Some Chicago Cubs prospects notes to kick off your week …
- A profile on Cubs corner infield prospect Jonathon Long, who broke out the big bat this year at High-A and Double-A, and has continued to rake in the AFL (the fact that he was sent in the first place, in his first full pro season, is telling – a short development trajectory for Long, if you will):
- Really interesting to hear Long suggest that the way the Cubs approached his development was to get him signed last year, have him go out and play right away and show what he could do on his own, and THEN work together to build on the swing and some of the decisions based on what the analytics were telling them from the partial season in 2023. It’s a good representation of what the Cubs’ philosophy has been in the Justin Stone era for hitter development: take the things a guy is naturally good at, and work to make those things even better. Focus on the positive development where a guy is already comfortable making those tweaks.
- For Long, it kinda sounds like it was basically, he hits the crap out of the ball, let’s help him do that as often as possible. Cutting down on chases out of the zone, too, yes, but staying on time to keep the ball off the ground is the focus: “Being on time, I guess for the most part, [is big]. When I get beat, that’s when I start hitting stuff straight down on the ground. Catch the ball up front. Get some lift on it. That’s when I’m at my best …. Catch the ball with the barrel. That’s my motto, and everything else falls into place after that.โ Good read.
- Bonus fun: Long was so good last year that the framing around his promotion to Double-A was that he was in a bit of a lull at the time, which is true, but the worst stretch you can find is the two weeks before the promotion: .279/.340/.372/108 wRC+. Obviously not a good couple weeks for a bat-first guy, but if that’s “bad,” then things are probably going extremely well. And, sure enough, Long went on to hit .340/.455/.528/189 wRC+ at Double-A after the promotion (and more walks than strikeouts). Typically, guys don’t explode AFTER they get the bump to the higher level, but it was that kind of year for Long.
- Moises Ballesteros got some love from MLB Pipeline as one of the top week two performers from the Arizona Fall League: “The Cubs’ 20-year-old catching hotshot has been one of the AFL’s most consistent players so far. He continued that this week with six more hits including a home run on Oct. 16. Ballesteros has as many RBIs as games this fall, and his 13 total hits rank third in the Fall League. He finished the week hitting .419/.457/.677.”
- Ballesteros also gets an inclusion here from Aram, with most of the attention going to the power, but also to the receiving work behind the plate:
- Speaking of Ballesteros’s work behind the plate, it’s nice to see Jim Callis confirm something we generally believe about the Cubs’ catching prospect: even as a bat-only guy, he’d be a top-50 prospect in baseball, and if the catching development/projection came along, he’d be ranked much higher. From Callis:
“Ballesteros may be the biggest defensive conundrum on the Top 100. He’s one of the more gifted hitters on the list, he should have average power and maybe more, and he handled Triple-A at age 20. If he were a slam-dunk catcher, he’d probably fit among the top 20 prospects in the game. But there are questions about his ability to stay behind the plate, and his only other alternatives are a 5-foot-8 first baseman or as a DH, so that’s why he sits at No. 44.”
- A nice bit from the same Callis Inbox, where he suggests Owen Caissie, who is ranked 34 at MLB Pipeline, is well ahead of similar hitters because he is NOT viewed as a bat-only guy:
“[Lazaro] Montes’ limited speed and range on the outfield corners could eventually land him at first base or DH, though the Mariners slugger’s massive power should allow him to fit the offensive profile at any position. He’s currently at No. 47 on the Top 100, while Caissie has similar upside at the plate but gets the edge as an athlete and defender and ranks No. 34.”
- Some AFL pics from Rich: