In his first few spring games, Ian Happ has walloped four home runs in only 18 plate appearances, including three leadoff homers. It’s enough to make one wonder if Happ could really slot into the leadoff spot more regularly for the 2018 Cubs, as Joe Maddon continues to search for a player to fill that role […]
Tag: Power
Harnessing the Power: Kris Bryant’s Next Level
In the summer of 1998, the baseball world was captivated by a steroid-assisted home run race, and six-year-old Kris Bryant was in his second season of serious training with his dad. A student at the Ted Williams school of hitting since age five, he was already swinging for the little league fences with the advice, “hit the ball […]
Power, PECOTA, and the 2016 Cubs
One of the coolest benefits of writing for Baseball Prospectus—and there are a few, hashtag humblebrag—is that I get early access to the PECOTA projections, which were just released by BP last Tuesday. This allowed me the time to pore over the projected numbers for the Cubs and drool about the power potential therein. It shouldn’t […]
Getting Deep, Going Deeper
I’m a historian by trade—or, more correctly, by bachelor’s degree. Before I started writing for BP Wrigleyville, I was much more likely to pump out 3,000 footnoted words on Andre Dawson and collusion than an accessible analysis of Addison Russell’s changed approach at the plate. Given that background, I have a natural tendency to revisit things […]