Cubs' top Peoria prospects talk about their game

PEORIA - It's too early to tell what kind of players the Cubs' top two draft picks will be in pro ball.

No. 1 pick Brett Jackson, a left-handed hitting center fielder, had 8 homers and a .407 on-base percentage at the University of California-Berkeley this past spring before being drafted.

At Class A Peoria, he took a .316 batting average, .351 OBP and 5 homers into Monday's action. The line-drive hitter also had 27 strikeouts in 99 at-bats.

"I can't say right now," he said of the projections. "I try to hit the ball hard, an aggressive hitter that likes to get on base and likes to do things for the team, likes to steal bases, and more than anything else likes to score runs.

"If that role is being the leadoff guy and getting on base, I'm glad to take it. If that role is being a 3, 4 or 5 hitter and driving in runs, I'm glad to take it.

"Hitting is hitting, and I go up to every at-bat with a purpose, with the mindset that every at-bat is important for the team and for myself. I don't know what kind of hitter I'll become. I can tell you right now I'm working on every aspect of it, every aspect of hitting and every aspect of my game in general. Hopefully, that will develop into some kind of all-around hitter."

Second-round pick DJ LeMahieu, a college champion from LSU, has been Peoria's shortstop. The right-handed hitter was batting .310 with a .364 OBP and no homers heading into Monday.

"I think just being consistent," he said of his game. "I don't have a specific tool that stands out. Just showing up to the park every day, you know what you're going to get. I don't strike out too much. I make the routine play and just be a consistent player."