I heard this story about a rookie ball pitcher who made the jump to triple A in just one season of work. Is this as rare as I believe it to be? I was in Iowa watching the Cubs play Omaha and this hard throwing free agent right hander came into the game. At first I thought nothing of it but later came to find out that the kid was in Mesa for the entire season. No stops on the way, just straight to AAA. He was throwing 94 with a sick circle change. Retired all six hitters he faced and then the season was over. Any thoughts on this type of jump? Where do you think the cubs will send this prospect at the start of next season? The kids name is Mike Christl and he looks like he has a ridiculously high ceiling.

The papers are reporting that the Cubs have made a substantial offer to Ted Lilly, a left handed pitcher. He is seen as a starter, likely the number two starter. This is a guy I know next to nothing about. However the buzz is he has had shoulder problems, and he yields a lot of fly balls. This does not seem promising. Cf. www.mlbtraderumors.com/2006/12/market_fo... - 22k - Dec 1, 2006