May 17, 2018

 Cubs.com, Chatwood sharp, but 'pen falters late in loss https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-bullpen-falters-late-in-loss-to-braves/c-277064424

 Cubs.com, Almora shows off hops with catch at wall https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/albert-almora-jr-makes-leaping-catch-at-wall/c-277056972

 ESPNChicago.com, Cubs out of the zone as issues return http://www.espn.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/46890/cubs-out-of-the-zone-as-strikeout- issues-return

 ESPNChicago.com, meets with MLB, hopeful problem with cleats is over http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23524521/ben-zobrist-chicago-cubs-meets-league-cleats- issue

 NBC Sports Chicago, The Cubs are seeing the real Jr. right now https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-are-seeing-real-albert-almora-jr-right-now-cubs- front-office-gold-glove-highlight-reel

 NBC Sports Chicago, Ben Zobrist has reemerged as one of the Cubs' most important players https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/how-ben-zobrist-emergence-world-series-fountain-of- youth-bryzzo

, Tyler Chatwood's strong outing wasted as Cubs' bullpen takes loss in 4-1 defeat to Braves http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-braves-20180516-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Ben Zobrist optimistic about uniform rule change: 'Eventually they’ll have to have that discussion' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-ben-zobrist-cleats-20180516- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, MLB draft forecasters have Cubs leaning Southeast http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-draft-predictions-20180516- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs starter Tyler Chatwood fixes flaw in delivery to limit walks http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-tyler-chatwood-20180517- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, tells Weather Channel that wind and rain made early games at Wrigley 'awful' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-ian-happ-weather-20180516- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs' unlikely outlaw awaiting 's decision on the 'Zobrist rule' http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-joe-torre-ben-zobrist-mlb-sullivan- 20180516-story.html

 Chicago Sun-Times, Starts and fits: How big is Tyler Chatwood’s promising start for Cubs’ rotation? https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/starts-and-fits-how-big-could-tyler-chatwoods-promising- start-be-for-cubs/

 Chicago Sun-Times, Zo fought the law — and might win the right to wear all-black shoes for Cubs https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/zo-fought-the-law-and-might-win-the-right-to-wear-all-black- shoes-for-cubs/

 The Athletic, The good, the bad and the frustrating from the Cubs’ 4-1 loss in https://theathletic.com/357559/2018/05/17/the-good-the-bad-and-the-frustrating-from-the-cubs- 4-1-loss-in-atlanta/

 The Athletic, Why the Cubs are targeting hitting prospects in this year’s draft https://theathletic.com/357097/2018/05/16/why-the-cubs-are-targeting-hitting-prospects-in-this- years-draft/

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Cubs.com Chatwood sharp, but 'pen falters late in loss By Aimee Sachs

ATLANTA -- A shaky eighth for the Cubs' bullpen with two bases-loaded walks saw nine Braves come to the plate in Chicago's 4-1 loss to Atlanta at SunTrust Park on Wednesday.

With the score tied at 1, Carl Edwards Jr. gave up a leadoff triple to Ozzie Albies to set the stage for Ronald Acuna Jr.'s sharp go-ahead RBI single to left. After an intentional walk to , Edwards issued a bases-loaded walk to Tyler Flowers to make it 3-1. Justin Hancock came in and delivered another bases-loaded walk to Johan Camargo.

Cubs righty Tyler Chatwood pitched 5 1/3 and allowed just one on four hits with two and two walks.

"I felt strong, I felt like my mechanics were in synch," Chatwood said. "My stuff, I felt like everything was there, so it was good. I need to build on that."

Cubs said that Freddie Freeman and Markakis, the lefties at the heart of Atlanta's order, were the motivating factors in taking Chatwood out of the game once Acuna reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the sixth. Brian Duensing walked Freeman, but the lefty then got Markakis to ground into an inning-ending 3-6-1 play.

"Had he gotten the first [two] guys, Albies and then Acuna out, he was gonna face Freeman," Maddon said. "But once there was somebody on base right there, that made it a little bit different."

The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Freeman's RBI single. The Cubs tied it in the fifth on a RBI single. Bryant went 3-for-4 with a double.

Unlike Tuesday night's win when the Cubs touched Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino for two runs, Chicago went down in order in the ninth.

The Cubs struck out 11 times in the loss, which Maddon attributed to chasing pitches out of the zone.

"I want us to maintain the good work that we've done to this point and not start opening it up a little bit," Maddon said. "That was our issue tonight. We're just out of our zones again, and in RBI situations we've got to force the pitch over the plate, you've got to find your pitch and move it, and we need to do a better job with that."

SOUND SMART The run Chatwood allowed in the bottom of the first ended his nine-inning scoreless streak against the Braves, which dated back to July 24, 2016.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS Albert Almora Jr. wasn't going to let Flowers get an extra-base hit in the bottom of the second as he tracked a deep drive and made a leaping catch at the top of the center-field wall. ™ projected the ball's exit velocity at 106.4 mph. Since Statcast™ began tracking in 2015, seven out of 10 batted balls with that exit velocity and 22 degree launch angle have gone for home runs.

UP NEXT will take the mound in his ninth start of the season and fifth road start for Thursday's series finale in Atlanta. The Cubs have gone 6-2 in his previous eight starts. will make his fourth career start for the Braves. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CT.

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Cubs.com Almora shows off hops with catch at wall By Aimee Sachs

ATLANTA -- Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. robbed Braves Tyler Flowers with a leaping catch at the wall in the bottom of the second inning of Wednesday's 4-1 loss in Atlanta.

Flowers hit a deep drive to center field, which Almora tracked before making a perfectly timed jump and catch.

According to Statcast™, the ball jumped off Flowers' bat with a 106.4-mph exit velocity. Batted balls hit with Flowers' combination of 106-mph exit velocity and 22 degree launch angle have gone for home runs roughly seven out of 10 times since Statcast™ began tracking in 2015.

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ESPNChicago.com Cubs out of the zone as strikeout issues return By Jesse Rogers

ATLANTA -- Perhaps it's the hitting background at Sun Trust Park. Or perhaps the simply can't give up their affinity for striking out a lot.

After whiffing just twice in a Monday game against the at Wrigley Field, the Cubs reverted to their old ways once the series shifted south. They've struck out 26 times over the past two games against the Braves, including 11 times in a 4-1 loss on Wednesday.

"When they run out arms throwing 100 mph with a slider, sometimes it's tough just to hit the ball, just in general," third baseman Kris Bryant said after the loss. "Today, [Brandon] McCarthy had a great sinker and cutter playing off of that."

