The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks which minor league prospect should be the last one the Cubs part with.
It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Please come on in out of the heat. We’ve got the best music and the best companionship. There’s no cover charge. We’ve still got a few good tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
The Cubs had a well-needed day off today. Tomorrow starts a crucial series at Wrigley with the Brewers.
Last week, I asked you if you’d rather the Cubs acquire Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara or Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen at the trade deadline. Thirty percent of you wanted Alcantara and 24 percent wanted Gallen. However, the other 45 percent said “neither,” so “neither” wins the vote.
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we’re going to Disneyland as we feature Miles Davis’ 1961 version of “Someday My Prince Will Come.” This is the first great Miles Davis Quintet, with John Coltrane on tenor sax, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Julian “Cannonball” Adderley had left the group to go solo, so Hank Mobley provides a second tenor sax on this one.
I have a film to write about this week, but I want to take a bit more time than I have today to write about it. So I’m going to postpone the essay until Wednesday.
Instead, I’ll just throw this out for discussion. Mel Brooks turns 99 next week and this past weekend, he announced that Spaceballs 2, the sequel to his 1987 film, will be coming out in 2027. Brooks won’t be directing (I can just imagine trying to get insurance for a 99-year-old director), but he will be returning as Yoghurt, the Yoda parody character. Also returning are all the still-living stars of the original film—Bill Pullman, Rick Moranis and Daphne Zuniga.
So I’m going to use this occasion for you to vote on your favorite Mel Brooks movie. I’m only including films he directed and not ones he just produced or acted in. So no To Be or Not to Be, My Favorite Year or The Elephant Man, although you are free to mention those films in the comments as one of your favorites.
I know Blazing Saddles is one of those films that people have memorized, but other Mel Brooks films have their own rabid fan bases. The Producers, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety and the aforementioned Spaceballs are considered classic comedies at this point. So is History of the World, Part I.
So what is your personal favorite Mel Brooks film? And make your case in the comments.
I’m not quite sure why I put an “other” in there because anyone who prefers Dracula: Dead and Loving It to Young Frankenstein clearly doesn’t know comedy, but maybe you were a key grip on the film or something. The same can go for the other Brooks-directed films that I left off.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The trade season is officially underway a little early this year with the shocking Red Sox trade of 3B/DH Rafael Devers to the Giants for four players.
It’s no secret that the Cubs are looking for pitching at the deadline and in particular, starting pitching. Even the tight-lipped Cubs’ team president Jed Hoyer admitted as such last week. We’ve talked a little about what starting pitchers might be available and which you’d prefer the Cubs get, but tonight I’m asking from the other side. Which Cubs players are you willing to give up to get that starting pitcher? Or more specifically, which Cubs prospect would you put “off-limits” in any trade discussions?
Now I get that no one is truly “untouchable.” If the Pirates make Paul Skenes available, the Cubs probably won’t give up Pete Crow-Armstrong but everyone else can have a bag packed for Pittsburgh, just in case. (Well, Ian Happ has a no-trade clause.) But when the Cubs got PCA in a trade for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams in 2021, the Cubs asked for at least three other minor leaguers before the Mets said “yes” to Crow-Armstrong. Those players are reportedly Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty and Matt Allan. In retrospect, the Mets clearly wish they’d have said “yes” to one of those three.
So Alvarez, Baty and Allan were “off-limits” for a deal for someone like Báez. Tonight I’m asking that if there is a deal in the works for Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara or even Braves pitcher Chris Sale, who is the first player you take off the table in such a deal?
The minor-league prospects that you can list as “untouchable” are as follows. I’m not putting any major leaguers on the list, so Matt Shaw and Cade Horton are already assumed to be “untouchable” unless someone like Skenes becomes available.
Catcher Moisés Ballesteros:
Ballesteros is the best pure hitter in the Cubs system and I think the best pure hitting prospect in the Cubs minors since Starlin Castro. Ballesteros also has more power and better on-base skills than Castro ever did. The issue with Ballesteros is his defense behind the plate, which is not good enough for the majors at this point and may never be. (As evidence, if the Cubs felt that Ballesteros could handle the position defensively, he’d be in the majors right now instead of Reese McGuire.) He’s certainly lost some weight and has improved somewhat defensively, but if he can’t catch, he’s probably a DH-only because he’s really short for a first baseman.
Outfielder Owen Caissie:
Caissie has the best power in the minors, a potential “70” on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. He’s also got a cannon arm and his defense has improved in right field to the point where it is now playable in the majors and has the potential to get better with more experience. He also hits left-handed, which is nice. When he makes contact, Caissie hits the ball hard. The issue is that he doesn’t make contact all that often, striking out in one-third of his Triple-A at-bats. If Caissie is striking out that much for Iowa, he might not make enough contact in the majors to really ever tap into that near-elite power.
Outfielder Kevin Alcántara:
People have been saying for a while that Alcántara has the highest ceiling in the Cubs system. He’s a terrific athlete with at least above-average speed, power, defense and arm. Unlike Caissie, Alcántara could be a strong defensive center fielder and an elite right fielder on defense. Alcántara’s issue is that he is striking out as much as Caissie is and he’s walking less. He’s struggled against breaking pitches in Iowa and pitchers there are exploiting that. If Alcántara can figure out how to improve in that area, however, he could be a All-Star major leaguer. But that’s easier said than done.
First baseman Jonathon Long:
Long is a real breakout prospect for the Cubs this year who is second only to Ballesteros in the pure hit-tool category. Long strikes out more than Ballesteros, but a 20 percent K percentage is still very good. He also can draw a walk and has a bit more power. No one gets better exit velocities off the bat in the International League than Jonny Long.
Long’s issue is that he’s a right-handed first baseman, and the bar for that position is really, really high. Long might be able to play an acceptable below-average defense in left field, with the reminder that left field is the anti-Lake Wobegon: It’s the place where all the defenders are below average. But neither first base nor left field is “open” for the Cubs and likely won’t be for a few years.
Shortstop Jefferson Rojas:
Rojas is a 20-year-old shortstop in High-A South Bend who is having a bit of a breakout season there, hitting .287 with a .390 on-base percentage. He’s only striking out 17 percent of the time this year and he’s walking at a 13.5 percent clip. He doesn’t have much power right now, but most scouts seem to think he’s going to grow into some as he ages. He’s a few years away from the majors, but some have noticed that his estimated time of arrival coincides with Nico Hoerner reaching free agency. Rojas is a shortstop now, but a lot of people think he’d be a better second or third baseman in the future.
Right-hander Jaxon Wiggins:
Wiggins is another player who is having a bit of a breakout campaign this year with a 1.92 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 56 1⁄3 innings between South Bend and Knoxville this year. Wiggins throws hard—his fastball sits in the 96-97 mile per hour range and can touch 100 with good movement as well.
The downside on Wiggins is that his secondary stuff, a slider, change and curve, are very inconsistent. The slider flashes plus sometimes, but it doesn’t reach those heights often enough. The change is just average and the curve a bit below average. He can sometimes struggle to throw strikes and so there’s some real reliever risk there, beyond just the health issues that all pitchers have. (The Cubs drafted Wiggins out of Arkansas despite him missing his entire junior season with Tommy John surgery)
So which one of these players is the most “untouchable” for you? Or do you have a different minor leaguer that you’d put “off-limits” before any of these six?
Remember, this is the “most” untouchable. If you have more than one you wouldn’t want to trade, be sure to vote for the one you’d be more upset about leaving.
That’s it for tonight. We’re so glad you decided to stop in. Please get home safely. Tell us if we need to call a ride for you. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.