Cub prospects in the news

[Guest]

With that arm, I'd want Lake in RF.

[ctcf]

Guess I'll leave this here. Probably just the company line, but still nice to hear.

 

Patrick Mooney @CSNMooney

B. Jackson visited #Cubs complex in AZ and Sveum says he's made "huge, huge strides" and "completely overhauled his swing." Still in OF mix.

[Guest]

It'd be really nice if he could fix that, because the approach is where it needs to be and the defense is there enough.

[Guest]

Guess I'll leave this here. Probably just the company line, but still nice to hear.

 

Patrick Mooney @CSNMooney

B. Jackson visited #Cubs complex in AZ and Sveum says he's made "huge, huge strides" and "completely overhauled his swing." Still in OF mix.

 

Brett Jackson may be back in the mix in the Cubs’ starting outfield. Jackson spent a few days in Mesa, Ariz., with Cubs manager Dale Sveum, who said Tuesday the young outfielder has made “huge, huge strides” and completely overhauled his swing. Jackson, who batted .175 in 44 games with the Cubs after he was called up in early August, was projected to open the 2013 season at Triple-A Iowa. That may change.

 

“There’s no doubt that Brett Jackson could be part of the Cubs big league team next year,” Sveum said. “These kind of things are obviously all up to the individual now. We brought him up last season hoping he was going to do well but knowing we get to see him first-hand, where a week ago, he went out to Arizona, we were able to fix the things and be hands on,” Sveum said. “I think he’ll tell you it was a huge learning experience. Things obviously didn’t go well but he knows now that sometimes you have to hit that wall to know, ‘wow, I really have to make some huge adjustments to play at this level.’”

 

The Cubs are in the market for another outfielder, and would prefer a left-handed bat. Jackson could be that guy.

 

“I think he’s got a good base to work with the rest of the winter and going into Spring Training to understand the art of hitting, so to speak,” Sveum said. “Sometimes it gets lost and taught the wrong way.

[ctcf]

To be filed in the "for what it's worth" department...

 

Bryan Reid @breid4

@ProfessorParks Supposedly Brett Jackson has overhauled his swing. Think he can still be solid MLB reg?

 

Jason Parks @ProfessorParks

@breid4 Depends if the swing works. Toolsy enough to start if he can make some contact

[WrigleyField 22]

We should still count on him starting in AAA. If he has really fixed his swing having 4 good OF is a good thing. Soriano and DeJesus aren't long term pieces anyways, so moves can be made.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest]

Can innuendo build trade value?

[Cubswin11]

It's nice to hear he made changes, but what exactly did he change? None of those tweets/articles mention it. Did he change his hand position, widen/shorten/open/close his stance, or change something with a timing mechanism??

[ctcf]

It's nice to hear he made changes, but what exactly did he change? None of those tweets/articles mention it. Did he change his hand position, widen/shorten/open/close his stance, or change something with a timing mechanism??

 

I imagine we will learn that in time.

[Guest]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/16812465-573/cubs-albert-almora-in-great-shape-thanks-to-backyard-workout-regimen.html

 

Last spring, Almora’s U.S. national team was playing a college team when the center fielder cut off a single in the gap with a runner on first and quickly reared back for an apparent throw to third. The runner had no intention of trying for third, but he took an aggressive turn at second. Almora, with his leg already raised for the throw, quickly fired a dart behind the shocked runner to nail him at second.

 

‘‘You just don’t see that,’’ Cubs scouting executive Tim Wilken said. ‘‘It’s almost like he draws these plays up before they happen.’’

 

In fact, Almora told Wilken he had picked off runners like that close to a half-dozen times.

 

‘‘Some of the things you see him do instinctively, it blows my mind,’’ Wilken said after watching the less-than-imposing athlete put together a series of 10 games that showed an uncommon combination of skill, energy and feel for the game. ‘‘He was amazing.

 

‘‘It’s one of the few times I knew right there [that early in the draft process] that if he wasn’t the guy, he was going to be awful close to being the guy. It was a no-doubter for me.’’

 

Almora, who’s tied with former catcher A.J. Hinch for the most Team USA selections with six, was the last Cubs draftee to sign this year, but he reported immediately and played briefly with touted Cuban prospect Jorge Soler. Almora advanced a level to Class A Boise before the end of the season, then went straight to the Instructional League. He has yet to take more than a few days off from swinging a bat.

 

‘‘That’s his therapy,’’ his mom said. ‘‘Everybody said, ‘He’s going to get suffocated.’ But baseball is such a passion for him.’’

 

Epstein already has mentioned Almora’s name when talking about core players. He’s expected to play for new Class A affiliate Kane County next season.

 

‘‘I heard it was 30 minutes from Chicago?’’ he said. ‘‘It’d be awesome. But I really don’t care where I play as long as I’m playing.’’

 

More at the link.

[Guest]

Brett Jackson’s Strikeout Rate Reaches Historic Level

[Brian]

Nowhere really to put this, but I found it funny.

 

@javy23baez: - Wow did Soler really just asked me how u spell MICHAEL JORDAN?

 

#really?

