Theo Epstein is taking a long-term view of the Cubs while also trying to construct a roster that has a chance to win in 2012. He says the first goal will always trump the second, and that could be put to the test with the handling of Lendy Castillo.
A few years ago, Junior Lake and Starlin Castro were being developed side by side, almost in lockstep. They rotated back and forth between shortstop and second base, and created debate with the Cubs organization about which player was the better prospect.
Theo Epstein's arrival will bring an increased commitment to player development and scouting. It could also change the kind of players that the Cubs seek through the draft and in Latin America, with an emphasis on strong fielders and disciplined hitters.
Taiwan Easterling was a top wide receiver at Florida State. He seemed headed to a possible NFL career. But Easterling made an abrupt about-face last summer.
Were the Cubs paying back the catcher's spot when they moved Steve Clevenger there? They had struck gold in moving Carlos Marmol and Randy Wells from behind the plate to the mound. Now it seems that they will also reap dividends in moving the lefthanded-hitting Clevenger from shortstop to catcher.
The free-swinging Cubs may have found a man to turn the tide. Zeke DeVoss, a switch-hitting outfielder taken in the third round of June's draft out of Miami, was an on-base and baserunning sensation in his introduction to pro baseball.
Phil Rogers selects end-of-season award winners for the Cubs system, selecting the Best Player, Best Pitcher and a player to keep an eye on.
At the end of his second year as Cubs owner, Tom Ricketts financed an unprecedented wave of spending on amateur talent.
Trey McNutt takes one step forward, another back, while it has been pretty much all downhill this season for Hayden Simpson.
Matt Szczur is one of those guys who can do just about anything. The one thing he doesn't do is let his body rest, and he's feeling the strain four full months into his first full season as a baseball player.
A shortstop when he was drafted, Steve Clevenger long ago completed the transition to catcher. It shouldn't take much longer for him to complete the climb to Wrigley Field.
Picking out the Best Player, Biggest Leap Forward and Biggest Disappointment in the Cubs farm system so far in 2011.
The Cubs never had any doubt about the boldness of Jae-Hoon Ha. As a highly regarded catcher, he turned down a chance to be a star in his native Korea to chase success in North America, signing with the Cubs in 2008 as he was finishing high school.
The clock may be ticking on the Jim Hendry regime, but the Cubs still refused to make the expedient move, drafting for need. They bypassed a number of highly regarded college pitchers to select 18-year-old Javier Baez, a shortstop from Arlington Country Day High School in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tony Campana is either stubborn or hard of hearing. The little center fielder has a skill set far bigger than his stature, and he used it to reach the majors less than three years after being drafted in the 13th round out of Cincinnati.
Welington Castillo has never been given anything in his career. Nothing changed this spring but Castillo made the most of a chance to start a game here and to pick up an inning behind the plate there.
Midway through spring training, the Cubs seemed set for starting pitching. But a chain reaction triggered by Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner winning the last two spots in the big league rotation left general manager Jim Hendry searching for starters in April.
Darwin Barney was goaded into making a grand arrival for a morning workout on the Cubs' final Sunday in Arizona. He ran onto the field, turned a cartwheel and did a backward flip in the air.
Speed is among the tools that prompted the Cubs to give a $1 million bonus to Cuban center fielder Rubi Silva. They're finding out he is also a quick learner, which is helping him get his North American career off to a running start.
When the Cubs selected D.J. LeMahieu, they knew there were probably some players available with better tools. But they also knew that the Louisiana State shortstop could hit.
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