2015 Draft Report Card: Cubs - BaseballAmerica.com

Bottom line, the Cubs should get over their recent playoff disappointment rather quickly. I like Ian Happ from the 2015 draft class and I believe that Billy McKinney will be the next bat to make an impact in the Cubbies young, but prodigious lineup. Cubs will just re-load and take another shot. If David Price reunited with Joe Maddon, that really solidifies the starting rotation with a Big Three in Lester, Arietta and Price.

Some day soon people are going to be openly questioning the genius who packaged both Addison Russell and Billy McKinney in a trade for a one-night stand with Jeff Samardjzia. Maybe some day:
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/6/24/8836273/russell-mckinney-keep-cubs-big-winners-one-year-later

Just saying. And it's not using the benefit of 20/20 hindsight either. When I heard the deal, the first thing I thought was Russell AND McKinney!! Oh my!! The spreadsheet must not have been working properly on that day.

from Baseball America:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2015-draft-report-card-cubs/

QUICK TAKE

Chicago's class could shine if prep millionaire Hudson and Wilson hit, and both sound exciting.

POSITION PLAYERS

BEST PURE HITTER: The Cubs believe in the hitting ability of both of their top picks, OF/2B Ian Happ (1) and OF Donnie Dewees(2), but Happ gets the edge because he makes more impact at the plate. Happ has a more polished approach and is adept switch-hitter. Dewees has more of a slashing, see-it and hit-it old-school approach with tremendous natural hand-eye coordination. » BEST POWER HITTER: 1B/3B Matt Rose (11) led the Sun Belt Conference with 16 homers this spring and has long levers and plate discipline, giving him plus righthanded power. Happ has a chance to develop 20-homer power at his peak, with present power to the gaps. » FASTEST RUNNER: OF D.J. Wilson (4) is an explosive athlete with plus speed that made him a Division I-caliber wide receiver in football. He's at top speed soon after his first step. Happ and Dewees are both plus runners as well. » BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Wilson impressed with his reads, range and instincts in center field, and he has a plus arm as well. 2B/3B P.J. Higgins(12) is a steady, sure-handed infielder with body control.

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McKinney doubles twice in Double-A debut | MiLB

Billy McKinney joined Tennessee after leading the Carolina League in all three slash categories. (Andrew Green/Tennessee Smokies)

For the Cubs, Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler and Addison Russell may be leading the way, but when this kid and Schwarber are added to the mix, the Cubs lineup is going to be tough to beat. I still can't believe they pried both Russell and McKinney from the A's. Somewhere down the line you have to think that Billy Beane is going to regret losing those two studs. 

from milb.com

http://m.milb.com/news/article/20150515124495042/

Tennessee's talented lineup racked up 14 hits in the win, and the Smokies' 3-4-5 hitters -- Chicago's No. 4 prospect Kyle Schwarber, No. 15 Dan Vogelbach and Contreras - combined to go 7-for-12 with a double, six runs scored and three RBIs.

"I just try to pick their brains, to be honest," McKinney said of his new teammates. "I try to get smarter with everything they do. Watching Vogelbach and Schwarber, they just have great at-bats every time. It's fun watching them and learning from them."

Sheffield: Javier Baez Needs Work on Swing

http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/the-javier-baez-gary-sheffield-comparison-is-uncanny/

They do have an uncanny resemblance as noted above. The size, the strength and power, the quick bat, the torquing of the bat as a timing mechanism. All very similar. You almost wish the Cubs had hired Sheffield as his batting coach rather than Manny Ramirez. You almost couldn't go wrong with either one, the two most lethal RH power bats of the era, both better hitters overall than McGwire.

from Bleacher Report:
Sheffield: Javier Baez Needs Work on Swing:

"When I saw this guy swing [in December], I knew he was going to be a big leaguer for them soon," Sheffield told ESPNChicago.com on Tuesday. "Right now when I watch his swing, he has something in his swing that can be fixed real easy. He collapses his back leg. And anytime you do that, a pitcher is going to have a field day on you. 

