id=content_id>MESA
Jake
Lamb Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — Cubs manager Joe Maddon has a lot of experience
cobbling together bullpens from pitchers without defined roles.Until closer
Brandon Morrow is mended and ready, Maddon will once again be faced with a
juggling act of sorts in the late innings.Maddon said Sunday the Cubs bullpen is
a “fluid” situation. While that’s not ideal, it’s nothing new for the three-time
manager of the year. He’s not so big on in-game guidelines, anyway.“I think
primarily the focus will be who’s rested, who hasn’t pitched a couple days in a
row,” Maddon said. “And work it that way until Brandon becomes available. And
when he becomes available, it’s still not going to be an everyday kind of thing.
So, I will work off numbers, but I think with this particular group, a lot of it
will have to do with who’s most rested.”Morrow had right elbow surgery in
November after being shut down in mid-July, and he’s unlikely to be ready for
opening day. Without him, Chicago still had the NL’s top bullpen last year,
riding a versatile core group topped by Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards Jr., Steve
Cishek and Mike Montgomery. The Cubs bullpen had the NL’s best ERA (3.35) and
opponents’ average (.223).The front office still added some reinforcements this
winter, bringing in righties Brad Brach — a former All-Star — and Tony
Barnette.“We’d love to be in a position where we can withstand a couple injuries
in spring training,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said, “and
still put a really quality bullpen out there. That’s one area where the market’s
been pretty soft and pretty slow
developing
http://www.diamondbacksfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-greinke-jersey ,
and we’ve been active. So, we’ll stay in touch with everybody.”Strop was the
primary fill-in for Morrow when he went down with right forearm inflammation on
July 19, and it’s possible he’ll start this season in the same role. He was 6-1
with 13 saves and a 2.26 ERA in 60 games, covering 59 2/3 innings while allowing
a .179 average against.“If I’m the closer, that’s fine,” he said. “I’m going to
take the challenge and pick my boy up. We’ve got a bunch of guys down there. I
feel comfortable because I’m not by myself down there.”However the bullpen
shapes up when the Cubs break camp at the end of March, Morrow will be a welcome
addition once he is deemed ready.Morrow had 22 saves and 1.47 ERA in 35 games
before the injury. He wasn’t supposed to miss the rest of the season, but a CT
scan revealed an osteochondral defect in the joining of the humerus bone. The
flare up set him back this spring as he expected to start throwing daily this
week and build up from there.All the setbacks led to a difficult first-year with
the Cubs for Morrow despite how well he performed when healthy.“Especially when
you’re having a really good year — maybe your best year — it’s disappointing,”
Morrow said. “You feel like you let the team down and fans and things like that.
There’s nothing you can do but try to get back. And, unfortunately, it didn’t
work out. Just missing the first month this year will be better this year will
be better than the last three months last year.” Bullpens are always fungible.
Here are some ideas the Cubs might consider, along with some other draft news."I
walk willingly into the propeller of promoting the importance of the draft.
Locating, through the draft or international waters, amateur talent that gets to
the market of MLB competence is very difficult to match form a
“return-on-investment” perspective. The more players that, for whatever reason,
represent excess value, permits the team more chances to extend windows of
contention. A team can,
theoretically
Jeff
Mathis Jersey , develop excess at any general aspect of the game. Today, I
look a bit more carefully at relief pitchers.Two general mindsets are tough to
overcome regarding disregarding college players. They are unfamiliar. They take
awhile to arrive, even in best case scenarios. However, if a team can get
“enough better than average” to the upper minors or the MLB level, the payout
can be large. Eventually. Four separate possibilities chisel at the return on
initially selected talent. A player can be “not that good”, “not committed
enough”, “not fit with a system”, or “injuries could curtail him”. It can be any
of the four, but hitting the sweet spot is oh-so-pleasant. Regarding relievers,
many schools have a quality relief specialist this cycle. Jack Little of
Stanford, Arkansas’ Matt Cronin, Hawaii’s Dylan Thomas, and Jake Mulholland from
Oregon State are among the intriguing names, but not alone.The Cubs recent
success in getting relievers from the draft has been..... mixed. Dakota Mekkes,
who hasn’t been added to the MLB roster yet, might be considered the best rather
soon. James Norwood, Dillon Maples, Duane Underwood Jr. and others have made at
least mild contributions.
