Monday, March 10

Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season.

MESA, Ariz. -- Jonathon Long is not sure exactly how to explain it, but the atmosphere was just different when the first baseman joined Double-A Tennessee in the middle of last summer.

Long was promoted to a Double-A squad that had infielder Matt Shaw (No. 19 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100), infielder James Triantos (No. 72) and outfielder Kevin Alcántara (No. 89), among others. It was a competitive environment in which Long thrived, igniting an eye-popping offensive run that lasted for multiple months.

“Getting to Double-A was like getting a fresh start -- a change of scenery,” Long said. “A fresh start and way different vibes. We had Shaw there. Kevin was there. Triantos was there. It was a totally different experience. It just felt like a breath of fresh air, I guess, and it kind of let me settle in. And I just rode the hot start throughout the rest of the season.”

Long’s run through Double-A pitching and with Mesa in the Arizona Fall League put him firmly on the radar, leading to a non-roster invitation to big league camp with the Cubs this spring. He has climbed to No. 13 on Pipeline’s preseason Top 30 list for the North Siders and is on the initial roster for the Spring Breakout showcase Thursday against the Dodgers.

While Chicago’s pile of Top 100 prospects garner the spotlight, the 23-year-old Long has quietly been making a strong impression.

“Jonny Long is a really interesting player,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Really, if you look at the last two months of his baseball, he probably had the best two months maybe of anybody in professional baseball. [He had a] 1.000 OPS over two months in Double-A essentially, and finished up with an incredible Fall League. He’s a guy that’s going to be fun to watch.”

To Counsell’s point, Long had a slash line of  .339/.446/.571 clip (1.017 OPS) in 64 games between Double-A and the AFL, starting on July 20. In that period, he piled up 13 homers, 13 doubles and 48 RBIs, while drawing 46 walks compared to 53 strikeouts.

After turning in a .763 OPS in 68 games at High-A South Bend to begin his season, Long hit .500 (24-for-48) with a 1.324 OPS in his first 14 games at Double-A. He ended with a .983 OPS in 46 games with Tennessee, finishing with more walks (35) than strikeouts (33) at that level. That equated to a 17.5% walk rate and 16.5% strikeout rate at Double-A (improved from 11.8% and 23.5% at High-A).

“Jonny Long is a simple, low-maintenance guy,” said Rachel Folden, one of the Double-A hitting coaches last season. “He has an elite ability to recognize pitches. He can check off balls. If a pitch starts a strike and ends up a ball, he can shut his swing down really late. He can do some really special things with the barrel.”

Besides the improved environment, Long said he also felt he benefited from the technology available at Double-A. He especially enjoyed utilizing the Trajekt machine (creating specific pitches for batters) while at home. As Long reviewed his season, he also noticed his hand placement moved higher deeper into the season.

“The overall mechanics were just a little more simple,” Long said.

It was all good feedback to carry into his offseason training and continue forward with during this spring around the Major League staff.

“You see the success and it’s like, ‘OK,’” Long said. “You always believe in yourself, but it’s like. ‘OK, I’ve been there, I’ve done it.’ And you kind of stick to the same process, stick to what works and know there’s also always room for improvement.”

The Cubs felt it was important for top pitching prospect Cade Horton to take the mound at Sloan Park on Saturday afternoon. Counsell handed the ball to the 23-year-old righty in the ninth, giving him the opportunity to collect a save to finish off a 9-8 victory over the Mariners.

“It was a big day for Cade,” Counsell said. “A little bit of almost a milestone and symbolic just to be out on the stadium with a big crowd. Like, a necessary step for him. I’m happy for him.”

Horton -- among the players returned to Minor League camp on Sunday -- is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect and No. 51 on baseball’s Top 100 list. He was limited to nine starts between Double-A and Triple-A last year due to a muscle strain (subscapularis) behind his right shoulder.

That robbed Horton of a chance to climb to the Majors in ‘24, but he is healthy and poised to push for his MLB debut at some point this year. Horton is among the Cubs’ prospects on the roster for the Spring Breakout game on Thursday.

“Talking to him this morning,” Counsell said on Sunday, “now, it’s taking steps forward. And a lot of it’s going to happen on the [Minor League] side, and just keeping that same focus and build-up. And at some point this season, ‘We’ve got to call Cade Horton up,’ -- that’s kind of how you want it to feel.”

• Kyle Tucker snapped out of an 0-for-20 slump with a homer on Sunday. Here's why the Cubs weren't worrying about his spring slump. Read more >>

• MLB Pipeline has unveiled its preseason rankings of all 30 farm systems. Check out where the Cubs fall. Read more >>

• Pete Crow-Armstrong has created havoc on the bases this spring, but he has also shown power. That included a two-homer game on Saturday. Read more >>

• The Cubs have set the Spring Training attendance record before, and now they’ve done it again. Read more >>

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