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Jason Ross

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Everything posted by Jason Ross

  1. Jason Ross
    I dont think the White Sox are going to make the playoffs.
  2. Jason Ross
    Yep. Just did a super deep dive on his mechanics today and article will be up soon. I came to the same conclusion. Upper half a little taller and I think that front shoulder isn't as rolled in.
  3. Jason Ross
    It's not reduced. He hit 2 home runs yesterday in what looked like a slightly lower kick, but two home runs the day before with the big one. He's always vacillated a bit between the two, but there would be no rhyme or reason for him to reduce the leg kick the day after he hit 2 home runs with a big one. It feels more anecdotal pitcher to pitcher and a timing mechanism than anything. With the Cubs Two days ago. But like I posted with Thaw, look at his front shoulder - it's subtle, but it's not as closed off. He's clearing it better which allows the bat to strike the ball in a better position of the bat path.
  4. Jason Ross
    His swing was just messed up. Mechanics get a little off. I thought his top half and his bottom half became "undone". They weren't in sync. His front end was coming in before the bottom, and his front side wasn't allowing him to lift the ball - it was staying down because it was in the wrong part of his swing - thus the ground balls. He wasn't clearing his bottom half fast enough. This continued in Triple-A despite the drop in pitching quality - though he showed far improved contact and chase rates than his previous stints in Iowa. Someone seeing the ball well should not be making weak contact. Compare his Iowa Statcast below from his two years: I think those two things are in sync now. So he's clearing it quicker, and his front side isn't on the down swing allowing him to better lift the ball. His LA was all horsefeathered up. Now it's not. If there's one change, I do think he's taking a larger stride. He feels like when his kick his up and coming down, he's wider then he was with the Cubs. But It's hard to tell exactly with camera angles.
  5. Jason Ross
    ] Yesterday, walk off HR. Yesterday leadoff HR. There's no significant change overall. Feels like anecdotal changes based on pitcher more than anything, I think.
  6. Jason Ross
  7. Jason Ross
    Time to get him on a quick ride to Chicago,
  8. Jason Ross
    I would say he's probably done. He was capping around 80 in Iowa and they'd probably rather get a reliever in a fresh inning versus having to bring someone in if Horton can't finish the inning in 12 or so pitches. He's set up for a W in his Wrigley debut and had a nice last inning. We know W's are dumb stats, but they mean something to the guys still, I think. Let him leave on a high.
  9. Jason Ross
    He did this a few times earlier this year in Iowa, too, until he really settled in. He'd get ahead, miss a bit too far out of the zone with the slider, and stay a little too much in the zone with the fastballs and guys would hang around. I think it's a bit of over throwing the slider, a bit too confident with the fastball in the zone.
  10. Jason Ross
    MLB pitchers are much better. They're using his aggressive nature against him. Triple-A pitchers don't have the type of command or control - if they did, they'd be in the Majors. High contact-high swing players have a tendency to do this. He'll get there. Just has to learn what's a pitch he can hit versus a pitch he can hit for damage. Right now he's capable of hitting too much - he just needs to learn that.
  11. Jason Ross
    To a degree, I understand. We're all fans and we want everything right away. And listen, I'm a patience-merchant. My job is to hang out with 125 middle schooler's every day. It probably helps me when it comes to prospects. But I think Horton will be just fine. He's hung a few pitches on a windy day. It's a good learning experience.
  12. Jason Ross
    We do this same song and dance every time a top prospect comes up and isn't perfect in his first game and a half. We don't need to do it. We can have just the slightest bit of patience.
  13. Jason Ross
    I think the after the first, the concept of BPA is pretty spurious as is, in my opinion. At that point you're drafting between different versions of flawed (not in a bad way, but there's just a reason most of these kids aren't going higher. They have skills! Just need specific polishes). But I expect this will be a pitcher heavy draft, yes. They'll probably pick a catcher (picking one catcher a draft is good practice) and a hitter or two sprinkled throughout. But my expectation is 12-14 arms and potentially like a 16-arm 4-bat draft if they really lean into it.
