The current Cubs president of baseball operations and former Red Sox general manager made a point to improve the farm system upon taking the Red Sox job a decade ago, and he's now trying to do the same in Chicago.
It's no secret, however, that it's going to take some time. Epstein knows that, and he's probably hoping Cubs fans can learn to accept that.
"We’ve had some things happen positively," Epstein told The Boston Globe. "And behind the scenes, we’ve tried to establish a whole Cubs way of doing things in player development. We’ve adopted a new scouting philosophy, implemented new systems in the front office."
Back in Boston, it's obviously still way too early to know what will come of Ben Cherington's first draft as GM, but we're already seeing the returns on Epstein's final draft in Boston, something Cherington obviously played a large role in as well.
Specifically, the club's first-round picks from 2011 are already making an impact on the club's farm system, as they continue to excel in just their first full season in pro ball.
Jackie Bradley, Jr., who dropped to the Sox at No. 40 last season, is finding success all over the diamond. The former South Carolina Gamecock fell quite a ways after being projected by some to be taken as high as the top 10. However, a wrist injury and an inconsistent junior year led to teams cooling on the outfielder.
The Red Sox have clearly benefited from that so far.
Bradley was selected to the Carolina League All-Star team earlier this week and for good reason. The 22-year-old, who was drafted by the club as part of the compensation for Adrian Beltre, is hitting .366 in 64 games with Single-A Salem. He already has 31 extra-base hits, and he's reaching base in almost half of his plate appearances with a .484 on-base percentage. He's also showing off his speed, stealing 15 bases already, while only being caught six times.
It may be just a matter of time before Bradley moves up a level.
Another early draft pick from 2011, the club's first-round pick, Matt Barnes, is off to a strong start in 2012.
The hard-throwing right-hander dominated at Single-A Greenville in five starts, allowing just one run in 26 2/3 innings. It didn't take long for him to get promoted, as he was then moved up to Salem.
He's been just as nasty there, through eight starts in the Carolina League. The UConn product is 5-1 with a 1.37 ERA in 46 innings of work there. Perhaps most impressive has been Barnes' ability to miss bats, striking out 95 batters in 72 2/3 innings, including striking out more than a batter per inning at Salem.
He struck out nine in just five innings in another dominating start on Thursday night against the Carolina Mudcats.
Those in the world of minor league baseball are starting to take notice, too. Baseball America had this to say about Barnes in its recent Prospect Hot Sheet.
"Like a kid on Christmas afternoon, the Red Sox have opened their presents from the 2011 draft and had time to reflect on them. In Barnes, the 19th overall pick, they must feel like they've gotten more than they had even hoped for during the righthander's full-season debut. In fact, it's fair to say that a year later, he'd go much higher in a draft do-over.
"Barnes' fastball has sat consistently between 93-95 mph, but he's also shown the [Justin] Verlander-esque ability to produce more velocity as the game goes on. He often will show a 95-98 mph fastball in his final innings. Barnes' changeup and curveball have both been solid, but it's been the fastball that has just blown away hitters outing after outing."
Then there's Blake Swihart, another first rounder who was taken with the 26th pick last year. The switch-hitting catcher is young (19 years old) and still unpolished at this point. Despite that, though, the youngster is showing signs that there are good things in the future.
Swihart already has 15 extra-base hits through 47 games to go along with 28 RBIs. He does have 33 strikeouts, but those types of things are to be expected at this point in the developmental process.
"The guys from last year's draft are off to a good start and that's encouraging," Cherington said earlier this month. "It's very early returns, but industry-wise last year's draft seems pretty strong, particularly on the pitching side of things."
It's too early to tell what kind of drafting successes Epstein will have in Chicago, but if his final draft in Boston is any indication, the Cubs are well on their way to a successful overhaul in the minor league system.
Photo via Flickr/Vagabond79