Bryant is about the only Cub who has hit in Atlanta this series. He was 3-for-4 on Wednesday -- driving in the Cubs' lone run -- but was left stranded each time he reached base. The Cubs were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. It's an old tune that gets updated every so often.

"We need to do a better job at the plate," manager Joe Maddon said. "We had an opportunity to score more runs."

Getting the leadoff man on base in innings 4-8 but scoring only once is the storyline for this loss -- not Maddon pulling starter Tyler Chatwood in a 1-1 game in the sixth despite Chatwood having thrown only 79 pitches. Could Maddon have left Chatwood in the game? Sure. But the lefty/lefty matchup he eventually got on Nick Markakis worked out as the .340 hitter bounced into a double play.

Saving his bullpen is an important narrative for another day as Maddon admitted Chatwood pitched great and said he would have left Chatwood in the game -- if the Cubs had any sort of a lead. That won't happen when the strikeouts pile up as they are right now. Javier Baez, for example, struck out three times Wednesday and hasn't drawn a walk in more than 130 plate appearances.

"He's opened it up a bit," Maddon said of Baez's hitting mechanics. "That's what I'm seeing."

Batting right after Baez, whiffed twice, while the two combined to leave nine men on base.

"Hitting is contagious and I feel like striking out and bad at-bats can be contagious, too," Bryant said.

Maddon added: "Chasing. Just chasing. Getting out of our zones."

It's just a couple of games, but every so often Cubs fans will be reminded they're watching an offense in transition. Focusing on putting the ball in play hasn't been part of the players' DNA in the past; the coaching staff is trying to inject them with that ability as the players mature.

Despite having a solid run differential, the Cubs are third-to-last in getting a runner home from third with less than two outs, and are below league average in getting a runner from second to third with no outs. Ian Happ had that chance after a leadoff double by in the seventh inning on Wednesday, but flied out to short right. At least there was contact. There were plenty of other times when the Cubs fanned with men on base.

"I want us to maintain the good work to this point and not start opening up a little bit," Maddon said. "That was our issue tonight. We were just out of our zones again in RBI situations. We have to force the over the plate, find your pitch and move it."

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ESPNChicago.com Ben Zobrist meets with MLB, hopeful problem with cleats is over By Jesse Rogers

ATLANTA -- Ben Zobrist's shoe scandal could be coming to a close soon.

The Chicago Cubs veteran said he talked with on Wednesday and came away hopeful there will be a favorable resolution after he was recently warned his cleats were not in color compliance.

"I'm optimistic that the conversation will be had very quickly and we'll probably have a better solution for everybody soon," Zobrist said before the Cubs played the Braves on Wednesday night.

At issue is the rule which states at least 51 percent "of the exterior of each player's shoes be the club's designated primary shoe color."

Zobrist prefers wearing an all-black cleat at home games and took his case to Instagram after being warned he could be fined for noncompliance. According to Zobrist, the union and league don't mind some freedom, but a uniform rule was required when the sides collectively bargained the issue.

"Certain teams preferred a more uniform approach," Zobrist explained. "They had to come up with a consensus that they were going to, as a group, enforce. Players didn't necessarily agree with that, but they had to write something.

"There are some people that maybe don't want there to be full freedom for players in regard to that. We have to get a consensus to arrive at a new rule, and structure, that allows us the flexibility that we all want."

Zobrist stressed the sides only discuss the issue as it relates to their cleats and not any other "accessories."

"If we can sit down and talk about this issue by itself, I think we can get something done pretty quickly," he said.

Zobrist was grateful MLB rules czar Joe Torre reached out and is confident that while the sides discuss the issue the league will tone down the warnings. Zobrist plans on wearing the black cleats in the Cubs' next homestand.

"We might have some freedom if there is some negotiation happening," he said. "It's become a very specific issue that we can probably get figured out quickly.

"I'm glad they reached out and we were able to have a great conversation about it. Everybody is on the same page in regards to wanting this to happen but there is red tape."

Zobrist isn't the only player who was warned by MLB. starter Mike Clevinger broke the 51 percent rule and said he would donate a potential fine to a worthy charity, if need be, but will continue to wear his shoes.

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NBC Sports Chicago The Cubs are seeing the real Albert Almora Jr. right now By Tony Andracki

This is who Albert Almora Jr. is as a player right now.

He's the guy with video game instincts who defies gravity to take away runs from the other team, as he did Wednesday night in Atlanta:

He's also the guy who expanded the zone and struck out in the 5th and 7th innings of the Cubs' 4-1 loss, the latter whiff coming on two nasty sliders low and away — the Achilles' heel for the young .

Those two at-bats — particularly the last one — are why Almora still won't play every single day and why Joe Maddon and the Cubs are going to continue to pick their spots with him against right-handed .

But the Cubs can live with those strikeouts when Almora is flashing Gold Glove caliber plays on what seems like an everyday basis.

Almora entered the day with a sizeable lead in Major League Baseball in "Good Fielding" catches, per Sports Info Solutions and only added to that total with yet another jaw-dropping play:

We've come to expect excellent defense from Almora, but it's safe to say he's taken things to another level this year.

Why?

Because he's playing with a chip on his shoulder and a swagger only bested by Javy Baez (who is the King of Swag on the Cubs, of course).

After he made that ridiculous catch Wednesday night in Atlanta, Almora did a little hat-tip and was sure to catch his own replay on the video board.

You might also have noticed he seems to yell at the wall when he tracks a ball down in the gap — a guttural release to let out his adrenaline and to remind that pesky wall that he's not afraid of it.

After a particularly thrilling catch near the wall at Wrigley earlier this season, Almora screamed at the ivy-covered brick and said, "Not today."

"You can tell he's been himself when he's being aggressive on defense," said at the beginning of the month about his first draft pick in the Cubs front office. "His first couple years, he was a good defender but he didn't play with quite the same conviction and aggressiveness in center field as he did in the minor leagues.

"So you can tell he's feeling really comfortable with his role and his spot in the big leagues by how he's going to get the ball, how he's finishing the plays at the end of his range.

"That's always who he was, way back to high school. He's always the guy who would make plays on balls you wouldn't think he could get to. He would find ways to stay involved defensively — throwing behind runners, leaving his feet, making the play.

"He did that in spurts the first couple years and now you've seen it really consistently. And that's him, he's a guy who does a lot like that night and night out."

But why was Almora tentative?

