The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #35 Don Wengert

35. Don Wengert
As a fellow, Iowan, I want to show love for Don Wengert. Unfortunately, we have some major issues. He went to an inferior school in Iowa State University, and during his final year there, he managed to add 10 MPH to his fastball. Did he introduce Sammy Sosa to steroids? It's impossible to say, but the answer is yes.

Wengert did not start 1998 with the Chicago Cubs as he was toiling away with the San Diego Padres. But about a month and a half into that season, the Cubs traded Ben Van Ryn to the San Diego Padres in order to get Wengert on the team. Was this a wise move by the Cubs? Well, his ERA 5.93 at the time, so it didn't seem like a great decision. And it wasn't based on past performance as his ERA was over 6.00 in 1997 with the Athletics. Still, the Cubs traded for him, and at that time, it was IJHWT, In Jim Hendry We Trust.

Wengert became the Cubs "Break in case of emergency" pitcher. As you can probably tell from all of the pitchers that I have already covered, there were a whole lot of emergencies that year. Unfortunately, he didn't actually solve the emergenciesHe was so bad at first that the Cubs couldn't even handle it. After three appearances where he gave up at least one run each time out, the Cubs sent him to Iowa to figure things out. He came back up two months later, and Don Wengert raised his level to be exactly who you would have though he could be, getting to a 4.91 ERA when the Cubs made a curious decision.

The Cubs were so desperate for starting pitching that they decided to put Wengert in the rotation. Although he wasn't outrageously bad, the Cubs were 1-5 in games that he started, with his only win being a game against the Diamondbacks, where Cubs' rogue agent, Amaury Telemaco purposely pitched poorly to help out his former team.

After that, he went back to the bullpen where his ERA rose slightly to 5.07 to end the year, although due to those starts, he did pitch an astonishingly high 49.2 innings in 1998.. After that, he had short stints with the Royals, Braves, and Pirates before hanging it up after a 2002 season where he spent the entirety plugging away at Triple-A. He immediately transitioned to being a sales rep for Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company. What a coincidence.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery

The 47 Best Players for the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #38 Derrick White

38. Derrick White
Derrick White's career makes no sense. I keep looking through things, and there is no rhyme or reason to anything. He was drafted by the Expos after a very good final year at Oklahoma and sent to play short season ball for the rest of 1991. In 1992, he skipped both levels of A-ball to play the entire year in Double-A. He put up decent numbers. Then, in 1993, he played in High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A before getting a callup for 23 games for the Expos. In 1994, he struggled in Triple-A, got released by the Expos, signed by the Marlins and sent down to Double-A. In 1995, he signed with the Detroit Tigers, played the majority of the year at Triple-A but also got 39 games with the Tigers. Then, in 1996, he signs with the Oakland Athletics and spends the entire year between both levels of A-ball. I thought there were rules against guys being that old (26) and in low-A. In 1997, he spent the year at Double and Triple-A for the Angels before signing with the Cubs in the offseason.

White went to Triple-A Iowa and put up his best numbers ever, torching the league to the tune of 1.112 OPS in 66 games for the team. His torrid pace earned him a callup at the end of May. Things continued to be weird for White. He played in 11 games for the Chicago Cubs and got a total of ten at bats. In nine of those at bats, he failed to record a hit. Five of those times, he failed to even make contact. But one at bat was different. In one at bat, Derrick White unleashed his potential, and that is what is important to remember.

The date was June 6, 1998. The Chicago Cubs hosted the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field in just the second year of interleague play. A pitcher's duel was expected as Scott Eyre took on the Cubs' Kevin Tapani. It played out that way for the first two innings as both teams were held scoreless. The White Sox were the first to put a run on the board in the top of the third when Ray Durham hit a double and was driven in by Mike Caruso.

But the Cubs would not go down easily. They strung together a ton of singles and took advantage of a Frank Thomas error to score three runs in the third. They continued the momentum in the fourth when Jose Hernandez hit a solo home run. Things were looking great for the good guys. In the 5th, the White Sox inched closer when Mike Caruso drove another run home. In the sixth, the White Sox made their move as Robin Ventura tripled, Magglio Ordonez singled, and then Charlie O'Brien hit a home run to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead. It may have only been the sixth inning, but this game looked like it was over.