  14. Jason Ross
    Yeah, feels like Shaw to Chicago won't be far behind. Being in Iowa he could conceivably up again Friday or this weekend if they really wanted to make it happen. They're slated to be in Miami Monday, so no off days to make it super easy. But could be any day.
  15. Jason Ross
    He consistently hits, and while he isn't a star power hitter, he does everything else so well. He's been 43% better than Triple-A average this year. 88% better than Double-A last year and 43% better than league average on the whole last year. To put it another way, last year Nathaniel Lowe hit 16 home runs and was a 121 wRC+ hitter at the 1b position last year. His ISO was .136 - this is lower than Long's ISO in Triple-A right now. He can be that guy. Pete Alonso hit 34 home runs but was a 122+ wRC+ hitter. Power at the position is cool, but Long was just as good despite. Jonathon Long might not be a 30+ home run guy. But his batted ball data is really good. I think we have to accept he's going to be a different version of a 1b/DH, like a Lowe, but it doesn't mean he can't be good.
  16. Jason Ross
    Oh, I was being sarcastic because of how much damage he did! Like "what a ho-hum day!"
  17. Jason Ross
    No lineup is too good to collectively slump. Every team does. But if the Cubs version of a "slump" is "100 wRC+" they're sitting fairly pretty.
  18. Jason Ross
    I swear I'll make every kid have a lunch detention until I'm having a good day. Just for you.
  19. Jason Ross
    Sorry friends, this one is on me. "But you don't even play for the Cubs," you say. You'd be right. But I also had one of *those* days, so I couldn't experience joy today. I'll be back on my game Friday, as Kentucky State Testing will be over. Expect a 10 run breakout. Yes, clearly I'm the main character of the world and everything revolves around me. This is essentially the Truman show.
  20. Jason Ross
    Hes not dead yet! (Okay its 2 pas but whatever).
  21. Jason Ross
  22. Jason Ross
    Prospects Live mocked Steele Hall to the Cubs. That's a guy who fits a lot of the Cubs profile. In terms of profile he feels like a guy to watch.
  23. Jason Ross
    I'm perfectly fine with him in Arizona. He's been a two-way player and never focused on just hitting. He was also an absolute beanpole, listed at 6"4 180lbs. He's got a ton of Cody Bellinger in his build and he really needs to get into a weight room. Hard to tell what the progress there is/has been with how the ACL is kind of quarantined off, so how much he's added or not, I can't speak to. But he probably needs more time than most in working on his body. The ACL is a good place for that. But yeah, he's a good deep-cut project right now. The Cubs like upside prep in the 11th round and Lovich is another in that mold. There's some good stuff there.
  24. Jason Ross
    I used to have access to True Media, sadly, they changed the rates on us and we had to go a different route, so please, this is a bit of a memory exercise - True Media had better data disaggregation and more specifics I could access that I cannot any longer. But basically, around the ASB he switched his swing. The LA profile jumped something like 10 degrees and the ISO nearly doubled. But the contact rate dipped below the 70's in contact and overall to the low 60's. If he can just be a 70%-in zone guy I think he's a dude especially as he's finally tapping into the power a bit more. The EV's have always been good but if he's going to hit it that hard in the air? Watch out bleacher folk
  25. Jason Ross
    The contact has been better. He made the swing change around July last year and since then the contact numbers have been low while the EV, fly balls and ISO have soared. My hope has been for a while that once he got comfortable with lifting and pulling more that the contact rates would follow. Through his career in the MiLB, he's tended to begin to "figure it out" after a few months when it came to competition level. The swing change, while not a competition level change still represented *a* change. He doesn't have to be a contact God. Just good enough. He should carry better than expected BABIP and if the power holds, a Kyle Schwarber type (though one who I suspect trades a few walks for a few bas hits) while not being relegated to just a DH feels like a real outcome.
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