"When you collapse your back leg, anything over the belt line you have to uppercut. You can't stay on top of it." 

"Keeping that back foot anchored is important," Cubs hitting coach Bill Mueller said. "It's necessary for sure in keeping square. What's most important is him getting games played. It's a small sample size." 

Manager Rick Renteria added: "When we look at his film, the one thing that stands out is if he swings at strikes, he does damage. When he swings at balls, he doesn't. That has nothing to do with mechanics." 

Sheffield disagrees, to an extent. 

"I see all the ability," said Sheffield, who hit 509 home runs in 22 seasons. "And I see someone has to get with him real quick and fix that little mechanical issue that he has before it gets worse. When you're trying to create that much torque with your lower half collapsing, that's a lot of moving parts. People would ask me, 'How could you do that with all that wiggling the bat like that?' Because it's not how you start it's how you finish. I was always focused on my finish, not how I start." 

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It looks like, from the motion picture of Baez (shown below), that Baez lunges or almost leaps forward at the pitch rather than staying back as well as he should. The back leg will collapse like that when you stride out too far and miss.

That may just be his youthful exuberance rather than a purely mechanical mistake. He will learn pretty soon that you get the same credit for the HR's that go 325 feet as you do for the 450 footers. But what do I know, I still think chicks dig the long ball, so maybe longer is better.

Also, agree with Renetria on the plate discipline issue. He can be a guy who hits 25 HR's with a .230 average or a 35-40 HR guy hitting .280 - .300 if he corrects that because this yard will not hold him, and once they get Bryant and Rizzo surrounding him or behind him, watch out. He has to fix the ball / strike discipline issue or he'll be hitting lower in the order, behind those other power guys.

A's and Cubs pull off a Win-Win deal, win(now) versus win(later)

Billy Beane is clearly pushing all his chips to the center of the table, he wants / needs to win now given the A's past playoff failures and he just took a big step towards that end. Theo Epstein continued to build for the Cubs future by acquiring two elite prospects who are a couple of years away at least.

One borrowed from the future to invest in the present, the other borrowed from the present to invest in the future.

In a sense both are taking a bit of a gamble here. Beane has to really hope that this is the A's year. It looks like he sense that at least the AL half is his teams for the taking and he wants to add some insurance.

Epstein really has to hope that the vaunted patience of Cubs fans lasts a couple of more years longer for him. He was brought in so that Cubs fans could begin to see light at the end of the tunnel. Withe deals like this, it seems like the light keeps getting pushed further and further into the future. This team waited a long time for Samrdzija to develop into the kind of pitcher he is today. I'm not sure they really got enough value in trade for their patience and development. Now you're asking fans to go through the same process with Russell and McKinney.

I do like the number of quality young bats the Cubs have in their system and perhaps this sets up a Castro deal down the road to bring in some young arms.

from ESPN Chicago:

Greenberg: Future-focused deal good for Chicago Cubs, Jeff Samardzija - ESPN Chicago:

In a deal with their long-term vision in mind, the Cubs are getting an elite prospect in shortstop Addison Russell, this past year's 24th overall draft pick in outfielder Billy McKinney and pitcher Dan Straily. The deal wasn't official as of late Friday night, but there's a player to be named later involved. I'm sure Mr. PTBNL will be awesome as well.

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Bryant unlikely to join Cubs this season - Chicago Cubs Blog - ESPN Chicago

Tony Farlow/Four Seam Images/AP Images

Kris Bryant has 32 home runs in his first 105 minor league games.

....."barring extraordinary circumstances, both in terms of the player and what's going on with the big league team."



Perhaps it's just me, but it seems as if Bryant would qualify for a call-up under both conditions. But hey,  what the hell do I know? When a guy comes into town on the heels of "In Theo We Trust" like he's some kind of baseball god or something, maybe he knows something we are all incapable of understanding.



Or perhaps Theo lives in an executive suite with no mirrors. Or team standings. Or minor league stats from his own affiliates.



