Cub Tracks’ four for the future

No game yesterday. Cubs remain static. Or do they? Welcome, New Cubs: Nico Hoerner, Brennen Davis, Cole Roederer, Paul Richan.

Stanford coach David Esquer was a minor league infielder in the Angels organization when Cubs manager Joe Maddon was a hitting instructor. “Joe is going to love what Nico is all about,” Esquer said. — Mark Gonzales

Last time up around the bend, Cub Tracks pitched out of trouble, listing just a few of the perceived flaws of John Smoltz, explaining why they no longer remain, and more. Today we have presented, in our usual idiosyncratic fashion, the thick and the thin.

It looks like the Sun-Times has gone full paywall. I’ll include their things from tweets, I guess. You can read them if you have a sub. As always * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Cubs News and Notes:

Cubs Senior Vice President of Scouting and Development, Jason McLeod, called first round pick Nico Hoerner a ‘high contact’ hitter with.’really elite hand/eye coordination.’ The Cubs intend on leaving him at SS, the position he played at Stanford, but McLeod indicated Hoerner’s athleticism and make-up would give him the ability to move around the diamond if they asked. As the case with other recent college hitters the Cubs have drafted, McLeod stressed Hoerner’s make-up and desire to win as major pluses for the 21 year old who hit .345 in 57 games with the Cardinal. “He fits exactly what we’re looking for in the organization,” McLeod said. — Jesse Rogers

Nico Hoerner on a conf call just now, after playing in the Northwoods league: “There’s Cubs fans everywhere.”

Hoerner said he had ‘no idea’ the Cubs were going to draft him. Wanted ‘limited information’ from his adviser so he could focus on the season at Stanford. Said being on a good team brought out ‘his best attributes’ and that took his attention. — Jesse Rogers

• Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Yankees echo Joe Maddon’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ schedule gripe, weigh ESPN boycott. “...players and staff wouldn’t cooperate with ESPN on pregame, in-game and postgame interviews.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic* {$}): ‘I’d never even heard of him, but just the pure stuff was there.’ On Jake Arrieta, the accidental ace who came to define the Cubs’ remarkable rise. “Did I think he could be a Cy Young guy and have a year off the charts?” said Cubs pro scout Jake Ciarrachi, who had Baltimore as one of his teams in 2013. “No, I’m not gonna lie about that.”
• David Haugh (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Arrieta, returning to Wrigley Field with Phillies, transformed Cubs into a team to be feared. “Cubs fans don’t hate Darvish, as a teammate suggested. But they still love Jake...”
• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): Jon Lester continues to succeed in new ways, and to make doubters look stupid. “Lester has been much better lately and has begun to earn the fantastic results he’s gotten all year.”
• Linh Ta (Des Moines Register {$}): Anthony Rizzo sent a thoughtful letter to an Iowa teen with cancer. “Gabe Johnson is your all-around athlete...”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic* {$}): Javier Báez’s heads-up baserunning caps Cubs’ ‘best week of the year’. “Let’s just say they ran it beautifully. Let’s just say that,” said Maddon.
• David Kaplan (NBC Sports Chicago*): Love at first sight: Why the Cubs knew they wanted Baez in the 2011 draft. I knew he was raw, but I also knew he had the potential to be one of the best players in baseball if he worked hard and he refined his game,” Tim Wilken said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Mike Bryant explains everything pt. 3: Pitchers have big advantage, potential for bullpenning. “Pitchers can repeat their motion much easier than a hitter can repeat their swing.”
• Randy Holt (Wrigleyville-Baseball Prospectus): Albert Almora is real and he is spectacular. “...he’s proven capable of holding his own against right-handers, while showcasing an increasingly confident presence at the plate.”
• Ashok Selvam, Daniel Gervina (Eater Chicago): Cubs unveil Chef Stephanie Izard’s Wrigley Field menu. “Izard’s food will be available though June 10.”

Food For Thought:

Thanks for reading.