Cub prospects in the news

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

KC drafted Keith Law's #10 overall prospect in that spot, i'm sure they're still probably ok with their choice

 

Oh [expletive], I brainfarted and thought that was the year they drafted Bubba Starling. Disregard. I really like Zimmer.

[BeerHere]

Scroll to the bottom and there are two pictures that show how much slimmer Vogelbach is now vs. 2 years ago.

 

http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2014/02/cubs-notes-samardzija-trade-rumors-resurface-cubs-stacked-at-3b-vitters-veras-beede/

[ctcf]

Holy [expletive] [expletive]. He really slimmed down. This is fantastic news.

 

For those that don't want to scroll through the link, here's a shot of him now:

 

 

 

[ctcf]

From Jason Parks' Minor League System Rankings over at BP this year:

 

2. Chicago Cubs

Farm System Ranking in 2013: 12

2014 Top Ten Prospects: Link

State of the System: Thanks to a strong draft, clever trades, an aggressive acquisition plan in the international market, and developmental progress from some of the big names in the system, the Cubs became one of the strongest systems in the game.

Top Prospect: Javier Baez (4)

Breakout Candidates for 2014: Jeimer Candelario and Paul Blackburn

Prospects on the BP 101: 7

Must-See Affiliate: Double-A Tennessee

Prospects to See There: Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, CJ Edwards, Pierce Johnson, Dan Vogelbach

Farm System Trajectory for 2015: Up. While its likely that several of the Cubs’ top prospects will get a taste of the majors in 2014, the majority of the talent will remain eligible for next season’s list, and if you add to the mix a high draft pick this June and an extreme amount of young depth ready to make their stateside debuts, the system could take over the coveted rank of number one in baseball.

 

Elsewhere in the NL Central: Bucs are #3, Cards are #6, Reds at #16, and the Brewers are all the way down at #29. LA Angels take the 30th spot.

[EhDubya]

From Jason Parks' Minor League System Rankings over at BP this year:

 

2. Chicago Cubs

Farm System Ranking in 2013: 12

2014 Top Ten Prospects: Link

State of the System: Thanks to a strong draft, clever trades, an aggressive acquisition plan in the international market, and developmental progress from some of the big names in the system, the Cubs became one of the strongest systems in the game.

Top Prospect: Javier Baez (4)

Breakout Candidates for 2014: Jeimer Candelario and Paul Blackburn

Prospects on the BP 101: 7

Must-See Affiliate: Double-A Tennessee

Prospects to See There: Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, CJ Edwards, Pierce Johnson, Dan Vogelbach

Farm System Trajectory for 2015: Up. While its likely that several of the Cubs’ top prospects will get a taste of the majors in 2014, the majority of the talent will remain eligible for next season’s list, and if you add to the mix a high draft pick this June and an extreme amount of young depth ready to make their stateside debuts, the system could take over the coveted rank of number one in baseball.

 

Elsewhere in the NL Central: Bucs are #3, Cards are #6, Reds at #16, and the Brewers are all the way down at #29. LA Angels take the 30th spot.

 

That will be a fun Tennessee lineup

[A New Era]

Man Almora's voice has changed quite a bit since that first video I remember watching when he cried about his grandfather.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140226&content_id=68353926&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc&tcid=tw_article_68353926

 

I don't know why but after watching that I suddenly thought. Almora will be the prospect to rise in the rankings more than any other in the Cubs system by the end of 2014. And he's already ranked high. Almora for #1 prospect in baseball Feb '15!!

[BeerHere]

Sano of the Twins will miss the 2014 season with TJS.

[dcvalpo]

KC drafted Keith Law's #10 overall prospect in that spot, i'm sure they're still probably ok with their choice

 

Oh [expletive], I brainfarted and thought that was the year they drafted Bubba Starling. Disregard. I really like Zimmer.

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz3llhGNMo1rn95k2o1_500.gif

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

KC drafted Keith Law's #10 overall prospect in that spot, i'm sure they're still probably ok with their choice

 

Oh [expletive], I brainfarted and thought that was the year they drafted Bubba Starling. Disregard. I really like Zimmer.

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz3llhGNMo1rn95k2o1_500.gif

 

http://i.imgur.com/V8T6NPO.gif

[dcvalpo]

KC drafted Keith Law's #10 overall prospect in that spot, i'm sure they're still probably ok with their choice

 

Oh [expletive], I brainfarted and thought that was the year they drafted Bubba Starling. Disregard. I really like Zimmer.

