The Cubs’ farm system has improved since Tim Wilken was hired as scouting director, but two underproductive decades are evident in there being only five players on the All-Star ballot who started their careers in the organization. Baltimore and San Francisco (three each) are the only teams with fewer representatives among the 230 players on the ballot. Oakland and Washington/Montreal lead the way with 13. The White Sox have 10, which is tied for the fourth most. … Arizona State first baseman/third baseman Brett Wallace is high on the White Sox’s radar, but it’s unclear if they like him enough for the eighth pick overall. This much is clear — the Sox are more likely to take a bat than an arm with their first top-10 pick since 1990. … Yes, those are specialty mouthpieces Manny Ramirez, Michael Cuddyer and some other players are wearing. They have bought into the idea that this specially designed mouthpiece “relaxes your jaw, which relaxes your face, which relaxes your shoulders, and all of that is a key to athletic performance,” as Cuddyer explains it. … The Mariners apparently are serious about wanting to bring back Ken Griffey Jr. They have had Duane Shaffer scouting him recently. In addition to the trade talks, Griffey has been dealing with the recent death of his best friend, Frank King, who had cancer. It’s clear Jay Bruce is ready to replace Griffey or Adam Dunn for the Reds. … While Carlos Quentin tears it up for the White Sox, Arizona’s Eric Byrnes entered the weekend in a 6-for-62 slump that had dropped his average to .214. The Diamondbacks traded Quentin to the White Sox for minor-league first baseman Chris Carter because its outfield was set with Byrnes, Chris Young and Justin Upton. … Padres brothers Adrian and Edgar Gonzalez are the first set of brothers to start in the same game for the same team since the Reds played Bret and Aaron Boone together in 1998. … Colorado used 19 pitchers in its first 40 games.
