Daily Drop 3/17: Lineup Rumors, Dylan Cease Can Be Elite, Maddon on Smokeless Ban, and More

There’s a lot going on this week in the world of Cubs baseball so I wanted to put together a quick summary of all the happenins along with some links to the stories in today’s “Daily Drop.” I hope you like it. I love to get feedback and comments so please be sure to leave a note or chime in if you want to add something to the story.

• The Cubs use of saber-metrics is nothing new, so there’s no surprise when Joe Maddon says “The geeks got back to me. I got some really good information.” The “information” he’s talking about is whether to hit the pitcher in the eighth or ninth spot. And if rumors are true then today’s starting lineup could look a lot like the regular season lineup. This is exciting news, especially since today’s game is on ESPN for all the world to see. To read more you can check out Jesse Rogers article at ESPN.com.

• If you recall, Dylan Cease is a Cubs pitcher that was drafted in 2014 in the sixth round and he has mad heat. He pitched yesterday in a minor league spring training game at Sloan Park and hit 100 MPH on the gun. The kid consistently throws between 99-97 MPH but has some control issues and needs to get in consistent work in the minors. In 2015 he pitched 11 games in the Arizona Rookie League going twenty-four innings with twenty-five strikeouts and a 2.62 ERA. He’ll start this year out in class A at South Bend and he’ll be an exciting player to watch for the future. There’s a great article on him at Baseball America.

• You may have heard that on Wednesday the City of Chicago placed a ban on all smokeless tobacco use at all sport venues. Joe Maddon chimed in with his opinion on the matter, saying “I’m not into over-legislating the human race.” It’s set to become law in Chicago in 90 days. Personally, I don’t get it and I don’t think the coaches and players need to be told what to do. I also think this just adds one more thing to the already enormous list of possible distractions that can pop up during the season. You can check out the complete article at ESPN.com.

• We’ve had a chance to see Taylor Davis play a few games this spring. He’s a versatile guy who can play catcher, first base and third base, which is a pretty rare combination and that alone makes him unique. He’s been in the Cubs minor league system since 2011 and spent most of 2015 at AAA Iowa hitting .361. An impressive feat for a guy who’s spent as much time as he has on the disabled list. He only played eighty-seven games combined in 2013 and 2014 but he maintains a great attitude and has a lot of fun with the guys. An all-around great guy who has been loved by all his teammates at every level he’s played. Check out Carrie Muskat’s article to read more about what make Taylor tick.