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz3llhGNMo1rn95k2o1_500.gif

 

http://i.imgur.com/V8T6NPO.gif

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/oh-stop-u.gif

[Guest]

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/chc/aggressive-cubs-prospect-javier-baez-developing-patience-at-plate?ymd=20140302&content_id=68580488

 

It's a good thing the Cactus League games have begun. The Cubs have had a tough time finding a field that's safe for Javier Baez to hit on.

 

On the first day the shortstop was in Cubs camp, Baez was on Field 2, and hit three or four balls over the left-field wall and onto Highway 101. Desi Wilson, the hitting coach at Double-A Tennessee, was in right field, watching.

 

"It was ridiculous," Wilson said. "It was his first day. But it doesn't surprise me."

 

The Cubs moved Baez to Field 5, one of four fields located in a supposedly safer section of the complex. Baez launched balls over the left-field wall that broke two car windows in the parking lot.

 

"That's unfortunate," Wilson said, "But Javy is working on his game and that's part of his game."

 

What may surprise Baez fans is that his best at-bat last year wasn't when he hit any of his 37 home runs, including any of the four in one game for Class A Daytona. The one that makes Baez smile was when he drew a walk in a 12-pitch at-bat on Aug. 17 for Double-A Tennessee in a game against Chattanooga's Ross Stripling.

 

"That was my best at-bat, that was my best at-bat the whole year," Baez said. "I was being patient and seeing the ball from the pitcher real good and I wasn't chasing any pitches. I was just fighting back, fighting back, fighting back. I took a fastball outside and it was a ball."

 

Stripling gave up one hit over six innings in that game and walked two. Tennessee lost, 6-4, but Baez showed more patience in that one plate appearance than he had all year. Wilson was the Smokies' hitting coach, and after Baez walked, the shortstop pointed to the dugout at Wilson.

 

"I was proud of him," Wilson said. "[i told him] 'I'm proud of you because that's what we want, every at-bat, not just one at-bat. I'm not saying see 12 pitches, but you showed patience and control of the strike zone.'

 

"I harp on that every day," Wilson said. "I give him constant reminders and he goes about it the right way. You tell him something and he goes out there and applies it, especially a young aggressive hitter that Javy Baez is. He'll go out there and apply it. He applied it last year in Double-A and you could see the results. The average was high and the home runs were crazy. You could see he's maturing at the plate and understanding the strike zone."

 

Baez is in the Cubs' big league camp for the second straight spring, and hoping to build off last season and that one at-bat.

 

"I like swinging the bat, and I'm just going to try to swing the bat as much as I can and try to see if it's a ball or strike, and if it's a ball, I'll try not to swing," Baez said. "I don't take many walks. This year, I'm going to work on that."

 

Baez's quick hands result in an aggressive, almost violent swing, but Wilson has seen the young slugger make progress and tone down his leg kick and first move to the ball. The result was a .294 average in 54 games at Tennessee.

 

"He's looking for his pitch, No. 1, and two, he'll have that time to ambush a pitcher when he faces him two or three times down the road because he's seen all his offspeed pitches, his breaking balls, how he pitches with runners in scoring position," Wilson said of Baez. "There will come a point in time when Javy will look for that first pitch because he's developed a history with that pitcher. It's a process that every hitter in the organization goes through. 'Why are you swinging at the first pitch when you don't even know the guy?'

 

On Friday, Wilson was in the dugout watching Baez in his start against the Angels, and the shortstop went 0-for-3. Both were happy about the quality of the at-bats.

 

"You could see the smile on his face," Wilson said. "He was happy with his [at-bats]. He hit the ball hard and didn't leave the zone. That's what we want. He's going deeper in counts. I don't look at the results, I look at what pitches are he swinging at, how many pitches did he see in that at-bat, did he swing at the first pitch, which he didn't.

 

"The kid has come a long ways and you can see it in his [at-bats]," Wilson said.

[TruffleShuffle]

i've reached the point where if he ends up not being a good player, i'm going to be really depressed by that.

[Clem Fandango]

Javier Baez will be proof that Jim Hendry wasn't a total imbecile.

[rawaction]

I never understood the whole, "don't swing at the first pitch" theory. I understand if you've never seen the guy, but it's not like the pitcher doesn't previously exist. You know what you're getting into with most pitchers. You know if a guy throws 88 or 96. I don't agree with taking a strike just for the sake of taking the 1st pitch. If a guy throws some hittable junk up there, Javy should kill it regardless if it is the 1st or 12th pitch.

 

That being said, I think I'm going to tweet Javy and ask him if he would like to get my wife pregnant. I love this man.

[craig]

Agree that the first pitch stuff is suspect. Stats show superior production on first pitch hitting.