Spreadsheet no like Kris Bryant this year.



from ESPN Chicago:

Bryant unlikely to join Cubs this season - Chicago Cubs Blog - ESPN Chicago:

CHICAGO -- Just days after promoting Kris Bryant from Double-A to Triple-A, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein all but shut the door on a major league promotion for Bryant this season.

"I don't foresee a scenario where he would be up this year," Epstein said Friday before the Cubs played the Pittsburgh Pirates. "I don't think it's the right thing to do in someone's first full professional season, barring extraordinary circumstances, both in terms of the player and what's going on with the big league team." 

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Kyle Schwarber: Prospect Profile for Chicago Cubs' 1st-Round Pick | Bleacher Report

A bit of an eye-opener from the Cubs in the four spot. No question about the bat, but questions about whether he sticks as a C raise the question of whether the Cubs were trying to fill a need at C or a general need for more offense. If he sticks behind the dish, it's an OK pick, I probably would have gone for Kennesaw State's C Max Pentecost here. Cubs fans will love his beer league softball look and feel and his mashing of the baseball regardless of where he plays on defense.

The comp in the article is is to Mike Napoli.

from Bleacher Report:
Kyle Schwarber: Prospect Profile for Chicago Cubs' 1st-Round Pick | Bleacher Report:

Kyle Schwarber is the kind of player who would have been right at home in the MLB draft 15-20 years ago, when the focus was on finding power-hitting college bats who wouldn't add much, if any, value on defense.

The good news is Schwarber's offensive skill set, most notably his huge raw power, makes him more valuable than ever due to how scarce pop is at the college level. He's come a long way from being an undrafted high school senior, leading the Big Ten in home runs and being a first-team All-American last season.

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A Cub pitching prospect shines....for the Cubs

It's good to see the Cubs a pitching prospect they received in a trade for a change after watching Chris Archer develop for the Rays and Casner continue to develop for the Padres. I can't fault them for trying with Garza and was surprised he didn't provide enough return on the king's ransom the Cubs paid to get him and Rizzo at least provided a piece of the puzzle in the everyday lineup, but still.....



Baseball America Prospect Report
Compiled by Baseball America   April 12, 2014

PITCHER OF THE DAY: Corey Black, rhp — Double-A Tennessee (Cubs)There are several pitchers who could easily have been the choice, but the former Yankee prospect—traded for Alfonso Soriano—pitched five no-hit innings in his second Southern League start to get the nod as PoD today. He did not figure in Tennessee's 6-5 win over Chattanooga, but did enough to nose out Archie Bradley (Triple-A Tucson, Diamondbacks); Vince Velazquez (high Class A Lancaster, Astros), and Rafael De Paula (high Class A Tampa, Yankees), other very worthy candidates.

HITTER OF THE DAY: Austin Wilson, of — Low Class A Clinton (Mariners)Wilson, the toolsy 2013 second-rounder from Stanford, was 4-for-5 and knocked in three runs as the LumberKings beat the TinCaps of Fort Wayne 7-1. In his past two games, Wilson is 7-for-9 with a homer and five RBIs. Others in the picture include low Class A Greenville's Manuel Margot (Red Sox), who homered for the third time in the past three games, and low Class A Dayton 1b Sebastian Elizalde (Reds), who was 3-for-5 with a homer.

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Among the Poco Gigantes, Gary Brown continues his good start and Mac Williamson and Ryder Jones continue to struggle. The pitchers bring more encouraging news with Derek Law adjusting well to AA and Keury Mella doing good work in Low-A. Cody Hall gets lit up and Aldaberto Mejia is scuffling a bit at AA, the "seperator" level. It's where the men get sepated from the boys as far as prospects go.  So we continue to watch and wait to see who separates themselves from the pack of prospects.

