Cubs Announcement: Samardzija Forgoes the NFL for the Cubs

[Outshined_One]

I don't know anything about this guy, can someone give me the cliffnotes version? Is he supposed to be something special down the road?

 

Quickly:

 

-Reports on his fastball velocity vary, but he was working in the low to mid 90s and apparently was able to dial it up to 98/99.

-His breaking ball and changeup are both works in progress. Both have the potential to be good pitches, but he needs to work on them a bit more extensively.

-Being a guy who played WR most of his life and had the potential to be a first round draft pick, he has a solid frame that's pretty well filled up. The guy keeps himself in good shape.

-He's really raw. While he's been a two sport guy for most of his life, he's focused primarily on football. On the upside of this, it means that he has less wear and tear on his arm than some other guys his age, which is a nice bonus.

-He's likable and coachable. Boise's coaches were impressed with him during his limited stint down there.

-The one downside that I've heard about him that merits keeping an eye on is the fact that his fastball apparently doesn't have much movement to it. This could change now that he's focusing on baseball, but it's something worth noting.

 

It's a good pickup for the Cubs, imo. The biggest step for him will be pitching a full season, given his limited time as a pitcher. If he is able to pitch 150 innings next season without any health or conditioning concerns, he'll have a really nice future.

[PrimeTime]

I think it was a good descision for him coming exclusivley to baseball.He will be more popular and it will be way less wear and tear to his body.Honestly, I dont think he would do much in the NFL..How many white WR's do you see really that make an impact in the NFL? None really, all of them are pretty much number 3 or 4 recievers on the depth chart..He'd prolly be another guy like Kevin Curtis,Ricky Prohel etc. Maybe he has more talent and could be a stud reciever in the NFL, who knows, thats jsut my opinion..A guy who was awsome at college but would be nothing in the NFL..Great choice sticking to baseball

[CaliforniaRaisin]

-Being a guy who played WR most of his life and had the potential to be a first round draft pick, he has a solid frame that's pretty well filled up. The guy keeps himself in good shape.

 

NFL scouts were actually disappointed with his weight (for a better word) because he wasn't able to keep his normal summer lifting for football because he was in Boise and Peoria. Shouldn't be a big concern long term.

 

I have no problem with him having a NTC.

[A New Era]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

[goonys evil twin]

I have no problem with him having a NTC.

 

Why? A prospect who can't be traded has only one way of helping a team, and that is by becoming a good major league player. If a prospect can't be traded, I'd estimate 25-40% of his value to the team disappears.

[CubColtPacer]

-Being a guy who played WR most of his life and had the potential to be a first round draft pick, he has a solid frame that's pretty well filled up. The guy keeps himself in good shape.

 

NFL scouts were actually disappointed with his weight (for a better word) because he wasn't able to keep his normal summer lifting for football because he was in Boise and Peoria. Shouldn't be a big concern long term.

 

I have no problem with him having a NTC.

 

I think a NTC for Jeff was one of the essential points to the deal in fact. From all of Samardizja's quotes about playing football for the Bears possibly and wanting to stay in his home area with the Cubs, one huge factor in his decision probably was that he was guaranteed to be near home in MLB if he made the majors, while he could be shipped anywhere in the NFL. With that being a big deal, he needed the NTC to make sure that he didn't get traded out of the area, and it's an easy enough concession for the Cubs to make with the much greater windfall of him spurning football.

[KingCubsFan]

I have no problem with him having a NTC.

 

Why? A prospect who can't be traded has only one way of helping a team, and that is by becoming a good major league player. If a prospect can't be traded, I'd estimate 25-40% of his value to the team disappears.

Wow, didn't realize he had a NTC. That's awful. Does anyone know of any other cases where a prospect has had a NTC?

[treebird]

I have no problem with him having a NTC.

 

Why? A prospect who can't be traded has only one way of helping a team, and that is by becoming a good major league player. If a prospect can't be traded, I'd estimate 25-40% of his value to the team disappears.

 

that's actually a really good point.

[Mizzou]

Good stuff, thanks Outshined One!

[shnsajax]

I always thought he was really viewed as more of a closer than a starter. I could be way off as I really didn't ever get to pay much attention to last years draft. Right now it doesn't sound like he has 3 three solid pitches, but it seems his learning curve is a little quicker than most. He definatly will be more coachable than Sisco ever was :-)

[A New Era]

I always thought he was really viewed as more of a closer than a starter. I could be way off as I really didn't ever get to pay much attention to last years draft. Right now it doesn't sound like he has 3 three solid pitches, but it seems his learning curve is a little quicker than most. He definatly will be more coachable than Sisco ever was :-)

 

I'm hoping he projects as a starter. We could use a few good men in the rotation.

[Guest]

One more point -- he really hasn't been pitching for very long. He was an OF in high school. At ND, the coach converted him to pitcher. Considering the progress he's made as a part time pitcher, there's a lot of upside to be discovered.

[Mephistopheles]

well hes 22 and doesnt have much time. of course his athleticism ought to help him out.

 

and wilken had him #1 in the nation. period.

[nilodnayr]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

 

 

Hey, remember when we signed Lilly and Marquis? Good times.