Eyre had calmed down and appeared to be cruising. He dispatched of Henry Rodriguez easily. Then, something truly inexplicable happened as he found a way to walk Jose Hernandez. It looked like it wouldn't matter when he got the second out by making Scott Servais ground out. Instead of ending the inning against Kevin Tapani, Jim Riggleman made a bold move. He brought in Derrick White, a man who was 0-5 with three strikeouts on the season. Only a fool would make such a folly as a manager, but Jim Riggleman was no fool. Scott Eyre smirked to himself as he saw White stroll to the plate, but his overconfidence would be his downfall. Eyre left one over the plate, and Derrick White connected. It was high; it was deep; it was gone. Derrick White would give the Cubs a one-run lead in a game they would go on to win 7-6. He may have gone 0-9 in his other at bats, but his one hit was instrumental in getting the Cubs to the playoffs that year.

White seemed like a guy who would quickly wash out of baseball, but he found a way to hang around the game. He never made the major leagues again after 1998, but he bounced around from Triple-A, independent ball, Korea, Japan, and found his home in Mexico where he tore it up for Tijuana until finally retiring in 2009. It may have not been the career he dreamed of, but it definitely had its moments.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes

2017 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - AL West

Although baseball season is still a few weeks away, fantasy baseball season is here as draft rooms are opening and people are spending fake auction dollars on their favorite players. Everybody knows about the Mike Trouts and Clayton Kershaws of the world, so what you need to do stand out is find those hidden gems on each roster to propel yourself to fantasy greatness. I am going to go through each MLB roster to find at least one underrated player who will have you looking like a genius at the end of the season.

Today, we continue the series with a lack of East Coast bias and look into the AL West.

Houston Astros - Lance McCullers
Obviously, the big concern with McCullers is is health. He had major struggles with injuries last year, and it's definitely a concern going into this year, but there are very few young pitchers where injuries aren't a big concern. the other concern is his control as he walked five batters per nine last year, and that's not good. I think part of that is the injuries as he was just never able to get comfortable and find a groove druing the season. I think he can at least get his walk level back to its 2015 level, possibly even better. He's ranked 244 despite having a 3.22 ERA the last two years and striking out over a batter per inning (over 11 K/9 last year). He's probably not your 200 inning ace, but he could give you a really nice 160 innings, and getting that late in the draft sure sounds like a steal to me.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Ben Revere
Real talk, I had no idea that Ben Revere was on the Angels. I also kind of forgot that Cameron Maybin was on the Angels. But I'm still going with Revere, even though I'm not sure if he'll beat out Maybin for the starting job. I figure between Maybin's injury history combined with Albert Pujols getting another year older and needing some time off, they'll be able to find some space for Ben Revere. Two years ago, he hit .300, then his BABIP dropped by 100 points below his career average, and he batted .200. I think things just balance out again this year and he gives you a .300 average, with top 10 stolen base numbers and a good number of runs scored. He may not be the sexiest hitter, but he will be valuable.

Oakland Athletics - Marcus Semien
Semien managed 27 home runs last year, and I do think his average can come up from the .238 he hit last year. His BABIP was only .268, so if that gets closer to .300, it will not only increase his runs and RBI, but he can probably get closer to 20 stolen bases. Right now, he's ranked as the 18th best shortstop. Even if he doesn't improve, he'll be able to reach that level, but if the BABIP does bounce back and the power continues, you're looking at a top-10 guy.

Seattle Mariners - Mike Zunino
This pick is not sexy pick. Zunino is ranked as the 18th best catcher, and considering his struggle in the batting average category, he's probably never going to be a top guy. But he did rake at AAA last year and showed progress when he was in the major leagues. He hits for good power, and there are guys in the top-10 like Evan Gattis and Brian McCann who probably aren't that different than Zunino who you can probably pick up as a free agent.