"I think it's natural for young players," Epstein said. "He's played a position — — where we've had a lot of talented players, so sometimes you can be afraid to make a mistake and then not play for a few days. It's just natural for a young player breaking in with a good team."

When asked about Epstein's comments, a little smile crept across Almora's face.

"That's a great statement," he said. "Yeah, absolutely. I felt like last year, I played a little conservative. It wasn't me out there. This is what I've been doing all my life and we had a conversation in spring and they challenged me to be myself and be the Albert that they know and saw growing up in high school.

"And I said, 'consider it done.' If you're giving me that leeway of letting me be myself, then I'm gonna do that."

Almora has always had an extreme confidence in his own abilities and in his Cubs team, but this year, he seems different.

He's become a go-to guy in the clubhouse for the media, always ready with an upbeat, fiery statement — a la the aforementioned "consider it done" he told the front office.

In his own way, he's become a leader in just his second full year in the big leagues, though that shouldn't be a shock to anybody given Almora idolized "The Captain" growing up and was always seen as a leader at every stage throughout the Cubs farm system.

Offensively, he still has some strides to make, but he's already shown a great leap in development this season by bumping his walk rate up to a very respectable 8.5 percent.

He still mashes lefties and struggles with some righties, but if he can keep making plays in the outfield, it will get easier and easier for Maddon to pencil his name in the lineup on a daily basis.

Because remember, Almora is unchained now.

"It's tough to explain," Almora said. "I just went out there and said, 'Hey, be you.' I can't put into detail what I'm doing now.

"I'm just having a lot more fun playing — and I had a lot of fun last year, so I dunno. I'm just trying to [catch] everything."

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NBC Sports Chicago Ben Zobrist has reemerged as one of the Cubs' most important players By Tony Andracki

What a difference two weeks makes.

Ben Zobrist won't ever tell anybody that he was relieved the Cubs were bounced from the postseason on Oct. 19 last fall without another trip to the . But those extra two weeks off and not grinding out at-bats against the best pitchers in the world have done wonders for the veteran utility man after back-to-back World Series runs.

"Last year, just a lot of little bumps and bruises," Joe Maddon said. "Two World Series in a row — there's some long seasons involved. I don't think his body responded as well.

"He spent a lot of time this offseason specifically trying to be ready for this season. I tell you what, he's looked great. ... He did something about it this offseason."

Many people were quick to write off Zobrist after a down 2017 campaign, assuming the former World Series MVP would just fade into the background in 2018.

Zobrist turns 37 next week, but the only way you'd know that is the fact he is constantly given days off to rest his aging body by Maddon.

Don't let the part-time role or the recent CleatGate ordeal distract you from the fact Zobrist has been very, very important to the Cubs' success over the first quarter of the season.

When he's been on the field, it's been shades of 2016 Zobrist, when he emerged as arguably the most important cog in the Cubs lineup. Everybody expects Bryzzo Souvenir Co. to put up gaudy numbers each summer but in that magical 2016 season, Zobrist spent a lot of the year in the cleanup spot, providing protection to Kris Bryant and .

This year, Zobrist has been asked to do something totally different — set the table for the big boppers.

And with the ascension of Javy Baez at second base, Zobrist has also been asked to play more and more in the outfield — 13 starts in right or left field compared to only 5 starts at second base. In 2016-17, Zobrist made 178 starts at second vs. 69 starts on the outfield grass.

After an injury-plagued 2017 campaign in which he hit .232 with a .318 on-base percentage and .693 OPS, Zobrist decided not to take any swings for a while over the winter to let his ailing wrist heal, but he had no intentions of sitting around, taking his usual four weeks off from working out.

"As time has gone on, taking time off is not necessarily good," Zobrist said. "When you get your body going and you're in good shape, you try to stay in shape. Maybe you lose it a little quicker as you get a little bit older and you're playing the game.

"Time off would be like staying away from working out for a month to let your body heal, which is what I did for most of my career. Three or four weeks of just activity I would do as a normal person, like I might play with my kids, I might shoot hoops or sometehing like that. But I'm not doing any sort of work out to try to be in shape.

"This year, it was like, OK, even though mentally I don't want to start yet, physically I need to stay in it 'cause I don't wanna lose that shape I was in at the end of the season."

Zobrist didn't even start swinging a bat until mid-December to let his wrist heal fully and focused instead on "building a foundation" for his body.

All that work he spent in the offseason sure seems to be paying off.

He's hitting .290 with a .365 on-base percentage on the season and has 2 of the 4 Cubs game-winning hits on the season — in Miami in the first week and then again Tuesday night in Atlanta.

As Maddon works to navigate the lineup on a daily basis, Zobrist has become the clear favorite to lead off against right-handed pitchers in most games.

But he's also hit second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh while filling in at first base when Rizzo was injured and also serving as a defensive replacement for Kyle Schwarber in left field often.

Even still, Zobrist is only on pace for 116 games played and 386 at-bats as Maddon tries to keep him frisky. Since becoming a full-time player in 2009, Zobrist has never played in fewer than 126 games in a season and has racked up at least 435 at-bats every year.

After games in which he does start, you can find Zobrist sitting with Cubs advanced scouting hitting coordinator Nate Halm, going over video and talking passionately about Zobrist's swing and how his physical movements match up with his thoughts and approach.

"That's where I'm trying to be more detailed ahead of the game and after the game with, 'OK, well, what was I thinking? What did I do and what about it did I like? What did I not like?" Zobrist said. "Bouncing stuff off him so he can hear those thoughts coming out."

It's just more proof that Zobrist is one of the best offensive minds in the Cubs clubhouse, always thinking along with the game.

Even if the Cubs are worried about his body holding up over the course of the long season, Zobrist's mind doesn't appear to be fading any time soon.

And when the game is on the line in a crucial moment, who else would Cubs fans rather have up at the plate right now?

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Chicago Tribune Tyler Chatwood's strong outing wasted as Cubs' bullpen takes loss in 4-1 defeat to Braves By Mark Gonzales

There’s a delicate balance between allowing your starters to pitch deeper into games while trying to remain within striking distance in a mid-May affair.

So despite pitching one of his most effective games so far this season, Tyler Chatwood was denied the opportunity Wednesday night to show manager Joe Maddon he could go longer and preserve a taxed Cubs bullpen.

Maddon’s strategy worked in the short term, as left-hander Brian Duensing induced Nick Markakis to ground into an inning-ending double play in the sixth inning.

But the Cubs’ usually reliable bullpen ran into trouble and faded in the eighth when the Braves tagged Carl Edwards Jr. for the second time in as many games to pull out a 4-1 victory at damp SunTrust Park.

Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a tie-breaking single off Edwards, who has allowed seven runs on seven hits in his last three appearances after posting an 0.53 ERA in his first 16 games. Acuna also hit a tie-breaking homer off Edwards on Tuesday.

“My confidence is high,” said Edwards, who has pitched in 19 of the Cubs’ 40 games but insists he doesn’t feel tired. “You have your good times, you get your days. Right now it’s my time to figure something out.”

Chatwood and the bullpen, however, had no margin for error. The Cubs were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position before the Braves took the lead for good. They also struck out 11 times, including eight in six innings against journeyman Brandon McCarthy.

“Chasing,” Maddon said of the offense’s flaw. “We’re out of our (strike) zones. That’s it.”

Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez struck out three times apiece, and Kyle Schwarber has struck out five times in his last two games.√

The Cubs wasted a three-hit performance from Kris Bryant, who hit a two-out RBI single to score Ian Happ in the fifth and led off the eighth with a single.

But in the eighth, Anthony Rizzo popped to third on a 3-0 count for the first out. After hit a shoulder-high pitch for a single, Baez struck out and Schwarber grounded to second.

That summed up a puzzling night for the Cubs and for Chatwood, who expressed disbelief after Maddon pulled him after 79 pitches with one out and Acuna at first in the sixth.

“That’s just the competitive side in me,” Chatwood said. “I wanted to stay in. I felt good.”

But Chatwood, who walked only two after issuing 32 walks in his previous 37 2/3 innings, understood later that Maddon wanted left-hander Brian Duensing to face Freddie Freeman (who was 8-for-15 lifetime against Chatwood) and Nick Markakis.

Duensing walked Freeman but induced Markakis to ground into the double play.

“I had to be proactive right there,” said Maddon, who said he would have left Chatwood in the game if the Cubs had led or if there wasn’t a runner at first base.

Chatwood received a huge from Almora, who continued his Gold Glove caliber defense in the second with a well-timed defensive play. Almora sprinted back on a deep drive and perfectly timed his leap above the center-field fence to rob Flowers of a . Almora afforded himself some time to watch a replay of his catch on the videoboard.

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Chicago Tribune Ben Zobrist optimistic about uniform rule change: 'Eventually they’ll have to have that discussion' By Mark Gonzales

After discussions with the players union and Major League Baseball, Ben Zobrist believes uniform rules will be adjusted to allow him to wear his black cleats without facing a penalty.

“It sounds like they all want us to be free to wear whatever we’d like to wear,” Zobrist said Wednesday after separate discussions with Players Association officials and MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre. “Obviously there needs to be some structure because you can’t just say ‘Go ahead, wear whatever whenever.’ We still have to protect certain things from happening.”

MLB warned Zobrist last week after he wore black cleats for a Rockies-Cubs game at Wrigley Field, saying he could be fined or disciplined for doing so in the future. Zobrist says he has been wearing the black cleats to pay homage to Hall of Fame players from the 1950s and ‘60s for some time.

Zobrist, who expressed his disappointment on his Instagram account over the warnings from MLB because his cleats don’t possess at least 51 percent of his team’s dominant color, said a consensus from the MLBPA and MLB would be needed for a change in the rules.

Zobrist said the MLBPA and MLB will work toward amending the rules and “in the meantime, we won’t have a lot of other stuff going in regards to warnings and fines.”

Zobrist said his sense is a decision could be finalized in the next month, adding MLB would like a resolution soon.

Zobrist said the 51 percent minimum was instituted to allow some freedom, “but not total freedom” because some teams wanted a more uniformed approach.

“My understanding is MLB doesn’t want to make this a ‘Let’s talk about every accessory on your body,’” Zobrist said. “They don’t want to make that important. But eventually they’ll have to have that discussion.”

Extra innings: Outfielder threw long toss and ran around the perimeter of the infield in his latest drills while on the seven-day concussion disabled list. “Everything went pretty well,” manager Joe Maddon said of Heyward, who hasn’t played since May 6. “There’s still some red tape to go through, doctor-wise.” … After throwing two innings and 20 pitches Tuesday night, left-hander Mike Montgomery remains on track to start one of the games in Saturday’s at Cincinnati. Maddon believes Montgomery could throw four or five innings, with the Cubs receiving extra help by being allowed to add another player for the doubleheader.

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Chicago Tribune MLB draft forecasters have Cubs leaning Southeast By Mark Gonzales

The Cubs have the 24th pick in the June 4 amateur draft, and three forecasters have them selecting a player from the Southeast region.

Baseball America predicts the Cubs will select switch-hitting catcher from Cartersville, Ga. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Seigler has signed a letter of intent with Florida.

In its latest mock draft, MLB.com predicts the Cubs will draft right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker of North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga. The 6-5, 250-pound Rocker has committed to play at Vanderbilt.

The Cubs haven’t selected a high school player with their first pick since 2012, when they drafted outfielder Albert Almora Jr. out of Mater Academy Charter School in Haileah Gardens, Fla.

FanGraphs predicts the Cubs will select Florida pitcher Jackson Kowar, who is 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 81 innings. The 6-5, 180-pound Kowar has limited opponents to a .223 batting average.

The Cubs also own the 62nd, 77th, 78th and 98th picks.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs starter Tyler Chatwood fixes flaw in delivery to limit walks By Mark Gonzales

Tyler Chatwood isn’t sure where he developed a bad habit, but he’s learned to correct his flaw simply by playing catch between starts.

Chatwood’s control improved noticeably Wednesday night as he walked only two in 5 1/3 innings and would have pitched deeper had the Cubs provided ample run support.

“I thought his command was much better,” Maddon said of Chatwood, who didn’t issue a walk until the fourth inning of a 4-1 loss to the Braves.

Chatwood was pulled with one out in the sixth of a tie game with left-handed hitters Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis coming up. Maddon went with the percentages, and it paid off when Brian Duensing induced Markakis to ground into an inning-ending double play after Freeman walked.

Chatwood was initially baffled that Maddon pulled him but remained encouraged by his outing after walking 38 in his first 37 2/3 innings. Chatwood walked only two, thanks to sound mechanics.

“(My arm) was behind the rubber and in good position to repeat my delivery, repeat my release point,” Chatwood said.

In the past, Chatwood believed he was leaning too far forward, causing him to lose his proper arm slot and losing arm-side command. Chatwood said he felt sound in the first two innings of his last start against the White Sox on Friday, only to lose control and ended up walking five in five innings.

