How Jason Vosler became the biggest home run hitter in the Cubs minor league system

Tommy Birch | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Iowa Cubs third baseman Jason Vosler on his strong start at Triple-A Iowa Cubs third baseman Jason Vosler talks about his success at Triple-A so far this season

Iowa Cubs third baseman Jason Vosler has taken what he’s learned from studying the at-bats of Joey Votto, J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner and created a powerful approach.

The approach has turned Vosler into one of the most powerful hitters in the Cubs organization by bashing more home runs than any other minor leaguer in the system.

“I’m just trying to keep it simple,” Vosler said. “I’m not trying to do too much. I’m just trying to put good swings on the ball and just do what I can out there. I think sometimes my flaw is that I try to do too much.”

That’s no longer the case for Vosler, who has taken an old-school approach when it comes to hitting. The 24-year-old hasn’t gotten caught up in the new crazes of baseball like exit velocity, launch angle and stuff like that. Instead, Vosler has a simple approach when he steps to the plate — focus on hitting line drives.

“I just want to hit line drives — line drives that rise,” Vosler said. “In batting practice, if I’m hitting line drives at the center fielder, that’s good. Because if I miss under it, now I have a home run. If I miss over it, I might have a ground ball up the middle. But if I’m staying through the middle of the field with a line drive, I think that’s kind of the best result you can have.”

Vosler didn’t always think that way. He said that at the end of college and early in his professional career, he focused on finding holes in the field. So, he’d spend batting practice sessions trying to hit balls to short, up the middle or even the other way.

But as he watched videos or read interviews of Votto, Martinez and Turner, Vosler realized that wasn’t the best way for him to approach things.

“I’d just hear what they were saying, what their approach is and what they’re thinking with their mechanics,” Vosler said. “I think that’s always interesting.”

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Before the 2017 season, Vosler began implementing some changes inspired by the three and focused on his line-drive approach. It resulted in him slashing .241/.343/.429 with a career-high 21 home runs in Double-A with Tennessee. It was power Vosler had never displayed before.

During his first five professional seasons, Vosler smacked only 14 combined home runs. He surpassed that number with his powerful breakout season in 2017, and the improvement appears to be here for good. This season, he slashed .238/.351/.477 with 12 home runs in 66 games with Tennessee before being called up to Triple-A for the first time.

The transition has gone smoothly for Vosler, who had a hit in 16 of his first 18 games with Iowa. He even had a 16-game hitting streak that was snapped Saturday. Through 18 games with Iowa, he’d slashed .275/.296/.493 and already smacked four home runs. He entered Sunday's game with 16 home runs, most of any minor league player in the organization.

“You always like to think you’re going to succeed where you go,” Vosler said. “There’s always a little uncertainty but you always have to have confidence that you belong here and that you belong at this level and that you could succeed here.”

Vosler certainly does. But the big question is, where does he go from here? Despite being ranked the 30th-best prospect in the organization by MLB.com, there doesn’t seem to be any spot for Vosler. He’s bounced around the field most of his career but ever since he’s come to Iowa, third base has been his home.

With Kris Bryant cemented at that spot in Chicago, Vosler may not have a home with the Cubs. That could also mean he’s a possibly piece for the team to trade before the deadline. But Vosler said he hasn’t worried about that or being blocked by Bryant.

“You kind of just have to play your game, not think about it and just think anything could happen,” Vosler said. “Anything.”