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Jason Ross

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Everything posted by Jason Ross

  1. Jason Ross
    I had heard two names that were connected to a rumor and both of those players did not start. That rumor was also backed up with Matt's article today "Angels like Ayers, Cubs hesitant to include him". Kepley came in mid-game for Hartshorn. Why Hartshorn was pulled is hard to figure out; is it a trade? Is it an injury? The Cubs won't tell us anyways. I find the Ayers/Kepley lineup omissions at best a very strong coincidence but notable especially in that they were really the only two major ones system wide. That Kepley came in the game is odd. I would say nothing is completed earlier for sure. How close something else is? No idea.
  2. Jason Ross
    Approach changes are some of the hardest to make. Think about how many times we have talked about Seiya Suzuki on that front. Or Javier Baez on the opposite end. Kepley is young enough that he could make those changes, but what they do to his walk rate is up for debate. And then there's the question of "how much power does he have?" and "how good is the hit tool?" and how this plays into it. He's a good but I think somewhat limited prospect. I've got him more as a 4th OF'er than someone you want to start. Valuable but probably not a top-100 guy. If you get a team who loves Kepley, thinking he's a top-100 type, I'd pack his bags fast.
  3. Jason Ross
    I'm expecting something tonight. I'll be honest with you and say I'm not sure what, though. Had a few conversations here or there with some people who do know, and they also...don't know. There was smoke on some lineup choices earlier and then that got blown up. My personal guess is 3.5 is the line for "players added" and I lean towards the over (3 arms, 1 bat). If you go into tomorrow thinking you're getting four players I think you're probably living on the wrong planet. So I think someone has to get in tonight. Big or small, you have to get some early shopping done. Part of me thinks "the big one" happens tonight just to get it in and dusted (how big the big one is, who knows?) but that might be wishful thinking.
  4. Jason Ross
    If you wanted to lower the price on someone, Michael King's contract is a pretty hard sell. But a pitcher the Cubs have always admired.
  5. Jason Ross
    The entire MLB whiffed at that deadline when it came to controlled, starting pitching. So while I'm not going to give the Cubs an entire pass, they were very much in the same area as about every MLB org when it came to that. At the very least it should suggest something is up. The Cubs can obviously force that issue and they don't get a pass for that, but context should matter. This year, we're seeing movement on that front already. At least on SP. We'll see if controlled pitchers go. As well, the Cubs corrected that in the offseason trading for one of the players they were after. I think have a little patience here. I don't think the Cubs are blind to the noise from last summer.
  6. Jason Ross
    I think the Cubs have been connected to enough big names that I really struggle to see the team being able to sell Rogers and a Baltimore reliever. Both to fans and to the roster. It might be a rental who's the "best" player still, but I'm expecting at least one name/player that moves the needle forward.
  7. Jason Ross
    I think if that's the route, there is a clear "best player acquired" that isn't from Baltimore that is also added.
  8. Jason Ross
    Matt skeeted/tweeted that the Cubs are engaged with teams on reliever+starter combos from possibly SD and Baltimore. Those are two names that could work from Baltimore in that vein as someone else brought up.
  9. Jason Ross
    Hartshorn was pulled in the 7th inning today. We don't have a reason provided from the organization; the Cubs are incredibly silent when it comes to MiLB injuries. But maybe get mentally prepared to see him go, even if you don't like that thought.
  10. Jason Ross
    His numbers hide the swing decisions. He's incredibly passive. Young pitchers at High-A struggle to exploit him in this way. So his numbers stay high. As he promotes, I think there's going to be a reckoning he'll have to face in terms of approach. Think of it this way: you know how impressed we all are with Pete Crow-Armstrong's approach changes? And how...rare it is for us to see those? Flip it. Imagine a hitter who is incredibly passive and consistently gets into two strike counts because he doesn't swing enough. And now think about how hard it might be to break it.
  11. Jason Ross
    Kepley is probably my favorite "pack your bags, you're headed to another organization" guy out there. He's not a bad prospect but he feels like he's easily overrated. Think the raw numbers hide the swing decisions yet.
  12. Jason Ross
    Why? I'll admit, they wouldn't be the most exciting on the surface, but Rogers has been worth almost 6 wins his last 200 IP. He's probably an upgrade over Rea on the back end. Garcia is a whiff monster. And I'd assume that's your 2nd and 3rd best pitcher acquired. Add in a really fun name at the top? You're probably in a decent place.
  13. Jason Ross
  14. Jason Ross
    Rained in the 8th after he was pulled. Hartshorn was pulled but teams rarely use defensive subs in the MiLB. It's learning. Not winning, that matters.
  15. Jason Ross
    In his defense, he hit what was likely a HR on a normal day to give the Cubs the lead in his last PA. He hit it hard. Hard to blame him there and he's been much better. Doesn't erase the first part of the year though.
  16. Jason Ross
    Happ hasn't been particularly good for a bit. He's been okay-ish against RHP since June, with a 103 wRC+. He's been worthless against LHP.
  17. Jason Ross
    The only solution to this today is to make a big trade and make everyone happy.
  18. Jason Ross
    Paul Blackburn is still around?
  19. Jason Ross
    He pitched later in the game. It was just that silly fakeout stuff.
  20. Jason Ross
    He may have been announced as a 2b, I really can't remember. But yeah he played a ton of OF in college.
  21. Jason Ross
    You'd think. It's more about the unnatural aspect of it. I just don't think even someone like Nico is programmed to think through the challenge quite yet. I'm not necessarily saying he gets off like, free of questions. Only that I think we have to remember this is very new and there being learning curves still in August of the first year for players feels relatively normal. The hope is that he will get better at it.
  22. Jason Ross
    Ian Happ played tons of corner OF at Cincinnati. 42 of his 54 total games in his last season were in RF alone.
  23. Jason Ross
    Even though we're half a year into the ABS, I do think, especially for hitters, that it's fairly unnatural still. You can tell that some of the younger players who had it as they were developing in the minors feel a little more comfortable with it. It's very quick and in that moment it's easy think about how much they have to process: 1. Was it a strike? 2. But are you sure? 3. What if I'm wrong? 4. How many challenges do we have left? 5. How sure am I? Are all questions you have to weigh. Like it sucks that Nico missed that, and I want to see him and guys get better at that snap judgement, but I also assume it's very unnatural for someone like him who's played a lot of baseball without it.
  24. Jason Ross
    Shaw completely revamped his swing and learned a new position, as well. So it cuts both ways. He's still hitting better than Smith and at 900 PA's, he's getting worse, not better. I think the point is that while I like Ramirez, the Cubs don't just trade guys who go off an make you regret the trade under Hoyer. So whether it's Ramirez, Harthshorn, Ayers...whatever, the Cubs probably deserve the benefit of the doubt that they aren't giving up the next major deal, and that who they get back will help the club.
  25. Jason Ross
    Here's the thing to remember: the Cubs haven't gotten fleeced in a trade, really, under Hoyer. They have made a few moves people got upset about. They got mad they gave up Cam Smith; Smith has been awful at the plate over 900 PA's. They got pissy about Ronny Cruz and Zyhir Hope. But Hope is about the only success story of an traded prospect and they got Busch back. They can't bat 1.000 but they tend to get it right. If they did trade Hartshorn, I'd guess at the very least what they got back would make us not rue the day we traded him.
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