I made another appearance at Baseball Prospectus today, this time Notebook-ing the Cubs:
If Prior can provide anything like his PECOTA projection of a 3.36 ERA and 6 2/3 IP per start, he'll not only give the rotation an enormous boost, he'll make the bullpen look better, too. While the Cubs pen has been one of the few strong points of the season, they've had to work for it: the rotation has thrown 386 innings--just over 5 1/3 per start--worst in the NL. Anything that results in more innings for Prior and fewer innings for the likes of Roberto Novoa and Glendon Rusch must be a good thing.
Also in Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Goldstein reviews all National League systems, including the Crew's:
Not What We Expected: Most everyone expected much more from 2005 first-round pick Ryan Braun, who is batting just .274/.346/.438 at Brevard County but nonetheless received a mid-season promotion to Double-A Huntsville. There he'll join first baseman Brad Nelson, who was demoted to Double-A after putting up a .215/.311/.362 line at Triple-A Nashville and is now almost four years removed from his 2002 campaign when he led the minor leagues in RBI.
In other news: Bob Uecker's stalker has been arrested.
And if you're not the sort of person who scrolls down, check out John's Minor League Notes from yesterday's games, as well as battlekow's review of several Minor League promotions and demotions, including some of the biggest names in the system. If you have a small screen, scroll down just a nudge or click here to see my take on the co-5th starter situation.