February 11, Kris Bryant's final at-bat of 2015 left a majestic image in the minds of Cubs fans already looking ahead to the 2016 season

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1 February 11, 2016 Chicago Tribune, Young Cubs already thinking plate discipline for Chicago Tribune, Pierce Johnson ranked ahead of Carl Edwards Jr. on Baseball America's top 30 Cubs prospect list Cubs.com, Cubs' Madison encourages kids to play CSNChicago.com, Jon Lester ready for Year 2 after taking leap of faith with Cubs Chicago Tribune Young Cubs already thinking plate discipline for 2016 By Mark Gonzales Kris Bryant's final at-bat of 2015 left a majestic image in the minds of Cubs fans already looking ahead to the 2016 season Bryant clubbed a towering two-run homer on a 3-2 changeup that delayed the inevitability of a season-eliminating 8-3 loss to the Mets in the National League Championship Series. One day later, President Theo Epstein gushed over Bryant's ability to adjust as he drove in Jorge Soler from second base and avoided the frustration several Cubs hitters experienced in clutch situations last season. With the addition of free agents Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward, the Cubs addressed a need to get on base more and become less susceptible to strikeouts. The biggest long-range lift, however, should stem from the expected improvement of young players such as Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell, Javier Baez and Bryant. Their impressive home runs and extra-base hits often overshadowed the fact their strikeouts led to a franchiserecord 1,518 whiffs and a.211 batting average with two outs and runners in scoring position. "Our young players are very mature, very grounded and have experienced a lot already," Epstein said last month at the Cubs Convention. "That will help them avoid a 'sophomore slump' and adjust to playing with greater expectations as individuals and as a team given what they accomplished.

2 "We're aware of the new expectations this year and how a team might respond, but we're not concerned. We really trust the makeup of our players, individually and as a group." Manager Joe Maddon used 119 lineups last season and one this season could feature Zobrist and Heyward batting 1-2. Zobrist and Heyward posted identical.359 on-base percentages last season with their respective teams, and Zobrist struck out only 56 times in 535 appearances. The hope is that Zobrist and Heyward, who batted a career-high.293 last season and has a lifetime.353 on-base percentage, can set the table for an offense that hit 97 of its 171 home runs with no one on base. "'Zo' shows up as more of a veteran presence among the position players, and that's something we haven't had," Maddon said after Zobrist, 34, agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract in December. With more seasoning, the Cubs should generate more runs. The Cubs had six players who saw an average of more than four pitches per plate appearance, and Anthony Rizzo ranked ninth (78) and Bryant 10th (77) in the NL in walks. But Bryant's swing-and-miss percent rate of 34.9, second in the NL to Joc Pederson's 35.1 mark, offset that. Moreover, Jorge Soler was third with a 33.4 mark and Addison Russell (30.2) was 10th among players with at least 1,500 pitches seen, according to the Bill James Handbook Bryant said at the Cubs Convention that he altered the path of his swing after noticing last year he was fouling or missing pitches that he normally would square. "I don't always look at the negatives," Bryant said. "I'm a pretty positive person. Last year was a great year for me, and I really hope to have an even better one." Chicago Tribune Pierce Johnson ranked ahead of Carl Edwards Jr. on Baseball America's top 30 Cubs prospect list By Mark Gonzales Baseball America s recently published 2016 Prospect Book provides an in-depth look at the top 30 prospect lists of each organization, and there are more twists to the Cubs lower tier than their top 10 list that was released in November. Perhaps the most interesting development is that pitcher Pierce Johnson moved one spot ahead of Carl Edwards Jr. at 12 despite a second consecutive injury-plagued season. Johnson, 24, had a strong finish to a rough Arizona Fall League season. There is no rush for Johnson to reach the majors this season, as health remains a priority as he appears destined to start 2016 at Triple-A Iowa. Edwards, who made his major league debut last September, was dinged for lack of fastball command in his first season as a reliever. The 2015 draft is represented by left-hander Bryan Hudson (15th), outfielders D.J. Wilson (16th) and Donnie Dewees (17th) and reliever Dave Berg (30th), along with infielder Ian Happ (who was ranked third in November). Cuban outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez, whom the Cubs were able to sway from Giants last October for a $3 million bonus, was ranked 28th. One of the greatest finds involves pitcher Ryan Williams, who is ranked 27th. According to Baseball America Editor in Chief John Manuel, the Cubs discovered Williams while evaluating East Carolina pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who was projected as a top five pick in the 2014 draft before injuring his right elbow and undergoing surgery.

3 Williams, 24, was drafted in the 10th round, signed for $1,000 and has ascended quickly. It s possible that Williams could be used as a spot starter in mid-season should one of the Cubs starters miss a start due to injury. Williams posted a 14-3 and 2.16 ERA in 26 games for Class-A South Bend and Double-A Tennessee to earn the organization s 2015 minor league pitcher of the year honors. Williams is destined to start the 2016 season at Iowa. Here s is the Cubs top 30 list by Baseball America. Eligible players must have no more than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 30 relief appearances in the majors. The rankings were compiled after numerous conversations with managers, coaches, player development members and scouts. Gleyber Torres ss Willson Contreras c-3b Ian Happ 2b/of Duane Underwood rhp Dylan Cease rhp Albert Almora of Billy McKinney of Oscar De La Cruz rhp Eloy Jimenez of Jeimer Candelario 3b Mark Zagunis of Pierce Johnson rhp Carl Edwards Jr. rhp Justin Steele rhp Bryan Hudson lhp D.J. Wilson of Donnie Dewees of Trevor Clifton rhp Paul Blackburn rhp Jen-Ho Tseng rhp Jake Stinnett rhp Carson Sands lhp Brad Markley rhp Victor Caratini c Dan Vogelbach 1b Jacob Hannemann of Ryan Williams rhp Eddy Julio Martinez of Andury Acevedo rhp David Berg rhp Cubs.com Cubs' Madison encourages kids to play By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO Jaron Madison, the Cubs' director of player development, knows how important baseball was to him when he was growing up. He hopes other African-American kids will not only learn from the struggles past ballplayers experienced but also take advantage of what the game has to offer. "Baseball was a way for young kids to learn teamwork and leadership," Madison said. "That was the biggest thing you took out of it. My dad encouraged us to play all the sports because we learned leadership, teamwork, how to get along with different people, how to be competitive and work toward team goals. I think that part of it gets left out of the big picture. That's such an important part of the development of not only the player but also the person."

