Cubs Spring training thread

[brett05]

I don't really see the point in talking about Heyward's trade value. One of two things is going to happen. Either he A) lives up to the contract in which case you don't want to trade him or B) he doesn't in which case why would anyone else want to be on the hook for him at 4-5 years? You'd literally have to eat most of the contract and aren't going to get much in return or you have to also take on a bad contract a la Kemp for Hector Olivera.

While Jiminez is a very interesting prospect, I'm personally more interested in what Jonathan Sierra does in 2017. Other than Eddy Martinez he was the most expensive player signed in the 2015 IFA period at $2.5 mil. He drew Darryl Strawberry comps prior to signing and he hit .264/.384/.341(124 wRC+) with 14.1%/18.3% bb/k rates in the DSL this past year. He also stole 12 bases in 17 tries over 263 PAs. The power obviously isn't there yet but you can definitely see why he has those comps as Strawberry routinely early in his career was a 30/20 guy who had 12.9%/21.4% bb/k rates and like Strawberry he's a decently big LH bat at he is listed 6-3/190. If his power comes along like they suspect it will he's a really intriguing player. You don't see many 20 SB guys with power anymore. Hell only 17 players stole 20 bases last year.

Similarly I wouldn't be projected his sb to the bigs from this just like you expect the power to come which it more than likely will, more than likely the steals will fall off as well.

 

[JP Hochbaum]

We shouldn't be looking for some crazy good results from Heyward this spring. Spring Training is for training, and not for padding stats and winning games. All he is going to do is practice his swing and develop muscle memory for it so that when the regular season starts it will be second nature to him.

Don't look at the results guys, wait for the regular season then judge the results.

 

[CSF77]

Similarly I wouldn't be projected his sb to the bigs from this just like you expect the power to come which it more than likely will, more than likely the steals will fall off as well.

Joe was saying steals have fallen due to the damage it does to the legs and wrist's. That is why they look at baserunning more than speed and steals are more rare now.

 

[CSF77]

I don't feel his offense was off the charts when he did have the "swing."

I agree with you. I was never a huge fan of him before the signing. If he was avg 25-30 HR per going into the deal I would has been elated. I'm expecting close to .270 with 20 HR's myself. He may break his RBI record with this line up ahead of him but that really doesn't mean much.

 

[anotheridiot]

We shouldn't be looking for some crazy good results from Heyward this spring. Spring Training is for training, and not for padding stats and winning games. All he is going to do is practice his swing and develop muscle memory for it so that when the regular season starts it will be second nature to him.

Don't look at the results guys, wait for the regular season then judge the results.

Well, OK, but you also need to consider he is going to be taking at bats from pitchers that will end up in AA this year too. Loud outs will continue.

 

[Parade_Rain]

We shouldn't be looking for some crazy good results from Heyward this spring. Spring Training is for training, and not for padding stats and winning games. All he is going to do is practice his swing and develop muscle memory for it so that when the regular season starts it will be second nature to him.

Don't look at the results guys, wait for the regular season then judge the results.

Agreed. I've seen several swings in the turtle that make me cringe and others that make me believe he has made some significant changes. All of ST for him is about mechanics improving and getting to the point they are natural, so he doesn't have to think about them. Spring Training is about process, not results. We won't really know until the first month of the season is completed.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Agreed. I've seen several swings in the turtle that make me cringe and others that make me believe he has made some significant changes. All of ST for him is about mechanics improving and getting to the point they are natural, so he doesn't have to think about them. Spring Training is about process, not results. We won't really know until the first month of the season is completed.

Agreed. Even more specifically when you make the kind of major adjustments Heyward has had to make you're working on muscle memory which takes a lot of swings to fully "click". Hopefully by the end of ST we see more good swings than bad ones and then regular season will tell the tale. Looking for anything else right now is pretty futile.

 

[SilenceS]

I didnt want to sign Heyward. I think I said I would rip my dick off ala Ommy. But, we are stuck with him and I hope the changes produce.

FYI: I was never a fan of his from when he came into the league. I dont know why, but I didnt care for him. But, he is a Cub now and Im going to root for him.

 

[beckdawg]

Similarly I wouldn't be projected his sb to the bigs from this just like you expect the power to come which it more than likely will, more than likely the steals will fall off as well.

Wasn't exactly projecting as much has saying the guy has decent speed for someone who's expected to grow into power. Whether it's 20 SB or 10 or whatever, he apparently runs pretty well which also should play well defensively.

 

[beckdawg]

For what it's worth, might be worth while to keep in mind that Heyward has always been a slow starter. He's had some horrific April's. So, even if he's crappy in ST that doesn't necessarily mean it's all about a broken swing.

 

[Omeletpants]

For what it's worth, might be worth while to keep in mind that Heyward has always been a slow starter. He's had some horrific April's. So, even if he's crappy in ST that doesn't necessarily mean it's all about a broken swing.

Slow starter is a myth and a crutch. What does it even mean because there is no basis in science for it to be true. Maybe the issue is the guy is a bit of a head case?

Baseball is a culture of voodoo, silly habits and black cats running under ladders and something like "slow starter" just feeds and fosters that nonsense

 

[SilenceS]

Slow starter is a myth and a crutch. What does it even mean because there is no basis in science for it to be true. Maybe the issue is the guy is a bit of a head case?

Cold weather is a myth?

 

[Omeletpants]

Cold weather is a myth?

He has never talked about weather impacting his play. He plays bad in all weather

 

[Omeletpants]

All this said, I would like to start over with this guy and give him a shot to redeem himself

 

[SilenceS]

He has never talked about weather impacting his play. He plays bad in all weather

He has never talked about being a slow starter. Most guys who are slow starters are due to cold weather and not hitting their mechanics properly


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Omeletpants]

He has never talked about being a slow starter. Most guys who are slow starters are due to cold weather and not hitting their mechanics properly


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

and for some the slow starter excuse is a crutch

 

[brett05]

FYI: I was never a fan of his from when he came into the league. I dont know why, but I didnt care for him. But, he is a Cub now and Im going to root for him.

I know a Braves fan or two that had the same feelings and had no love loss when he left.

 

[beckdawg]

Slow starter is a myth and a crutch. What does it even mean because there is no basis in science for it to be true. Maybe the issue is the guy is a bit of a head case?

Baseball is a culture of voodoo, silly habits and black cats running under ladders and something like "slow starter" just feeds and fosters that nonsense

Clearly you haven't looked at his splits....

Mar/April - .225/.318/.387(659 PAs) 96 wRC+
May - .245/.346/.391(639 PAs) 105 wRC+
Jun - .277/.349/.444(714 PAs) 119 wRC+
July - .269/.351/.403(672 PAs) 109 wRC+
Aug - .294/.356/.482(673 PAs) 129 wRC+
Sept/Oct - .258/.355/.375(664 PAs) 105 wRC+

Rationalize it however you want but those are the results. He's hit .276/.359/.427 in the second half over his career and .251/.336/.406 in the first half largely because he's been horrid in April. That 96 wRC+ is 21% worse than is career 2nd half numbers.

 

[Omeletpants]

Heyward is a professional being paid 180M. It's up to him to figure it out. Go to your boss and tell him you are going to suck April, May and June every year and see what happens.

 

[anotheridiot]

All this said, I would like to start over with this guy and give him a shot to redeem himself

can we start wiith a better contract?