Anyone got Down on the Farm info?

[davell]

Or anything else from Wilken, McLeod, Bohringer from the convention? I hope we get as detailed reports as we did last year, which were awesome. Only thing I've heard that was interesting so far is it looks like Robert Whitenack will begin 2012 on a full season team. Which is great news obviously.

[Named After Maddux]

Hey haven't posted in awhile. Finishing up my pharmacy degree by working in an ICU in Chicago so I've been insanely busy, but I'll have a report when I get back home in an hour or so. I also got to talk to Tim Wilken on the side. He gave me a little bit of info on 2012 draft strengths and weaknesses and what the Cubs would be looking at.

[Named After Maddux]

I'll be giving a report for the Down on the Farm meeting and my interview with Tim Wilken. Feel free to message me and ask if you have a specific question.

Down on the Farm:

Rhee was mentioned as being back to full strength (93-95 fb and breaking pitches more consistent last year-obligatory Fleita gushing warning). They didn't talk about which breaking pitches he'd be throwing just that they had tightened up. In addition he was projected to start in the AA rotation.

Whitenack is expected to be ready to start the 2012 season in Daytona at the end of spring training. I didn't think he'd be ready by then and was shocked, but it was great to hear.

 

Jeff Beliveau has made substantial strides since he's been drafted on his control, which was apparently spotty in school. They now feel he can be a back-end of the bullpen guy (didn't specify closer or set-up, just using the term Wilken and Fleita mentioned). In addition, he was, according to Wilken, to have a bit of poor conditioning when drafted. He now has 6.5% body fat at the last time he was measured by the Cubs! The panel (in particular Wilken and Brett Jackson) was jokingly trying to get him to take his shirt off for the crowd, but he wasn't having any of it.

 

A bit of an aside, Brett Jackson is hilarious and so at ease with the crowd. He looked very "Hollywood". Brett answered the questions well and took pressure off several of the other players, especially Junior Lake, who was very nervous. Brett was asked to translate for Junior Lake after a question about what he learned about living in the US. Here's his "translation": "Brett Jackson is the best player I've ever played with... he is also my best friend". Everyone laughed, even Lake, who can understand and speak English, but was nervous. Jackson was very confident, not in a cocky "better than everyone here" attitude, just confident in being there. They paired him with Anthony Rizzo the whole weekend, which was great because Rizzo was a little overwhelmed and they will probably be playing with each other in AAA and Chicago (hopefully soon :beg: )

 

Management has added a new system in which players in the minors can watch film of players throughout the minor leagues including themselves on their mobile devices. McLeod was really proud of this and discussed how it gives the players with the strongest work ethic the ability to really study up and prepare themselves for the big leagues.

 

Javier Baez will be given a chance to play SS next year and beyond. No decision has been made and it was said that "his bat can play anywhere", although likely 2nd or 3rd if not SS.

Scouts will watch two-sport players in their other sport. Wilken watched Matt Szczur play in a football game against Penn.

 

Tim Wilken interview: Tim was nice enough to sit down and answer a few of my questions. In particular he spoke about how he and the Team hadn't found any loopholes in the new CBA (but let's be honest, would he tell me if they had?). He spoke about the only advantage would be to immensely increase the amount of exposure the scouting staff had to amateur players. In addition, I was unaware that he was the only Scouting Director strictly in charge of the Amateur and Professional side of the game. He said it put a huge strain on him and he was actually excited to just focus on what appears to be his "baby", the amateur draft. I was wondering if he bristled at McLeod being brought in. But he mentioned that he can focus on what he really loves to do. Maybe a PC answer, but it seemed genuine. Finally, the 2012 draft will be very heavy in favor of positional players. He said that management is very aware of the holes in the system, namely SP, but it won't be easy to correct in the 2012 draft. He did say that LH SP in high school appears to be quite strong and it will be an area the team will target.

[davell]

Great stuff. Hopefully, some pitching falls into our lap somehow in the draft.

