Soto a good catch for Cubs

PHOENIX -- Ask Geovany Soto about his catching idols, and he immediately cites veteran teammate Henry Blanco.

"Since I got here, he's been like a dad to me," Soto said Monday morning.

But being from Puerto Rico, Soto has somebody else on his most-admired list: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.

"I think he's one of the best catchers to ever play the game -- so far," Soto said. "Being Puerto Rican, and him being Puerto Rican, I grew up looking up to him."

More on that "so far" part later.

For Soto, his education as a major-league catcher continues day by day. The curriculum includes Handling Pitchers 101 and Advanced Seminars on Blocking Pitches in the Dirt.

Soto is able to draw on leading practitioners in the field, such as Blanco as well as on some of the game's leading instructors, such as Cubs coach Matt Sinatro.

"With the job he did last year when he came up, he looked very good -- hitting and catching," Sinatro said. "He's worked very, very hard this spring.

"We're tweaking a few things with his throwing. Sometimes, he does not get on top of the ball the way I would like him to be. Therefore, sometimes he pushes the ball. He recognizes it when he does it.

"He's progressing very well, and he's a joy to work with."

We're not talking raw recruit here. The 25-year-old Soto already has put in two-plus seasons at Class AAA Iowa, where he won Pacific Coast League MVP honors last year.

Did we mention hitting?

All Soto did at Iowa in 2007 was bat .353 with 26 home runs and a league-high 109 RBI. His advanced stats were eye-popping. He logged an on-base percentage of .424 and a slugging percentage of .652, giving him a stratospheric OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.076.

Soto came up in September and began showing the minor-league season was no fluke. He hit .389 with 3 homers and forced himself on to the playoff roster. In the three-game division series sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Soto hit the only Cubs homer.

"It was really fun," Soto said. "But I think I was fighting for something. I was fighting for this opportunity I'm getting right now, just trying to come up and help the team get in the playoffs. In early September, it wasn't a sure deal.

"I came up and helped the team out to go to the playoffs and ultimately go to the playoffs and play. It was a great experience for me."

Soto got off to a good start at the plate this spring and then fell into a rut. On Sunday, manager Lou Piniella changed his mind about giving Soto a day off and had him catch in the game at Surprise against Kansas City.

Piniella said he wanted Soto to start using the whole field to hit and not try to pull the ball to left field all the time. Even though Soto went 0-for-3, he hit the ball to the right side twice.

"It's going pretty good, especially I'm handling the pitching really well," Soto said. "I was hitting .500. The last couple games, I went 0-for-7. I feel pretty solid at the plate right now. Just work on using the whole field.

"It's a minor adjustment. It's normal in the game when you go through a little bit of a phase where you're pulling off the ball or you're popping up the ball."

On defense, Soto took charge Sunday by heading out to the mound to settle veteran pitcher Ryan Dempster during a rough third inning. That's something right out of Blanco's textbook.

"Right now he's doing pretty good," Blanco said. "I've just got to keep him on track -- talk to him about working with the pitchers. Sometimes you've got to go to the mound and talk to them and make them realize what they've got to do. We're always talking."

And Soto seems always to be learning. One thing he says he's not doing is taking the job for granted, even though the Cubs anointed him the starter over the winter.

"I just try to keep it the same," he said. "Keep fighting for what I want because that's the only way I know how to play. It makes me be more aggressive, more aggressive at the plate, more aggressive on the field. It just keeps me on top of my game."

Even though the aforementioned Rodriguez is the model for Soto, nobody is comparing Soto to Rodriguez yet. That doesn't mean Soto is lacking in confidence, something the Cubs like.

"In not too long from now, I'll be a pretty good, solid catcher -- nice defense and can hit," Soto said. "I know I can hit. The main thing is controlling the pitching staff and having a good year."

And about Soto's comment that Rodriguez is one of the best in the game "so far," could Soto's name be added to that list in a few years?

"Yeah, why not," he said.