Hector Rondon's arm has never been a secret. The question about him has been his health, and the longer the Cubs watched him pitch for Caracas in the Venezuelan League, the more convinced they became that he put his elbow problems behind him.
It was a long year for righthander Tony Zych, but he was sure to feel good about it when he got home from the Arizona Fall League. Zych, 22, put himself on the map as a potential set-up reliever behind closer Carlos Marmol, and he could reach Wrigley Field at some point in 2013. That would be a huge event for his family, which is scattered all around the Chicago area.<br/>Zych was drafted in the fourth round out of Louisville in 2011 but played his high school ball at St. Rita High in Chicago, commuting 35 miles from his home in Monee.
Most of the progress made in the first year of the Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer regime has involved adding and developing hitters, but know they need a lot more prospects as they try to build a competitive pitching staff. With that in mind, they have been aggressive at the start of the offseason.
Darwin Barney has proven himself as a big league second baseman after winning back-to-back NCAA titles at Oregon State. With an amateur pedigree that led only to Goddard (Kan.) High, Logan Watkins has had to make a name for himself climbing the ladder within the Cubs farm system.
Stephen Bruno had been a .300 hitter his whole life but was struggling when short-season Boise started their season. He was crowding the plate and jamming himself. That's when hitting coach Bill Buckner made a suggestion that turned around his season. "Do me a favor," Buckner told Bruno. "Move off the plate a little bit."
Billy Williams and Ernie Banks spent 11 seasons hitting next to each other in the Cubs' lineup. Mark Grace and Sammy Sosa were together nine seasons. That's the kind of run that Theo Epstein and Co. are envisioning for the top prospects they added this season, outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Almora.
Javier Baez made the most of a limited chance to flash his potential for the Cubs' new regime.
The Cubs didn't waste any time in taking steps toward Theo Epstein's No. 1 goal: developing a pitching pipeline reliable enough to supply a perennial contender.
When Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters walked into Dodger Stadium on Aug. 5, they saw lots of familiar faces in the clubhouse. Joining the Cubs less than a week after a series of trade deadline deals, Jackson and Vitters arrived with Theo Epstein's youth movement in full bloom.
Anthony Rizzo isn't afraid to carry high expectations. That's a good thing because he just keeps raising them.
Correspondent Phil Rogers files a midseason report for the Cubs, highlighting a Best Player, a Biggest Leap Forward and a Biggest Disappointment for the first half.
Even with Mark Appel still on the board, the Cubs were targeting Albert Almora.
Ben Wells was almost one who got away from the Cubs. Theo Epstein and his staff in the rebuilt Cubs front office are glad that Jim Hendry and Tim Wilken went the extra mile to get a deal done.
Theo Epstein doesn't want to shortcut anyone's development. He signed David DeJesus in part so that top prospect Brett Jackson could play another 100 games or so in Triple-A. The Cubs want him to be fully prepared when he moves into the everyday lineup at Wrigley Field.
Sean Marshall is gone, and the Cubs didn't go outside the organization to replace him after a trade that sent him to the Reds. That has created competition for his spot in the bullpen.
The new labor agreement may work to even the playing field in Latin American signings, but it hasn't slowed the commitment by Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, as well as new president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and his staff.
Age isn't on Blake Parker's side. He's 26 and failed to take advantage of his time on the 40-man roster. But Parker has doggedly kept pushing for another look.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo, who went from the Red Sox to the Padres in the 4-for-1 Gonzalez trade, joined the Cubs in a deal for power righthander Andrew Cashner.
Sooner or later, somebody is going to take notice of Rebel Ridling. While the Cubs search for undervalued players elsewhere, they have one of their own in the 25-year-old first baseman.
Baseball America