However
http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-pat-neshek-jersey ,
Zack Godley and Tony Zych were Cubs relief draft choices who were more
successful elsewhere. Elite specialist David Berg, selected by the Cubs on the
second day in 2015 (sixth round) was very good until he hit Double-A, which
happens to many players.Adding a useful reliever or two in any draft should be
considered a basic starting point for any organization. That isn’t to replace
trades, waiver wire action, or free agency. Getting players on a ten-year leash
shouldn’t be dismissed. Drafting a reliever is prioritizing that over a bat or a
starting pitching option. A balanced pool of assets would seem preferable. When
to lean reliever? The longer the wait, the thinner the pool? Andrew Schultz is a
leverage reliever for the Vols, and has been clocked at 101.His second pitch is
a slider that is swing-and-miss when an amateur is sitting triple-digits. If he
develops, he helps any big league pen. He may, or may not, be useful at the top
level. If he is, you shouldn’t say, “I was never told about him.” You have been.
He passed the test over the weekend for me, as he was as advertised when I tuned
in. Which guarantees nothing, of course.As a high-ceiling reliever, in which
round does he (or another similarly successful reliever) make sense to you? All
thirty war rooms figure to be discussing Schultz, and others. Are you good with
using a second-round pick on him? He could last until the third round, though
the fourth seems unlikely if he’s healthy in early June. As dismissive as some
will want to get over selecting any sort of talent in the draft, quite a bit of
talent hits the top level from the draft without being released first. That it’s
a bit of an uncertainty knowing about players that are unfamiliar doesn’t change
that owning the draft pays long-term dividends. A team gets things
right
Lenny
Dykstra Jersey , or they don’t. To the winners go the rewards.***Mocks for
the draft range from absurd to compelling. This one seems rather reasonable,
though I don’t expect the Cubs to jump pitching first in a bat-heavy draft. On
the other hand, Nico Hoerner ought to give a rather good pulse on whether a
Stanford player is worth selecting early. Erik Miller is one of three Stanford
players I’d be good with in the first three rounds. The other two are right
fielder Kyle Stowers (slipping a bit in perceived value) or first baseman Andrew
Daschbach (second or third rounds).Last time around, I noted Hunter Bishop.
Here’s another bomb of his. He won’t reach 27. He will be, and should be, a
better prospect than who the Cubs draft.And one of two on Friday at the home of
the Eugene Emeralds.He’s putting himself in the top ten in the draft. He’s going
to look good in someone’s uniform in three years.***I’m not much about preps
early, because the Cubs usually aren’t. Two-way prep Spencer Jones is done for
high prep career. I doubt the Cubs go that way, but someone might. Two-way
possibilities are intriguing.The Cubs haven’t led with a prep arm in the Theo
Epstein era, but I’m not doing my job if I don’t educate you on most of the
options. This is a rather detailed look at two of the top-end pitching names
from the college ranks. I doubt Daniel Espino or Brennan Malone reach anywhere
near 1.27. However, if you like top-shelf pitchers, these are who likely won’t
be available.***I enjoyed another pitcher’s duel in the Southeastern Conference
on Friday night. Georgia’s Emerson Hancock and LSU’s Zach Hess were both 92-94,
and better than Top 10 ranked teams. Hancock figures to be an early choice in
2020. Hess will be a really tough call for 30 war rooms this time. He’s had a
degree of control/command concern, however, his upside is middle-rotation if he
figures it out. Will he? Shrugs. I’d guess the Cubs would need to call Hess’
name by the third round if they want him, though he might be gone by the Cubs
choice then. Good decisions make a pipeline thrive, though it could also be the
team’s specific “Pitch Lab”.Another pitcher I haven’t decided on is Seton Hall’s
Rocky DeVito. Here are pictures of his latest start. He’s probably a first five
rounds sort of guy.Every selection is a potential asset. The Cubs 2018 Draft was
my favorite in a few years. The second-day talent has already pushed aside a few
full-season level starters from last season.Adding another quality batch of
talent on the offensive side out to start to limit the “butt end of a joke”
aspect of the system. That’s particularly true if the current options in the
pipeline advance in 2019. Enough college relievers seem worth investing in,
though. When and where? When and which?
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