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For a high-contact hitter like Nico Hoerner, seeing more power development is a critical not solely because, hey, power is good for production, but because of the way it changes the pitcher-hitter-defense dynamics. When pitchers and defenses can’t treat you like a good bet for weaker contact, it opens you up for so much more success – more advantageous counts, more walks, more hits fall in, etc.
So, this is what we want to see (albeit increasingly taking it from BP to game action)
Nico Hoerner showing off some impressive pop during BP this morning.
He nearly hit one to the highway, off the top of the net by that pole on the far right. Next round, he hit one over the net and then cleared the scoreboard in left-center. pic.twitter.com/hKOz6PRngh
Will it help or hurt the Cubs to have so many starting pitchers with similar profiles (and how does that impact who they should target)? | Chicago Cubs
February 10, 2021
Earlier this week, as is tradition, FanGraphs founder David Appelman went into his garage, turned off all the lights except for some candles, and performed a dark and arcane ritual. Then he went back inside, pushed a few buttons on his computer, and now we have playoff odds for 2021!
Okay, fine, that isn’t
exactly how it went down, but it’s close. Our playoff odds incorporate little pieces of a lot of features you’ve already seen on the website. We start with a blended projection that incorporates ZiPS and Steamer’s rate statistic projections. We add in playing time projections from RosterResource, which incorporate health, skill, and team situation to create a unified guess for how each team will distribute their plate appearances and innings pitched.
This is going to be a long one, so let’s jump right in. If you’re looking for an introduction, yesterday’s post was it.
On to the rankings of the Chicago Cubs farm system, here before the 2021 season begins. We’ll start with 40 to 21 (ages below are 2021 baseball age) …
40. Luke Little, LHP, 21, Myrtle Beach (JuCo Stats). Acquired: 4th round, 2020.
Skill set: You know, I know, Twitter knows: it’s the fastball. No, I don’t think Luke will ever touch 105 mph, or even 102, in a game (prove me wrong, kid). But even at 97, with a giant body, out of his arm slot, Little’s fastball plays. There were times in junior college where it was the only pitch he needed in an outing, and it’s going to undoubtedly eat A-ball hitters up.