Ventured out to Kane County last night. Our son is a "member" of Ozzie's Reading Club.

It's only Single A ball, but Soler was far and away the best player there. Tall, fast and smooth in the outfield. Has a great arm too.

He hit a home run that may not have even landed yet. It was reminiscent of a few of Adam Dunn's shots this year. Cubs may have a real keeper with him.

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"We're not that far away !!!"

3 for 5, with 2 singles and a homer.
Gets a great jump on the ball in the outfield. Very fluid.
Best thing he showed was shortening his swing with two strikes, then fouling off four pitches before stroking a single into center.

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Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Saunders looked good too.
2 for 4 and an intentional pass.
Looked good at short but wasn't really challenged.

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Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

2016 here we come...

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

man...I couldn't make any of those games. So disappointed...

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

So he can hit. 200 with 35 home runs? We've seen it--dave kingman 1979. Back when fans knew baseball they knew a turd. Today Dunn is celebrated. Lets hope solrr knows baseball rather than trying to be sosa junior.

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You cannot make me care about the WNBA.

I have no care about how these guys play in the minors. I want to see them in the pros. I realize that they are marketing and selling "building the team the new Cubs way", but I don't think they are suddenly building the stream of talent that was common for teams like Atlanta in the 90's. Also, there are just not many places that are undiscovered territory as far as finding these type of talents, like pulling from Cuba. Japan baseball has been fleeced (how's Yu Darvish these days?), the latin players suddenly aren't that great when they can't take their 'roids (how's Cabrera these days?). I'm not saying that Soler won't be a great player, I just need to see results first before I start getting excited.

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So how do the Cubs rebuild a farm system with no one left to trade?
Here is the Cubs list of guys that should be on the block for young talent:

* Garza
* Russell
* Marmol
* Castro
* Rizzo
* Castillo
* Barney
* Jackson
They might have to trade young to get more prospects.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

You want them to trade their viable prospects for new prospects?

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You know me like that.

The problem with the magical farm system concept is that you need a steady stream of strong pitching. The farm system prospects are mostly the re-incarnation of Corey Patterson, Jake Fox and the other guy that Elmhurst Steve had a bromance on. These guys hit the shit out of the ball in the minors and then swing at just about everything when they finally make it.

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Rizzo and Castro are not going anywhere, which I think is the right decision. They are young, especially in Castro's case, and can certainly blossom into something significant in the middle of the lineup.

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Darvish is doing fine and Im not sure what Cabrera you're talking about, not Miguel right?

But undiscovered territory is not a pre requisite for winning.

Of course they dont have a 90's Braves or Indians roster yet, but thats the goal.


Everyone who sees Soler live seems to gush about him. Its good to hear he's doing well. Hopefully he helps the MLB team sooner rather than later.

I dont think anyone is getting out in front of their skis though.

I'm sure Miguel will be discovered at some point. Darvish is okay, but at 14-9 its not that steller considering what they paid for the guy. I will admit I have only watched one start of his and it wasnt that spectacular. Most these Japanese players get figured out by their second or third season, expect maybe for Nomo.

I'm not sure if they are getting over their skis or it is just that the pro team is so bad that we need minor league player updates from sports radio discussion and water cooler discussion.

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Just like Boers saying, "I'm sure Tim Tebow will be caught with cocaine and whores sometime in the future." You make someone guilty with no proof and you are never held accountable for the accusation.
I'm not saying Soler will be a superstar. I am saying he looks much better and more advanced than the guys he is playing with and against at the level he is at.

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Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Yeah! Let's trade all the young guys to get some young guys! That's the ticket!
Let's trade Castro for a shortstop prospect who has a 10% shot at becoming Castro!
Let's trade Garza for a rookie who we can hope and pray can one day win 10 games!
Cub fans who put their hopes and dreams on minor leaguers are on a par with Bear fans who always think the backup quarterback is better than the starter.

_________________
Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Im not sure what you're saying about Miguel Cabrera. He's in his 10th year of dominance.

Darvish is good.

And I think you're right. There is not much to discuss on the major league front.

Why would your search for prospects lead you to trade your top 3 prospects?

I'm a Sox fan. I had no idea it was him until the 7th inning. Had trouble understanding a word the guy said over the PA system was saying.

If you watch him though, he carries himself differently from the other players. Like Sarley said, he was 3-5 and the two outs were line drives that were crushed, but hit right at someone. My son and his buddy oohed and ahhed every time he came up, or had a ball hit his way.

His home run was hit completely out of the park. Over the beer garden in left and it landed on the railroad tracks beyond left field. It reminded me of Tyler Flower's epic shot in Toronto a couple of weeks ago. Before he singled in the 10th inning, he wasted five or six of the relievers best off speed pitches. He was out in front on a couple but kept his hands back. Two of the fouls were of the "right size wrong shape"variety. I wish the White Sox had him.

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thanks for commenting, Steve Stone

Why would we trade Rizzo, Barney or Castro? That's insane. And I think Garza is good trade bait, but I don't mind keeping him either.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

All Latin American players who have increased in bulk are guilty until proven innocent in the court of CLH.

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Kap was pretty fair in his piece on Soler. Thought there was some interesting comments made in there.

http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago-cubs/cubs-talk/Raw-talented-Soler-growing-accustomed-to?blockID=767687&feedID=8487#cmnta_767687


Raw, talented Soler growing accustomed to American baseball

Imagine leaving the only country that you have ever known and making the choice to try your hand at moving to the United States and beginning a career in professional baseball. Then add in the challenges of speaking no English, being very raw as a baseball player, knowing nothing about American baseball and already having 30 million dollars guaranteed to you over the next nine years.

The move to a new country is hard for anyone to handle. However, when you are Jorge Soler and you are the most high profile acquisition to date of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer as they attempt to rebuild the Chicago Cubs organization, the pressure to succeed is intense. Also, the scrutiny with which you must develop is far greater than most minor league prospects have to deal with because, as the major league Cubs struggle, players like Soler become the hope of a starving fan base.

In listening to a number of major league scouts who have evaluated Soler, it becomes obvious that he has tremendous athleticism and an extremely bright future but also that he is a very raw prospect who a lot to learn before he can call Wrigley Field home.

“Soler is a 20-year-old kid. He is not a 20-year-old mature guy, he is a 20-year-old kid,” said Peoria Chiefs hitting coach Barbaro Garbey, who is spending time working with Soler on a daily basis. “He has the power, he has the talent and he has the time because he is only 20 years old. Like him, I came from Cuba and it takes time to make adjustments especially when you don’t speak English and he doesn’t yet understand how hard you have to play every single day."

Garbey, who played in the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers, knows exactly what Soler is going through as he adjusts to the United States and professional baseball, but he believes that Soler has all of the talent necessary to reach his potential.

“Soler is raw but that is because he knows nothing about baseball and the way that it is played in America, unlike players such as Sammy Sosa who came from the Dominican Republic where they were exposed to Major League Baseball," Garbey told me before Peoria’s game against the Kane County Cougars on Labor Day weekend. "Soler comes from Cuba, where you don’t see games from the US on TV. He doesn’t understand yet how hard you have to play every single day and what it takes to succeed in the big leagues but we are working with him everyday on what it takes on and off the field.

"Believe me, he is a great talent and he is the future for the Cubs, that kid. He still gets frustrated when he doesn’t get a base hit every time he is at the plate but he is working hard and he will get to the point where the people in Chicago are going to see a superstar pretty soon."

Chiefs manager Casey Kopitzke has seen many talented players come through the Midwest League during his three years at the helm of Peoria and he believes that Soler is as talented as any of the best prospects he has watched develop at the Class A level.

“He’s a great kid. He walks into the room and the first thing you notice is that he’s a big, strong man," Kopitzke said. "He’s been a great pleasure to have. Watching him go about his work the way he has is real exciting. He has outstanding power and he is playing very well defensively for us and he has an excellent arm in right field."

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If he's 20 years old I'll build you a watch. There's a reason why he looks like a man amongst boys. It's because he's a 23 (ish) year old man playing against 18 and 19 year old boys.

So?

Ran into Kap on the way into the park. He's getting a little chubby with age. And Soler looks like he is 16 years old.

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EH, in the past I would agree..those days are kind of over..Teams are wise to that stuff and watch kids at an early age..I believe he is 20..maybe 21 @ most.

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so let's dance!

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

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