Adding one of the league’s best left-handed bats should certainly help the cause.The Cubs acquired infielder Daniel Murphy from Washington on Tuesday for a minor leaguer Carlos Zambrano Jersey , plus another player or cash considerations.Murphy could make his Cubs debut on Wednesday night at Detroit. Chicago claimed Murphy off waivers, then worked out a deal with the Nationals.Article continues below ...“My biggest concern is him, how much he can endure,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I want to sit down with him in the office and go over this eyeball-to-eyeball. ‘I need to know what you need.’ That’s (what you do) when you get a veteran player this time of the year, even though he missed some of the season with an injury. You still want to know, what can you do (to help him)?”Murphy is batting .300 with six homers and 29 RBIs in 56 games this season. He has a career .413 average in 28 regular-season games at Wrigley Field. He also destroyed Cubs pitching in the 2015 National League playoffs, clubbing four homers for the New York Mets.“Everyone is excited to have him on our side,” Cubs utility man Ben Zobrist told the Chicago Tribune.Second baseman Javier Baez will likely slide over to play shortstop and some third base to open up playing time for Murphy.A pair of veteran left-handers will start the second and final game of the series. The Cubs scored a single run for the fifth consecutive game while losing on Tuesday, 2-1.Cubs ace Jon Lester (13-5, 3.72 ERA) bounced back from three poor outings to toss six scoreless innings against Pittsburgh on Thursday. He limited the Pittsburgh Pirates to five hits and didn’t issue a walk while striking out eight.In his previous three outings, Lester was rocked for a combined 17 earned runs, including six homers, in 13 2/3 innings.“He had this way about him today that was not going to be denied,” Maddon said during his postgame press conference. “That’s what I saw. He was locked in, he’d had enough, and he went back to pitching like Jon’s capable of pitching.”For Lester Mark Grace Jersey , it was just a matter of trusting his stuff and improving his location.“Still threw my fastball, still threw my cutter,” he said. “I think just better execution, better angle on both pitches.”Surprisingly, the Tigers have given Lester more trouble than any other team. He’s 2-6 in 11 starts against them with a 6.05 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.Naturally, these Tigers are much different than the ones he faced in past seasons. They are in the early stages of rebuilding.Detroit starter Francisco Liriano (3-8, 4.72 ERA) will be seeking his first victory since April 28. Liriano has gone winless in his last 15 appearances and was charged with the loss in his last three starts.He lasted just 1 2/3 innings against Minnesota on Thursday, surrendering eight runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks. A combination of walks and homers have ruined Liriano’s season. He has issued 58 free passes and given up 16 long balls in 97 1/3 innings.The Tigers were hoping to flip Liriano for a prospect or two after signing him as a free agent but he’s been too ineffective to drum up any interest. After an underwhelming year, Soto has to find a way to channel the successes he had in 2017."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsMLB prospects & minor leaguesDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookScouting Reports2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #23: LHP Gregory Soto needs to perform in 2019New,12commentsAfter an underwhelming year, Soto has to find a way to channel the successes he had in 2017.ESTShareTweetShareShare2019 BYB Tigers Prospect #23: LHP Gregory Soto needs to perform in 2019Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY SportsIf we evaluated players based solely on their best night, lefthander Gregory Soto would surely be rated as one of the top 10 prospects in the Detroit Tigers’ system, if not the top five. His combination of big raw stuff, left-handedness, and arm strength creates a potent package when he is able to cobble together enough command to pull it all together. However, his placement in the 20s is a refection of how rarely all the pieces come together at once.Because he was signed all the way back in 2012 http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , Soto was put on the 40-man roster after the 2017 season. That puts a lot of pressure on him to perform well in 2019, as his poor numbers in 2018 put his status in question. If he fails, he could be jettisoned from the 40-man in favor of a more successful prospect needing protection from the next Rule 5 draft.BackgroundA native of the Dominican Republic, Soto joined the Tigers organization eight years ago, taking five to make his full-season debut with the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2017. That first test went swimmingly, and he posted gaudy strikeout numbers and a shiny 2.25 ERA. A late-season stint in High-A went well, as he continued to blow away hitters in five starts. He was in a very good spot opening the 2018 season, but things didn’t go nearly as well.Walks are the bane of Soto’s story, a trend that came to a head last season. His ERA nearly doubled, reaching a 4.45 mark. An ugly 4.05 FIP doesn’t inspire much more confidence. The biggest ding on his r茅sum茅 was command; he walked 5.56 batters per nine innings. That’s an unacceptably high mark.Strengths As mentioned, Soto’s strength is his high-octane raw stuff. His fastball is an easy plus, sitting in the low-90s but with the ability to dial it up to the high-90s. The liveliness of the offering leads to plenty of weak contact and ground balls. He posted a huge 45.6 percent ground ball rate in 2018. He also stifled opposing batters’ power, with a 3.5 percent home run-to-fly ball rate (HR/FB%). Those are excellent traits to have, especially coupled with the number of hitters he strikes out.His breaking ball is also a strength, reaching plus status when he is able to spin it well. It’s a true strikeout pitch at its best, with big 11-to-5 motion. It can be dropped into the zone for an early strike if the hitter is sitting on a fastball Kyle Schwarber Jersey , or dip below the zone in a two-strike count to put him away.On the strength of these two offerings alone, Soto could easily carve out a role in a major league bullpen if he is able to use them correctly on a regular basis. His ultimate ceiling is that of a mid-rotation starter, but that will take a lot of work to achieve.Long story short, the building blocks are there for Soto to be a real weapon if he can harness them.WeaknessesAnyone who has followed the minor leagues for a little while has seen Soto’s type before, as there are a few in every system. His raw stuff is tantalizing, and he’s a force when facing young, raw hitters. That changes when he reaches higher levels, though, because his command is nothing short of abysmal. Once the ball leaves his hand, Soto often has little idea of where it will end up.That’s a harsh evaluation, but it’s a well-deserved one. Soto has 30-grade command, according to FanGraphs. For those of you unfamiliar with the 20-80 scouting scale, that’s near the bottom of the barrel. It looked like Soto’s command had taken a step forward in 2017. That improvement, along with improving athleticism, could have vaulted him to succees in the high minors. His improvements were a house of cards, though Kerry Wood Jersey , and collapsed when put against more polished hitters who were willing to work counts and take walks.What’s more, Soto’s curveball that shows flashes of brilliance often fails to show up every night. Without a viable changeup, he needs that breaking ball to be consistently well above average to continue his march up the organizational ladder.The problems that plague Soto are frustrating. When he is able to get all the pieces together, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Minor leaguers can’t hit him because his stuff is so good. He doesn’t get bombed out — even this past year, he only gave up four home runs. Instead, his starts are a death by a thousand paper cuts. He will determine his own fate, becoming either a nasty strikeout monster or another in a long line of prospect washouts.Projected Team: High-A Lakeland Flying TigersSoto will begin the season by serving a 20-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to baseball.” That’s a mysterious term, but as reported by MLive’s Evan Woodberry, the suspension was not handed down for domestic violence, an arrest, drugs, or gambling. Both Low-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie will have starting rotations bursting at the seams with talent, so coming back strong with the Flying Tigers will be Soto’s last chance to prove he can kick it as a stater. If that works out, the Tigers will likely be aggressive in promoting him. He will turn 24 years old during spring training — far too old for his current level. If it doesn’t work out, he is likely to see considerable time in relief during the second half of 2019 and going forward into future years.
