Jorge Soler is Still Coming Back and Other Bullets

jorge soler cubsA dude goes into a Monday Night Football game needing just seven points from Adrian Peterson, and a dude expects to win. An absurdly stacked box and 28 yards later, and a dude lost.

  • Baseball America has a significant write-up on Jorge Soler, who is seeing his first game action in several months in the Arizona Fall League. It’s a very interesting read for a variety of reasons, so check it out. His coaches in the AFL say he’s got a great attitude and is working hard, but that he’s still getting back into baseball form, which includes his approach at the plate. It has taken a slight hit with his time off (and Soler had missed a ton of time in the previous two years while defecting). That’s to be expected, and I’ve compared the AFL to a kind of Spring Training for Soler – he’s going to take some ugly swings. At least one of his coaches says he came into the system having an impressive discipline ability at the plate, so hopefully that will come back to him as he sees more game action. There’s video included of Soler in the cage, and then legging out a double. He looks as big and strong as ever, but he definitely looks a little stiff.
  • Among the other interesting bits from the article? Soler and Albert Almora continue to get close, which is pretty cool. Almora could start out 2014 at High-A, and, given his missed time, Soler could begin the season there next year, as well.
  • If you’re looking to get in on some post-season betting – the World Series is here, after all – then you can get the odds on allpro.eu.
  • Baseball America also reviewed the Cubs’ 2013 draft a bit, keying on some of the top performers. Among them (some of the ones that aren’t obvious – Kris Bryant is good), 6th rounder Scott Frazier has the best fastball and 4th rounder Tyler Skulina has the best breaking ball. Third rounder Jacob Hannemann (who missed most of his post-draft season with a couple injuries from which he’s now recovered) is the best defender, and 9th rounder Charcer Burks is the fastest player.
  • Jesse Rogers with a fun interview of Kris Bryant. He’s ready to play where the Cubs tell him to play – though he thinks he can stick at third – and he’s ready to head to whatever level the Cubs send him to next year.
  • The second annual Walk-Off for Cancer – the 5K event that benefits Anthony Rizzo’s foundation – will be December 15 in Parkland, Florida. You can get more details here, and learn how to sign up.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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