 

I assume the actual coaching is a little more nuanced. Unless they simply want to see Baez hitting in more challenging counts for developmental reasons. The real goal, I think, is to develop pitch recognition so that good decisions are made while pitch is in flight, rather than before the pitch is thrown. Perhaps taking more and seeing more real game pitches is helpful in that regard, developmentally. (Recognizing what some 45-year-old coach is throwing in BP is maybe not so helpful.)

 

But in the majors, where good pitchers don't give you many easy pitches, pitch one is often the best or only good pitch you'll see.

[mul21]

Agree that the first pitch stuff is suspect. Stats show superior production on first pitch hitting.

 

I assume the actual coaching is a little more nuanced. Unless they simply want to see Baez hitting in more challenging counts for developmental reasons. The real goal, I think, is to develop pitch recognition so that good decisions are made while pitch is in flight, rather than before the pitch is thrown. Perhaps taking more and seeing more real game pitches is helpful in that regard, developmentally. (Recognizing what some 45-year-old coach is throwing in BP is maybe not so helpful.)

 

But in the majors, where good pitchers don't give you many easy pitches, pitch one is often the best or only good pitch you'll see.

 

I think this is probably the best reason to have him doing that. Learning how to manage an AB deep in the count is something I'd like to see him get really good at. I loved a lot about Soriano's game, but his general inability to be a tough out against good pitchers because of his propensity to swing at pitches nowhere near the zone was frustrating to watch.

[Guest]

It's not a hard and fast rule, but there's definitely something to be gained for going deep into AB's purely for the sake of going deep into them as a philosophy.

 

I don't have numbers in front of me, but I'd guess that the odds for an impact hit go up considerably in favorable counts (obviously if you take a couple of strikes, they're going to go down similarly) and you wear down the starter and get into the bullpen earlier, which would also stand to help an offense (rather than letting the starter cruise into the 7th and then facing a team's best two relievers or whatever).

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I imagine there's some game theory going on. You should probably be swingning at the first pitch just often enough to force the pitcher not to take it for granted you won't swing at the first pitch.

[Sammy Sofa]

It would seem, from a totally lazy and unscientific standpoint, that intentionally not swinging at the first pitch was something Castro was trying to do last year much to his detriment.

 

I'm probably wrong.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Sammy Sofa

[Guest]

I imagine there's some game theory going on. You should probably be swingning at the first pitch just often enough to force the pitcher not to take it for granted you won't swing at the first pitch.

 

Yeah, pretty much this.

[Guest]

As a hitter, you should know your happy zones and launch any fastball in any count in your happy zone.

[rawaction]

My comment stemmed from being proud that he didn't swing at any first pitches. You can work counts by more than just not swinging at the first pitch. Im sure the appropriate teaching is going on, I just hope the message is clear.

[Guest]

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/21700/baez-mailbag-prefers-2b-after-ss

 

What are you trying to improve on most this season in preparation for the bigs? -- Alex (New Milford, Conn.)

JB: I've been hitting a lot of breaking balls and reading the ball if it's going to be a strike or not. Trying to lay off those ones that end up out of the strike zone.

 

Last season you really struggled for the first six weeks in Daytona, and then you caught fire. What adjustments did you make in your approach that helped you go on that run that included your four home run game before being promoted to Double-A? -- Jeff (St. Louis)

JB: I started hitting the ball to the right side more. And then let the ball get deeper in the zone. That got me going.

 

What's the farthest home run you've ever hit? -- Jimmy (Champaign, Ill.)

JB: In high school I hit one 446 feet. I think that was the furthest.

 

What position(s), other than shortstop, are you most comfortable playing? -- AJ (Tulsa, Okla.)

JB: I would say second base. You don't have to move as much as you do at shortstop. It's pretty much the same except for that. I think I can do it.

 

If you had your pick, what number would you choose when you make your major league debut with the Cubs? -- Edgar (Chicago)

JB: Either 10 or 23 but they both are retired for the Cubs so it doesn't matter. I'll deal with that later. (Laughing) You don't see your number so it doesn't matter to me.

[KingCubsFan]

It would seem, from a totally lazy and unscientific standpoint, that intentionally not swinging at the first pitch was something Castro was trying to do last year much to his detriment.

 

I'm probably wrong.

Agreed. Without looking at any numbers, he seemed to let a lot of first pitch strikes go by, putting him in a hole and causing him to swing at anything near the zone after that.

[Bull]

Javier Baez will be proof that Jim Hendry wasn't a total imbecile.

It wasn't the Hendry picks I had a problem with, it was the development of those picks. Under Hendry, Baez would have gone all Vittersery.