PROMISE KEEPERS?
As McLeod, Epstein and Hoyer enter 8th season, heat is on to produce homegrown pitcher who can help Cubs
No exciting new names. No splashy announcements. No buzz of any real substance.
Beyond a Twitter-ilating war of words with the Cardinals, the Cubs Convention provided little more for fans than three days’ worth of walking, talking reasons why Bryce Harper won’t be a Cub in 2019.
And the biggest of all might be the other conspicuous absence at the downtown Sheraton Grand over the weekend: an actual homegrown pitcher with even a season of big-league time.
More than seven years after incoming team president Theo Epstein promised to build a “scouting and player development machine,” that has instead been a stunning organizational weakness, especially when it comes to developing pitchers.
And nobody is hiding from it, much less denying it.
“We can’t keep celebrating Kris Bryant,” said Jason McLeod, the Cubs’ top scouting and player development executive since Epstein took over. “It’s so obvious, it’s not even an elephant in the room. It’s something that drives us every day.”
And it’s about to drive the payroll budget over a cliff — and maybe even the competitive window with it.
More than $100 million is tied up in the rotation and closer on a franchise-record 2019 budget that is straining at the seams.
A hefty expense for outside pitching was built into the early competitive plans, made feasible by a young core of hitting talent that wouldn’t reach high-priced arbitration years until some cheaper, homegrown pitchers would be contributing significantly. Uh-oh.
Seven drafts into the process, the Cubs haven’t had a homegrown pitcher throw a postseason pitch in four playoff runs and don’t have one projected to make the Opening Day roster.
If anything, the Cubs have gotten worse at developing pitchers since the current regime took over. The problem has become so
“WE CAN’T KEEP CELEBRATING KRIS BRYANT. IT’S SO OBVIOUS, IT’S NOT EVEN AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. IT’S SOMETHING THAT DRIVES US EVERY DAY.” JASON MCLEOD, the Cubs’ top scouting and player development executive
acute that they’ve shifted from their conservative approach medically and mechanically to a more aggressive approach the last two seasons.
“We tried to fit everyone neatly into a box,” McLeod said. “Do these mechanics lead to what we think is going to be longterm health? And has he thrown enough strikes that we think prior performance is going to equal this type of performance going forward? We put so many checks on guys . . . that probably hamstrung us a little bit.
“As we’ve sat here five or six years later, I think that — not to be egregious about anything — but we’ll probably be a little more aggressive.”
Thomas Hatch, the Cubs’ first draft pick (third round) in 2016, was a pivot point in pushing players’ limits more despite an injury history as an amateur. The result: 26 productive starts each of the last two years, progressing to 143‰ innings in 2018.
McLeod said former minor-league coordinator Derek Johnson pushed for the new approach in the time leading up to his departure after the 2015 season to become a big-league pitching coach. And coordinator Brendan Sagara — hired a year ago this month — is a strong advocate, McLeod said.
Between that and what McLeod considers the best volume of potential big-league contributors he has had at the upper levels of the minors since he got to Chicago, the system finally might be able to produce some real help this year (likeliest in the bullpen). Not a moment too soon.
Because the heat is on like it hasn’t been since this front office took over.
“I don’t know if heat is the right word,’’ McLeod said. ‘‘It’s just the sense of urgency. We know where we are from the majorleague standpoint, with the major-league club and players that are getting to their arbitration years, and it’s just on us.
“There’s an overwhelming sense of urgency throughout the organization. This is probably the first year I can confidently sit here and feel like we have the guys that can help this team in the major leagues this year, if needed.”