Chicago Cubs Hit Home Run With New Player Development Hire
Even though the Chicago Cubs have missed the playoffs for three seasons in a row, it's hard not to have optimism about the direction of the franchise.
They've been able to land solid free agents, and even a star in Dansby Swanson, but the most exciting part about where the organization is currently at is their farm system.
After recognizing they were not going to make the postseason in 2021 and 2022, the Cubs sold off their assets to get prospects back in return.
They are now reaping the benefits of their decisions as they have a Top-5 pipeline in baseball, with some of their best minor leaguers on the verge of getting called up to the Major League roster.
But, development still needs to happen, and there was an important role that needed to be filled when Jared Banner was promoted from vice president of player development to assistant general manager.
Chicago was aggressive and hired one of the hitting coaches from the Houston Astros to become their new director of player development.
On paper, this doesn't seem to translate, but there are multiple people across the league who think the Cubs hit a home run with the hiring of Jason Kanzler according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.
"He's just so forward-thinking and creative. He's an innovative and quick thinker ... At times it felt like we had a member of (research and development) on the coordinator staff," Chicago's assistant GM Ehsan Bokhari said about Kanzler when they overlapped with the Astros.
Based on feedback the Cubs got, he wouldn't just focus on the star prospects or big names coming up. He would give every player attention with the goal of getting them to maximize their potential.
Kanzler is no stranger to climbing the ladder and taking on new roles quickly.
After his playing days, he coached high school before jumping into the Cape Cod League. In 2019, he joined Houston's organization as a hitting coach with their High Single-A affiliate.
Now, he'll be responsible for overseeing the development of Chicago's players.
"I'm just interested in good ideas and how we can use those to help players get better as fast as possible. Because one thing players don't have a lot of is time ... In the end, the player needs to buy into what we're trying to deliver to them. Part of it is building trust. Part of it is finding the appropriate messaging for the player," he told Sharma.
If Kanzler is as good of a hire as many people around the league think, the sky could be the limit for what the Cubs have built.
In an offseason that was originally centered around buying stars, Chicago might have plenty in their farm system that they'll develop into the game's next great players.
