Byrd’s toughness keeps Cubs prospect waiting

Marlon Byrd is one tough hombre.

No, we’re not talking about him taking a pitch to the face last year and thinking about charging the mound despite having just incurred major damage.

We’re talking about him sitting for hours on end this off-season to have a Teddy Roosevelt quote tattooed on his arm.

Yeah, that kind of tough.

Byrd walked softly (while carrying a big stick) into spring training this year looking lean after an off-season of martial-arts training and a complete change of diet, in part to deal with some food allergies.

It’s a big year for Byrd. He’s 34 and entering the final season of a reasonable three-year, $15 million contract, which will pay him $6.5 million this year.

That contract came from former general manager Jim Hendry. There’s a new regime in town now, but Byrd said that doesn’t matter.

“It doesn’t change my approach,” he said at the opening of camp. “I have to go play the game. I’ve trained all off-season so I don’t have to think about any of that and go out there and play and go all out. For this organization, we have everything in place. Excitement, definitely. A different feel.

“There’s going to be some pressure on a lot of guys to perform. I’m very excited, very excited.”

Here are the centerpiece issues with center field.

The coming of the kid:

More than a few people seemed surprised that Byrd wasn’t traded in the off-season. After all, the contract isn’t prohibitive. But more important, all eyes are on center-field prospect Brett Jackson, who is in camp as a nonroster player.

Jackson was the Cubs’ No. 1 draft pick in 2009, and he had a solid enough season last year between Class AA Tennessee and Class AAA Iowa.

But Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer repeatedly said over the winter that they would not rush their prospects.

So Byrd stays, for now anyway. If Jackson tells the Cubs he’s ready during the season, they can always bring him up and attempt to trade Byrd.

Until then, Byrd is a viable option, and he can be a good role model for Jackson in spring training.

Getting some offense:

When the Cubs signed Byrd, he was coming off a 20-homer season in 2009 with the Texas Rangers. The hitting coach with the Rangers at the time was Rudy Jaramillo, who also came to the Cubs after the 2009 season.

Byrd hasn’t been able to duplicate those power numbers at Wrigley Field, where the wind blows in more often than not. He hit 12 homers in 2010 and 9 last year as he missed six weeks with the facial injury.

Looking closely at the numbers, Byrd’s groundball percentage rose from 40.5 percent in his last year with the Rangers to a shade over 50 percent last season. The flyball rate has fallen from 40.7 percent to 28.2 percent.

“Multiyear power-skills fade, especially return to GB-hitting ways, leaves 2009 HR total as clear outlier,” writes Ron Shandler’s 2012 Baseball Forecaster.

Various projections have Byrd hitting 10-13 homers this year with a hitting line of about .275/.330/.412.

The future is when?

The aforementioned Jackson was always touted as a five-tool player by Hendry and his crew.

Jackson, 23, got off to a good start with a homer early in Cactus League play. The Cubs have said they won’t be fooled by spring-training numbers and that Jackson likely will begin the year at Iowa.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to have a kid like that not play,” Sveum told reporters in Arizona. “He hasn’t played a full year in Triple-A. He’s either going to make the team and play every day, or he’s going to be in Triple-A.”

Jackson hit 10 homers last year at Class AA Tennessee before hitting 10 more with a line of .297/.388/.551 in 185 at-bats at Iowa.

The 2012 Minor League Baseball Analyst sums up Jackson this way: “Polished prospect with 5 above-average tools. Another solid season of growth. Showed improved power without sacrificing plate discipline ... Nice compact, LH stroke and an ability to use the whole field. Smart player who works hard. Contact rate is a concern going forward.”

Look for Jackson at Wrigley Field sometime this summer.

Tops in the NL

Bruce Miles ranks the center fielders:

1. Matt Kemp, Dodgers

2. Shane Victorino, Phillies

3. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates

10. Marlon Byrd, CUBS