“I think somewhere I created a bad habit,” Chatwood said. “I’m not sure where. But now I’m aware of it. So every time I play catch, I try to take advantage to work on it. And I did that.

“I’m going to try to keep that feeling.”

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Chicago Tribune Ian Happ tells Weather Channel that wind and rain made early games at Wrigley 'awful' By Phil Thompson

The Cubs started the season facing the kind of weather only Tom Skilling could love, so it’s only natural the Weather Channel would call on one of them to make a guest appearance — in this case straight- talker Ian Happ.

The outfielder gave meteorologist Alex Wallace his unvarnished view of Chicago’s climate in April during a studio interview on Wednesday: “We get perfect weather in Arizona , we open up this year in Miami — perfect weather — and then we head home and we’re playing in snow and sideways rain; Wrigley’s wind. So that’s always awful, but it’s worth it because the summer in Chicago is perfect.”

Major League Baseball had a record 28 postponements through April, and the Cubs trail only the Tigers (seven) and tie the Twins with four home games called for weather this season. But make that five overall for the Cubs: An April 3 game in Cincinnati was rescheduled to May 19 after a one-hour, 24- minute rain delay.

Happ added, “We’ve got one coming up in Cincinnati this weekend – we have a doubleheader because of rain previously. Those are always tough. You like to keep the schedule as normal as you can instead of playing 18 (innings) in one day.”

The Cubs also faced the prospect of another delay in Atlanta on Wednesday, as a possible storm was forecast for the middle innings of a game against the Braves.

Happ said, “The toughest part is definitely keeping your body ready. So we’ll go hang out in the clubhouse for a little bit, then having to stretch back out, making sure that you're nice and hot, ready to go.”

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Chicago Tribune Cubs' unlikely outlaw awaiting Joe Torre's decision on the 'Zobrist rule' By Paul Sullivan

One of my favorite Joe Torre stories occurred when he was holding out with the Braves during spring training in 1969.

As related in the book “Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball,” Braves general manager Paul Richards tried to cut Torre’s salary 20 percent, mostly as revenge for Torre being a union activist.

Like many players during that time, Torre had an offseason job and was working for a Wall Street firm. In an attempt to end the holdout, he flew to Florida to meet with Braves management early in spring training, but Richards refused to budge.

Torre then placed his business card on Richards’ desk and left the office.

“If you need me, here’s where you can reach me,” he said.

Two weeks later, the Braves dealt Torre to the Cardinals for .

That’s how baseball dealt with players back then — my way or the highway.

Torre found the highway to his liking. He was named MVP in 1971, the second of four straight seasons he was an All-Star third baseman with the Cardinals. After a nice playing career, he went on to be a highly successful manager, winning four World Series rings with the Yankees and being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Instead of retiring or becoming a talking head on MLB Network, Torre went to work for Major League Baseball as its disciplinarian.

His title is chief baseball officer, or as used to call one of Torre’s predecessors, Bob Watson, “Judge Dredd.”

The position mainly entails suspending or fining players and managers for being hotheads and going off the rails during a game. It’s probably as fun at is sounds, especially if you were a former baseball hothead yourself.

But sometimes something completely ridiculous crosses Torre’s desk, such as the recent controversy surrounding MLB's decision not to allow Ben Zobrist to wear black cleats in games. Zobrist received a letter from MLB telling him of the uniform violation and warning him to follow the rules or face the music.

Like many players today, Zobrist opted to protest the move with a social media post Saturday morning explaining his position on the shoes, which he said he wore as a tribute to old-school players such as and Stan Musial.

Then Zobrist went rogue later in the day, wearing the black shoes as a ninth-inning defensive replacement against the White Sox. He politely declined to discuss the protest with the media afterward, preferring to hear from MLB and the union first.

I asked Joe Maddon about his unlikely outlaw, and the Cubs manager immediately saw as a marketing opportunity.

“Unlikely outlaw, that would be a great poster,” he said, adding that Zobrist is a man who stands by his convictions.

On Tuesday, Zobrist told reporters in Atlanta he had sent his message to Torre, so the ball is in MLB’s court.

On Wednesday, the tenor changed some.

“It sounds like they all want us to be free to wear whatever we’d like to wear,” Zobrist said Wednesday after separate discussions with Players Association officials and MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre. “Obviously there needs to be some structure because you can’t just say ‘Go ahead, wear whatever whenever.’ We still have to protect certain things from happening.”

Make no mistake: Zobrist is making this stand for the rights of all players to wear shoes of their preference. I applaud him for the effort, and it’s his right to do so, even if there are more pressing issues in baseball, such as the proliferation of bad walk-up music.

Most fans I’ve spoken with seem to be OK with players showing their individuality through their shoes, as players often do in the NFL and NBA. It’s show biz, after all.

Still, Torre has to consider other factors when making his shoe decree. If he allows Zobrist to wear the color of his preference, what is to stop other players from wearing garish-looking shoes that don’t match their uniform colors and serve only as a fashion faux pas?

And if players can wear the shoes of their choice, what’s next? White belts before Memorial Day or after Labor Day?

I trust Torre to make the right call on what Cubs television analyst Jim Deshaies wisely predicted would become known as the “Zobrist rule.”

Torre has more common sense than most at MLB, having already walked in the shoes of players, managers and even media. When prodded about the new mound-visits rule during a spring-training interview, he jokingly told a reporter: “I need help trying to figure it out. Anything you can suggest?”

The suggestion here is to allow black shoes. But whatever he decides, Torre must decide quickly. There’s no need to shuffle his feet, because — as we’ve already discovered — this shoe story has legs.

So let’s go, Joe.

As they say at the old shoe factory: Just do it.

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Chicago Sun-Times Starts and fits: How big is Tyler Chatwood’s promising start for Cubs’ rotation? By Gordon Wittenmyer

ATLANTA — Even after a 4-1 loss to the Braves on Wednesday night at SunTrust Park, the Cubs have won six of their last nine and remain just two games out of first in the division.

So imagine what the season might look like if the starting rotation had been pitching like the one manager Joe Maddon said in spring training looked like the best he has had in four seasons in Chicago.

As the Cubs’ season hit the quarter mark in rainy , the team still is waiting for its three big starting-pitching acquisitions over the last 10 months to catch up to the pace Jon Lester and have set.

Chatwood went three consecutive innings without a walk for only the second time this season.

For all the talk about the lineup and fielding issues this year, this is the group that has the most power to dictate which direction the rest of the season goes.

