Chicago Cubs employees assistant Jonathan Mota plopped his cap on the infield AstroTurf on the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
He positioned it roughly seven ft in entrance of first base to function a visible for the pregame drill earlier than returning to dwelling plate, the place bench coach Andy Green used a fungo bat to tear baseballs down the third-base line. Each time, Christopher Morel targeted on his footwork to steer him into backhanding the baseball and firing it to first.
The ball wasn’t purported to be a direct throw, nevertheless. With Morel’s momentum taking him towards the foul line, Green and Mota wished him to one-hop his throw to first, the place teammate Franmil Reyes was standing to area the ball. The one-hop strategy creates a extra managed motion and higher units up a primary baseman to deal with the lengthy, probably off-balance throw.
The approach is a part of the method to assist Morel develop extra consistency at third base, most notably on his throws. Morel is a visible learner, so the Cubs have used the cap as a reference level in addition to displaying him video to spotlight the place he wants to regulate. So if Morel is lacking glove facet to the primary baseman throughout pregame work, the Cubs regulate the place the glove goal is ready up earlier than his throw.
“The challenge is going to be putting in the work when he’s at third base, second base, shortstop, in center field — every day it has to be the main focus for him,” Mota informed the Tribune. “It comes from the ground up. If he is compact with his legs, it’s going to allow him to be compact with his upper body, which is going to transfer to his arm stroke. We have cues for him.”
Morel’s versatility has been an asset for supervisor David Ross. Since his debut in mid-May, the 23-year-old has performed predominantly middle area and second base whereas backing up Nico Hoerner at shortstop.
But with Patrick Wisdom taking part in extra first base after which touchdown on the injured listing Aug. 26 with a sprained left ring finger, 11 of Morel’s final 12 begins have come at third. Before August, his solely different begin on the place got here in his first big-league begin May 18.
In the minors, Morel logged a majority of his video games at third base from 2017-19 earlier than transferring across the infield and outfield starting final season.
Ross already has seen Morel clear up how he reads the play off the bat, noting the way in which Morel had been aggressively attacking the ball. And if he does initially misplay the ball, Morel’s arm energy could make up for it.
“He’s got a real legit 70 (grade) arm from over there,” Ross stated. “It‘s about getting reps. I mean, we’ve moved him all around the diamond. … Utility-wise he’s performed a whole lot of completely different areas that we really feel comfy in.
“A lot of those are just trying to figure out what fits best for him and how to maximize and continue to develop. He’s such a young kid and works really hard. He’s grown a lot this year and continues to grow.”
For Morel to change into a viable common possibility at third base subsequent season, he wants extra constant and correct throws. At occasions, the Cubs see his arm stroke fall into an extended, outfield-type motion. They need him to shorten his arm actions, which begins with smoother footwork and correct positioning.
It all ties collectively at third base, the place fast response time and robust throws are requirements within the large leagues.
“The adjustments for him are more like slow the game down and mechanically, how are we going to do that,” Mota stated. “It’s simply staying on his legs and ensuring he’s compact as he takes the ball out of his glove after which permit him to make use of that athleticism that everyone knows he has.
“When it comes to the game, we all see how electric he can be. That comes with a price, and the price for him is he can play too fast.”
Morel’s .913 fielding share at third is third-lowest amongst 80 big-league third basemen with not less than 100 innings on the place. Two of his 4 errors have come on throws, and he has minus-3 defensive runs saved within the small pattern dimension.
He usually works with Green and Mota earlier than video games on his points at third base, together with prolonged work on days when the Cubs don’t taking batting apply.
“Normally when I’m playing, I kind of have an idea of what the pitcher’s throwing,” Morel stated via an interpreter, “in order that helps you anticipate or put together earlier than the play goes to occur. So actually figuring out the pitcher’s repertoire once they’re on the market. It’s actually all about specializing in what I’m attempting to realize once I’m on the market.
“Every time that I’m out there — taking ground balls, practicing, prepping during pregame — it’s with a purpose. Every time that I’m doing something, just in case it comes up during a game situation, I’m ready for that.”
How Morel’s positioning suits into the Cubs’ 2023 lineup will rely partly on offseason strikes. Morel has embraced his positional flexibility. If he can hone his accuracy from third base and be a extra dependable defensive possibility there, the Cubs would have expanded avenues they may pursue in constructing a greater roster.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com