Texas Rangers - Nomar Mazara
One of my common themes when picking guys is post-hype sleepers. Mazara got a ton of love at the beginning of 2016, but it seems as though he wore down as the season went on, and his numbers dropped accordingly. Last year, he still managed 20 home runs, and although I don't see the power taking a big step forward, I think the guy can flat out hit. He could easily be in the .280-.300 range, and with solid power, he'll be right in the middle of the Rangers lineup to rack up those counting stats. He's currently ranked as the 58th best outfielder, and I'd say it's a fairly good bet that he exceeds those expectations.

What the Jeff Samardzija Trade Means for the Cubs Future

Two of the most talked about trade assets this season were Cubs pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija. People speculated what each might bring in a trade to benefit the Cubs' future. Last night, it came as a surprise that the Cubs packaged both of them together in a deal with the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics definitely made it worth their while as they sent over Addison Russell, Dan Straily, Billy McKinney, and a player to be named later.

The player to be named later is supposedly not consequential, so let's not worry about that. The next player to focus on is Billy McKinney who was aggressively pushed to High-A this year and has struggled but has also shown promise. His strikeout and walk ratios look good, and his biggest issue is that very few of his batted balls have fallen in for hits in what is usually a very friendly hitter's league. He was a first round pick in 2013, so he has the potential to be a starting left fielder.

Next up, there is Dan Straily. I'm way too excited about this aspect of the trade, because the Cubs' Pitching Coach, Chris Bosio, has done amazing things with a similar player in Jake Arrieta. Do I expect Straily to match what Arrieta has done this year? No, and he probably won't even come close, but that is more because Arrieta is off-the-chain amazing. Still, I think he could turn into a mid-rotation starter, and I think his worst case scenario is a back-end starter. It's not amazing, but that is a nice piece to get in this deal, as I wouldn't be surprised if he put up better numbers than Jason Hammel for the rest of this season.

Finally, there is uber-prospect, Addison Russell. With a talent like this, nobody will blame you as your heart goes pitter-patter at just the sound of his name. He's a good defensive shortstop with a bat that could make him a generational talent. This is the reason they packaged their pitchers together, as I did not expect the Cubs to get a guy at this level by trading just Samardzija. Still, there is one giant red flag with Russell, and that is that he has missed most of the season after tearing his hamstring. When I think hamstring injuries, I immediately think of Jose Reyes, and that is why this sort of injury terrifies me. It could turn out to be a one-time injury where he fully recovers and sees no other issues, but I can just about guarantee that the Oakland Athletics front office were concerned about its long-term impact, and that was part of the reason they were willing to part with a prospect who has the potential to be a generational talent. 

So what does it mean for the Cubs future? Well, the most likely situation is that it gives the team depth in case some of these prospects don't pan out. Although Alcantara, Almora, Baez, Bryant, Russell, Schwarber, and Soler all have potential to be good-to-great major leaguers, inevitably, some of them are not going to reach their potential. 

If they do all make it, that's a great problem to have. It's not impossible to imagine this offense by 2016:

C - Schwarber

1B - Rizzo

2B - Alcantara

3B - Baez

SS - Russell

LF - Soler

CF - Almora

RF - Bryant

That is the rosiest of outlooks imaginable, but even if only half of those guys live up to their potential, and they put average guys at other positions, it could still be a pretty potent offense. The Cubs front office has done a phenomenal job of acquiring talent to build towards the future. It has not been a quick process, but it has been a thorough one as the Cubs minor league system is absolutely loaded. 

That still leaves the pitching side of things where Cubs fans seem to be worried, but this is an area where the Cubs front office has shown an aptitude for finding hidden gems for cheap. Even with these gems, it still only led to about a #3 starter in cases like Travis Wood, Jason Hammel, and Scott Feldman, which although nice, is not ideal in the playoffs. But the Cubs also acquired Jake Arrieta who has pitched like a legitimate ace this season, and it changes the whole outlook of the future of the rotation with a true #1 leading the way. Also, as I mentioned earlier, Chris Bosio has done a great job as the pitching coach, and if he can keep doing what he's been doing, finding quality pitching might be easier than expected.

