2022 Spring Training

[Bertz]

I don't think Gsellman is gonna head north with the club

[squally1313]

I wonder how much of an adjustment period Suzuki is going to have? He's 0-9 with 5 K so far in the spring, which I wouldn't think twice about normally but it seems like there would be an adjustment to increased velocity going from Japan to the MLB. I could be talking out of my ass though lol

IIRC Ohtani was an absolute train wreck his first spring training, so if I understand the timing correctly Suzuki will be the 2025 NL MVP.

With a 3.18 ERA?? Sign me up!

[We Got The Whole 9]

And he's on the board

[jersey cubs fan]

suzuki dong

[Gilby]

I'm actually really excited to see Madrigal play hopefully a full season. Zero K's through I think 17 spring PA's after the long layoff for him. I'm with Cubswin in that I'd like to see him 5th or 6th in the order with runners on and more holes in the infield

[Bertz]

I'm actually really excited to see Madrigal play hopefully a full season. Zero K's through I think 17 spring PA's after the long layoff for him. I'm with Cubswin in that I'd like to see him 5th or 6th in the order with runners on and more holes in the infield

 

One of the lineups I think late last week had Nico-Wisdom-Madrigal 7-8-9 and I loved that. Because we have some of these extreme guys, I really like the idea of trying to break up some of the like skills. Something like this:

 

CF - Ortega

RF - Suzuki

DH - Frazier

1B - Schwindel

LF - Happ

C - Contreras

SS - Nico

3B - Wisdom

2B - Madrigal

[Tim]

So cute that you guys think there will be runners on base

[Bertz]

Keegan Thompson looked great. Got wobbly for a batter or two after the Tellez dong but otherwise really attacked guys

[Bertz]

Ethan Roberts looked great again. Have to think the developments the last few days get him on the OD roster.

 

I do kind of wonder if he'll have a bit of a home run problem in the majors. As a short guy with average-ish velo who lives at the top of the zone, seems like a recipe for dongs. Though to his credit no issues so far in the minors, in fact he's had a vanishingly low HR/FB rate in his career.

[Cubswin11]

Keegan Thompson looked great. Got wobbly for a batter or two after the Tellez dong but otherwise really attacked guys

He only has ~75 IP since 2019. I wonder what his IP limit/target is this year. If he’s a full time starter you’d think he’d be shut down by the deadline or so. Guessing they use him this year like Dodgers/Brewers have used Peralta/Woodruff/Burnes/Suter/May/Gonsolin/Urias in the past to bring along as a opener/piggy back guy, multi inning RP, or spot starter to preserve innings and allow him to pitch most of the year and it doesn’t prevent him from being a SP moving forward as he builds innings.

[UMFan83]

Hendricks with 4 HRs allowed in his final spring tune up? Hope he was just working on some stuff

[squally1313]

Hendricks with 4 HRs allowed in his final spring tune up? Hope he was just working on some stuff

This doesn't really belong here, but just occurred to me...is Hendricks going to go down, performance wise, as a Jon Lester-lite? Obviously their personalities couldn't be much different, but could definitely see the tail of his career look a lot like Lester's.

[Bertz]

Keegan Thompson looked great. Got wobbly for a batter or two after the Tellez dong but otherwise really attacked guys

He only has ~75 IP since 2019. I wonder what his IP limit/target is this year. If he’s a full time starter you’d think he’d be shut down by the deadline or so. Guessing they use him this year like Dodgers/Brewers have used Peralta/Woodruff/Burnes/Suter/May/Gonsolin/Urias in the past to bring along as a opener/piggy back guy, multi inning RP, or spot starter to preserve innings and allow him to pitch most of the year and it doesn’t prevent him from being a SP moving forward as he builds innings.

 

I assume that barring additional injuries in the rotation he'll be a long man/piggyback type and get to low triple digits tops. Given where he's at currently and what's coming up behind him in the org I don't know that he'll ever end up a full time starter.

[Bertz]

Ethan Roberts looked great again. Have to think the developments the last few days get him on the OD roster.

 

I do kind of wonder if he'll have a bit of a home run problem in the majors. As a short guy with average-ish velo who lives at the top of the zone, seems like a recipe for dongs. Though to his credit no issues so far in the minors, in fact he's had a vanishingly low HR/FB rate in his career.

 

[Bertz]

 

[Tim]

I think the power is real with Seiya

[Gilby]

BN's writeup on the Nico play is.. odd. I don't quite understand why so many people are convinced he can't play a good shortstop when we've seen the athleticism at second base. Raw arm strength isn't everything.

It's weird.

[Tim]

Yeah, Addison played a really, really good shortstop back in the day with a fairly mediocre arm. Best case scenario for Nico is what we were hoping for Russell (minus the cretin parts of him) to be with less power. Not a star, but a really solid contributor on both sides of the ball.

[CubinNY]

Anyone see Schwarber’s HR that landed in the highway? Supposedly into the wind. I really like the Phillies’ chances this year. They are going to score a lot of runs.

[Bertz]

Anyone see Schwarber’s HR that landed in the highway? Supposedly into the wind. I really like the Phillies’ chances this year. They are going to score a lot of runs.

 

With that defense they're going to have to

 

It's a really solid team, but like most Dombrowski teams the bullpen could be a tire fire and there's very little depth. But if they get 60 starts out of Wheeler/Nola they seem like a certain wildcard team.

[Regular Show]

Yeah, Addison played a really, really good shortstop back in the day with a fairly mediocre arm. Best case scenario for Nico is what we were hoping for Russell (minus the cretin parts of him) to be with less power. Not a star, but a really solid contributor on both sides of the ball.

 

I don't think that's a good analogy or realistic best case scenario (like not at all).

 

"Best case scenario for Nico is what we were hoping for Russell to be with less power..." Ah, Nico has way, WAY less power (his IsoP is .078 in the big leagues). He has only hit 3 HRs in 378 career PAs. They are very different players with very different games...

 

Addison always had a shitty approach at the plate and power was the best part of his game offensively. Nico is a good contact hitter with a solid approach, but a definite lack of punch at the plate. Scouts and execs thought Addison had star potential (wrongly), whereas Nico really never was viewed that way.

 

Nico is more versatile on defense and has a solid arm, but Addison had a slightly better arm with a quick release (Javy had the best arm obviously). I think most people here were hoping that Addison would develop into an All-Star level SS because of the glowing scouting reports when we acquired him in the Samardzija trade. I like Nico and I think he'll keep improving, but I wouldn't compare him to Addison Russell... I'm not sure about the best case scenario for Nico, but it isn't that.

 

I would comp him to the late Ryan Freel (I believe I heard this comparison from a scout).

[CubinNY]

 

Lukewarm take: Thompson is the new Alec Mills with 1.0 either DFA'd or traded during 2022 after getting hit around a little

 

Thompson doesn't seem destined for like a long and storied ML career but it's not hard to see him being useful during his pre-arb window....The Future!

The Cubs have managed to make an entire roster out of replacement level players, minus Stroman, Wilson, Hendricks, and Suzuki.

[SpongeWorthy]

madrigal homer?!

 

he must have read that nob's column on espn.com saying he would be the first player to hit .300 with 0 homers since like 1978 or whatever

[itisallpartoftheplan]

madrigal homer?!

 

he must have read that nob's column on espn.com saying he would be the first player to hit .300 with 0 homers since like 1978 or whatever

 

Video Evidence

 

[itisallpartoftheplan]

 

Roberts makes the OD Roster.