Chicago Cubs: Top 10 Rookie-Eligible Prospects for 2018
8. Jen-Ho Tseng, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 10/3/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: AA Tennessee Smokies, AAA Iowa Cubs, MLB Chicago Cubs
2017 Stats: Minors: 24 GS, 145 1/3 IP, 2.54 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 6.4% BB, 20.4% K; Majors: 2 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 7.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 7.7% BB, 30.8% K
Info: The Chicago Cubs made Tseng part of their huge 2013 international class, giving him $1.625 million to sign him out of Taiwan. Eloy Jimenez and Gleyber Torres were also part of that big class.
Tseng has made a steady progression through the system, opening his pro career in full-season ball in 2014 and stepping up one level at a time, though he did open the year repeating AA, but he earned his way to AAA mid-way through the season, and improved in his performance, earning a brief call up to the big league club.
In AA Tennessee, Tseng put up excellent numbers, with a 2.99 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, but when he got to AAA, he saw those numbers tick up to a 1.80 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
With an athletic 6’1″ frame and an easy, repeatable delivery, it is not surprising that command and control is one of the biggest positives of Tseng’s pitching profile. He works with a fringe-plus fastball that sits 90-93, a fringe-plus change, and a pair of average breaking pitches. He sequences all four pitches well and knows how to set up hitters well with location and pitch mix.
Tseng will be in the mix for a long-man spot in the bullpen in spring, but likely will end up in the AAA rotation as the first option as a fill-in if any injury were to fell one of the Chicago Cubs rotation members.
7. Brendon Little, LHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 8/11/1996 (21)
2017 teams/levels played for: short-season A-ball Eugene Emeralds
2017 Stats: 6 GS, 16 1/3 IP, 9.37 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 11.3% BB, 15% K
Info: After being a fairly well-regarded prospect out of high school, Little only saw 4 innings in his first year at North Carolina, leading to him transferring out to State Junior College of Florida for 2017, where the Chicago Cubs grabbed him with their first round pick in 2017.
The pitch that had scouts talking all spring and hitters looking foolish was Little’s ridiculous 12-6 curve
While his pro debut was not what he would have liked, Little has a tremendous profile on the mound with a fastball that can reach 96-97 and maintain incredible late life. He did sit in the low-90s primarily in his pro debut, assumingly attempting to reign in his command and control.
The pitch that had scouts talking all spring and hitters looking foolish was Little’s ridiculous 12-6 curve that was a definite plus as an amateur, but seemed to lose consistency in its break in his pro debut, leading to struggles placing the pitch consistently in the zone.
While his change is a legit third pitch with solid movement and good arm deception, Little struggled to see success with it as well in his pro debut. Much of his struggles are due to a delivery with a lot of moving parts that he has to stay sharp all the way through or it can fall out of alignment and his control quickly wavers.
Whether the Chicago Cubs will look to modify his delivery or work with his current delivery to make it more consistent, delivery will certainly be a focus for Little as he opens in low-A in 2018.
Next: #5 and #6