4 Madison would like to see more African-American youth involved in baseball. Perhaps some will be inspired in February during Black History Month. "The biggest thing with black kids growing up, especially black boys, was that baseball was such a big part of your life, especially in the inner cities," Madison said. "It's such a big part of our culture and our history, the successes and the struggles that we've gone through over time. You look back at the fight guys went through just for the opportunity to play, such as the Negro Leagues and Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby. You go through the whole history of baseball and see that black people have had to fight and struggle to play this game. "It's such an important part of our history and who we are as a people. Now basketball and football [seem more popular], but back in the day, it was always baseball that the family circled around, and it brought everybody together." Madison's father, James, was a colonel in the U.S. Army and taught at West Point. James Madison didn't push his children to play sports, but he encouraged them to do so, and it paid off. Jaron Madison knows baseball is at a slight disadvantage. In Chicago, thousands of black youth want to grow up to be the next Michael Jordan or Derrick Rose and play in the NBA. The equipment needed to play baseball is expensive, plus there is the cost of travel teams and the fact "you can't play baseball by yourself," Madison said. Still, he encourages kids to play. Madison said he was recently at his gym in northern California when he overheard guys talking about getting their baseball leagues together for the summer. Madison said one of the highlights of the Major League season comes April 15 when every player wears No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. "It still gives you goose bumps any time you see that," Madison said. "You feel it, you definitely feel it." CSNChicago.com Jon Lester ready for Year 2 after taking leap of faith with Cubs By Patrick Mooney This was supposed to be the breakthrough year when the Cubs made their recruiting pitch to Jon Lester. No one projected the 2015 team would win 97 games and advance to the National League Championship Series. Chicago will always be a destination for free agents, because even Cubs players on last-place teams get treated like royalty in this city. In the end, money talks, and the Cubs guaranteed six years and $155 million, caving on that no no-trade clause policy. But Lester had to trust Theo Epstein s front office in a way that John Lackey, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward did not. Lester had to believe ownership would boost payroll, support a playoff contender and eventually finish the Wrigley Field renovation by raising a World Series flag. Lester had to believe in the scouting reports on Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber, which sounds obvious now but would have been a leap in November 2014 for a three-time All-Star who s already won two World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox. You put a lot of faith in these guys when you sign here that they re going to do what they say, Lester said. And they ve done more. Lester won t be the focus next week when pitchers and catchers officially report to the Sloan Park complex. There will be so many other storylines in Mesa, Arizona.

5 Jake Arrieta is the unquestioned ace of the pitching staff, a Cy Young Award winner who will have to prove he can bounce back after throwing almost 250 innings last year. Heyward now has the biggest contract in franchise history, an eight-year, $184 million megadeal for a Gold Glove outfielder who doesn t have to be a superstar, just part of the supporting cast. Lackey Lester s buddy from Boston and a player Cubs Twitter loved to hate when he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals will have to deal with the welcome-to-chicago adjustment period. Any time you walk into a room and you know who everybody is, you re more relaxed, Lester said. I ve been here for a year. I understand how everything works. I think people have gotten to know me a little bit. Last year, I felt like I needed to do a little bit more at certain times than I m used to just because of everything that comes with what was going on last year. I feel like this year, I can just go out and do my normal routine and not have to worry about getting off to a good start in spring training. My concern is getting off to a good start in the season. I wanted to impress people a little bit too early last year and obviously it set me back. That s stuff you learn. Lester experienced a dead arm and threw less than nine innings in the Cactus League last year. His Opening Night debut will be remembered for the bathroom debacle at Wrigley Field and the ESPN broadcast highlighting the lefty s issues throwing over to first base. He wound up finishing with a losing record (11-12) and losing both of his playoff starts. But that obviously doesn t tell the story of Lester s first season on the North Side. He made 30-plus starts for the eighth consecutive year. He passed the 200-innings mark for the seventh time. Lester s 3.34 ERA marked an improvement from his career numbers in the American League (3.58). He also ranked as a top-15 NL pitcher in terms of strikeouts (207), WHIP (1.122), quality starts (21), batting average against (.240) and opponents OPS (.661). I don t do anything flashy, Lester said. I ve never been a flashy guy. I don t have electric stuff. I don t do anything that makes anybody go Wow! I just put my hat on, grab my glove and go out and pitch as best I can every day. If you look at it that way, I did my job. All the other numbers, I think they were probably right around my career norm. It was a good season as far as making all my starts and being healthy (after) dealing with all the stuff in spring training. Lester has long-term security, but he will still feel a sense of urgency at the age of 32. The window won t stay open forever, there are no guarantees with young players and the history of nine-figure contracts for pitchers is filled with bad investments. If the 2015 Cubs arrived a year ahead of schedule, there is no doubt that this team is all-in for this season: It s World Series or bust.