[TruffleShuffle]

Jeff Beliveau has made substantial strides since he's been drafted on his control, which was apparently spotty in school.

 

that is putting it mildly. he walked 77 batters in 77 innings his junior year of college.

[Guest]

Thanks!

[davell]

Brett seems to be a future leader. I hope we get him and Rizzo to the majors for good by midseason.

[Named After Maddux]

So my original post took too long and I had to retype it! Lost the info about our IFAs. Wilken spoke specifically about Malave, Hernandez, and Candelario. Not scouting info just that he was really excited about them in particular. Spoke about how impressed he was watching down in Instructs. He said that really changed his mind about what to expect in 2012. No mention about where they'd start, but again was impressed. In particular, thought it was extremely exciting Malave and Candelario could be hitting middle of the order and succeeding against much older teams at instructs.

[javy knows my name]

Soooo cool. Thanks for this.

[davell]

With the draft seemingly being stronger in position players than pitching, even though it's extraodinarily rare, I wonder if we could make straight minor leagues for minor leagues trades? The Dodgers, Padres, Braves, Rangers, Phils, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Rays, Blue Jays, A's, and even the Brewers and Cards are pitching heavy, to some extent. We could dangle guys like Szczur, Golden, Vogelbach(in a few months)Watkins, Vitters, and Ha to see what kind of pitching we could acquire anyway.

[craig]

Thanks much, maddux. Very interesting.

 

Sounds like not much scouting info in the actual DOF session.

[jumbo]

With the draft seemingly being stronger in position players than pitching, even though it's extraodinarily rare, I wonder if we could make straight minor leagues for minor leagues trades? The Dodgers, Padres, Braves, Rangers, Phils, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Rays, Blue Jays, A's, and even the Brewers and Cards are pitching heavy, to some extent. We could dangle guys like Szczur, Golden, Vogelbach(in a few months)Watkins, Vitters, and Ha to see what kind of pitching we could acquire anyway.

 

I'm hoping that the trades for team-controlled starting pitchers in Wood and Voldstat, along with a Garza extension, will lessen the internal pressure on our pitching prospects and give us some time to develop options from within. We may still need to sign a #1/2 to complement the mid-end rotation depth, but that should give our upper level guys refinement time and see who of the lower level guys will step forward.

 

For the draft, you obviously go with best talent available. I can't wait for the minor league system to be stacked with talent from AAA-rookie league at every position. Think of our CF situation, you've got Jackson/Ha/Szczur/DeVoss/Chen/Dunston/JeBaez (maybe DeVoss goes to 2B). There's a lot of depth at C throughout the system, too. Just wait till the new front office fills out some of the other positions.

 

Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I think we're definitely on the right track and I can't wait to see what the future of the system holds, even if the major league club isn't successful this season.

[Laura]

Named after Maddux did a great job. I'll mention a few additional items, and hopefully others can chime in, too.

 

Rizzo said something in passing about attending a 'getting traded' conference in DC in passing -- does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

Brett Jackson is California Cool.

 

Fleita spoke at some length about selecting American-born prospects to spend time at the Dominican facility for cultural reasons in addition to focusing on specific skills. He said this gives U.S. players the experience of being in a foreign country with a different language / culture / cuisine and having to rely on teammates to help navigate everyday life. It also gives young players a chance to build relationships with Dominican players who will be moving to AZ and beyond. Bret Jackson and Vitters were both asked about this program (they spend about a month in the DR), then they asked Junior Lake about the reverse experience (which Maddux describes above).

 

In the Player Development session, Fleita talked about a two-week seminar in Chicago that they are arranging for top prospects to attend that will focus on handling off-the-field life in MLB. It sounded like the NBA rookie program, but he also made it sound like a new program for 2012.

 

Some of the old-timers here will remember Mark Peel. Mark made an appearance to ask Josh Vitters whether his plate discipline improvements over the past year were due to a concerted focus on plate discipline or maturation as a hitter. Vitters said it was both - working hard with coaches on his approach and gaining more experience.

