Cubs get another rehabbing A

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I'm a fan. He was a pretty good prospect. The depth can't hurt.

[Cubswin11]

Yeah seems like a plenty worthy gamble, especially now that we have revamped some pitching development stuff. His change up was his best pitch and elite, iirc. So hopefully there’s some sequencing stuff or clean up with some of his other pitches that can be achieved working with the new guys and they can unlock the potential that had people raving a few years ago. Edited November 23, 2019 by Cubswin11

[Guancous]

Cotton was the hot sleeper in 2018 fantasy drafts.

[Bertz]

Cool cool cool. I thought it was weird that they didn't protect one more guys from the Rule 5 draft, but this is absolutely a worthwhile tradeoff. The Iowa rotation next spring will likely be:

 

Alzolay

Abbott

Miller

Cotton

Rea

 

In addition to likely one of Chatwood/Mills in the MLB pen as a long guy. The Cubs finally have starting pitching depth that is not just adequate, but good.

[Named After Maddux]

I really like the move. There’s next to no downside and Cotton’s changeup was + to ++ per BP prior to his TJS. What he’s struggled with is his ability to throw a breaking ball. I wonder if they’re going to try to have him incorporate one of these knuckle curves they’ve had some success with in pitching development.

Also his 93 mph average FB that can top out at 96-97 with that change up could be awfully interesting in the pen for a couple innings.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Whoa. ...but why were the A's willing to ditch him?

[Cubswin11]

Whoa. ...but why were the A's willing to ditch him?

They were under a 40-man crunch

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Yeah I'm a fan of our starting depth at the moment. Any of our projected Iowa 5 could step in for a start and I wouldn't feel terrible about it.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Whoa. ...but why were the A's willing to ditch him?

They were under a 40-man crunch

I'm not very up to spec on who the A's have on their roster, but I'm stunned that Cotton wasn't worth a spot anymore. It just makes me think he's damaged goods to a higher degree than we want to admit.

[Cubswin11]

[Cubswin11]

Good, short thread. The cutter and curve comment makes me wonder if they’ll try and do the knuckle curve thing with him as his breaking ball pitch since they had luck with that this year with other dudes.

 

 

 

[CubsWin]

I found this interesting from The Athletic back in May:

 

There’s no debate that Cotton always had the stuff. He has one of the most devastating changeups in the league; Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez even compared it to his on the MLB Network.

 

“It’s a big-league out pitch,” former A’s pitcher and current NBC sports analyst Dallas Braden said recently. “He has the desire to really learn how to pitch with that pitch. There’s a big difference between throwing with a pitch and pitching with a pitch.” At his best, Cotton employs a mid-90s fastball. When he could locate that to go along with his changeup, he was dominant.

 

But there’s one issue: Everyone around Cotton saw the stuff but him.

 

“With Jharel, you look at the ability. You look at the arm strength and the ability to shape a pitch, and that’s a sure thing,” said Giants bullpen coach Matt Herges, Cotton’s pitching coach for the Dodgers in the minors, last year. “With Jharel, it was mainly maturing mentally. Maturing with his mindset.

 

“He’s got the raw stuff to be a superstar. He really does. He’s one of those people that needs people around him to believe in him. If he has that, he thrives in those environments. He’s a guy that can doubt easily. He can let doubt creep in. So, (you need) to pour into him. Not just telling him how great he is, but just pouring into him, (saying,) ‘You should be secure. Like, security should be your main strength because of what you have on the mound.’”

 

One scout during spring training last season recollected a brief conversation he had in passing with Cotton. Cotton was slated to start in Peoria against a Mariners lineup that featured some heavy hitters at the top of their order — namely Cruz and Robinson Canó.

 

(*Of note, this is paraphrased.)

 

“I’m facing those guys tomorrow,” Cotton told the scout.

 

“Motherfu#k*r,” the scout responded. “They have to face you.”

[CubinNY]

I found this interesting from The Athletic back in May:

 

There’s no debate that Cotton always had the stuff. He has one of the most devastating changeups in the league; Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez even compared it to his on the MLB Network.

 

“It’s a big-league out pitch,” former A’s pitcher and current NBC sports analyst Dallas Braden said recently. “He has the desire to really learn how to pitch with that pitch. There’s a big difference between throwing with a pitch and pitching with a pitch.” At his best, Cotton employs a mid-90s fastball. When he could locate that to go along with his changeup, he was dominant.

 

But there’s one issue: Everyone around Cotton saw the stuff but him.

 

“With Jharel, you look at the ability. You look at the arm strength and the ability to shape a pitch, and that’s a sure thing,” said Giants bullpen coach Matt Herges, Cotton’s pitching coach for the Dodgers in the minors, last year. “With Jharel, it was mainly maturing mentally. Maturing with his mindset.

 

“He’s got the raw stuff to be a superstar. He really does. He’s one of those people that needs people around him to believe in him. If he has that, he thrives in those environments. He’s a guy that can doubt easily. He can let doubt creep in. So, (you need) to pour into him. Not just telling him how great he is, but just pouring into him, (saying,) ‘You should be secure. Like, security should be your main strength because of what you have on the mound.’”

 

One scout during spring training last season recollected a brief conversation he had in passing with Cotton. Cotton was slated to start in Peoria against a Mariners lineup that featured some heavy hitters at the top of their order — namely Cruz and Robinson Canó.

 

(*Of note, this is paraphrased.)

 

“I’m facing those guys tomorrow,” Cotton told the scout.

 

“Motherfu#k*r,” the scout responded. “They have to face you.”

Reminds me of the Billy Beane/Lenny Dykstra conversation reported in Moneyball.

[David]

I found this interesting from The Athletic back in May:

 

There’s no debate that Cotton always had the stuff. He has one of the most devastating changeups in the league; Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez even compared it to his on the MLB Network.

 

“It’s a big-league out pitch,” former A’s pitcher and current NBC sports analyst Dallas Braden said recently. “He has the desire to really learn how to pitch with that pitch. There’s a big difference between throwing with a pitch and pitching with a pitch.” At his best, Cotton employs a mid-90s fastball. When he could locate that to go along with his changeup, he was dominant.

 

But there’s one issue: Everyone around Cotton saw the stuff but him.

 

“With Jharel, you look at the ability. You look at the arm strength and the ability to shape a pitch, and that’s a sure thing,” said Giants bullpen coach Matt Herges, Cotton’s pitching coach for the Dodgers in the minors, last year. “With Jharel, it was mainly maturing mentally. Maturing with his mindset.

 

“He’s got the raw stuff to be a superstar. He really does. He’s one of those people that needs people around him to believe in him. If he has that, he thrives in those environments. He’s a guy that can doubt easily. He can let doubt creep in. So, (you need) to pour into him. Not just telling him how great he is, but just pouring into him, (saying,) ‘You should be secure. Like, security should be your main strength because of what you have on the mound.’”

 

One scout during spring training last season recollected a brief conversation he had in passing with Cotton. Cotton was slated to start in Peoria against a Mariners lineup that featured some heavy hitters at the top of their order — namely Cruz and Robinson Canó.

 

(*Of note, this is paraphrased.)

 

“I’m facing those guys tomorrow,” Cotton told the scout.

 

“Motherfu#k*r,” the scout responded. “They have to face you.”

Reminds me of the Billy Beane/Lenny Dykstra conversation reported in Moneyball.

 

[Bertz]