Von Joshua bandwagon

[TruffleShuffle]

A lot of more casual Cub fans probably have no idea who this guy is, but he's the I-Cubs hitting coach. He spend 3 years with West Tennessee -- didn't have many good hitters to coach, though Dubois, Sing, and Brendan Harris had some good performances with him there. He's been at Iowa for a couple of years now, and one can note the improvement in players like Pie and Fontenot under his tutelage. I'm also excited about the drop in Eric Patterson's K-rate during his time at Iowa, and Ronny Cedeno's consistent strong performance there as well.

 

Many of us have bitched about the Cubs' inability to develop position players in recent years, but I think Von Joshua is a really good hitting coach, and deserves recognition. Keep up the good work, Von.

[SouthSideRyan]

Von is amazing.

[NCCubFan]

I think many of us (including myself) were hoping for Joshua to be named major league hitting coach this past offseason.

[E.J.]

I've been on the bandwagon for years. I've heard nothing but great things about him. I really am surprised he wasn't named the ML hitting coach this past offseason. Of course, this is the Cubs, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

[Guest]

I think many of us (including myself) were hoping for Joshua to be named major league hitting coach this past offseason.

 

I'd rather he stay with the minor leaguers - I have a feeling he'd make a greater impact on a young guy's hitting approach then a veteran big leaguer.

 

By the way, Truffle, I have another name for you: Von Joshua also worked well with Matt Murton when he hit about .350 at AA West Tenn a few years ago.

[NCCubFan]

I think many of us (including myself) were hoping for Joshua to be named major league hitting coach this past offseason.

 

I'd rather he stay with the minor leaguers - I have a feeling he'd make a greater impact on a young guy's hitting approach then a veteran big leaguer.

That's fine with me too; I'm just glad he's with the Cubs and not another organization.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I'd rather he stay with the minor leaguers

 

but does Von feel the same way? are we at risk of losing him to a ML job by wanting him to stay in the minors?

[TruffleShuffle]

I'd rather he stay with the minor leaguers

 

but does Von feel the same way? are we at risk of losing him to a ML job by wanting him to stay in the minors?

 

Hard to say. He's bounced around a lot, and I doubt he's a guy that other orgs are going to target as their hitting coach at this stage in his career. I say you cross that bridge when you come to it - if another team shows interest in him at the big league level, then you try to find him a job (hitting coach, bench coach, whatever) with the Cubs.

 

But I agree that he's a valuable resource with Iowa - perhaps moreso than with the big club. Let's face it, guys like Soriano, ARam and D-Lee aren't going to change much with coaching. But if you're talking to a guy like Theriot, Fontenot, Cedeno or Murton who's trying to get to the next level, they're probably very coachable. He's helped some guys with marginal talent (Theriot, Fontenot) improve, and I'm hoping that he can help turn Patterson, Cedeno and Soto into regulars with the big club.

[imb]

What about all the praise that people give Jaramillio in Texas? Is that just fluff or can a guy like Von actually make a difference at the ML level?

 

I'd like to see him in Chicago.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think different coaches are better with prospects rather than major leagues. Just like Dave Duncan is pretty adept at taking a journeyman 30-something pitcher and getting the most out of him, he doesn't have a track record of developing fresh from the minors pitching prospects into stars.

 

I think there's probably a big difference between helping 20-24 year olds tweak their swings in order to get to the major leagues, than getting 26-38 year olds to change their ways. Big league hitting coaches, to me, are more like advisors. Minor league hitting coaches do all the dirty work.

 

A very good minor league hitting coach is worth his weight in gold, and while a team might lose him to a major league hitting coach position, there's always the financial aspect to convince him to stay.

[Chocolate Milk]

I feel like his name should be Jon Voshua.