"Angel Guzman . . . still is experiencing elbow soreness and likely will sit out the entire season," reports the Chicago Tribune. "The Cubs don't expect Guzman to need surgery and said he should be ready to pitch again in 2006 after resting his arm for the next six months."

Guzman has a 2.67 ERA in 402.2 career minor league innings, with 351 Ks, only 103 walks allowed, and only 19 homers allowed. He is still just 23, but this is the third straight year Guzman's season has ended early with arm problems (and this year it ended before it began).

Guzman's last full season was 2002, when he combined for a 2.19 ERA in 156 innings for low-A Lansing and high-A Daytona. Guzman then got the opportunity to show all of Cubdom what he could do in spring training 2003. He threw 16 innings and allowed just 2 runs, giving up just 8 hits (no homers) and 3 walks. Those 16 innings embedded Guzman's name in the Hope that resides within Cubs fans for a World Series championship.

Thought was given to Guzman being called up mid-season in 2003 to give the big league team a boost. Mid-way through the season, he had a 2.81 ERA for double-A West Tenn in 15 starts. Then his season ended with shoulder pain. Guzman underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery, though the procedure did not turn up a rotator cuff tear.

2003 was not a good year for Cubs pitching prospects and their health.

Guzman made just 11 starts in 2004, between Daytona and West Tenn, before being shut down for the rest of the year.

In January of this year, Cubs director of player development Oneri Fleita announced that Guzman was healthy: "He's finally back to where we want him to be."

Guzman threw 8.2 innings in spring training (allowing 8 runs on 17 hits and 4 walks), and was then shut down again before beginning the minor league season. In May, Guzman said that maybe he would be back in July.

It's July. Maybe he will be back next year.