[soonercub]

New article on BA about Theo rebuilding Cubs pitching. Subscription required, can anyone paraphrase? Thanks

[Guest]

New article on BA about Theo rebuilding Cubs pitching. Subscription required, can anyone paraphrase? Thanks

 

Talked about how barren the pitching was when Theo and Jed got here and how most of those pitchers already here regressed or weren't good (Rhee, Simpson, McNutt, Maples, Raley, Rusin, etc). Said the best acquisition they've made might be the new minor league pitching coordinator, Derek Johnson. Highlighted Pierce Johnson and Arodys Vizcaino as big acquisitions in the past year, briefly mentioned Paniagua, Blackburn and Underwood. Vizcaino should be on the mound in March and back to full strength by June. The upcoming draft should help keep building up the arms (college specifically); they mentioned Manea, Appel, Stanek, Crawford, Whitson and Wahl.

[Guest]

"I got a lot of calls and texts from around baseball," McLeod said. "They were saying, 'Wow!' and 'Great hire!' "

 

...

 

McLeod says Johnson's ideas fit well with those the new front office put into a manual for the organization. He said there have been some "tweaks" to the new Cubs' Way since Johnson's hiring, but that his influence will come mostly in one-on-one work.

 

"I spend a lot of time striving to really get to know the player—where he's coming from, how he operates, how he competes—and studying what will make him better," Johnson said. "This game is about the players. It's not about my program . . . it's about figuring out how to foster a player's development."

 

Johnson believes pitchers often "under-throw, under-prepare," but that doesn't mean the Cubs will have a one-size-fits-all approach to training pitchers.

 

"What we do at Triple-A will be different from what we do in short-season (leagues), low A," he said. "We'll be trying to find certain things that will work for the individual."

 

...

 

"If not for missing a couple of weeks during the (college) season with an elbow twinge, there's no way he would have been there (for us)," McLeod said of Pierce Johnson. "He's a first-round talent . . . quality arm, power curveball, runs his fastball up to 95, 96."

 

McLeod says Vizcaino showed "electric stuff" in the Braves' bullpen in 2011, which was why Epstein wanted him even though Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2012. He's a risky proposition but could have a higher ceiling than Randall Delgado, whom Epstein was close to acquiring before Dempster blocked a trade with Atlanta. The Cubs expect Vizcaino back on the mound by March and at full strength by June, with a chance to show he can be a big leaguer in 2014, possibly at the front of the rotation.

 

"We want to see what we have with him as a starter," McLeod said. "We've seen at times three quality pitches out of him—a big fastball, an electric slider (and a decent changeup)."

[Guest]

All you really need to know is that it was written by Phil Rogers.

[Guest]

[expletive]. Didn't even notice that.

[Guest]

I don't really see what was wrong with what was posted, at least.

[toonsterwu]

New article on BA about Theo rebuilding Cubs pitching. Subscription required, can anyone paraphrase? Thanks

 

Talked about how barren the pitching was when Theo and Jed got here and how most of those pitchers already here regressed or weren't good (Rhee, Simpson, McNutt, Maples, Raley, Rusin, etc). Said the best acquisition they've made might be the new minor league pitching coordinator, Derek Johnson. Highlighted Pierce Johnson and Arodys Vizcaino as big acquisitions in the past year, briefly mentioned Paniagua, Blackburn and Underwood. Vizcaino should be on the mound in March and back to full strength by June. The upcoming draft should help keep building up the arms (college specifically); they mentioned Manea, Appel, Stanek, Crawford, Whitson and Wahl.

 

Hey Raisin, did the article lump Maples in as regressed or not good? That would be mildly interesting, considering the hype he's gotten from some quarters this winter (Hulet having him top 10).

[craig]

..Hey Raisin, did the article lump Maples in as regressed or not good? That would be mildly interesting, considering the hype he's gotten from some quarters this winter (Hulet having him top 10).

 

Restocking

 

When Epstein was hired, the organization's most highly regarded pitching prospects were righthander Trey McNutt, who had dominated in the low minors in 2010, and righthander Dillon Maples, who signed for $2.5 million in the 14th round of the 2011 draft after turning down a chance to play football and baseball at North Carolina. McNutt's development stalled until he moved to the bullpen midway through 2012, and Maples worked 10 innings in the Rookie-level Arizona League in his pro debut last season, which raised questions about his delivery and his health. He remains an intriguing arm, however, throwing in the mid-90s at the Cubs' complex in Peoria, Ariz.

[CubsWin]

He remains an intriguing arm, however, throwing in the mid-90s at the Cubs' complex in Peoria, Ariz.

The Cubs have a complex in Peoria, AZ?

[Guest]

He remains an intriguing arm, however, throwing in the mid-90s at the Cubs' complex in Peoria, Ariz.

The Cubs have a complex in Peoria, AZ?

Phil. Rogers.

 

Details don't matter.

[Guest]

Ah. Didn't read closely enough to catch that.

[CubsWin]

Apparently, Dillon Maples did his own preparation during the previous off-season, but this year, he followed the Cubs Way to the letter. Not much else in this article, but here the link for your perusal.

[Guest]

Apparently, Dillon Maples did his own preparation during the previous off-season, but this year, he followed the Cubs Way to the letter. Not much else in this article, but here the link for your perusal.

 

Actually, detailed information on his injuries was good. And will cause me to knock him down my top prospect list.