“I’m eager to watch it play out because I think these guys are so good, and we’re hanging in there so well while they’re not pitching to their capabilities yet,” Maddon said. “And I know they’re going to.”

One night after $126 million free agent Yu Darvish returned from the disabled list (flu) but then cramped up in the fourth inning, $38 million free agent Tyler Chatwood showed promise in solving a seasonlong problem with walks, saying it was “the best I’ve felt” all year.

Chatwood leads the majors in walks, one of the reasons he has lasted fewer than six innings in five of eight starts.

Struggling Jose Quintana, who was acquired in a trade-deadline deal from the White Sox last July, takes another shot at improving his 5.23 ERA and 1.60 WHIP on Saturday against the Reds.

“This is a good starting group, and they haven’t pitched to their capabilities and they’re going to,” Maddon said. “That’s what excites me.”

Meanwhile, Darvish is winless and has failed to pitch five innings in five of seven starts. Quintana’s velocity has been down in some starts along with, it seems, his faith in attacking the strike zone.

“It’s almost like a group that’s not hitting, and you know they’re a good hitting team and they’re going to hit,” Maddon said.

One byproduct is the weight on a bullpen that already has been leaned on hard at times.

Carl Edwards Jr., who spent five weeks as one of the top setup men in baseball, struggled for the third straight appearance when the top of the Braves’ young lineup turned a 1-1 game into a victory with a big eighth inning.

“Confidence is high still,” said Edwards, who retired only one of six he faced. “You have good times, and you get your days. Right now it’s my time to figure something out, and I feel like my next time out I’ll go out there scoreless and I’ll get back to where I was from the start.”

Still, the bullpen is the least of the Cubs’ issues. The rotation stragglers are the most significant.

And that could make Chatwood’s start the most important event of the day for the Cubs.

He gave up a quick run in the first on a leadoff double and a one-out single but didn’t walk a batter until the fourth.

That marked only the second time all season Chatwood went three consecutive innings without a walk. His longest streak was four innings in an April 29 start against the Brewers.

He finished with just two walks but was pulled from the game with one out in the sixth after allowing a single to Ronald Acuna and with Freddie Freeman (8-for-15, including a first-inning single) due up. Chatwood had thrown only 79 pitches.

“I felt strong. I felt my mechanics were in sync,” said Chatwood, who has been working daily to break “bad habits” in his delivery. “Now I need to build on that. Today was a step in the right direction.”

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Chicago Sun-Times Zo fought the law — and might win the right to wear all-black shoes for Cubs By Gordon Wittenmyer

ATLANTA — Ben Zobrist had a big box of new shoes waiting for him at his locker in the SunTrust Park visitors’ clubhouse Wednesday afternoon.

No, they’re not black, he said. “I think they’re actually white.”

Problem solved?

Not that easily.

But after conversations Wednesday with Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre and a players’ union official, the Cubs’ infamous shoe scofflaw is confident that MLB’s shoe-color controversy could be resolved within weeks.

“I’m optimistic that the conversation’s going to be had very quickly, and we’ll have probably a better solution for everybody soon,” said Zobrist, one of a handful of players threatened last week with fines for uniform violations.

Zobrist was among the group hit for shoe-color infractions — Zobrist for throwback, all-black shoes he has worn in recent years during Cubs’ home day games. At least 51 percent of the shoe must be blue to comply.

MLB has said the rule already was being discussed for possible changes.

Zobrist said he expects officials from both sides to rewrite the rule to allow more freedom in their shoe styles, possibly giving individual teams a voice when it comes to their own players.

“So it sounds like everybody’s on the same page in regard to wanting this to happen,” he said. “But I think obviously there’s red tape and there’s structure that we have to write into place to make it possible.”

It would be a rare case of going into an existing collective-bargaining agreement to rewrite a rule.

As long as the sides are working on the issue, Zobrist anticipates MLB will suspend enforcement actions, and he plans to wear his all-black shoes during the next homestand, he said.

What isn’t being discussed are the non-uniform-color sleeves some players like to wear, such as Cubs catcher Willson Contreras’ sleeve replicating the Venezuelan flag. He has not worn it since getting a letter warning him he could be fined.

Heyward close

Right fielder Jason Heyward took another step Wednesday toward a possible return this weekend in Cincinnati from the seven-day concussion disabled list.

Heyward, who was hurt May 6 when he hit his head on the wall trying to catch ’s walk-off home run, worked out on the field under the supervision of trainers again Wednesday.

“Everything went well,” manager Joe Maddon said. “There’s some more protocol to go through, so that’s the next step. But he had a good day. There’s still this red-tape stuff to go through doctor-wise, and that’s what we’re waiting on right now.”

Montgomery ready

The Cubs won’t make the call until they see what their bullpen needs are the next two games, but Maddon confirmed that he considers Mike Montgomery stretched out enough to make one of the starts in Saturday’s doubleheader in Cincinnati.

Montgomery pitched one inning Sunday and two on Tuesday. “If you’re just talking about being able to pitch four or five innings, he can do that, absolutely,” Maddon said. “I don’t anticipate having to use him again [before Saturday], but if I did and it mattered we would, and then we’d make the adjustment.”

That backup plan likely would mean a major-league debut for top prospect .

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The Athletic The good, the bad and the frustrating from the Cubs’ 4-1 loss in Atlanta By Sahadev Sharma

ATLANTA — The Cubs’ 4-1 loss to an Atlanta Braves team that’s filled with young, elite talent and emerging as a legitimate threat in the National League pushed the North Siders to two games back in the Central as every other team in the division won Wednesday. But the loss had a trio of aspects that could tell us more about the future of this team in 2018 and where it will be come October.

The good

Watching Tyler Chatwood battle his command can be a frustrating endeavor. The righty has a complex delivery with a lot of moving parts and an unorthodox arm circle. When he’s not repeating his delivery, which can be difficult given all those factors, it leads to major command issues. Coming into Wednesday’s loss, Chatwood had an unacceptably high 19.3 percent walk rate. To put that in context, that’s easily the worst among qualified starters (Lucas Giolito is second worst with a 16.5 percent rate) and more than double the league average of 8.4 percent. As Joe Maddon would say, woof!

But Chatwood had his best outing as a member of the Cubs, giving up one run on four hits and just 79 pitches in 5 1/3 innings of work. Most importantly, he walked just two batters. And while he had only two strikeouts, his defense did its job, turning two double plays with him on the mound — and a third soon after he exited to keep the game temporarily tied.

“The best I’ve felt,” Chatwood said. “I felt strong, I felt like my mechanics were in sync. My stuff, I felt like everything was there. It was good. I need to build on that and keep going.”