 

The individualized video clips program that Maddux mentioned above sounds great, but it also sounds like another area where the Cubs are playing catch-up.

 

Wilken talked about looking for how players interact with teammates before, during and after the game and how they handle winning/losing as being an important aspect of scouting. They look for feedback on how players handle adversity, since "that's all they'll face" being challenged in the minor league system.

 

McLeod / Fleita / Wilken throughtout the conference played Mutual Admiration Society. It did seem genuine, particularly when McLeod talked about the respect he had for Wilken and Bohringer.

[TruffleShuffle]

vitters' plate discipline improved? he struck out less this past year, but his walk rate was even worse than the previous year. i guess it's nice to hear that he recognizes this as a problem area and is working on it though.

[craig]

Laura or Maddux, other than the comments on Rhee, Beliveau's control and body fat, and Baez, was there any other actual scouting comments made by management guys about specific players?

 

Ha? Szczur? Antigua? McNutt? Castillo? Jensen? Golden? Wells? Dunston? Rosario?

[craig]

...Wilken spoke specifically about Malave, Hernandez, and Candelario. Not scouting info just that he was really excited about them in particular. Spoke about how impressed he was watching down in Instructs. He said that really changed his mind about what to expect in 2012. No mention about where they'd start, but again was impressed. In particular, thought it was extremely exciting Malave and Candelario could be hitting middle of the order and succeeding against much older teams at instructs.

 

That is pretty encouraging and exciting. Glad to hear some good encouragement on Malave; and about Candelario apart from just the DSL stats which are available to everybody, but which don't mean the when a scouting guy like Wilken watches the guy that he'll be equally impressed. And the continued enthusiasm for Hernandez. Would sure be sweet if those guys pan out as real prospects.

 

Too bad that the there is no indication that the cba constraints aren't real.

[Named After Maddux]

Unfortunately not a lot of comments about specific players was brought up. Most of the questions weren't geared towards players. Szczur and Rizzo were addressed multiple times about their strong make-up. Dave Otto was on kind of an Open Mic night and got off track a little. I'll look through my notes and I'll see if there's anything I missed.

[craig]

vitters' plate discipline improved? he struck out less this past year, but his walk rate was even worse than the previous year. i guess it's nice to hear that he recognizes this as a problem area and is working on it though.

 

Theo might be misguided (I think that he is on this point, because I think walks in themselves are both a valuable target and a good manifestation of plate discipline). But I think he was quoted as saying that plate discipline isn't about taking walks, that it's about swinging at good pitches. It may be that Vitters reduction of K's reflects that by the Theo or Mark-Peel definition, that he was indeed more disciplined and was swinging at fewer bad balls, even if he didn't actually take enough strikes to get into walk-counts.

 

I'm not arguing the importance or walks and IsoD, I think it's huge myself. But I think there's a real possibility that we'll be very disappointed in finding that Theo's guys don't actually value or teach or coach our guys into taking significantly more walks.

[davell]

I think for most though, that it goes hand in hand. If you lay off enough pitcher's pitches, it should lead to walks for most guys. Vitters could be an exception, same with Castro and Torreyes, for that matter, as their contact ability is phenomenal. But if it helps those guys swing at pitches they can drive, it's still much better for us.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Vitters just needs to work on his defense and fulfill his destiny as a 290/320/450 third baseman.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Javier Baez will be given a chance to play SS next year and beyond. No decision has been made and it was said that "his bat can play anywhere", although likely 2nd or 3rd if not SS.

Scouts will watch two-sport players in their other sport. Wilken watched Matt Szczur play in a football game against Penn

 

I'd think that they'd try him at 3rd first. Beyond Castro, we have Lake, Hernandez, Amaya, and now Torreyes in the high ceiling(and DeVoss and Watkins in the not quite as high ceiling) MI department. Beyond Vitters, we really don't have much of anything at 3rd depending on your feelings toward Cerda and Contreras.