SF		AAA		Brown, Gary CF		3		0		1		3		.317
SF		HiA		Williamson, Mac DH		4		0		1		0		.200		2B (2)
SF		LoA		Jones, Ryder SS		5		1		3		3		.207		2 2B (3)

SF		AA		Hall, Cody		1		2		3		3		2		0		9.00
SF		AA		Law, Derek		1.1		0		0		0		0		2		0.00		W (1-0)
SF		AA		Mejia, Adalberto		1		2		1		1		0		1		6.00
SF		AA		Osich, Josh		1.1		0		0		0		1		1		3.38
SF		HiA		Agosta, Martin		3		2		2		1		2		3		3.00		L (0-1)
SF		HiA		Okert, Steven		1		1		0		0		1		2		0.00
SF		LoA		Mella, Keury		5		1		1		1		4		7		1.69		W (2-0)

Cubs Likely To Draft Appel Or Gray: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Appel has a longer and more durable track record, but comes with sign-ability concerns that only Scott Boras can bring. The somewhat eerie comparisons to Mark Prior should not be an impediment to the Cubs since under Theo those ghosts no longer remain. The sign-ability issue should not be as large with the Cubs either. If Boras can't get what he wants / needs / expects from Chicago, he can't get it anywhere.

The comps on Gray could be too alluring to pass up. And we do know that the Theo's of the world have an affinity for trying to prove that they are smarter than the crowd. That should tip the balance towards Gray.

Astros could make the choice easier for the Cubs, but they may avoid both. They have gone more for top end HS'ers lately ( four of last six years - http://espn.go.com/mlb/history/draft/_/team/hou ) and may find one of the two GA boys a little too enticing to pass up.

from MLBTradeRumors.com
Cubs Likely To Draft Appel Or Gray: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com:

Major League Baseball's draft is still about six weeks away, but Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Cubs are likely to draft either Stanford right-hander Mark Appel or Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray with the No. 2 overall pick. Wittenmyer spoke about the draft to multiple team sources, including manager Dale Sveum who told him:

"Obviously, the two big boys, Appel and Gray, if those guys keep the velocity where it is and everything’s going good, I think it’s hard not to take one of them guys."

Appel and Gray are widely considered to be the top two pitching prospects in this year's draft, but other names such as high school outfielders Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier, as well as San Diego third baseman Kris Bryant and Indiana State lefty Sean Manaea have garnered attention as potential Top 5 selections.

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For some feedback on Gray, this local source is about as good as it gets. This kids stock could rise all the way to the #2 slot.

from NewsOK:
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-baseball-jonathan-grays-stock-is-on-the-rise/article/3781550

Shades of Gray

OU right-hander Jonathan Gray is dominating college hitters and tempting professional personnel men, with his draft stock climbing toward to the top of this June's MLB Draft — maybe all the way to the top. The vitals on Gray:

Height: 6-4

Weight: 240

Throws: Right

Stuff: Fastball that sits at 94-97 mph and can touch 100; cut-slider that ranges from 83-88; changeup that runs low 80s.

Stats: Gray is 6-1 with a 1.19 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. He's allowed 34 hits and 11 walks. Opponents are batting .167 against him.

Draft stock: Rising. Gray is now being mentioned for the No. 1 overall pick in MLB's June Draft, alongside Stanford's Mark Appel and Indiana State's Sean Manaea, two other noted pitchers.

Compares to: According to baseballdraftreport.com, scouts have favorably compared Gray to several successful pros — Detroit's Max Scherzer, the Mets' Matt Harvey, former Sooner Garrett Richards of the Angels, Pittsburgh top prospect Gerrit Cole. And then there are the eye-opening comps — Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander.

Kane County Experience Should Benefit Cubs' Prospects

Right in our own backyard. This should be good for the Cubs of the future. These guys will be playing right in the backyard of the team executives and this roster should be loaded with guys who will carry the team to whatever success they may have in the next decade.

Soler and Almora alone should be worth the price of admission, so if this team has any pitching at all.....sounds like the Cubs most years, doesn't it?

Kane County Experience Should Benefit Cubs' Prospects:

While the 2013 minor league rosters won't be set until the end of spring training, Johnson could be managing a team led by top prospects Albert Almora and Jorge Soler, giving Cubs’ fans a glimpse of the future in their own backyard.

“It’s good for these kids that they’re this close to the city,” Johnson said. “It should be a great experience all of for them.”