The issue, according to Chatwood, has been his mechanics feeling out of whack. When I spoke to him after his last start, he said his head was “leaking” ahead of his arm. Basically, he’s out of sync and his arm is running behind his body. That wasn’t the case on this night.

“I felt like I was behind the rubber and I was putting myself in a good spot to repeat my delivery, repeat my release point,” Chatwood said. “I felt strong. My body was in a position to feel strong releasing the ball. We’d been working hard on it. Obviously I knew I needed to cut down on the walks and lock in my command. Today was a step in the right direction.”

Chatwood went on to explain his mechanical issues in a bit more detail.

“I just didn’t feel like my hand was ever behind the ball,” he said. “When I’m leaking down the rubber, it’s hard to stay behind the ball. That’s why you see a lot of arm-side misses. I feel like I’m putting myself in a better position to stay behind the ball and finish it through the zone. Try to throw it through the zone rather than trying to get it to it.

“Somewhere I created a bad habit. I’m not really sure where. But now I’m aware of it. So every time I play catch, I try to take advantage of that time to work on that. I did that this past time through, I had a really good bullpen session. I felt like I was building off of it and took it into the game. It’s just a matter of building on it and keep that feeling.

“The other day against the White Sox I felt like I had it for the first two innings and then I lost that feeling. So that’s all I focused on in between starts every time I played catch, having that feeling. It’s just building reps with it and then it becomes second nature. Naturally you’re going to do it if you beat it into yourself long enough.”

Maddon said he pulled Chatwood in the sixth because lefty Freddie Freeman was coming up. Freeman had a 1.292 OPS against Chatwood in a mere 15 plate appearances against him for his career and already was 1-for-2 with a single on the day. With a man on and two lefties coming, Maddon chose to go to the southpaw Brian Duensing. After walking Freeman, Duensing was able to induce a double play off the bat of lefty Nick Markakis to end the threat.

“Those two guys coming up right there,” Maddon said. “It was just based on those hitters. If it’s a different part of the batting order, other guys coming up, I probably would’ve left him in the game.”

Cameras showed Chatwood in the and, like most pitchers pulled too early for their liking, he didn’t seem thrilled.

“I think that’s just the competitive side of me wanting to stay in the game right there,” Chatwood said. “I felt good. But obviously, we wanted to go with the lefty matchup and it worked out for us. It’s good.”

Almost any pitcher pulled in that situation will be annoyed at the time, so this is hardly something to get worked up about. Freeman came into the game with a .993 OPS on the season and is generally one of the most feared, if underrated, bats in the game. Maddon made the right move in that situation.

The bigger concern might be the overall use of the bullpen. Duensing has pitched in 20 of the team’s 40 games. Same for . is at 18 and Carl Edwards Jr. is at 19. With the large number of rainouts early on, they’ve been able to carry that workload and not tire too much. But there is no way a bullpen that’s been rather great to this point is going to hold up through the summer, let alone into the fall, if its usage continues at this rate.

The bad

Speaking of that strong bullpen, what’s up with Edwards? The righty looked like a stud early on, giving up just one earned run in his first 16 appearances while striking out an insane 45.4 percent of the batters he’d faced. He was automatic setting up closer Brandon Morrow as the duo teamed up to form one of baseball’s more dominant back ends of a bullpen.

But after Wednesday’s 1/3 of an inning in which he gave up three earned runs on three hits and two walks, he’s now given up seven hits and seven runs in his last three outings (two innings of work).

“The velocity looks good,” Maddon said. “It just seems that some of the lefties are getting to his cutter a little bit. I don’t know exactly where it’s being placed. I just think overall it’s somewhat of a confidence issue. He’s not used to this happening to him. Stuff-wise, it looks the same to me from the side. Probably, at the plate, the finish may be a little different. He’s healthy, he’s well, the stuff is really good and he’s probably just a little bit off regarding locating the ball.”

Edwards didn’t seem overly concerned, pointing out he’s had issues like this in the past when he suddenly struggles for chunks at a time.

“I was in the same situation last year when we were in the playoffs,” Edwards said. “Same situation. And I’m getting through it. So what’s going to happen next? We’ll see how I come [out of it]. Confidence is high still. You have good times. You get your days. Right now it’s my time to figure something out. Feel like my next time going out, I’ll go out there scoreless and I’ll go back to where I was from the start.”

Confidence is the key for Edwards. He seems to be leaving his fastball down too often and not burying his at the moment.

The two purple dots are and the other two right above them are fastballs. Edwards wants to get his fastball a bit higher in the zone or right above the zone to get batters to chase. When he does that, he can mess with the eye level of the batter and even those curves won’t be hit because they’ll swing over them. Preferably, he’d still get the curve a bit more down, even in the dirt. Either way, it’s not working at the moment.

But Edwards is pleased he’s not walking many batters. He’s had only one unintentional walk during this three-game span of struggles.

“Me personally, I feel better giving up hits than walks,” Edwards said “They earned their way on. I didn’t give them a free pass.”

But keep this in mind: this isn’t solely on the bullpen. The Cubs offense is once again back to its inconsistent ways.

The frustrating

It would be unfair to suggest an offense averaging 5.23 runs a game, second in the NL, is “ugly.” So I’ll just go with frustrating. Because that’s obviously the case here. It’s been said before, but this team has scored 142 runs in 13 games and 67 in the other 27 games. That’s maddening for any fan and obviously for Maddon as well.

“We’re talking about [the pitching] right now, but we need to do a better job at the plate,” Maddon said. “We had opportunities to score more runs. And then all this bullpen stuff and even leaving Chatwood in the game longer probably would have happened.”

Kris Bryant is as consistent as they come and the former MVP was 3-for-4 with a double on the night, and leads the NL with a 175 wRC+. But no one else is showing any ability to bring it on a regular basis. Javy Báez was on an MVP pace. But in the team’s past four games, three of them losses, he’s gone 2-for- 16 with seven strikeouts. While some made the assumption he had turned the corner in his career, these are the types of ruts that have typified Báez. It’s only a few games, so there’s plenty of time for him to get back on that scorching pace, but it’s a familiar sight to see him chase breaking balls diving out of the zone and having trouble recognizing pitches.

Kyle Schwarber is 0-for-8 in the last two games with five strikeouts. Anthony Rizzo, who looked like he was turning things around, is 0-for-7 with three whiffs this series. It’s all a small sample, but it’s a symptom of the larger issue — that the offense is very feast or famine — so finding consistency with the individual feels all the more important.

