General Cubs Chit-Chat

[mul21]

looks real good against AA hitters, but major leaguers just don't swing at them

You saw the one that was a called strike right? And sure big leaguers don't swing at them. Right.

[big ball chunky time]

looks real good against AA hitters, but major leaguers just don't swing at them

You saw the one that was a called strike right? And sure big leaguers don't swing at them. Right.

he has 11 walks in as many innings in the big leagues. His WHIP is 2.25.

You don't throw a slider for strikes, you throw it in the dirt when you already have 2 strikes on a hitter or are at least in a pitcher's count. Since he can't command any other pitch, when he faces a big league hitter he rarely gets in a pitcher's count and actual major leaguers know they can just spit on anything that looks like a slider.

anyone with a good slider is going to have a nice highlight reel given enough time, but you gotta be able to command another pitcher for it to be of use.

[We Got The Whole 9]

He's still young enough to be patient with IMO. When he breaks out he has elite potential.

[big ball chunky time]

he's 27

[Sammy Sofa]

He's still young enough to be patient with IMO. When he breaks out he has elite potential.

Dude's pitched just shy of 300 innings mostly as a reliever over the last 7 years. The odds of him figuring it out t be consistently useful, much less elite, are pretty slim.

[We Got The Whole 9]

It literally happens every year in some capacity that a 28 year old journeyman breaks out. Hell Kirby Yates used his elite slider to do just that at the ripe age of 31 last year.

[jersey cubs fan]

he's 27

younger than you dude

[big ball chunky time]

Yates BB/9 in AA and AAA
5
3
3
4
3
3

Maples BB/9 in AA and AAA
7 (!)
5
9(!!)

[Bull]

WIth a profile like Maples', I think the line between "effectively wild" and "control issues" is a fine one. Once he is "feared," I think major leaguers swing at those. But until he's proven that they could be strikes, there's no motivation to offer at them.

[Brian]

another way to look at that video - "wow those are some cool looking sliders"

[Bluescale]

looks real good against AA hitters, but major leaguers just don't swing at them

He's averaging close to 2k per inning in his ultra-small MLB sample size. Big leaguers swing at them and miss. He just needs more consistency with his other pitches to set that up.

[big ball chunky time]

looks real good against AA hitters, but major leaguers just don't swing at them

He's averaging close to 2k per inning in his ultra-small MLB sample size. Big leaguers swing at them and miss. He just needs more consistency with his other pitches to set that up.

21 percent o-swing last year and career 31 percent swing rate, rick ankiel, the year he was knoblauching himself, had percentages of 32 and 54

[PackLandVA]

The second and fourth pitches in that sequence look pretty legit.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Yates BB/9 in AA and AAA
5
3
3
4
3
3

Maples BB/9 in AA and AAA
7 (!)
5
9(!!)

Even so, 27 is not old.

[jersey cubs fan]

Yates BB/9 in AA and AAA
5
3
3
4
3
3

Maples BB/9 in AA and AAA
7 (!)
5
9(!!)

Even so, 27 is not old.

for a lawyer, no.
For a baseball player who is not yet good, yes it is.

[Cubswin11]

[Stu]

so Hammels hits a hole-in-one and then a HR..

"So Cole, how was your weekend?"

[Cubswin11]

This would be interesting

[Cubswin11]

[Brian]

[Deeg]

Absent a better lefty option I'd as soon have seen Webster get that spot.

The key pieces here are Kintzler and Brach. Both are on the roster because of guaranteed money, period. If they're both bad - which is highly possible - the Cubs are going to be on the clock in terms of cutting bait on one or both of them.

[Regular Show]

That's just nasty and unfair if he can command and spot it.

[Old Style]

https://twitter.com/carriemuskat/status/1110342016448102400?s=21

Correct me if I’m wrong but there are three former Rangers in that rotation. Two of them will start in their former home.

[Brian]

Absent a better lefty option I'd as soon have seen Webster get that spot.

The key pieces here are Kintzler and Brach. Both are on the roster because of guaranteed money, period. If they're both bad - which is highly possible - the Cubs are going to be on the clock in terms of cutting bait on one or both of them.

Webster to AAA was likely the best move long-term. He can go to AAA now, but if he'd made the team he couldn't be optioned to AAA without be exposed to waivers. I'm assuming they are hoping to Swap Cedeno for Rosario soon. And then Barnette and Morrow are waiting in the wings also, which is when they may have to make some dead weight cuts.

[Thed Hoyerstein]

the best cubs addition of the offseason