Cubs Farm System And Prospects Discussion Thread

[Parade_Rain]

Playing 2B is just the mirror of playing SS.

You make it sound so easy, yet the throwing motion is different, covering 2 and turning 2 is different, the ball comes off the bat from RH different.

 

[JimJohnson]

Me thinks beck just likes to argue for arguments sake. It's fun for him.

 

[CSF77]

You make it sound so easy, yet the throwing motion is different, covering 2 and turning 2 is different, the ball comes off the bat from RH different.

Mostly feet work and knowing what bags to cover on plays for him.

http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/124176644/cubs-addison-russell-putting-in-extra-work-at-second

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com | @CarrieMuskat | May 13, 2015 + 20 COMMENTS
CHICAGO -- Cubs rookie Addison Russell is learning to make the physical transition from shortstop to second base. He's still working on changing how he mentally approaches the position.

Russell, 21, did early work Wednesday with infield coach Gary Jones for the second straight day. The two likely will continue their early sessions most of the season.
"I told Jonesy in Spring training that I like to stick to early work," Russell said. "You can make sure you get some of the small things done around second base, and get more understanding of second base.
"I like where we're at right now, I like the progression we have going right now," he said. "The communication between me and Jonesy is really, really good. We're just going to try to keep doing that in the future."
Russell, the Cubs' No. 2 prospect and the game's No. 3 shortstop prospect (both according to MLB.com), has only started at second since his promotion, and had to learn the position at the big league level, which is tough. Russell also never played at second with shortstop Starlin Castro until the big leagues.
But is he still thinking like a shortstop?
"Oh, yeah," Russell said. "Whenever Starlin has to cover the bag, I think I have to cover the bag sometimes. And that's vice versa with both of us. We figure it out. We'll get the job done."

 

[Parade_Rain]

Mostly feet work and knowing what bags to cover on plays for him.

http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/124176644/cubs-addison-russell-putting-in-extra-work-at-second

"Feet work" regards throwing as much as fielding and covering 2B.

 

[CSF77]

"Feet work" regards throwing as much as fielding and covering 2B.

[video=youtube;VwbFuqdcGoY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwbFuqdcGoY&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[CSF77]

Certain poster would have loved this:

DH game 2 in Tenn:

Montgomery Biscuits (lame name) plow out 10 runs in the 8th.
Guy who they teed off of first: The over paid Gerardo Concepcion.

Love it when they over pay for a 11.57 ERA.

 

[Parade_Rain]

OT, but why is "Biscuits" a lame name?

 

[CSF77]

OT, but why is "Biscuits" a lame name?

Just is. Dough boy team.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Just is. Dough boy team.

I can think of all kinds of marketing I can do at game time with a biscuit mascot, which is part of the survival of MiLB teams. You know "Cubs" aren't full-grown Bears, too. Soft, cute and cuddly, they rely on Mama Bear. Is that really a good name for a team?

 

[beckdawg]

You make it sound so easy, yet the throwing motion is different, covering 2 and turning 2 is different, the ball comes off the bat from RH different.

If I made it sound easy that wasn't my intent. My point was if you're used to playing SS the adjustment to 2B isn't as big as moving to the OF.

 

[beckdawg]

Me thinks beck just likes to argue for arguments sake. It's fun for him.

Seems to me this is a message board and isn't that sort of the point? If you mean I'm being contrarian for the sake of it that's not really the case. I just really don't like people throwing the idea of people switching positions willy nilly. Soriano made this transition and it took him several years to adjust. Alcantara moved to CF last year and wasn't particularly good there. I'm a fan who values defense. The Royals showed how important it was to their team's run last season. Could you throw Baez out in LF to get his bat in the line up? Of course. Teams in late innings situations or because of injury are forced into playing people out of position all the time. Hell, Bryant played CF this year for crying out loud. However, playing people out of position especially over a long period of time leads to poor defense. Poor defense leads to runs. Runs are down across the majors making them harder to come by. Additionally, if this were an idea that the team was even considering themselves serious the team would already be giving Baez looks in the OF.

So as I said, it strikes me as fans trying to force something to work because they want Baez in the line up rather than a plausible solution. Plus while I don't particularly have high hopes for Baez myself, I really don't see why people want to throw more on his plate. His focus should be hitting. If he starts crushing it then the team can worry about where he plays in the line up.

 

[beckdawg]

Certain poster would have loved this:

DH game 2 in Tenn:

Montgomery Biscuits (lame name) plow out 10 runs in the 8th.
Guy who they teed off of first: The over paid Gerardo Concepcion.

Love it when they over pay for a 11.57 ERA.

Think you're being a bit harsh here. He's thrown 2.1 innings in AA. In A+ he threw 12.2 of 3.55 ERA. He had a solid k/9 at 9.95 though his command still seems lacking at 5.68 bb/9.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Seems to me this is a message board and isn't that sort of the point? If you mean I'm being contrarian for the sake of it that's not really the case. I just really don't like people throwing the idea of people switching positions willy nilly. Soriano made this transition and it took him several years to adjust. Alcantara moved to CF last year and wasn't particularly good there. I'm a fan who values defense. The Royals showed how important it was to their team's run last season. Could you throw Baez out in LF to get his bat in the line up? Of course. Teams in late innings situations or because of injury are forced into playing people out of position all the time. Hell, Bryant played CF this year for crying out loud. However, playing people out of position especially over a long period of time leads to poor defense. Poor defense leads to runs. Runs are down across the majors making them harder to come by. Additionally, if this were an idea that the team was even considering themselves serious the team would already be giving Baez looks in the OF.