The Cubs have not been a big strikeout team this season, entering the day 21st in the game with a strong 20.8 percent strikeout rate. But in the first two games of this series, they’ve struck out 26 times.

“I want us to maintain the good work we’ve done to this point and not start opening it up a little bit,” Maddon said. “That was our issue tonight. We were just out of our zone again and in RBI situations. We gotta force the pitcher over the plate. You gotta find your pitch and move it. We need to do a better job of that.”

On Wednesday, they got the leadoff man on six times and the second man on twice. Only one of those runners came around to score. In the end, they left eight men on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Overall, the strikeouts aren’t a huge concern. And hitting with runners in scoring position can come and go for even the best offenses. But after pulling the same act last season, the fact that this offense continues to turn it on and off on a regular basis is becoming a red flag. Edwards will get back on track. Chatwood may be headed in the right direction. But if the offense doesn’t find any semblance of balance, especially against the better teams and better pitchers in baseball, then a repeat of last October, if they get there, could very well be in the making.

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The Athletic Why the Cubs are targeting hitting prospects in this year’s draft By Patrick Mooney

Cubs executive Jason McLeod retraced a recent six-day stretch of scouting that started in the Northeast and then took him to Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana and California before returning home to Chicago.

Cubs scouts have been racking up Marriott points, crisscrossing the country and dialing into regular conference calls, trying to get a realistic sense of what they can do in the draft that begins on June 4. There isn’t the Mark Appel vs. Kris Bryant vs. Jon Gray debate about the No. 2 overall pick that divided the room more than you would have thought in 2013. But the Cubs understand what’s at stake now, even if it’s not the kind of top-of-the-first-round decision that would rewrite franchise history.

“You get going on those 4:30 wake-ups because you got to catch the early flight to get to that [next] place in time for the afternoon game,” said McLeod, the team’s senior vice president of scouting and player development. “You start backing up some of those 4:30 wake-ups and you don’t even know where you’re dropping your rental car off. You’re smoked pretty quickly. It’s kind of that time of the year. You come to expect it.”

The Cubs don’t get the same instant gratification or use the good-luck charms that were part of the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday at the Palmer House Hilton. McLeod is obligated to give the best-player- available line about a pick that may take years to develop (or not). But after years of trying to stockpile pitchers, the Cubs have shifted their focus back to hitters, knowing their young core has a shelf life together at Wrigley Field and will become exponentially more expensive through the arbitration system.

Dealing Gleyber Torres, , Eloy Jiménez, Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes helped secure the title and book a third straight trip to the NLCS last year, adding All-Star closers and , playoff starter José Quintana, disappointing reliever Justin Wilson and rental catcher . It also hollowed out a farm system now tilted toward pitchers at the lowest levels.

The Cubs then played the free-agent market — letting Davis and walk while signing Brandon Morrow and Yu Darvish as replacements — in a way that allowed them to acquire four draft picks within the first 78 selections and five in the top 98.

“There’s going to be opportunity there,” McLeod said. “Maybe it won’t be the position players because we can’t control what everyone else is doing. But I think we’re going to be able to take some upside guys and try to replace some of the impact talent that we traded away the last couple of years.”

The Cubs still have a big group of 28-and-younger hitters who should remain under club control through at least the 2021 season: Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Báez, Addison Russell, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora Jr., Jason Heyward, Ian Happ and Victor Caratini. But making all the financial numbers work while keeping everyone happy and still maintaining the pitching staff will be difficult.

There is a gap in the farm system and the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction after the Cubs drafted 27 pitchers in 2016 and 25 more last year. Thirteen of the first 14 players drafted from the 2016 class were pitchers. Last year, Brendon Little (No. 27) and (No. 30) became the highest- drafted pitchers during the Theo Epstein administration.

“We absolutely did try to force the pitching, in terms of going heavy with taking a lot of arms,” McLeod said. “I don’t think that it’ll be as much of an internal mandate for us to really go out and just keep getting volume, volume. Of course, we’re going to try to hit on pitching again. But ideally, we’d feel good about taking a couple of position players. We’re going to try to hone in on a couple of guys that we’ve been spending time with this spring.”

Across Epstein’s run as the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, they never drafted higher than No. 17 overall. That pick became outfielder David Murphy in 2003, Epstein’s first season in charge. In all that time without a top-10 pick, the Red Sox consistently found hitters like , Jed Lowrie, , Josh Reddick and Rizzo. Epstein’s last year at Fenway Park saw the Red Sox select Jackie Bradley Jr., and Travis Shaw within the first nine rounds of the 2011 draft.

But spending restrictions added to the collective bargaining agreement have made it much harder to buy bats later in the draft. Other teams have noticed how fast-track college hitters like Bryant, Schwarber and Happ all made their big-league debuts within two years of getting drafted. The data is also pointing teams in that direction, projecting profiles based off three years of information.

“Teams have seen over the last really 12-plus years that those college position players with track records are usually pretty good investments throughout the draft, so you’ve seen more and more teams doing that,” said McLeod, who worked as Boston’s director of amateur scouting for five seasons after that 2004 World Series title.

“Certainly, the CBA plays a part in it. Unless you really save up top, you’re not getting Anthony Rizzo for $300,000 in the fifth or sixth round as much. We had a pretty good track record there. I think more teams have certainly — with the analytics and [focus on] performance — gobbled up guys like that sooner than they used to.

“It does create opportunity elsewhere. [But] I think it still just comes back to scouting ‘em up, having conviction on how well you feel the bat will play and that makeup component, how hard they’re going to have to work and all of that. Certainly, our process has been tweaked a little bit over the years to adjust, whether it’s rules changes or what a lot of the industry is doing. It’s always looking for that little margin somewhere, where we think we can take advantage.”

With a bonus pool worth $7,517,100, maybe the Cubs will zig when others zag, getting creative, going with gut instincts and taking chances on high school athletes who have special physical talents or other options and need to see the money first.

“You always feel good when you have more to spend,” McLeod said. “But just like if you were investing your own money, you got to be wise with what you’re doing. We’re not just going to throw caution to the wind with it. But it does allow you to go get a Dylan Cease when you save money on Schwarber.

“You still got to be smart. You still got to do the homework. Sitting there with those extra picks and a little bigger bonus pool, it’s certainly going to open up the playing field for us more than it has been the last couple years. That in and of itself is going to be fun, because I think we’re going to be in play on a lot more players. That’s why I’ve been bouncing all over the place the last couple weeks.”

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