The Cubs have been signing several of their high school draft picks, which is good. But that foretells a longer developmental period.
The Cubs have been accelerating the progress of their two best hitters. Newly signed C-1B Kyle Schwarber lasted only about a week in Rookie Ball before being promoted to Class A. Schwarber destroyed the competition in the first week so there was no reason not to move him along.
Kris Bryant was also promoted from AA to AAA Iowa. He had played well above the competition in Tennessee. He hit a HR in his Iowa debut. The front office philosophy is that a AAA player needs 500 ABs in AAA before being called up to the majors. It will be interesting to see whether this rule holds true for Bryant, who now has a clear path to play third base since the Cubs demoted AAA 3B Christian Villaneuva to AA.
In some ways, pushing players faster through the system is better. There are young major leaguers who tell writers all the time that sitting in the minors is a waste of time; that they really only learn how to be professionals at the major league level.
It is also the beginning of the crack in the rebuild armor. Cubs management is very stubborn. When they say they are going to do something, they really don't care what other people think. They have their own unstated internal time table which is different than the expectations and demands of the general public. But the fan base's distaste with the team for "tanking" the last few seasons may have some bearing on why the Cubs are going to promote their best players faster through the system.