[Mephistopheles]

Prior ought to be gone by then.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I always thought he was really viewed as more of a closer than a starter. I could be way off as I really didn't ever get to pay much attention to last years draft. Right now it doesn't sound like he has 3 three solid pitches, but it seems his learning curve is a little quicker than most. He definatly will be more coachable than Sisco ever was :-)

 

I'm hoping he projects as a starter. We could use a few good men in the rotation.

 

For now, he's a starter. And all 3 of his pitches have the potential to plus pitches.

[Outshined_One]

well hes 22 and doesnt have much time. of course his athleticism ought to help him out.

 

and wilken had him #1 in the nation. period.

 

Remember your Andrew Brackman comp? :o

[A New Era]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

 

 

Hey, remember when we signed Lilly and Marquis? Good times.

 

Tradable. You telling me if Zambrano, Prior, and Hill are locked up and pitching like they can. And 2 great prospects are ready to pitch in the majors, that JH seriously couldn't trade a couple of pitchers?

[nilodnayr]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

 

 

Hey, remember when we signed Lilly and Marquis? Good times.

 

Tradable. You telling me if Zambrano, Prior, and Hill are locked up and pitching like they can. And 2 great prospects are ready to pitch in the majors, that JH seriously couldn't trade a couple of pitchers?

 

Call me a pessimist but I don't think JH will be the one calling the shots by then. I'm sure every fan that predicts their team's rotation down the line has their team trading the crap pitchers that will be under control and signing the good ones that currently arent signed through then.

[A New Era]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

 

 

Hey, remember when we signed Lilly and Marquis? Good times.

 

Tradable. You telling me if Zambrano, Prior, and Hill are locked up and pitching like they can. And 2 great prospects are ready to pitch in the majors, that JH seriously couldn't trade a couple of pitchers?

 

Call me a pessimist but I don't think JH will be the one calling the shots by then. I'm sure every fan that predicts their team's rotation down the line has their team trading the crap pitchers that will be under control and signing the good ones that currently arent signed through then.

 

Well, you can't deny we have some good pitching prospects getting close. Atleast 1 or 2 of them has to pan out (hill included)

[nilodnayr]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

 

 

Hey, remember when we signed Lilly and Marquis? Good times.

 

Tradable. You telling me if Zambrano, Prior, and Hill are locked up and pitching like they can. And 2 great prospects are ready to pitch in the majors, that JH seriously couldn't trade a couple of pitchers?

 

Call me a pessimist but I don't think JH will be the one calling the shots by then. I'm sure every fan that predicts their team's rotation down the line has their team trading the crap pitchers that will be under control and signing the good ones that currently arent signed through then.

 

Well, you can't deny we have some good pitching prospects getting close. Atleast 1 or 2 of them has to pan out (hill included)

 

And you can't deny we have been saying that for years and have had much better prospects historically. Im sorry, I need to quit being Debby Downer.

[A New Era]

Let's hope for the best, (and no pitcher abuse). Because by 2009 we could be back to having a top rotation again. .

 

Zambrano

Samardzija

Hill

Prior

Veal

 

 

Hey, remember when we signed Lilly and Marquis? Good times.

 

Tradable. You telling me if Zambrano, Prior, and Hill are locked up and pitching like they can. And 2 great prospects are ready to pitch in the majors, that JH seriously couldn't trade a couple of pitchers?

 

Call me a pessimist but I don't think JH will be the one calling the shots by then. I'm sure every fan that predicts their team's rotation down the line has their team trading the crap pitchers that will be under control and signing the good ones that currently arent signed through then.

 

Well, you can't deny we have some good pitching prospects getting close. Atleast 1 or 2 of them has to pan out (hill included)

 

And you can't deny we have been saying that for years and have had much better prospects historically. Im sorry, I need to quit being Debby Downer.

 

I haven't really been paying much attention to the cubs the last several years. I've only been back full time, full die-hard the last couple of years. So I can't compare to before. Who did we have other than zambrano, prior, and wood who looked like top prospects?

[Outshined_One]

I haven't really been paying much attention to the cubs the last several years. I've only been back full time, full die-hard the last couple of years. So I can't compare to before. Who did we have other than zambrano, prior, and wood who looked like top prospects?

 

Do you want the list of guys who made it to the majors and didn't live up to the hype or guys who were hyped but never made it to the majors?

 

Believe me, there's plenty of both over the past few years.

[treebird]

well hes 22 and doesnt have much time. of course his athleticism ought to help him out.

 

and wilken had him #1 in the nation. period.

 

just think, by 2009 he'll be throwing 107 mph

[A New Era]

I haven't really been paying much attention to the cubs the last several years. I've only been back full time, full die-hard the last couple of years. So I can't compare to before. Who did we have other than zambrano, prior, and wood who looked like top prospects?

 

Do you want the list of guys who made it to the majors and didn't live up to the hype or guys who were hyped but never made it to the majors?

 

Believe me, there's plenty of both over the past few years.

 

The list of pitchers who have been as highly rated as smardzija, hill, and veal. That is all. How likely is it we'll have 2 that pan out, out of this list. . Hill, Smardzija, Veal, Gallagher, Palewek.