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Johnson to run Chicago’s pitching development | Baseball America

Vanderbilt's Derek Johnson taking over as Cubs' pitching coordinator.

Johnson to run Chicago's pitching development  

This is a good move for the Cubbies. A well respected, proven developer of young talent on the mound. Something the organization has been lacking for perhaps a decade or so at least.

One of the reasons Vanderbilt has recruited a solid run of pitchers that has aided their run to the upper echelon of college baseball. 

From College to the Pros One of college baseball's most respected and accomplished pitching coaches left for a job in professional ball. Vanderbilt associate head coach Derek Johnson accepted a job as the Cubs' minor league pitching coordinator.

Johnson, the 2010 Baseball America/ABCA Assistant Coach of the Year, deserves a great deal of credit for helping Tim Corbin build Vanderbilt into an elite program on the national level. Johnson joined the Vandy staff a year before Corbin was hired as head coach in 2002, and Corbin made the wise decision to keep him on board. In the last decade, Johnson has earned a glowing reputation among his peers and the scouting community for his ability to develop quality arms, including David Price, Mike Minor, Sonny Gray and Jeremy Sowers.

"He's had as much impact on our program as anyone," Corbin told BA in 2010. "I think what D.J. has done with these kids is far-reaching. He's kept them healthy, he's made each one of them better. You look at the kids, the pitchers specifically, that have come out of our program, being able to pitch at the next level—it goes without saying . . . We would not have our success without having him on our staff."

Johnson was widely regarded as a top up-and-coming head coach candidate, but head coaches have certain administrative responsibilities that did not appeal to Johnson, who simply loves to teach pitching. An Illinois native who grew up rooting for the Cubs, Johnson said he was eager to take on the challenge of making the transition to pro ball.

"Obviously, I didn't look at being a pitching coordinator as necessarily being my next step, but on the college side, I didn't love the idea of being a head baseball coach in college," Johnson said. "In terms of a progression and what was the next step for me, this makes sense . . . I met all of those guys (in the Chicago front office), and I really felt like it was a great situation and just felt very, very comfortable with them, trying to understand what their vision was for the Cubs. I felt like it was something I wanted to be a part of."

A Shared Vision

Johnson spent two days in Arizona with Cubs director of scouting and player development Jason McLeod and other club officials. During those discussions, the team and Johnson discovered they share certain beliefs.

"Most importantly, we felt like his intelligence and vision aligned with ours," McLeod said. "We got a lot of good feedback from guys that continue to work with him and have gone on to the pro level. You can tell he feels very strongly about his beliefs, but also is open to other information."

Johnson is a gifted teacher with a knack for adapting to the needs of his pitchers—he does not adhere to a one-size-fits-all philosophy. But he does believe in the benefits of long-tossing, so this hire could mark an organizational shift toward longer-throwing programs—though long-tossing isn't likely to become dogma.

"If anything, we're trying to explore all avenues to make our pitchers better. Just because D.J.'s on board doesn't mean all of a sudden the Cubs are a long-toss organization," McLeod said. "Even though he may be a proponent of it, he understands that guys are still individuals, and he'll impact pitchers on a case-by-case basis . . . He's coming in here to learn himself and instill a lot of the things that he believes in."

It goes without saying that Johnson leaves a gaping hole on the Vanderbilt coaching staff. But under Corbin, Vandy has proven it can attract the best and brightest assistants—it replaced former recruiting coordinator Erik Bakich with Arizona State's Josh Holliday, and it replaced Holliday this summer with another highly regarded Sun Devil, Travis Jewett. Vandebilt assistant positions are among the highest-paying in college baseball, and the job will be attractive for many of the same reasons playing for Vandy is attractive: the school, the campus, the city, the head coach and the resources.

"I think—and I'm biased, obviously—it's easily the best pitching job in the country, bar none, and there's not even one that's close," Johnson said. "So the appeal of it, even though the timing's not great, (Corbin) will have the pick of the litter."

Vanderbilt wound up hiring Scott Brown away from St. John's to replace Johnson.