And the Cubs also have a trade asset that I have not even mentioned yet in Starlin Castro. After a terrible year last year, he is back to fulfilling his initial promise. Worst case is they need to keep him as prospects don't pan out, but best case is that these prospects do pan out, and the Cubs can get a high end pitching prospect to add to their farm system. It seems unlikely that the Cubs would trade him this season unless they really don't believe in him to continue his performance, because he's signed through 2019, so he would still have incredible trade value two years from now. Javier Baez has not done enough to bump Castro the the outfield, so there is really absolutely no reason for the Cubs to rush to get rid of him unless they get an offer that is too good to pass up.

The Cubs from these last couple years have been the best bad team in baseball. Their record is awful, which definitely makes them a bad team, but their run differential shows that they are far closer to average than to the basement of MLB. Replacing the black holes on offense, filling in the rotation, and strengthening the bullpen don't require Herculean feats, it requires manageable tweaks, and the Cubs have more than enough talent to make that a reality. 

The future is bright, but it is also not imminent. Even with many of their top prospects due to debut in Chicago in the next year, there are going to be growing pains. 2015 is the year to expect a step forward where they can play around .500 ball. But 2016 is the year to expect the leap into being a contender. Be sure to get your shades on by then, because the future will only get brighter from there. 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but, it's good to be a Cubs fan.

Moneyball 2 Is Going To Be Awesome

As I am sure a lot of you know, Moneyball got six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), and Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill). Was it worthy of these nominations? That’s debatable, but certainly not in my mind as somehow the Academy overlooked the contributions of everyone involved in Fast Five.

Moneyball was a solid movie, but it is going to pale in comparison to Moneyball 2. Michael Lewis has not written that book, but the story started to unfold a couple days ago with one innocent tweet.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

Billy is probably as good looking as brad pitt
Oh, yes, this is starting off better than I could have hoped. Way to butter him up, Jose. Now, let's follow it up with something casual.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

I am going to play this year
Excellent. Let the world know of your intentions. Now it's time to go for the kill.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

Billy beane call me would love to dh for you just give me a tryout that's all I ask
YES! Billy Beane and I both know that aging slugger/former steroid user/reality TV star is the newest market inefficiency in baseball. Some scouts overrate players who look good in jeans. Have you seen Jose Canseco move lately? He can probably barely put on jeans. Does that matter? Hell no! We're talking about the man who led the Yuma Scorpions in Home Runs last year...with 8. Get this man signed immediately.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

 

Baseball hates bill James but the Boston red sox hired him .that's from the movie money ball .baseball hates me maybe they can hire me
This may be the most underrated tweet in the history of Twitter. Its simplicity is what makes it so beautiful. Jose Canseco is nearly 50 years old, but looking at this tweet, you would guess the age of the Tweeter to be somewhere between 5-7. It sounds like he is doing show-and-tell for his Kindergarten class, and he is explaining how this one guy overcame odds, so I will also overcome odds, and it will be great. It’s also sad, because everyone just wants to push this kid out of the way, because the kid coming up next brought in his pet turtle.

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

Fenway 350 lifetime batting average 1 hr per every 9 at bats .I am ready to play for Boston give me a tryout
Then Jose got to thinking. If Boston hired Bill James, maybe they will hire Jose Canseco. What is Moneyball about? Stats, so Jose Canseco shows off his inner-sabermatrician, and drops home runs per at bat in a specific ballpark. Is Jose hinting that the new market inefficiency might be nerds? Look how well Ivy League graduate Sam Fuld did last year…for the first two months of the season. Another benefit is that Jose showed off his Scott Boras side to create a BIDDING WAR. How high will they go?

JoseCanseco Jose Canseco 

I guess murderers and child molestors get more chances than I do
Don’t worry, Jose. Your time will come. You are a better man than James Early Ray and Jerry Sandusky combined…wait a minute, that combination would just create a racist, molesting murderer, so yes, you are totally better than that combination. Please, Oakland or Boston, make this happen. If the World Series Ring isn’t sweet enough, how does hundreds of millions of dollars in movie revenue sound? Plus, I’ve already got a great tagline.

“He’s not a murderer, he’s not a rapist, he’s Jose Canseco, and he’s finally getting a second chance…Moneyball 2.”

My only question is: Great idea or greatest idea ever?

I’m going with the latter.