The following is not a recording: The Chicago Cubs are calling up an elite hitting prospect.
That's been a hobby of theirs in 2015, as they tabbed Kris Bryant in late April and Addison Russell shortly after him. Now they're calling on Kyle Schwarber. And once he arrives, the Cubs will be offering a glimpse of something both wondrous and powerful: their future lineup.
But first things first.
The news that Schwarber, last year's No. 4 overall pick and a consensus top-100 prospect coming into 2015, is coming to The Show was leaked by Double-A Tennessee teammate Daniel Vogelbach and confirmed by Jesse Rogers ...
With Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell already in their lineup, seemingly the last thing the Chicago Cubs need is another talented young hitter.
And yet there's Kyle Schwarber. He's knocking on the door to the majors, and his knocks are only getting louder.
It feels weird to say as much, knowing that it hasn't even been a full year since the Cubs drafted the 22-year-old catcher/left fielder out of Indiana University. But that's the way this cookie is crumbling. While Schwarber may be light on pro experience, he's certainly made the most of what he's gotten.
You can take ...
For a team that hasn't won a World Series in over 100 years and came into 2015 off a string of five straight losing seasons, it's remarkable just how much hype the Chicago Cubs are generating.
Quite a lot of that is due to the emergence of top prospects Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell. But while that's perfectly OK—seriously, they're awesome—they're overshadowing another young talent whose efforts should actually be pushing the Cubs hype meter even higher.
His name is Anthony Rizzo, and you must know of his stupendousness.
If you haven't been keeping up with current affairs, the 25-year-old first ...
There are some pieces of baseball history that a responsible baseball writer needs to think twice about invoking. Then there are the "Murderers' Row" New York Yankees lineups of the 1920s, which require at least 1.21 gigawatts of thinking energy before the "invoke" button can be pressed.
So believe you me, it is with some trepidation that I propose the following...
Might the Chicago Cubs be brewing up a Murderers' Row lineup of their own?
It's not going to be easy. That much is certain. But all the same...maybe it's possible.
We're thinking about this, of course, because what was an incomplete Cubs lineup ...
They say you only get one chance to make a first impression, but nobody says you can't recover from making a bad first impression.
That's what the Chicago Cubs must be telling themselves about Jon Lester's bad first impression, anyway. And fortunately for them, their $155 million man should allow them to breathe easy before long.
In fairness, the Cubs are in a pretty good place at the moment. Arismendy Alcantara's walk-off single in the 10th inning of Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds gave the Cubs a 7-6 victory and ran their record to 4-2. It's early yet, but they're ...
Let's do something other than talk about the Chicago Cubs offense.
We've talked enough about that, though not without good reason. The Cubs offense looms large in discussions about why they're destined to contend in 2015, as surely any lineup with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler, Starlin Castro, Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler is going to mash.
So instead, let's talk about the Cubs' pitching.
We were doing that a lot around when they dropped $175 million on Jon Lester and Jason Hammel in December, but not as much since. In general, the attitude about Chicago's pitching has been along the lines ...
A couple weeks ago, you could look at Chicago Cubs superprospect Kris Bryant and ask two questions.
First: Was he going to follow his explosive 2014 performance with a big showing in spring training?
Second: If yes, what would it mean?
Well, we have our answer to the first question. It turns out that Bryant is not having a big showing this spring. It's not fair to put it that way.
Because he's having a FREAKIN' HUGE showing this spring.
Through nine games, the 23-year-old third baseman has looked every bit like the guy who pushed his way to the top of prospect rankings with a 1.098-OPS, ...
By all rights, the biggest star on the field during Thursday's exhibition between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels should have been the guy who played Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby and Lord Business.
Instead, Will Ferrell found himself playing second fiddle. Maybe even third fiddle. Or even fourth fiddle. Apparently, that can happen when you get the Cubs' three best prospects on the same field.
Yes, the Cubs did lose 10-9 to the Angels, running their spring training record to 1-7-1. But they didn't have to settle for Ferrell spending time at first base and in the third base coach's box as ...
One way or another, Kris Bryant figures to be part of a promising 2015 season for the Chicago Cubs.
But given the kind of talent the third base super prospect possesses, you can also figure that the more Bryant plays in 2015, the more promising the Cubs' season will be. And relevant to what's happening this week, he could make this happen if he has a big spring.
Starting Thursday, the Cubs are poised to get a good look at Bryant during the exhibition season. And while there's a chance he could disappoint, he probably won't. With a 1.095 OPS and 52 ...
You wouldn't expect a team with five straight seasons of at least 87 losses to be all the rage heading into a new season. The Chicago Cubs, however, have worked hard to be an exception.
They've recently added an elite manager in Joe Maddon, as well as quality veteran talent in Jon Lester, Jason Hammel, Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler. These moves were designed to make the Cubs a contender in 2015, and now one gets the sense that most everyone thinks the impending arrival of Kris Bryant will be what officially gives them the green light.
But the Cubs' chances of living ...
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