 2: a point where they're gonna have to move them. It's
Speaker 2: not like there's a ton of opportunity waiting for them
Speaker 2: at Wrigley Field. I think you hold on to likely
Speaker 2: match'll Pedro Ramirez, moiss bi ASTERI. Maybe I'm missing someone up,
Speaker 2: but otherwise, I think you've got to be pretty open
Speaker 2: minded there. And this is something I'm sure we'll be
Speaker 2: asking COUPS people about. It's interesting that you've got another
Speaker 2: draft coming up here, so you can kind of reload
Speaker 2: the system and uh, maybe develop some more trade chips.
Speaker 2: Like it's not ideal, and obviously sometimes you'll get burned
Speaker 2: by these deals, but like that's what they're there for too.
Speaker 2: And you know, Cole mathis maybe something clicks and he's
Speaker 2: an All Star five years from now. He puts together
Speaker 2: a good first half, but maybe he doesn't mount too much.
Speaker 2: And I think you just sometimes your hand is forced,
Speaker 2: and that's clearly the Cubs are dealing with, you know, exceptional,
Speaker 2: extraordinary circumstances. Here you have to go out and get
Speaker 2: someone from the Mets and then keep adding.
Speaker 1: Yeah, part of part of the system. It's not just
Speaker 1: like it's not just Matt Shaw helping the major league team,
Speaker 1: it's Cole Mathis helping the major league team by being
Speaker 1: a trade chip. So it's there are there are two
Speaker 1: ways to evaluate the system, like is your system good
Speaker 1: enough to make these trades, whether it's being a couple
Speaker 1: extra pieces to get Esach Paraitis and then and then
Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker and Edward Cabrera whatever it is, or is
Speaker 1: it good enough that you know you have someone like
Speaker 1: Matt Shaw, who is it kind of like an extra
Speaker 1: infielder and depth for your team, but now you know
Speaker 1: it has kind of hit his way into regular playing
Speaker 1: time and and proven that what this guys can quickly
Speaker 1: learn different positions and become average to above average in
Speaker 1: certain spots. So there's I think they deserve credit for
Speaker 1: some of those guys that three guys that you named
Speaker 1: Pedro Ramirez by Staius. I understand he went in the slump,
Speaker 1: but like he's a quality prospect and I think he's
Speaker 1: going to hit in the big leagues. A couple other names.
Speaker 1: Owen Ayers has really broken out this year. Catchers take
Speaker 1: a little longer to develop. He became a full time
Speaker 1: catcher a little later as battled injuries. He's healthy now crushing.
Speaker 1: I think they are very high on him. And then
Speaker 1: Jefferson Rojas, that's someone I would look at if they're
Speaker 1: going to make a huge trade, like a really big trade.
Speaker 1: They have a lot of infielders. They have their infielders
Speaker 1: locked up. And then you just mentioned Pedro Ramirez and
Speaker 1: Matt Shaw. Where's Jefferson Rojas going to play? Kevin al Contra, Look,
Speaker 1: the base running mistakes probably you know, kind of got
Speaker 1: him sent down and he doesn't have a spot on
Speaker 1: the major league roster. He since being sent down, he's
Speaker 1: just destroying the ball. He is like this is the
Speaker 1: time of year when he does destroy the ball too.
Speaker 1: It's like pretty typical Kevin all Contra to just have
Speaker 1: a mondar June and July.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be shocked if he's included if they swing
Speaker 1: a big deal. Hartshorn's a guy that is shooting up
Speaker 1: prospect rankings.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: Josiah Hartshorn, sixth rounder, he's he is someone I'm not
Speaker 1: sure if they would move unless they're getting some like
Speaker 1: superstar pitcher and that's you know, under contract beyond this season.
Speaker 1: I'd be surprised if they're moving Hardshorn. He's he's a
Speaker 1: top fifty prospect with the arrow pointed firmly up. I
Speaker 1: think he may be one of the better prospects the
Speaker 1: Cup of Cubs have had in a while. And then
Speaker 1: there's just you know, other guys that are solid and
Speaker 1: that's what Jane like that King Kepley, quality quality draft pick,
Speaker 1: great defender, contact, can find a gap everyone power. Yeah. Uh,
Speaker 1: that's a that's a guy that you can look look
Speaker 1: at and say like, that's a good draft pick and
Speaker 1: that's possibly a trade piece. Uh. And there are probably
Speaker 1: names where we're overlooking, especially guys at like the ACL
Speaker 1: or Dominican League, like those guys. I have talked to
Speaker 1: some people that are like, we're hopeful that some of
Speaker 1: these guys pop and I have a I have some names.
Speaker 1: I need to look it up again, but but there
Speaker 1: are definitely a couple other names that they're they're happy
Speaker 1: about that. They're happy have popped. Not as much on
Speaker 1: the pitching side. I'd say the pitching side is mostly
Speaker 1: like some relievers that have popped the starters. It's like
Speaker 1: Brooks Caple and hoping that Jackson Wiggins obviously first round
Speaker 1: pick from last year, Ethan Conrad. He has not played yet.
Speaker 1: The latest I was told was, uh, he should be
Speaker 1: getting a live BP this week. If that goes well,
Speaker 1: maybe Arizona Complex League games this weekend or next week.
Speaker 1: I'll try and an update over the weekend to see
Speaker 1: where he's at. But that's the latest with him. If
Speaker 1: he like I understand people want to write him off already,
Speaker 1: but like this happens. If he's done, he's done. If
Speaker 1: he's not, if he can't be healthy, he can't be healthy.
Speaker 1: But this is this is not like Chase the latter
Speaker 1: with the Guardians. He barely played in the minors and
Speaker 1: then finally got healthy and now he's a key piece
Speaker 1: for the Guardians. It can take a little while. Just
Speaker 1: get him healthy, that's the main thing. And then if
Speaker 1: he's talented and he performs, there's another piece in your system.
Speaker 1: This is not a dreadful system. They need to be better,
Speaker 1: especially with the pitching. But they can make trades with
Speaker 1: this group, and they can help the major league team
Speaker 1: with this group. I think it's it's better than I
Speaker 1: expected it to be. I wasn't that high on the
Speaker 1: group coming into the season, and it's a little bit
Speaker 1: better than I expected it to be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean thinking out loud here, We're definitely gonna
Speaker 2: have to put together a story like this on the
Speaker 2: Athletic because I feel like sometimes the prospect hype goes
Speaker 2: into overdrive, but at the trade deadline, you kind of
Speaker 2: need to know who's in play, who's in demand, who's untouchable.
Speaker 2: And I think we have a this is the beginning
Speaker 2: of a good idea for that. I think we're less
Speaker 2: than slightly less than six weeks out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely good call. We can we can. We can
Speaker 1: write a little bit about this and then give the
Speaker 1: fans some more prospect, the prospect huggers, the prospect heads.
Speaker 1: All right, all right, thanks so much for listening to everyone.
Speaker 1: This is Northside Territory. Make sure to review, subscribe, subscribe
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Speaker 4: Do they leader?