So as I said, it strikes me as fans trying to force something to work because they want Baez in the line up rather than a plausible solution. Plus while I don't particularly have high hopes for Baez myself, I really don't see why people want to throw more on his plate. His focus should be hitting. If he starts crushing it then the team can worry about where he plays in the line up.

Pay no attention to the typical smallJohnson posting. As for moving people around, I think that Zobrist has raised the bar for a lot of fans and perhaps some teams.

 

[beckdawg]

Pay no attention to the typical smallJohnson posting. As for moving people around, I think that Zobrist has raised the bar for a lot of fans and perhaps some teams.

Thing people forget about Zobrist though was he was a bench player for god knows how long and then hit his way into playing time. That's why he has that positional flexibility. Same with guys like Ryan Freel(sp?) and Placido Palanco before him as less amazing super subs. I believe he didn't post his first real good season until he was 27.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Thing people forget about Zobrist though was he was a bench player for god knows how long and then hit his way into playing time. That's why he has that positional flexibility. Same with guys like Ryan Freel(sp?) and Placido Palanco before him as less amazing super subs. I believe he didn't post his first real good season until he was 27.

Ben played many different positions in his amateur career. SS wasn't his primary spot as a senior on his HS team from what I gather. In college he played both SS and 2B. As for breaking out the stick, it was 2008, IIRC

 

[Parade_Rain]

My gathering is he has changed mechanics slightly. He has gotten rid of the extreme bat waggle. He is in more control of his swing but its not always consistent. He is not lifting his leg as much and his hands are lower. Its slight adjustments that people believe is the right way to go. I read an interesting article saying Baez could fulfill the Alcantara role. Maddon is still very high on him and he seems to be working extremely hard. He is still a -4.9 years for AAA. He is going to right and seeing the most pitches he has ever seen. He has walked 5 times and when he got plunked it was 3-1 pitch. You have to see a bigger sample size but it seems like if he continues to get more consistency then these changes are real and the Cubs would not hold him off the team even if its a crowded roster.

The bolded is where I would have started with him.

 

[SilenceS]

Seems to me this is a message board and isn't that sort of the point? If you mean I'm being contrarian for the sake of it that's not really the case. I just really don't like people throwing the idea of people switching positions willy nilly. Soriano made this transition and it took him several years to adjust. Alcantara moved to CF last year and wasn't particularly good there. I'm a fan who values defense. The Royals showed how important it was to their team's run last season. Could you throw Baez out in LF to get his bat in the line up? Of course. Teams in late innings situations or because of injury are forced into playing people out of position all the time. Hell, Bryant played CF this year for crying out loud. However, playing people out of position especially over a long period of time leads to poor defense. Poor defense leads to runs. Runs are down across the majors making them harder to come by. Additionally, if this were an idea that the team was even considering themselves serious the team would already be giving Baez looks in the OF.

So as I said, it strikes me as fans trying to force something to work because they want Baez in the line up rather than a plausible solution. Plus while I don't particularly have high hopes for Baez myself, I really don't see why people want to throw more on his plate. His focus should be hitting. If he starts crushing it then the team can worry about where he plays in the line up.

Im not asking him to play right which is the hardest OF position at Wrigley. Baez is athletic and could play left easily. Ryan Braun went from third to left and was a way worse defender then Baez. Actually, what people think if Baez forces his way on the team is Bryant would be moved to left and Baez or Russell would take over third. So, there are a lot more options. Its why the Cubs have so many SS. If you can play short, you can play anywhere.

 

[beckdawg]

Im not asking him to play right which is the hardest OF position at Wrigley. Baez is athletic and could play left easily. Ryan Braun went from third to left and was a way worse defender then Baez. Actually, what people think if Baez forces his way on the team is Bryant would be moved to left and Baez or Russell would take over third. So, there are a lot more options. Its why the Cubs have so many SS. If you can play short, you can play anywhere.

This I find far more believable than LF. I always felt he made more sense at 3B than 2B personally. With that said though, I still don't think it's as likely as people would like for him to return. The front office has made a big deal about having vets around to help the young players. If you did this you'd have 2 players over 25 in the lineup.

Ultimately, to me it's Russell or Baez not both if we're talking 2015.

 

[SilenceS]

This I find far more believable than LF. I always felt he made more sense at 3B than 2B personally. With that said though, I still don't think it's as likely as people would like for him to return. The front office has made a big deal about having vets around to help the young players. If you did this you'd have 2 players over 25 in the lineup.

Ultimately, to me it's Russell or Baez not both if we're talking 2015.

That could be the case. You can also value vet leadership but when they cant hit their weight. There vet leadership can be done from the bench.

 

[SilenceS]

LaStella has also started baseball activities in extended spring trainging.