[Named After Maddux]

Oh I definitely think 3rd is future for Baez instead of 2nd, especially considering the glut of MI prospects and we added Torreyes this off season. He has the skill set to be a strong offensive/ good defensive 3rd baseman (small sample size of errors at SS in 2011 not withstanding). It is good that they haven't already decided he needs to move, even if he does in 2012.

[craig]

...I'd think that they'd try him at 3rd first. Beyond Castro, we have Lake, Hernandez, Amaya, and now Torreyes in the high ceiling(and DeVoss and Watkins in the not quite as high ceiling) MI department. Beyond Vitters, we really don't have much of anything at 3rd depending on your feelings toward Cerda and Contreras.

 

3B and SS both demand super-strong arms. SS and 2B both benefit from extreme range. 3B requires some real quickness, because the ball is past you so fast; more time to see and react up the middle.

 

A 2B typically participates in more outs than a SS, and much more than a 3B. It may be that 2B defense is undervalued, and that "settling" there is more problematic than compromising at some other spots.

 

A SS with range, hands or bad mechanics problems at SS will probably have those same problems at 2B. I expect that Lake will be bad at 2B like he's bad at SS, although perhaps he won't make as many wild throws. At the same time, his quick reactions and his big arm might be better utilized at 3B. It may be that if Baez has quick but just isn't that rangy, that he'd be better suited at 3B also, certainly his arm is good for 3B. But if he's actually pretty good at SS, just not quite as rangy as the elite norm for big-league SS, perhaps his range at 2B will be fine. And his arm at 2B will be quite good, even if it's perhaps not quite as amazing as most regular SS's display.

 

I don't think there is any overload of real 2B prospects. So if Baez ends up being only slightly underqualified for SS, but would be qualified at 2B, that might be a great advantage spot to put his bat.

 

I'm hopeful for all of our prospects. But I don't think Cerda is really going to defend adequately, or have the power, to be a real factor. Watkins is too feeble offensively, and strikes out so much for a singles hitter, that he's a non-factor. My little-informed and admittedly premature understanding is that Devoss really has little aptitude for 2B, and is a remotely long shot to play big-league defensive 2b. Not counting the currrent SS's and Watkins, Torreyes is probably the one and only guy we've got who projects as a serious defensive 2B.

 

So in a sense if Vitters is the only 3B, and Torreyes is the only real 2B, if Baez could handle 2B at a high level, I'm not sure that would be talent wasted or blocked. Plus, there's also the question of Castro himself. How likely that he stays at SS, and if he moves I wonder which way he'd more likely go?

 

I guess to me it seems so unlikely that Baez will actually stay at SS, I'd really kind of rather he got practicing at his real big-league position(s) sooner rather than later.

[Guest]

I disagree craig. You have to at least give Baez one chance at SS to prove himself inadequate before you move him off (and I don't consider his week or so after signing last year adequate, especially considering how rusty he was after a few months off).

[craig]

I disagree craig. You have to at least give Baez one chance at SS to prove himself inadequate before you move him off (and I don't consider his week or so after signing last year adequate, especially considering how rusty he was after a few months off).

 

The scouts have seen him for more than a week, they've had fall instrux and his HS games too. But yes, if they can't really tell yet, then it's fine to try until he proves inadequate.

 

Fleita is still the boss of the farm. fleita and his staff IMO have consistently been overly slow to make changes. Jake Fox catcher; Lemahieu and Flaherty at SS; Lake at SS. (I also wonder about Vitters at 3B....)

 

Big-league defense is hard at any position. Waiting till AA or AAA to finally start practicing a guy at the spot he'll likely spend his career, not sure that's soon enough.

 

Other thing, minor-leaguers have a grueling schedule and I'm not sure how much they practice once the season starts. So if a guy is going to move, I think it would help to be spending fall instrux and spring training working and practicing at a new spot, and then start a new year at the new spot(s). If a kid has spent all his life and all of his pro career at SS, to suddenly switch him to 2B or 3B in the middle of a week in June, that might be kind of disrupting.